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Iconic sword users in anime
Iconic sword-users in anime (Image via GamesHorizon)

12 Iconic Sword Users in Anime

Stuart RayBy 9 Mins Read Anime

It is only natural that sword users are so prominently depicted in anime because they have long played a significant role in Japanese culture and tradition. For anime viewers, it is a wonderful treat when a character uses a sword as their primary weapon of choice because the art of sword fighting is loaded with intrigue and pleasure.

The epic struggles for vengeance, dominance, and power had a significant impact on the development of the Japanese anime environment that fans are familiar with today. The anime swords user are practitioners of a unique, mid-range martial art that has come to be characterized by noble warriors in the style of Akira Kurosawa, epic battles and absurd displays of power, which serve as the focus point for almost all of that action.

Sword users typically have a very strong aura surrounding them that is successful in winning over fans. It’s always enjoyable to watch the action scenes featuring these types of people. The most recognizable sword wielders in anime are examples of how these characters may become well-known with just one well-choreographed fight sequence. However, it is these uncomplicated weapons that give sword wielding anime characters their inherent stoicism. To become the best of the best swordsmen or swordswomen they can be, they have perfected both their trade and their intellect.

Sasuke Uchiha and 11 other iconic sword-users in anime

1. Sasuke Uchiha from Naruto

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One of the most well-known characters from the well-known shonen anime Naruto is Sasuke Uchiha. With the help of his Sharingan and Mangekyo Sharingan, Sasuke is a talented shinobi who is knowledgeable about chakra natures and boasts amazing powers. He uses other weapons in fight in addition to his eyes, despite the fact that they are rather iconic in and of themselves. Sasuke is much more adaptable in his fighting style because of the Kusanagi, a katana that he also uses.

Sasuke has faced numerous enemies and engaged them in close combat while having the Kasunagi by his side. Additionally, he frequently channels his lightning nature through the Kasunagi to perform his signature Chidori attack. This contributes to his standing as one of the strongest characters in the series and among the most recognisable anime swordsmen of all time.

2. Kirito from Sword Art Online

When he used his real-world kendo training, Sword Art Online‘s Kirito demonstrated how wonderful fighting in those old fantasy-based video game worlds actually could be. Kirito never wavered and somehow let his sword prowess do the talking while being imprisoned in the virtual world.

Kirito conquered the competition, acquired the unique Dual Blades skill, faced boss-level nightmares like all the Gleam Eyes, and then dispatched some of the worst members of the gaming industry with lightning speed.

3. Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach

The main character of the well-known shonen anime Bleach, Ichigo Kurosaki, unintentionally turns into a Soul Reaper. Ichigo, a Soul Reaper, uses the legendary sword Zangetsu to battle foes and exterminate hollows. Zangetsu is a strong sword that may take many shapes. It appears like a straightforward katana in its raw and unreleased state, but when it is released, it grows larger and becomes sharper under Ichigo’s command.

Zangetsu has more power, as is shown when Ichigo employs the potent Bankai technique, which causes the blade to turn a deep shade of black and, in turn, greatly increase Ichigo’s power. With the aid of his sword, Ichigo is able to perform a variety of powerful manoeuvres, the most well-known of which is still the Getsuga Tensho.

4. Saber from Fate

One of the top swordsmen in all of Japanese animation is Sabre. She is capable of wielding the powerful Excalibur and has undergone rigorous training on par with some of history’s greatest. Sabre has often shown himself to be a popular choice for the Holy Grail War, an item of much coveted power in the Fate series.

Due to her extensive expertise, Sabre is a significant player who possesses the tremendous battle skills and strategic thinking required to face off against an opponent even off the action-packed battlefield. Sabre is an all-around honourable warrior who has merited the name “Sabre.”

5. Asta from Black Clover

The star of the well-known shonen series Black Clover, Asta, is a boisterous and eccentric man. Asta is an orphan who was born in a world where the very notion of magic is pervasive without having any magical abilities. Fortunately for him, the protagonist still has access to his renowned five-clover grimoire book of magic and his Demon-Dweller Sword, allowing him to join the magic knight team known as the Black Bulls.

Asta is a very powerful character that can dispel any type of magic thanks to the Demon-Dweller sword. He also discovers the Demon-Slasher Sword later on in the show, which enables him to slash through magical defences and shields. Asta has a powerful body that allows him to move both of his swords with amazing speed and accuracy.

