anime, weapon of wire
 

What's that called? Is it based on anything real? For instance Alucard's butler dude (there are users in other anime too) uses them to slice up a bunch of ghouls.
http://download.minitokyo.net/Hellsi...per.198816.jpg

In most science fiction it would be called a mono-filament whip.

Monomolecular wire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It is (loosely) based on a group of real chinese weapons. Chain whips and rope darts are very similar in how they appear, although their actual use is different.

You may have seen meteor hammers used in various martial arts movies, including an oversized one in Kill Bill Part One.

The Japanese also have a variety of similar chain weapons, including the kusari gama and the manriki.

So, they're at least as based on real weapons as anime sword fights are based on real sword fights. :)

I'd say the "monofilament" is a scifi concept actually, even though it is most used in fantasy.

Yes, I am proficient in the "meteor". I've actually made several. Even the practice ones pack quite a punch. You obviously don't want to rely strictly on a string/chain weapon specifically, but they can be useful for opening strikes.