A shuriken (throwing star) which is really, really big. Fuuma literally translates as "wind demon" and is taken from the name of a famous Ninja clan. Mostly used by ninja for thematic purposes, despite it having lost the quality which made it useful to them in the first place. Can sometimes be folded for easier storage.
Doubles as Non-Indicative Name, since "shuriken" literally means "blade in the hand".
Sometimes overlaps with Precision-Guided Boomerang.
A Sub-Trope of Stock Ninja Weaponry, Bigger Is Better, and Impossibly Cool Weapon (try to use it without cutting yourself in two).
Not to be confused with Fuuma Kotaro (though he has wielded them in fiction).
Examples:
- Kaede Nagase from Negima! Magister Negi Magi has probably the biggest one (comparative size to the wielder) on record. If you took each blade of this cross-shaped weapon and stuck them on hilts, you'd have four BFS. The outrageous size is offset by the fact that she can use it as a shield, but she also tends to pull it from Highlanderspace. There are notes in some side material that indicate that the individual blades do indeed break apart for easier storage, but it's still way too big to hide like she does. Later in the series she gains a Pactio artifact that is basically hammerspace and makes storing the shuriken more plausible.
- A number of characters in Naruto have the folding version of this. Notably, the "ridiculously conspicuous" part of the trope is subverted by the Shadow Shuriken Jutsu, which is the throwing of a second shuriken at your opponent in the part of their line of sight blocked by the first one.
- One of the first examples of Naruto demonstrating that he's maybe not as stupid as he seems involves combining the Shadow Shuriken Jutsu (carried out by Sasuke) with transforming himself into a fuuma shuriken to get in a sneak attack on a much stronger enemy. Despite not speaking a word about what the plan is, and Sasuke and Naruto barely knowing and not liking each other at the time, Sasuke somehow knows exactly what to do from the moment Naruto tosses him the fuuma shuriken.note
- Naruto goes Sasuke one better. He can actually create a Fuuma Shuriken out of wind energy, the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken. And still hide a second one in the shadow of the first. Yeah, that's right, he can hide wind in the shadow of wind. Although he initially couldn't throw it at all, and now only can in Sage Mode. Also, this attack doesn't just cut through the target, it explodes into a nigh-infinite number of flechette-like chakra needles that disintegrate the chakra network of anyone caught within the football field-sized blast. It is also one of the only techniques that can essentially knock out the Kyuubi, of all living beings (even if for a few seconds), though a certain Kage is immune to it.
- The very first chapter/episode has Mizuki throwing a Fuuma Shuriken at Naruto. Iruka steps in to protect Naruto and takes the weapon in the back, but the injury does little more than slow him down.
- Shurimon of Digimon Adventure 02 has four for hands and feet which are actually kept attached to his vine-line limbs for easy retrieval. He carries an even larger fifth one on his back which spins like a helicopter rotor for flight, plus he can detach and throw it as a projectile.
- Tsubaki from Soul Eater can transform into one that's roughly the size of her Meister, Black Star, when he holds her.
- In the My-HiME manga, Akira's Element is an enormous shuriken that can be taken apart into two giant kunai-like weapons. In the anime, it's a smaller, dagger-like thing.
- Volfogg from GaoGaiGar can combine his two bladed boomerangs (Silver Moon) into one (Silver Cross).
- In Yaiba, two of these appear, but oddly not in the hands of the eponymous ninja Kotaro, but wielded by Goemon Ishikawa instead.
- Ivan/Origami Cyclone in Tiger & Bunny has one of these as part of his hero costume. Doesn't see much use, but in the last episode he chucks it at escaping Big Bad, Maverick.
- Espio from Sonic X has big shuriken. Very big, almost as large as him. Some of the official profiles for the Chaotix even hang a lampshade on it;
Despite the fact that the detective agency has a ninja who throws three-foot wide shuriken, money has been scarce.
