T5W#457-Top 5 Favorite Anime Swords

Incase you haven’t noticed from my first two reviews of it, Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu is falling woefully short of expectations.  Ufotable handling your action and animation can only get a show so far and Katsugeki isnt really giving compelling characters or a story to care about.  Which is a shame cause the concept is pretty unique.  Like Fate/Stay Night, Katsugeki finds items from history and gives them new life and form for fighting off powerful supernatural threats.  Instead of important figures from history though, it’s swords that were used by some of the greatest fighters in history.  Whether or not theyre doing a good job…well we’re not gonna focus on that cause we still have half a series to cover.  Today, on Top 5 Wednesday, on the subjects of the coolest choices of weapons in Anime, I’m looking at my favorite blades which would probably do a better job fighting the TRA than anything Saniwa thinks is effective.  These are my Top 5 Favorite Anime Swords.

 
#5-Tetsuaiga (Inuyasha)

Inuyasha’s trusty weapon of choice, one of three once held by his father, is, for me, the baseline for all other Big Bad Ass Swords.  One this thing is unsheathed to its proper mega sized crescent blade form, Tetsuaiga is capable of taking on the biggest of monsters and, potentially, felling them in one good swing.  The swords got more to it than just being huge and it comes with a selection of advanced and more powerful stages including a Diamond, Red and Dragon Scale form just to name a few.  Considering just how much power this sword weilds, it’s a far better tool for demon exorcisms than any of Katsugeki’s current selections.
 

#4-Ryuko’s Scissor Blade (Kill La Kill)

Probably one of the most unique swords in all of Anime, Ryuko Matoi’s primary weapon is a beast through and through.  It’s rough and jagged design matches Ryuko’s fierce personality to a T and is capable of slicing through the seemingly indestructible Goku Uniforms worn by the student of Hannouji Academy.  While a lot of people tend to love Ryuko for her scantily clad battle form (which is nice don’t get me wrong), I love how she can make this sword dance in battle.  Her throwdowns with Satsuki Kiriyuin are always highlights of only because the only thing better than one Scissor Blade kicking ass is two.
 

#3-Trunks’ Sword (Dragon Ball Z)

While he doesn’t use it that often after his initial appearance, Future Trunk’s broadsword is still one of the most iconic aspects of his character.  Considering he’s a Super Saiyan, you don’t think Trunks would need anything extra besides his own fists to get the job done.  But then you see a Super Saiyan with a sword and it just freaking works.  I mean just look at his introduction in DBZ.  First he effortlessly cleaves through all of Frieza’s henchmen before cutting Frieza right down the middle in one of the most epic mid air sword slashes in all of Anime.  It sucks he didn’t use it much afterwards but you cant think of Future Trunks without his sword for a reason.
 

#2-Senbonzakura (Bleach)

Bleach is home to dozens of insanely powerful swords including Ichigo’s Zangetsu, Renji’s Zabimaru and Hitsugaya’s Hyornimaru.  My personal favorite of the bunch is the one that belongs to Byakuya Kuchiki of the Gotei 13.  He’s by far my favorite character and his sword is a perfect encapsulation of his power and personality: calm and deadly dangerous without getting super angry.  Senbonzakura’s most powerful move is its Bankai Mode, which enables the blade to dispel into thousands of razor Sakura Petals and dash over an opponent like a tsunami.  Byakuya’s not a bad swordsman either but when your blade can do that, why waste the effort?
 

#1-Kenshin’s Sakabatou (Rurouni Kenshin)

The quintessential Anime Blade and one of my all time favorite Anime weapons.  Kenshin’s personal sword isnt your average weapon.  It is a “Reverse Blade”, meaning the sharp end is on the back, instead of the front.  This means that if Kenshin were to perform a move that could say take off someones head, the worst they’d get is a very, very bad neck injury.  Kenshin’s one of the best swordsman in Anime but he’s also one who is trying to do better after the many terrible things he’s done in his past with a sword.  There’s still a razor sharp blade on the other side and if you’re very, very lucky, Kenshin wont have to switch to it.  He may not want to kill but that doesn’t mean Kenshin wont wreck your day if pushed too far.