The 15 Best Anime Swords: Iconic and Legendary Blades, With Their Names
A great anime sword is half the character. Say "Zangetsu" or "Wado Ichimonji" and any fan can picture the blade, the stance and the fight it won. Some are giant slabs of iron, some are tiny cursed daggers, and one has its edge on the wrong side, but every one of them tells you who its owner is.
Below are the 15 swords we think are the most iconic in anime: who carries each one, what it can do, and the story behind it, plus honourable mentions, the real legendary swords that inspired them, and answers to the questions we hear from fans most. Click any sword in the table to jump straight to it.
Anime Sword Names: The Full List
| Sword | Wielder | Series |
|---|---|---|
| Zangetsu / Tensa Zangetsu | Ichigo Kurosaki | Bleach |
| Wado Ichimonji, Sandai Kitetsu, Shusui, Enma | Roronoa Zoro | One Piece |
| Dragon Slayer | Guts | Berserk |
| Nichirin sword (black blade) | Tanjiro Kamado | Demon Slayer |
| Inverted Spear of Heaven | Toji Fushiguro | Jujutsu Kaisen |
| Senbonzakura | Byakuya Kuchiki | Bleach |
| Excalibur | Saber (Artoria Pendragon) | Fate/stay night |
| Kusanagi | Sasuke Uchiha | Naruto Shippuden |
| Demon-Slayer Sword | Asta | Black Clover |
| Elucidator and Dark Repulser | Kirito | Sword Art Online |
| Yoru | Dracule Mihawk | One Piece |
| Sakabato | Kenshin Himura | Rurouni Kenshin |
| Tessaiga | Inuyasha | Inuyasha |
| Samehada | Kisame Hoshigaki | Naruto Shippuden |
| Kurikara | Rin Okumura | Blue Exorcist |
1. Zangetsu: Ichigo's Sword (Bleach)
Ichigo's inner Hollow with Zangetsu in its shikai form (Bleach). © Tite Kubo / Shueisha, TV TOKYO, dentsu, Pierrot
Ichigo Kurosaki starts Bleach as a teenager who can see ghosts and ends it as one of the strongest Soul Reapers alive, and Zangetsu grows with him. In shikai it is a huge, guardless cleaver of a blade with a cloth-wrapped hilt, swung like a slab of steel and able to fire Getsuga Tensho, a crescent wave of spiritual energy.
His bankai, Tensa Zangetsu, goes the other way: a slim black blade that trades size for speed. In the Thousand-Year Blood War arc the sword is reforged and splits into two blades, a big cleaver and a short one.
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2. Zoro's Swords: Wado Ichimonji (One Piece)
Zoro with Wado Ichimonji (One Piece). © Eiichiro Oda / Shueisha, Toei Animation
Roronoa Zoro fights with three swords at once, Santoryu, one in each hand and one in his mouth. The one in his mouth is Wado Ichimonji, the white-handled katana that belonged to Kuina, his childhood rival. After she died, her father gave it to Zoro, and he swore to become the world's greatest swordsman for both of them.
Zoro's other blades change over the series: Sandai Kitetsu, a cursed sword he won by daring it to cut his arm, Shusui from Thriller Bark, and Enma from Wano. Wado is the one he never gives up.
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3. Guts' Sword: The Dragon Slayer (Berserk)
The Dragon Slayer (Berserk manga). © Kentaro Miura / Hakusensha
"It was too big to be called a sword. Massive, thick, heavy, and far too rough. Indeed, it was like a heap of raw iron." Berserk's most famous line describes the Dragon Slayer, the slab of iron Guts has carried since the Eclipse. The smith Godot forged it when a king called for a sword that could kill a dragon. It turned out too heavy for anyone to use, and it sat in storage for years until Guts picked it up and cut down an apostle with it.
Ask us "what is the biggest sword in anime" and this is our answer: taller than Guts himself, and used against demons that no normal blade could hurt.
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4. Demon Slayer Swords: Tanjiro's Sword (Nichirin Blade)
Tanjiro's black Nichirin blade (Demon Slayer). © Koyoharu Gotouge / Shueisha, Aniplex, ufotable
In Demon Slayer, demons can only be killed by sunlight or by beheading with a Nichirin sword, forged from ore that soaks up the sun. Each blade changes colour when its owner first draws it, matching their breathing style: red for flame, blue for water, yellow for thunder.
Tanjiro Kamado's turned black, a rare colour that swordsmen whispered was unlucky, because black-blade users never seemed to become Hashira. His smith, Hotaru Haganezuka, was furious about it, and is famous for chasing Tanjiro with kitchen knives.