- Pokémon the Series: XY: Once Ash and Greninja fully master the "Bond Phenomenon" it causes the shroud of water around Greninja's powered-up form to compress into a giant shuriken shape on its back, which can be thrown as a more powerful version of its Signature Move Water Shuriken. Later Exaggerated when Greninja absorbs its water doubles into the shuriken to create and throw a Finishing Move variant many times larger than itself. Taken even further in Ash's final match with Alain, where Greninja channels so much power into the shuriken that the water catches fire.
- In My Monster Secret, Yuka Momochi can't understand how everyone was able to discover her well-hidden secret identity as a ninja. Asahi Kuromine points out that her walking around with a Fuuma shuriken strapped to her back is kind of a dead giveaway.
- In GoLion, the title mecha brandishes the Space Cutter as an example.
- Voltes V: Like the kunoichi that pilots it, the Volt Lander can shoot shurikens, except it's are large and used as prjectiles. However, this ability is absent when it combines into Voltes V.
- Miho's manji shuriken in Sin City isn't as big as the ones detailed here but it's certainly too large to be realistically practical.
- Cissnei's primary weapon this in Final Fantasy VII: Another Side. She's even named it Rekka. That's her real name..
- Kyoshun Keiji from Naruto: the Secret Songs of the Ninja carries one of these, a personalised weapon he calls a "Deathwind shuriken". It folds into a single oversized blade the same way as the kagefuusha Sasuke and Naruto used against Zabuza in their first fight in the manga, which Keiji wears on his back like a BFS and has a diameter of over seven feet when unfolded, making it big enough to cut a tree in half. To date, Keiji hasn't used it in the series outside of training, probably because he doesn't think he's mastered it well enough to get within a dozen feet of his target (and the collateral damage from a miss would be immense).
- He finally uses it for the first time in chapter 9 to cut Orochimaru in half! He survives, though (Orochimaru that is, not Keiji, although that doesn't mean Keiji DID die, just that Orochimaru survived being cut in half).
- In Gamera vs. Guiron, Guiron has a pair of giant shurikens in its head that it controls with psychokinesis.
- Note that they are only "giant" in relation to humans (and indeed in that sense are probably the largest shuriken of all, at 3-4 meters in diameter). At kaiju scale, they are on par with normal palm-sized throwing stars.
- The Glaive from Krull.
- Kamen Rider:
- The Gelnewts from Kamen Rider Ryuki (as well as Kamen Rider Dragon Knight) use these.
- Kamen Rider Drive's Shift Midnight Shadow Car grants him energy construction of these for attacks.
- Kamen Rider Saber: Kamen Rider Kenzan's Cool Sword that doubles as his Transformation Trinket, on top of being able to be split into two swords, can be used as a Fuma shuriken. He usually uses it as a melee weapon outside of one Finishing Move, mainly because unlike most instances, his weapon is a hard toy in real life and the instruction manual strongly encourages to not throw the DX toy.
- To no surprise, Super Sentai and Power Rangers tend to have these (alongside normal-sized shuriken) in ninja-themed series:
- Popped up in Ninja Sentai Kakuranger and consequently the third season of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. Red Saruder/the Red Shogunzord wielded one.
- In Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger, the Sixth Ranger is named Shurikenger and has ninja stars as a design motif, and his helicopter mecha (and a number of mecha combinations that include it) could throw its propeller blades like a throwing star. Much of this carried over into Power Rangers Ninja Storm.
- Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger and Power Rangers Megaforce got a Mecha Expansion Pack explicitly themed after Shurikenger (or the Samurai Ranger, as he was called in Ninja Storm), which equipped their own mecha with giant shuriken.
- In Samurai Sentai Shinkenger/Power Rangers Samurai, the Yellow Ranger has a large shuriken-like personal weapon.
- Shuriken Sentai Ninninger/Power Rangers Ninja Steel is actually rather restrained with this, as they mostly stick with normal-sized shuriken; though they do have some relatively oversized ones that can extend blades to become other weapons.note It helps that the oversized ones are not actually thrown and treated more as star-shaped gadgets.
