Its is used in the same way, most refrences are to Onmyodo (which people still think it really works) or atleast the idea started from there.
Hell try watching Read Or Die some time
Naruto has exploding paper... stick it to a kunai and throw it for a grenade.
edited 3rd Oct '10 8:39:54 AM by Raso
Sparkling and glittering! Jan-Ken-Pon!Well, it's in the non-traditional category of "elements", and as pointed out, it could be considered an extension of wood, which is present in the chinese elemental powers. I'm not sure if that really works or not though, since that just justifies it as a derivative of wood or nature. By that logic, you could probably make an argument for roofer's nails as an element, by way of being a derivative of metal.
So I don't know. It seems to be the odd duck in the group, and I certainly wouldn't have added it, but I don't know that it's necessarily wrong.
The Naruto example of exploding paper is different, that's Exploding Runes (if we've got it) since it's Functional Magic.
Fight smart, not fair.I don't think we do and reading that page it doesn't seem to fit under anything there.
Still it seems to fall under paper though since the rune is what makes the paper "magical". Paper tags like that are also used in Onmyodo for various things.
edited 3rd Oct '10 9:01:54 AM by Raso
Sparkling and glittering! Jan-Ken-Pon!There really should he a trope for those paper tags. They do seem to show up in anime a lot. I don't know if the people using them would all count as Paper Masters, but it would certainly be a related trope. Maybe it's under a Japanese name? I'm not sure what to look for.
edited 3rd Oct '10 9:03:47 AM by shimaspawn
Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. DickWell, if it's the magic tag thingies, I'd say that's different than Paper Master.
Fight smart, not fair.I didn't mean anyone had used roofing nails as an element, it was just a hypothetical. There's no question of whether or not there's works where people have power over paper, I think the question is whether or not that qualfiies as an elemental power in its own right.
Considering some of the other, stranger ones present, like ice or poison, you could probably call it justified. It does seem like the oddest one to me, though.
Honestly, I think there are a few commonly used ones missing from the list that are weirder. Flowers for one. The important bit is not are they weird or not, but are they used in the same nature as the rest and are the character types associated with them different enough from one of the other examples? I think in this case they character types that tend to use paper are far different than the ones that use the far more natural and less processed wood.
Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. DickWell Paper tags in Onmyodo are used for purification and exorcisms or used as wards sometimes with Onusa, the zigzag paper things you see people hanging in anime or carrying around (not if they are cleaning thats a Hataki which is comparable to a Feather Duster) most commonly at Shinto Shrines or with Mikos. Everything seen in anime extends from that.
I am not sure on the exact name of the tags though.
Here is kafuka from SZS overdoing it with tags and Onusa.
Enough for a YKTTW? (my last 2 YKTTWs failed pretty badly so thats why I am asking)
EDIT: its called Senjafuda [1]
(literally means "thousand shrine tags")
edited 3rd Oct '10 12:09:50 PM by Raso
Sparkling and glittering! Jan-Ken-Pon!Ok made the YKTTW [1]
. feel free to help out this is only my 3rd YKTTW and the last 2 failed badly.
Yeah, this is what I mean. The other non-standard elements are part of nature, and have been used as either a type of elemental damage (Sound, Poison) or as being a fundamental part of that world's universe (Wood, Void, Metal).
From the media I've seen, Paper powers is just treated as a super power in general, and not as an elemental power or elemental type.
edited 3rd Oct '10 3:11:02 PM by Servbot
@Raso: No. Just stop. You're on the completely wrong track. While paper tags are a part of Omyodo, that's completely different from paper being used as an elemental attack. Completely, 100% different. This is not something that any reasonable person would even think of, you're just applying Square Peg Round Trope.
Sorry, that was a bit of an overreaction, but we do have the Onmyodo already that lists paper tags as a feature of it.
Oh well ya should comment on the YKTTW. But really while for most the source may be from Omnyodo tags there are others like it, they are used by Taoist's as well and other fantasy animes which don't have the Shinto religion (Naruto) it is not exclusive.
edited 3rd Oct '10 5:59:17 PM by Raso
Sparkling and glittering! Jan-Ken-Pon!Which is why "paper talismen" is going to YKTTW regardless of what we do with this. Separate issue.
BTW, I'm a chick.I've never heard of paper being used like an element, and Paper Master's examples are not examples of this. Just the fact that someone uses paper as a weapon doesn't make paper into an element, any more than swords are an element. Or insect swarms, to give another example of an unusual attack. Paper is not associated with other elements, doesn't fall under Elemental Rock–Paper–Scissors (despite the word 'paper' in that), and generally is not treated as a fundamental building block of the world. Wood is sometimes an element in this sense, but paper?

Just read the Elemental Powers description, and I noticed that someone added Paper as a Sub-Trope.
I'm pretty sure that Elements should only cover the forces of nature stuff, and in fact, the main description of the trope talks only about people with powers over natural stuff. As paper is man-made, and therefore, not an element in the way the trope talks about it, it probably shouldn't be included in the Sub-Trope list in the description.
Should we remove it from the main body (and all Paper examples in the Example list), or did I misinterpret and Paper is a valid Sub-Trope?
edited 3rd Oct '10 5:05:41 AM by Servbot