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5. Inverted Spear of Heaven: Toji's Sword (Jujutsu Kaisen)
The Inverted Spear of Heaven (Jujutsu Kaisen). © Gege Akutami / Shueisha, MAPPA
Not every iconic blade is big. The Inverted Spear of Heaven is a short, two-pronged, dagger-like cursed tool, and its trick is simple and terrifying: it cancels any cursed technique it touches. In Toji Fushiguro's hands, that let him cut through Satoru Gojo's Infinity in the Hidden Inventory arc, the fight that made Toji one of the series' most talked-about characters.
6. Senbonzakura: Byakuya's Sword (Bleach)
Byakuya with Senbonzakura (Bleach manga). © Tite Kubo / Shueisha
Captain Byakuya Kuchiki of the 6th Division is all cold dignity, and his zanpakuto matches. At the command "Scatter, Senbonzakura" the blade breaks into thousands of tiny blades that drift like cherry blossom petals, and then cut everything around them. His bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, fills the field with countless more.
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7. Saber's Sword: Excalibur (Fate/stay night)
Saber raises Excalibur (Fate/stay night). © TYPE-MOON
Saber, Artoria Pendragon, is King Arthur reimagined, and her sword is the legend itself. For most fights she keeps it hidden inside a wrapping of wind, Invisible Air, so opponents cannot judge its length. When she finally releases Excalibur's true name, it fires a blast of golden light that ends battles.
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8. Sasuke's Sword: The Sword of Kusanagi (Naruto)
Sasuke and his Sword of Kusanagi (Naruto Shippuden). © Masashi Kishimoto / Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Pierrot
When Sasuke returns in Shippuden, he carries a straight, single-edged blade: his Sword of Kusanagi. He channels his Chidori lightning through it, which turns a simple sword into one that cuts through almost anything. It is the blade of Sasuke's darkest years, and the one most cosplayers pick.
Shop: Naruto Sasuke Sword of Kusanagi
9. Asta's Sword: The Demon-Slayer Sword (Black Clover)
Asta rides the Demon-Slayer Sword (Black Clover). © Yuki Tabata / Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Pierrot
Asta is the boy with no magic in a world where everyone has it, so his five-leaf grimoire gives him the opposite: anti-magic swords. The first, the Demon-Slayer Sword, is a huge black greatsword that cancels spells on contact, and he can even ride it through the air. It is the perfect sword for a hero whose whole story is refusing to give up.
10. Kirito's Swords: Elucidator and Dark Repulser (Sword Art Online)
Kirito with Elucidator and Dark Repulser (Sword Art Online). © Reki Kawahara / KADOKAWA, SAO Project
Kirito spends most of Aincrad with one black sword, Elucidator, a rare drop from a floor boss. When he unlocks the Dual Blades skill, he needs a second, and the blacksmith Lisbeth forges Dark Repulser, a pale crystal blade. The pair appear together in the fight with the Gleam Eyes boss, one of the anime's best-known scenes.
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11. Mihawk's Sword: Yoru (One Piece)
Mihawk's black blade, Yoru (One Piece). © Eiichiro Oda / Shueisha, Toei Animation
Dracule Mihawk is the world's greatest swordsman, the man Zoro has to beat, and he carries Yoru, a black greatsword with a cross-shaped hilt. It is one of the 12 Supreme Grade swords in One Piece, the highest rank a blade can have. He once beat Zoro with a tiny knife and drew Yoru only to show him respect.
Shop: One Piece Dracule Mihawk Yoru Sword For Cosplay
12. Sakabato: Kenshin's Reverse-Blade Sword (Rurouni Kenshin)
Kenshin's sakabato (Rurouni Kenshin manga). © Nobuhiro Watsuki / Shueisha
Kenshin Himura was once Hitokiri Battosai, the most feared assassin of the Bakumatsu. Now he wanders with a sakabato, a sword with its edge on the wrong side, so he can fight without killing. It is the clearest example in anime of a sword telling you who the character is.
Shop: Rurouni Kenshin Sakabato Katana For Cosplay
13. Tessaiga: Inuyasha's Sword
Tessaiga in its transformed fang form (Inuyasha). © Rumiko Takahashi / Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise
Tessaiga was forged from his father's fang, and it looks like a battered old katana until Inuyasha draws it to protect someone. Then it becomes a huge fang-shaped blade that can unleash the Wind Scar. Its sister sword, Tenseiga, went to his brother Sesshomaru, and the feud over the two blades runs through the series.