6. Tanjiro Kamado from Demon Slayer

The protagonist of Demon Slayer, one of the absolutely best new shonen series of this decade, is Tanjiro Kamado. Tanjiro, an ordinary child, was forced to assume the role of a magical or cursed/supernatural form of demon slayer in order to get revenge on his family and prevent the death of his sister after she was transformed into a demon. Tanjiro uses a katana known as the Nichirin Blade, which changes colour according to the user.

Tanjiro’s blade has always a distinctive black hue that stands for his unwavering will and desire to defend others. Tanjiro mastered the powerful water-breathing method out of all the different breathing techniques demonstrated in the presentation. Tanjiro is incredibly agile and forceful when using this method because of the way his motions resemble the flow of water.

7. Levi Ackermann from Attack on Titan

Members of the Survey Corp from Attack on Titan have essentially reinvented swordplay. Sword clashes often demand deft manoeuvring in close quarters. However, the swordsmen in Attack on Titan combine that same expertise with exciting speed as they charge at their prey to slay them.

Few people in the terrifying world of Attack on Titan are as revered and feared as the mere even if genetically advanced Levi Ackerman. Even though Levi is much smaller than the Titans and somehow his fellow soldiers, his tactical thinking and knife skills can more than balance the playing field.

8. Stain from My Hero Academia

My Hero Academia‘s Stain, also known as The Hero Killer, has killed countless powerful heroes with his paralysing Quirk and unmatched swordsmanship. Stain is a villain and a sword-user with an absolutely unique and strong moral compass who only wants to see fake heroes who only worry about fame and money disappear from public consciousness.

He must cut someone before using Stain’s Quirk to sip their blood and paralyse them. Depending on a person’s blood type, the paralysis lasts a longer time. Nevertheless, Stain’s Quirk would be practically useless in most confrontations without even such a long katana and becomes such a great sword-user who fights using his technique.

9. Aki Hayakawa from Chainsaw Man

Aki Hayakawa, the sword-user from Chainsaw Man, is not like the majority of anime sword-users who can wield their absolute weapon of choice without having any consequences. Since it reduces his life expectancy, he can somehow only use his sword as an absolute last option.Β 

Aki possesses a sword that actually resembles a powerful nail and is bound by the Curse Devil. Aki must point the nail at his intended target before he may utilise the contract by yelling “fire.” Anywhere, sword-user Aki pointed the sword with the blade, the Curse Devil’s hand would flick the nail. Aki can then call on the Curse Devil to either kill them or permanently harm them after three violently placed stabs from the nail.

10. Kento Nanami from Jujutsu Kaisen

Kento Nanami of Jujutsu Kaisen mixes his potent cursed technique that is loaded with a dull sword that can pierce anything with its cover still on. The sword complements the sword-user’s ratio technique particularly effectively since, once he has identified his target’s weak place, the blade enables him to powerfully cut them down smoothly.

Nanami’s accuracy, experience and precision never let him down, even when he needs to establish several weak places through wearing down his opponent. Nanami has amazing speed and accuracy to slice through moving targets. It is obvious why individuals in the mysterious Jujutsu Sorcery community appreciate Nanami so highly given that he is a grade-one sorcerer.

11. Akame from Akame Ga Kill

The lethal assassin Akame from Akame Ga Kill! has a particular talent that allows her to instantly kill any living thing. She can quickly infect whoever she cuts with a deadly curse that she may inject with her blade, Murasame.

However, even without the curse, Akame’s adversaries would still perish because she is a gifted super-soldier who is capable of dispatching all kinds of weaponry and monsters with her agility. Murasame is, if anything, a blessing because it prevents her opponents from realising how dangerous she is. She is one of the most iconic sword-user in anime.

12. Roronoa Zoro from One Piece

One of the most recognizable sword-users in all of fiction, not just anime is Roronoa Zoro, a character from the popular and long-running shonen series One Piece. He uses his renowned Santoryu technique and swings not one, not two, but strangely, three swords simultaneously. He has faced numerous opponents and is a formidable warrior with proficiency as a sword-user.

He has also swung swords with Dracule Mihawk, the strongest swordsman currently in the world, and although being outmatched, he managed to hold his own for a long time. The Shusui, Sandai Kitetsu, and Wado Ichimonji are some of Zoro’s well-known swords’ names. Throughout the course of the programme, he has wielded several swords, but they have all either been lost, broken in battle, or destroyed.

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Stuart loves anime, writing, and writing about anime. Someday, he hopes to illustrate his own manga from his novel!