The anime has gunfights, hand-to-hand combat, as well as unique magical abilities, but nothing comes close to a gripping battle between sword-fighting characters. These long, sharp blades, coupled with their users’ swordsmanship prowess, can knock out their opponents.
Also, it’s not about who wields a better sword, it totally depends on the character’s mastery over this weapon. A swordsman who can win a fight even with a broken katana is said to be a competent swordsman. Here is a list of characters recognized as the strongest swordsmen in anime.
Note: This article is subjective and reflects the opinions of the author.
Anime characters with their skill in swordplay.
10) Kisuke Urahara – Bleach
“/>It’s no surprise that the former captain of Soul Society’s 12th Division of 13 Court Guard Squads has swordsmanship prowess. Urahara is one of the exceptional swordsmen with impressive power and speed. He can attack his opponent with powerful blows, and that too, with amazing precision.
In combat, Urahara likes to strike at various angles to confuse his opponents by making his moves difficult to perceive. Urahara can even immobilize his opponent simply by suspending the tip of his staff just a few millimeters from his face after he knocks him down.
9) Mugen-Samurai Champloo
“/>Mugen’s swordsmanship is quite strange: while fighting his enemies, it looks like he’s dancing. His sword fighting technique is based on a breakdancing style called Champloo Kendo.
Mugen has the ability to incorporate his enemy’s fighting style with his own. His movements and attacks are unpredictable, and enemies have a hard time deciding whether to defend themselves or run away.
8) Tengen Uzui – Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
“/>Tengen is the sound pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps. Taking the position of a Hashira, Tengen is one of the most skilled swordsmen in the corps. Unlike other Demon Slayers, Tengen wields two massive Nichirin Cleavers.
With both hilts linked by a single chain, he uses his swords like Nunchucks. Tengen comes from a Shinobi family and is proficient in Ninja techniques. He can couple his sword skill by detonating multiple bombs.
7) Roronoa Zoro – One Piece
“/>Zoro is widely recognized for his mastery over his personally devised style of swordsmanship, which he created in his childhood, called the Three Swords Style. Zoro wields two swords with both hands and the third grips the hilt with his jaw.
Zoro’s swordsmanship incorporates his tremendous physical strength along with ultimate precision that often outmatches even the strongest of opponents. Zoro’s finishing move, One Sword Style, involves just one sword that delivers a powerful blow.
6) Saber – Fate/Zero, Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works
“/>King Arthur/ Saber is one of the main characters of the destination/stay Serie. With his majestic Laser Excalibur holy sword, he becomes an unstoppable force of nature. Although her sword is considered one of the most powerful, it was her own powers that made it the strongest holy sword.
She is also a skilled combat tactician who tends to come up with strategies to eliminate her enemies quickly and efficiently.
5) Guts – Berserk
“/>Since the age of six, Guts has peaked his strength by wielding swords larger and heavier than himself. He wields a gigantic sword called the Dragon Slayer after surviving the Eclipse. Along with his overwhelming overwhelming strength and muscular physique, he is also agile in fights and can withstand lethal attacks.
Despite looking like a herculean monster, he is able to counter and dodge fast attacks quite easily.
4) Gintoki-Gintama
“/>Gintoki may seem like a calm person, but when he gets frustrated, he can immobilize opponents who are ten times stronger than him. With his overwhelming swordsmanship, he earned the nickname White Demon.
His swordsmanship style was not taught by anyone, but he developed it on his own. Even Yato’s mighty race is nothing compared to Gintoki’s indomitable will and his prized wooden sword.
3) Nanashi – Sword of the Stranger
“/>Nanashi possesses inhuman skills in swordsmanship, which undermines other swordsmen who combine their swordsmanship with magical abilities. No matter how severely injured he is, Nanashi can fight his enemy with immense agility.
He is a talented swordsman who took on several trained Ming warriors quite efficiently. Though he promised to keep his sword sheathed to seek redemption, he had to break his oath over the course of the period.
2) Killer Bee – Naruto
“/>On naruto, the term used for swordsmanship is Kenjutsu. A lot of Shinobi have been praised for their skill in swordsmanship, but none of them have come close to Killer Bee.
His personally designed swordsmanship technique, called Acrobat, is a unique style that can hold up to seven swords in physically impossible places on his body. In this state, Bee’s movements become so unpredictable that even a powerful Dojutsu like the Sharingan couldn’t keep up.
1) Himura Kenshin-Rurouni Kenshin
“/>Recognized as the legendary Hitokiri Battosai, Himura Kenshin is a mighty warrior widely acclaimed for his surreal mastery of swordsmanship. Kenshin is one of the few recent Meji masters who has mastered Modoshigiri. It is a technique where the swordsman wields the best blade to cut with such precision that it can be repositioned as if it had never been cut.
Kenshin is also renowned for the immense strength he brings to his swordsmanship, where he can even cut through pure steel.