History Main / PaperFanOfDoom

* Commonly appears in the ''FanFic/TouhouM1GrandPrix'', as it follows a BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine format.

* An incredibly rare non-anime example: In Creator/TamoraPierce's ''Literature/ProtectorOfTheSmall'': the Yamani women of the warrior class use ''shukusen'', the delicate, deadly Japanese "war fans". Said women carry these fans when they feel endangered but can't carry a weapon openly. They are silk with razor-sharp steel ribs, are much heavier than they look, and can slice fingers like sausage--as Neal finds out when he interrupts a game of fan toss. (Luckily it ''doesn't'' end in {{Fingore}}, but Lady Yukimi demonstrates its cutting power on a tent pole to demonstrate what could have happened.) Queen Thayet immediately requests one for herself. Ilane also used to whack her children with a normal fan when they didn't cooperate with healers.

* In ''MortalKombat,'' Kitana uses fans as her weapons. They appeared to just be paper fans in ''MKII,'' but in more recent versions they strongly resemble [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_war_fan Japanese war fans]], most likely ''tessen''. She can [[MadeOfPlasticine decapitate people with them]].

* Hoshina Tomoko from ''VisualNovel/ToHeart'' carries a paper fan.
* Inagawa Yuu from ''Videogame/ComicParty'' is also a fan-wielder.

* Yuzu Hiragi's main shtick in ''[[Anime/YuGiOhARCV Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V]]''. Even her own father isn't safe. Her other target is Yuya, and since she primarily dishes out this punishment when someone's being stupid, and her father and Yuya are a BumblingDad and IdiotHero respectively, this happens frequently.

* In ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' and ''WarriorsOrochi'' the two Qiao sisters, Da and Xiao, take out entire armies with their twin paper fans[[note]]It takes a close examination, but the edges are tipped with metal, which is what they use to fight[[/note]]. Strategists Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang use big feathered fans that shoot FrickinLaserBeams. Sima Yi trades his in for RazorFloss and claws in [=DW6=] but gets it back in 7, also where Zhuge Dan takes up the family tradition with a feathered fan of his own. Of course, they are actually incredibly weak weapons though by 7 the feathered fan users can summon lightning as part of their repertoire and attack more by blowing gusts of wind at their opponents than simply whacking them.
* In ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'' and ''WarriorsOrochi'' the {{Bishonen}} Mitsunari Ishida, who wields a paper fan, happens to be a rather snarky and sarcastic fellow. Also, Takeda Shingen uses ''gunbai'' fans.

* The author of [[Fanfic/AWildBadficAppearedCommentaries A Wild Badfic Appeared! Commentaries]] is from Kansai, and has her AuthorAvatar Erika wield one of these starting from episode 5.

* [[VideoGame/{{Persona4}} Yukiko Amagi]] makes use of these. Oddly, she throws them at enemies rather than the typical smacking.

* ''[[VideoGame/{{Onmyoji}} Onmyōji]]'':
** Yōko uses his (always folded) folding fan for his ranged slash-like attacks.
** Daitengu delivers air-based attacks with his ''uchiwa''.
** Seimei can also be seen using his trademark folding fan while casting one of his spells.

* Hilariously enough, OdaNobunaga from ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara'', one of the baddest and most feared badasses has a paper fan (like the one in the image) as his [[JokeItem Joke Weapon]].

[[quoteright:350:[[Anime/OjamajoDoremi http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lt/halisen.jpg]]]]

* The ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' games feature the paper fan as a weapon. It does measly damage and no knockback, but its attack speed is so high that one can whack an opponent with it infinitely to rack up their damage up extremely quickly. Plus, it has high knockback when thrown and always sends the target upward, so it's very easy to just whack an enemy for half a minute with no escape then throw the fan at them for an easy kill. This is known as "fantrapping". The fan can also instantly break an opponent's shield if used as a smash attack and the shield will break no matter how charged it is.

* JackieChan uses a fan as his preferred weapon in ''Film/DrunkenMaster 2'', released in America as ''Legend of Drunken Master''. His character had been made to decorate such fans as punishment by his father, but when he battles some thugs, his step-mother throws him the fan to use in self-defence.

** In SpinOff ''Super Robot Taisen: OG Saga: EndlessFrontier'', character Suzuka uses folding fans. She primarily uses them as an unusual control scheme for her not-so-HumongousMecha, but in at least one of her skills, she actually uses them to attack directly.

* The ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' games feature the paper fan as a weapon. It does measly damage and no knockback, but its attack speed is so high that one can whack an opponent with it infinitely to rack up their damage up extremely quickly. Plus, it has high knockback when thrown and always sends the target upward, so it's very easy to just whack an enemy for half a minute with no escape then throw the fan at them for an easy kill. This is known as "fantrapping".

* The ''SkunkFu'' episode "The Art of the Fan-Fan" has this in spades.

