Swords are an important part of human history, being ingrained in our collective consciousness and representing multiple aspects of humanity. Swords represent combat and glory, “put to the sword” being a shorthand for war and death. They also represent honor and the peace all warriors strive for “swords into plowshares”.
As such, they’re pretty damn cool, showing up in our media and especially inanime. It’s hard to list any combat anime that doesn’t bandy about a sword or two, and they’re often the weapon of choice for the most important characters. So if you want to know which anime blades are especially iconic, here are some of the coolest.
8Tessaiga
Inuyasha
The Tessaiga is a relatively unique weapon in anime, both in form and function. It’s essentially a giant falchion with a furry tsuba, hinting at its origins as the fang ofInuyasha and Sesshomaru’s father, the Inu no Taisho. It’s one of the few weapons in anime that follows its wielder’s improvement arc, almost being a character in its own right.
In addition to being immensely powerful to the point that slaying 100 demons is aparlor trickcompared to what it can actually do, it also absorbs the powers of defeated demons to gain new abilities. It’s also indestructible as long as Inuyasha lives. By the end of the show, it could send even the most powerful enemies straight to hell, bypassing any healing or survivability the target might have.
7Mitsuri’s Nichirin Sword
Demon Slayer
Demon Slayer has no shortage of cool swords, which makes sense since the swords themselves are a major part of the plot. Nichiren weapons are made specifically to kill the titular demons, and themost important of the Demon Slayer charactershave their own variation of the weapon.
Mitsuri’s is the most unique and coolest among them. It’s an extremely long, thin, and flexible blade that behaves more like a whip, save for the capability to cut off heads, something that Mitsuri is quite proficient in. Even the most sword-like attributes of the blade are pretty unique, bearing a four-leaf clover tsuba and a dark pink blade.
6Excalibur
Fate Series
Excalibur is one of the most famous public domain artifacts in the world, and THE most famous one in the western world, so of course its incarnation in the Fate series is suitably epic.
Far from being just another enchanted blade, the weapon is no less than the very idea of a sword and all it represents. It’s the will of the planet and the hope of all humanity, of glory in righteous combat made manifest.
Among the Noble Phantasms, it’s acknowledged as the most powerful, being the fastest and bearing the longest reach. In terms of raw power, only one other Noble Phantasm can match it.
5Dragon Slayer
Berserk
This monstrous slab of iron needs no introduction, being the most iconic of anime weaponry. Estimated to be hundreds of pounds, this thing is as likely to crush Guts’ enemies as it is to cut them. Indeed, thanks to his inhuman strength and utter badassery, Guts is the only one to ever wield the Dragon Slayer. Its creator boasts that this thing could kill a dragon, hence its name.
Notably, dragons don’t exist in the world of Berserk, but no one doubts that this sword could do the job if they did. If this wasn’t true when Guts first picked up the blade, it certainly is later in the series, since the blade is tempered by the malice of the hundreds of demons and otherworldly creatures felled by it.
4Scissor Blades
Kill La Kill
If you think about it, what are scissors but two knives screwed together, and what are knives but small swords? Scaled up to size, a scissor makes for a fantastic sword, especially since the loops that would normally go around your fingers make for great handguards.
You’d have yourself an implement that is lethally sharp and bearing a distinctive look. In other words, a damn cool sword. The Scissor Blade is a powerful tool in the fight against the life fibers, able to stop them from regenerating and absorbing their powers upon victory.
Not only can the two Scissor Blades combine into one powerful pair of scissors, but their ability to change size at will means that they can get big enough to handle any foe and even shrink down if you need something extra sharp while you’re tailoring.
3Blade Tenchi
Tenchi Muyo
It doesn’t need to be said thatlightsabers are cool. A blade of light (or plasma) that can cut through almost anything? Awesome. While there are many to choose from in anime, arguably Tenchi Masaki’s weapon is the most unique and coolest.
It’s made of wood, but thanks to its intricate design, it actually looks quite nice. It’s also a powerful artifact, with the laser blade being the least of what it can do. Blade Tenchi is a Master Key which, in addition to sounding badass, allows it to control the immensely powerful royal ships of the Jurai.
Those jewels on the pommel also impart the weapon with Ryoko’s power, which, given what she can do with only one of them, is quite a lot.
2Sword Of Dios
Revolutionary Girl Utena
Anime has a reputation for some outrageous weaponry, especially swords. They’re often impractically long and/or huge, and swung about by heroes like they’re compensating for something. While all that excess can be fun, it’s important to remember that more realistic swords can actually be quite beautiful.
The Sword of Dios is an important armament in Revolutionary Girl Utena, bearing his power and bestowing it upon its wielder. It’s also quite elegant in its simplicity, being a rapier themed after roses and gold. Also, Utena draws it out from her love interest, which in addition to carrying all sorts of meanings, is really damn cool.
1The Sword
Cardcaptor Sakura
With 53 Clow cards under her command,Sakura Kinomotohas plenty of options to deal with her problems. Sometimes, however, the simplest solution is also the best one, and sometimes you have to slash something to get what you want.
As you may guess, The Sword does precisely that. In addition to looking like the hardest thing you could draw during a tarot reading, it manifests a blade that not only cuts through stone and steel with ease, but can affect things that more mundane armaments cannot.
This includes The Shadow, which it can pin down even though it’s not tangible, and anomalies in spacetime like those created by The Loop. Notably, though the cards should theoretically be equal in power, The Sword can cut through barriers erected by The Shield.
