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Gunslingers from anime, ranked best
Gunslingers from anime, ranked best (Image via GamesHorizon)

14 Best Gunslingers In Anime Ranked In 2023

Stuart RayBy Updated:9 Mins Read Anime

The best gunslingers in anime aren’t merely skilled with weapons. They use them with a special flair that sets them apart from the competition. They immediately distinguish themselves and rank among the best gunfighters in anime thanks to their charm, cultural effect, and sheer entertainment value. Heroes in action manga and anime battle the forces of evil to rescue the day, and the villains have their own scary abilities. 

While many anime heroes engage their enemies directly with swords or martial arts, some prefer to battle from a distance. Although the Western cinema industry popularised the idea of gunslingers, anime managed to surpass some of the absolute classics and offer the genre’s most recognizable gunmen. There are plenty of gunslingers, snipers and archersin action anime who can lay a lethal bead on a target, proving that a TV programme doesn’t need to be set in the West to have some talented shooters. 

These gunslingers proved to be quite lethal, whether they were once armed with sophisticated snipers or simple pistols. If you find yourself in the crosshairs of one of them, you better watch out! But, who are these skilled archers and gunmen? Let’s look at the 13 of the best gunslingers in the Japanese animated industry.

Spike Spiegel and 13 other best gunslingers in anime and manga

14. Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop

The lead character in Cowboy Bebop, Spike is a skilled bounty hunter whose exploits have made his anime series a classic. His uncanny eyesight and exceptional perceptual abilities make him a skilled marksman. Of course, his eerie good fortune is helpful.

Spike has a reputation for being a slacker who prefers to lounge about and watch TV despite his combat prowess. However, he also takes pleasure in practicing the Jeet Kune Do style of martial arts, in which he excels at.

13. Kota Hirano from High School of the Dead

Kota Hirano, a high school student, rounds out the list as another accurate shooter. With pistols, he doesn’t do much, but with a good rifle, he can expertly dispatch undead. When the zombies attack, he even builds a homemade rifle in his local high school and uses it to shoot nail-bullets at any zombies that stand in his way. 

Later, when he finally gets his hands on real guns, he is ecstatic and uses them to repeatedly rescue the lives of his buddies. He has a good understanding of firearms and has used a firing range while visiting the United States.

12. Kino from Kino’s Journey – The Beautiful World

Kino continues the tradition of gunslingers who never draw their weapons without justification. The young man who is known as Kino, who prefers to explore new mini-nations than engaging in combat, typically travels the globe on his conscious motorbike. However, as early as the episode 2, Kino finds himself soon in a fighting setting reminiscent of ancient Rome, where his exceptional aim enables him to overpower opponents who are several times his size. 

He even uses a skillful shot to assassinate a cruel monarch in the middle of a battle, which causes chaos throughout the country before he stealthily rides off on his motorbike.

11. Death the Kid from Soul Eater

When armed with his demon twin weapons, Death the Kid from the anime Soul Eater stands up to his moniker as a Gun-Type Meister. The Death Weapon and Meister Academy’s strongest pupil, the son of Death, proved to be a testament to his proficiency with these venerable weapons.

When it comes to raw power, Death the Kid is basically unrivalled. He uses his deadly precision, domineering martial arts skills, and powerful moves to effortlessly dispatch all of his adversaries.

10. Riza Hawkeye from Fullmetal Alchemist

Despite not being an alchemist like Edward Elric or Roy Mustang, Lieutenant Riz Hawkeye is nonetheless an extremely valuable soldier. She can lock her crosshairs that she can see, on any target, no matter however far away or moving it may be, as her nickname suggests. 

Roy and all the other alchemists rely on her for essential support, and Riza isn’t scared to fight homunculi either. She also mastered the art of complete emotional detachment during warfare, which enabled her to shoot without hesitation.

9. Hol Horse from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders

Despite being an antagonist in the installment of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, Hol Horse is a beloved side character who frequently steals the show because of his charm and perfect encapsulation of the popular outlaw archetype. The Emperor stand is wielded by Hol Horse. 

It seems as a simple handgun that the user can summon, and with a split-second’s notice, he can alter the course of the bullets. Recently, Hol Horse returned to the Jojo series soon after in a small spinoff with Josuke, the main character of part 4. This was done in Crazy Diamond’s Demonic Heartbreak.