- Ninja Steel promotes that weapon to Transformation Trinket. Also, there's a massive shuriken-shaped McGuffin called the Ninja Nexus Prism.
- Ultraman Taiga: Ultraman Fuma naturally has a Fuma shuriken made of light as one of his finishing moves.
- As with the movie, the Glaive from Krull is a Western version of this.
- Paranoia has shuriken with so many targeting aids stuck to them that they weigh 20 pounds and need two hands to use.
- Pathfinder: In the Golarion setting, followers of Desna commonly wield "starknives" resembling a shuriken longer than the owner's forearm, which can be either wielded in melee or thrown. Notably, as martial weapons, every warrior-type class in the game is proficient with them but the Ninja class is not.
- Date Masamune Gundam from SD Sengokuden Bushin Kourin Hen has a Bifurcated Weapon version of this. Its four blades become a sheathed sword, a flail, a claw and a rifle. The circular pieces holding them together convert into water-walking sandals. It is exactly as awesome as it sounds.
- Avernum 2 introduces these as the primary ranged weapon of the Vahnatai (although it refers to them as "razordisks.") They're uncommon, expensive, and non-reusable, but they make up for it with incredible base damage.
- In Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Alucard can throw Cross Shuriken and the massive Buffalo Star at enemies. He also has the slightly smaller, but even more damaging Flame Stars.
- Devil May Cry:
- In Dwarf Fortress Adventure Mode, a large serrated disc left around an abandoned Fortress (usually used for traps) can be picked up and throw around like one of these. In Fortress Mode, the same effect can be achieved by loading a minecart with them, accelerating it to relativistic velocities, then inducing a crash; this will turn pretty much anything it hits into puree.
- Dynasty Warriors
- Lu Bu wields a version of this called Crossed Pikes in the sixth game. It can also split into two Double Weapons.
- Lu's daughter, Lu Lingqi uses the same type of Crossed Pikes (with the 6 version moveset with some additions) in DW: Xtreme Legends 8 as a Continuity Nod, since her dad got his traditional Halberd back since 7.
- The Fuuma from various Final Fantasy games.
- Edge from Final Fantasy IV can throw these, along with swords, spears, knives, etc. The Fuma Shuriken has one of the highest Attack ratings of any weapon, exceeded only by the one-off Knife (999!), Lightbringer (246), & Abel's Lance (230).
- They can be similarly thrown by Shadow in in Final Fantasy VI and in his appearance in Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia they become his unique weapons.
- Yuffie from Final Fantasy VII uses these. One of her weapons is explicitly called this in the original version of the game, but it's translated as Magic Shuriken. She uses ordinary-sized shuriken in her apperance in Kingdom Hearts but switches to her large 4-Point Shuriken in Kingdom Hearts II.
- Axel from Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days can use a pair of these as well though they are translated as Conformers as a Shout-Out to Yuffie's ultimate weapon.
- Seifer's minion Fuujin from Final Fantasy VIII wields one called a Missile Blade when you fight her.
- Fuma Shuriken is the most basic Ninjutsu ability in Final Fantasy XIV, its use over other ninjutsu isn't its great strength but the fact that it requires only one mudra to use and the fact it is a physical attack rather then a magical one.
- The Star of the Rogue in Final Fantasy XV was the signature weapon of one of Noctis's ancestors, a great queen of Lucius. She wields it in her bossfight in the Extended Edition and Noctis himself can also use it as a long ranged weapon.
- In the Dissidia Final Fantasy series, the Onion Knight can throw shuriken when he is in his Ninja job, and they are large enough to dwarf him in size, thankfully he can pull them from his Hyperspace Arsenal.
- Gotcha Force features the aptly-named Shuriken Ninja, who has one of these strapped to his back. He uses it in two ways — if using his standard melee combo, he somersaults and hits with it a few times as the last hit of the combo. If you use his special dashing attack, he flings himself in a horizontal line, spinning the entire time. The latter is useful as a rapid multi-hit combo and as it's somehow immune to gravity while spinning. Slightly subverted in that the Ninja in question is the size of an action figure: it's huge to HIM, but...