* An incredibly rare non-anime example: In TamoraPierce's ''Literature/ProtectorOfTheSmall'': the Yamani women of the warrior class use ''shukusen'', the delicate, deadly Japanese "war fans". Said women carry these fans when they feel endangered but can't carry a weapon openly. They are silk with razor-sharp steel ribs, are much heavier than they look, and can slice fingers like sausage--as Neal finds out when he interrupts a game of fan toss. (Luckily it ''doesn't'' end in {{Fingore}}, but Lady Yukimi demonstrates its cutting power on a tent pole to demonstrate what could have happened.) Queen Thayet immediately requests one for herself. Ilane also used to whack her children with a normal fan when they didn't cooperate with healers.

* Hoshina Tomoko from ''ToHeart'' carries a paper fan.

* The paper fan is the usual weapon of the Karasu-tengu who guard the Zashiki Warashi in both the manga and anime ''{{xxxHOLiC}}''.

* ''NodameCantabile'' has Etou Kouzou, one of the teachers, carry one of these around at all times to the point where he is referred to as Harisen-sensei by the students. [[spoiler:He later gives up his harisen in order to get Nodame to come to her lessons, however]].

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
** Suki and the Kyoshi warriors (as well as Avatar Kyoshi herself) use the metal variant to very good effect most of the time [[spoiler:until they run into the QuirkyMinibossSquad]].
** Aang demonstrates that they make good Airbending tools. In fact, that may be why Kyoshi used them in the first place; as the most powerful [[ElementalPowers bender]] in the world she'd never use them in melee combat against swords and spears the way her [[IncrediblyLamePun fangirls]] do.

* In the series ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'' one of the main characters (Yumi) uses a fan as her weapon when she enters Lyoko.
** Interestingly she initially is disappointed with her weapon, outright asking [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway "Huh? A fan? That's all?"]] despite being from the culture that is most prone to using this trope.
* Yori in ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' slices into the side of a volcano and unleashes the lava flow within.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Similar to the rolled-up-newspaper, people probably ''have'' done this.
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tessenjutsu Tessenjutsu]] was actually an art around war fans. However; there was a difference between a paper fan and an ''actual'' fan meant to be concealed and used as a makeshift weapon.
** Especially when such fans were made using several plates of solid wood or iron, and were essentially as deadly as any regular club.
* Another variety (aptly known as the 'Fighting Fan') looks like your average folding fan, and can even be folded up for better concealment, but the spines are made out of steel that has been sharppend to a knife like edge.
[[/folder]]

* In the first episode of IchigoMashimaro when the girls are making a birthday present for Nobue the one who falls asleep gets hit with a paper fan (they even keep a tally of paper fan hits). Also, in the Encore OVA Miu's IronicHell involves making a fool of herself and ''not'' getting hit by a paper fan for it.

* Rahzel uses one against [[spoiler: the other]] Alzeid when he comes to her school and gets in a fight with Fay in HatenkouYuugi.

* In ''{{Genshiken}}'', [[OnlySaneMan Saki]] [[DungeonmastersGirlfriend Kasukabe]]'s frequent role as [[BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine the tsukkomi to the rest of the group's boke]] is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] when the group makes her a paper fan.

* In ''SlamDunk,'' Ayako the manager girl usually smacks Sakuragi, his friends and/or Miyagi with her paper fan.
* Suzuna from ''{{Eyeshield 21}}'' used a fan twice in one episode on her brother. Well, he's an idiot, why shouldn't she?

* Eva from ''UminekoNoNakuKoroNi'' puts the "doom" in Paper Fan of Doom. Especially in the manga.

* Kanou uses this to reign in Kaoruko when the otaku gets a little too flamboyant in ''OkaneGaNai''.

* In ''SamuraiWarriors'' and ''WarriorsOrochi'' the {{Bishonen}} Mitsunari Ishida, who wields a paper fan, happens to be a rather snarky and sarcastic fellow. Also, Takeda Shingen uses ''gunbai'' fans.

* In the ''SamuraiShodown'' games, Kyoshiro Senryou uses a fan for light close range attacks. Oh, and also as a flaming projectile.

* In perhaps the deadliest example of the harisen, Anita King from ''RODTheTV'' (the TV sequel to ''Anime/ReadOrDie'') uses one much of the time. This coupled with Anita being a Paper User and her own not-inconsiderable strength means each hit with the fan can carry the force of a sledgehammer, or, at least, a lil harder than a normal paper fan, when the target isn't an enemy, but her ditz of a sister, who blew the food money on books.

* The anime only character [[Manga/DominaNoDo Mimi]] from ''Manga/DGrayMan'' uses her fans to try to kill the main characters multiple times, though she never succeeds.

* Mai Otsuka from ''SchoolRumble''.
* The women of the Rainsworth House in ''PandoraHearts'' are fond of this. Break frequently makes himself available for Sharon to practice on.
* The anime only character [[DominaNoDo Mimi]] from ''DGrayMan'' uses her fans to try to kill the main characters multiple times, though she never succeeds.

* Ranma from ''RanmaOneHalf'' countered a punch from Happosai with a paper fan and used a fan to blow powder/incense back into peoples faces.

* Papillon of ''LaPucelle'' wields a paper fan as her main weapon and can do pretty good damage with it. This being [[Creator/{{Nippon Ichi}} Nippon Ichi]], 'pretty good damage' means 'nearly unlimited with enough grinding.'