8. Watari from Death Note

Like Alfred is to Batman, the enigmatic old man known as Watari serves as L’s manager and helper for the most part. This might however not be a coincidence. Watari is composed and composed under pressure, and he displayed impressive gun skills during the automobile pursuit with Higuchi. 

Watari shot a tyre in Higuchi’s automobile while riding in a moving helicopter. He then shot a revolver out of Higuchi’s hand without even killing him. Undoubtedly, that calls for a steady hand.

7. Train Heartnet from Black Cat

Train Heartnet from the series Black Cat decided to switch careers after killing a significant number of people as an assassin and become a “Sweeper,” or bounty hunter. Naturally, he’s former existence wasn’t prepared to let him go.

Heartnet used his personal handgun to execute his targets with efficiency and coldness as an assassin, usually without hesitation. his skill with a powerful gun never lessened, despite the fact that he became a little looser after becoming a Sweeper.

6. Alucard from Hellsing Ultimate

Alucard is practically a living weapon and is widely recognised as the most powerful vampire in the Hellsing Ultimate scene, which is a pretty competitive one. He is gleefully sadistic but also capable of brief human emotions. With Alucard’s extensive collection of supernatural talents, guns are all but unnecessary.

Moreover, he may not require a gun, but he really enjoys using one. Alucard is armed with two of his trademark semi-automatic weapons and can locate the target according to his vampire talents. He shoots flawlessly, never missing a shot.

5. Kenny the Ripper from Attack on Titan

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In Attack on Titan‘s second-last season, Kenny the Ripper, also known as Kenny Ackerman, played a weird enemy. He was the commander of the anti-ODM unit created particularly to eliminate the Survey Corps. Kenny, unlike the Scouts, carried two big firearms in addition to the rest of his gear.

These weapons were only designed to assault people; they were not intended to kill titans. Despite having a brief role in the series, Kenny showed himself to be a skilled fighter, and their encounter in the pub was fun to watch.

4. Yoko Littner from Gurren Lagann

Yoko Littner from the series Gurren Lagann, who is arguably the most well-known female gunslinger in anime, is unquestionably a legend. Yoko is the kind of character who’ll never be forgotten and consistently captures the hearts of fans, whether it’s due to her provocative lifestyle or her charming demeanour.

Yoko had a great personality, was masterfully written, and shot a mean gun. Yoko was able to more than hold her own through the use of simply a rifle while starring in an anime where mecha battles predominated, and it may be argued that she deserved to spend more time driving a gunmen.

3. Vash the Stampede from Trigun

Vash the Stampede, like Usopp, doesn’t appear to be the skilled shooter that he is. He is actually a superhuman, engineered entity, but unlike some of his foes, he rarely makes a show of it. Instead, he prefers to explore his world, which is reminiscent of the Wild West, in peace, but so he isn’t hesitant to pull out that trademark pistol to reestablish that very tranquilly. 

Some villains would consider Vash’s rigid rule against killing people to be a waste of his own potential. However, they can anticipate taking a few well-placed shots very soon if they choose to stand on his incorrect side!

2. Mai Zenin from Jujutsu Kaisen

Mai Zenin from Jujutsu Kaisen waits in the shadows of the night, appearing with her revolver-style handgun while other sorcerers use cursed weapons like nunchucks, polearms, or hammers. Although it’s not the strongest cursed method, it does go well with the rest of her look.

Unfortunately for Mai, Maki’s mastery in using cursed weapons renders her gun skills worthless. Even while fans won’t be seeing Mai again, they cannott just help but only wonder what may have occurred if Mai had really perfected her talents with her preferred weapon.

1. Revy from Black Lagoon

Compared to some of its contemporaries, Black Lagoon is a little more realistic because the majority of its best leads are everyday people. Conversely, Revy frequently gives the impression that she is performing at a whole another, different level from the rest of the anime’s vibrant cast.

As the resident powerhouse of Lagoon Company, Revy is so proficient with a rifle that she can defeat hundreds of skilled bounty hunters even without breaking a tiny sweat, which actually occurs in Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage. Revy is almost unbeatable, yet he has a temper and is impulsive.

 

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