Koosh Bomb

Ooooh, Ahhhhh!

This is your standard Limited Animation method of drawing an explosion: as a spikey ball. Usually several such, concentric and multi-colored. Expect some smoke too.

This effect can also be used to accentuate any heavy or significant impact, such as a blow to the head. See also Hit Flash.

In Real Life, of course, it's possible to achieve an explosion which simulates this effect. ^{[dead link]} Only, usually, not as colorful as in the cartoons.

If you don't know what a Koosh Ball is, basically it's a ball of rubber spaghetti used as a safer alternative to rubber balls when soft impacts are desired and bouncing is not. "Koosh" represents the sound effect the thing makes when it hits a surface.

Examples of Koosh Bomb include:

Film

• Used in The Empire Strikes Back (only a couple of frames each time).
• Such an effect is animated on top of live action footage, in order to show the Penguin's submarine is hit in Batman: The Movie.

Video Games

• The Kirby series almost always draws explosions like this.
• Shows up in Mech Commander, surprisingly enough.
• Super Smash Brothers does this.
• The cel-shaded The Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker draws its explosions something like this, although the aftereffect of stylized curly smoke is more prominent.
• Used as an impact effect in the Donkey Kong Country series whenever any character gets hit.
• Super Mario Bros. 2 has this for its explosions, with BOMB written in the center of it.
• The game it's based on, Doki Doki Panic, has this too, but with BOM written in the center.
• The NES puzzle game Kickle Cubicle did this too when the bomb enemy "Sparky" explodes.

Western Animation

• Made famous by Looney Tunes, especially Road Runner shorts.

Real Life

• Fireworks displays may be viewed as an attempt to invoke this look.