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14. Samehada: Kisame's Sword (Naruto)
Kisame with Samehada unwrapped (Naruto Shippuden). © Masashi Kishimoto / Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Pierrot
Samehada is not really a blade at all. Kisame Hoshigaki's sword is wrapped in shark-like scales that shave rather than cut, and it is alive: it eats chakra and chooses its owner. Later in the series it ends up in Killer B's hands.
15. Kurikara: Rin Okumura's Sword (Blue Exorcist)
Rin draws Kurikara and its blue flames (Blue Exorcist). © Kazue Kato / Shueisha
Rin Okumura is the son of Satan, and Kurikara holds his demon power sealed inside it. While it stays sheathed he looks human. When he draws it, blue flames pour out. His adoptive father, Shiro Fujimoto, gave it to him, and it is both his weapon and the thing he most has to control.
Shop: Blue Exorcist Sword (Ao no Ekusoshisuto) Rin Okumura Kurikara Katana For Cosplay
Honourable Mentions
Rengoku's Sword (Demon Slayer)
The Flame Hashira's red Nichirin blade, with a flame-shaped guard to match. Shop: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Kyojuro Rengoku Real Steel Katana
Shinobu's Sword (Demon Slayer)
A thin, needle-like blade built to inject poison, because the Insect Hashira is not strong enough to behead demons. Shop: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Shinobu Kocho Real Steel Katana
Yuta's Sword (Jujutsu Kaisen)
The plain katana Yuta Okkotsu carries, with Rika's power behind it. Shop: Jujutsu Kaisen Yuta Okkotsu Real Steel Katana
The Buster Sword (Final Fantasy VII)
A game sword rather than an anime one, but it shows up on every list. Shop: Final Fantasy VII Buster Sword - 108cm Safety PU Cosplay Prop Replica
The Real Legendary Swords Behind Anime Swords
Many anime swords borrow their names from real swords or real legends:
- Kusanagi: Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi is one of the three Imperial Regalia of Japan, the sword Susanoo found inside the tail of the serpent Yamata no Orochi. Naruto's Kusanagi blades (and Orochimaru's name) come straight from that myth.
- Ame no Habakiri: the sword Susanoo used to slay Yamata no Orochi. In One Piece it is Kozuki Oden's blade. One Piece Kozuki Oden Ame no Habakiri Real Steel Katana
- Excalibur: King Arthur's sword in British legend, carried by Saber in Fate.
- Masamune: a real Japanese swordsmith, famous around 1300, whose name became shorthand for a perfect blade, which is why Sephiroth's long katana in Final Fantasy VII is called Masamune.
- Muramasa: a real line of swordsmiths whose blades picked up a "cursed" reputation in legend. Bleach gives the name to Koga Kuchiki's zanpakuto. Bleach Anime Cosplay Sword Muramasa Koga Kuchiki Katana
FAQ
What is the most famous anime sword?
By search volume and fan recognition, Ichigo's Zangetsu from Bleach and Zoro's swords from One Piece are the two most famous. Guts' Dragon Slayer is close behind.
What is the biggest sword in anime?
Guts' Dragon Slayer from Berserk is the usual answer: a slab of iron taller than Guts himself. Ichigo's shikai Zangetsu and Asta's Demon-Slayer Sword are other famous oversized blades.
What swords does Zoro use?
Zoro fights with three swords. Wado Ichimonji is the constant; his other two have been Yubashiri, Sandai Kitetsu, Shusui and Enma at different points in the story.
What are the names of Kirito's swords?
Elucidator, the black sword, and Dark Repulser, the pale blade Lisbeth forges for him, used together with his Dual Blades skill.
Why does Kenshin's sword have the edge on the wrong side?
It is a sakabato, a reverse-blade sword. Kenshin swore never to kill again, so he fights with the blunt side facing his opponent.
Which Anime Sword Is the Best?
If we had to pick one, it is Zangetsu: it changes with Ichigo across the whole of Bleach, from a giant cleaver to a black bankai blade and finally a pair of swords. But every blade on this list earns its place. See them all in our Anime Swords collection.
Image credits: Bleach © Tite Kubo / Shueisha, TV TOKYO, dentsu, Pierrot. One Piece © Eiichiro Oda / Shueisha, Toei Animation. Berserk © Kentaro Miura / Hakusensha. Demon Slayer © Koyoharu Gotouge / Shueisha, Aniplex, ufotable. Jujutsu Kaisen © Gege Akutami / Shueisha, MAPPA. Fate/stay night © TYPE-MOON. Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto / Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Pierrot. Black Clover © Yuki Tabata / Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Pierrot. Sword Art Online © Reki Kawahara / KADOKAWA, SAO Project. Rurouni Kenshin © Nobuhiro Watsuki / Shueisha. Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi / Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise. Blue Exorcist © Kazue Kato / Shueisha.