- Grand Chase has the pet Ninkoro who attacks with one of these. Later the resident Ninja, Lass, also gained it as a optional Special Attack, oddly named "Hornet Sting" for whatever reason.
- The second character in Kung Fu Chivalry for the Mac has this for a special attack.
- Mega Man:
- Shadow Man in Mega Man 3 uses one, and like Ryu's, it's a boomerang.
- The non-canon "Short Circuits" section in the Archie Comics has Shadow Man fall over due to its large size.
- Gyro Man's Gyro Blade in Mega Man 5 acts like this, and it can make a 90 degree turn once.
- Tengu Man's Tornado Hold in Mega Man 8 appears to be modeled after this, though he doesn't throw it directly. Instead, he fires at the ground so it can crawl across the terrain as it whips up wind. The blade is also used for his Kamaitachi (replaced by the somewhat similar Tengu Blade in Mega Man & Bass), but that attack does not require any spinning.
- Phantom in Mega Man Zero and Siarnaq in Mega Man ZX use them, but also throw sets of regular kunai.
- The Ninja Tribe's Ability Wave in Mega Man Star Force is literally called Fuuma Shuriken,and their Big Bang spams MANY!
- Shadow Man in Mega Man 3 uses one, and like Ryu's, it's a boomerang.
- In Mystic Warriors, one Mini-Boss wields a Fuuma Shuriken as a slow-moving Precision-Guided Boomerang.
- The Ninja Gaiden series has the signature Windmill shuriken. Timing your jumps to avoid its return makes it an orbiting weapon that costs no more mana than one shot.
- One of the Ninja class' two primary weapons in Ragnarok Online. It can be thrown with the powerful Throw Fuuma Shuriken skill, or used a melee weapon.
- Kubikiri note Basara from Samurai Shodown is armed with a large three-bladed shuriken connected to his gauntlet with a long chain, allowing him to catch it back when its thrown.
- Sengoku Basara:
- Sarutobi Sasuke dual-wields these in the games.
- It also stars Fuuma Kotaro, who can be considered a Trope Namer (and whose shuriken is much bigger than Sasuke's). Although he doesn't use the shuriken outside the games (though a keen-eyed viewer may notice him standing on it in his first appearance in the anime as Hojo Ujimasa introduces him).
- In Shounen Kininden Tsumuji Tsumuji's main weapon is a large fuuma shuriken which is called Wind Demon.
- In Skullgirls, Painwheel's Buer Drive effectively serves this purpose.
- Skylanders: Trap Team: Trap Master Lob-Starr (a ninja lobster) wields two huge starfish-shaped throwing stars made out of Traptanium crystal.
- One of the weapon styles in Soulcalibur 3 incorporates a fuuma shuriken for a few special attacks. Miser is this style's in-game representative.
- Pom Pom wields these in Super Mario 3D World, and they're about as big around as her large head.
- The night elves of Warcraft fame use huge multi-bladed weapons known as glaives. In a vain attempt at quasi-realism, they're mostly used in melee combat or thrown a very short range (the original users, Huntresses, were technically ranged but in all ways were used and intended as the elves' primary melee combatants). The exception is when they're attached to Glaive Throwers, ballista-like siege engines. Their special ability? Linear splash damage, meaning that the blade cleaves through the first victim and just keeps going.
- In X-Men: Children of the Atom and Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Silver Samurai can throw shurikens that appear to be about six feet in diameter.
- In StarCraft, the zerg Mutalisk is armed with "glaive wurms," large, triskellion-shaped parasites it launches from its mutated ovipositor. The spin allows them to strike up to two additional targets.
- In Huckleberry's second issue, Morning Star successfully throws a person-sized star ornament like a big shuriken.
- In Challenge Of The Go Bots, Cop-Tur could use his rotors this way.