The harisen (ハリセン meaning "slapping fan" in Japanese) is a giant paper fan, usually made in a closed fashion. It is most traditionally used as part of a manzai act, in which the straight man (tsukkomi) smacks the funny man (boke) in response to their jokes or idiocy.
This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia. (December 2009)
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The psychopathic character Kazuo Kiriyama is given a harisen in the movie Battle Royale.
In the video game Chaos Wars, the character Shizuku's weapon of choice is a harisen which often uses it to hit the main character in typical comedic fashion. Her special attack is called Harisen Ranbu (張り扇乱舞) or "Harisen Dance".
Kaname Chidori of the anime Full Metal Panic uses a harisen that she seems to pull out from hammerspace to stop Sousuke Sagara from doing anything that could injure or kill a civilian in Tokyo (at one point, her harisen is seen to be extendable and takes up as much space as a matchbox).
In the manga Negima!, character Asuna Kagurazaka wields a giant sword-sized harisen that later transforms into an enormous single-edged sword.
The character Dr. Eto in the series Nodame Cantabile is known by the nickname "Harisen" because he uses one to punish his students.
In the manga and anime series Saiyuki a character named Genjyo Sanzo uses a harisen to punish both Son Goku and Sha Gojyo when the two argue for even the smallest of things.
In the video game series Super Smash Bros., a large fan is a usable item. Characters can wield it as a very fast weapon, causing minimal but repeated and nigh-unstoppable damage to enemy characters.
The tengu-karasu that attend to the Zashiki-Warashi in the manga and anime series xxxHolic wield harisen, though they generally only attack Kimihiro Watanuki since they believe he's the one that makes her cry.
In the anime and manga Pandora Hearts, various characters use non-paper harisen, including Duke Rufus Barma and Lady Cheryl Rainsworth. During one episode, a drunk Lady Sharon Rainsworth makes multiple paper harisen and threatens the other characters with them.
In the video game, manga, and anime Comic Party, Yū Inagawa uses a harisen both for its real purpose (making noise to attract customers) and its comedy purpose (slapping idiots).
In the video game Hyperidmension Neptunia MK2, Neptune can wield the harisen fan as a weapon.
In the side story series, Naruto SD: Rock Lee no Seishun Full-Power Ninden, Tenten uses this fan as a comic relief mostly on Rock Lee or other characters.