20 Most Proficient Anime Swordsmen

Anime swordsmen are always some of the most popular characters, as seeing someone who has gone through extensive training and practice to hone their skills and bring their techniques to perfection is not only impressive but also inspiring. Often wielding nothing but a sword, these characters can take on any challenge. No matter how intimidating their foes may seem, they rarely refuse a chance to practice.

Even in the realm of sword fighting, there are plenty of different fighting styles and techniques that can be employed. Some swordsmen may prefer to focus on quick and unexpected strikes, while others may wield oversized swords and overpower their enemies through raw strength. Whether they use a single sword or multiple, great swordsmen know how to adapt to any situation and overcome any obstacle. This list presents anime swordsmen not based on their raw destructive power but on their actual skills in wielding their weapon.

20 Afro Samurai

Series: Afro Samurai

Afro Samurai‘s titular hero tis an incredibly skilled swordsman–in fact, he currently possesses the “Number Two” headband, an object which signifies him as the second-strongest fighter on the planet. His goal is simply to kill the holder of the Number One headband, a man named Justice who killed Afro’s father when he was a boy. Afro’s movements are insanely fast, and he’s extremely deadly with a blade, showing no mercy to anyone who should challenge him, and that Number Two headband draws in a lot of opponents with their own agendas.

Afro Samurai has some ridiculous deeds to his name, splitting bullets with his sword and even deflecting laser beams. He even defeats a robot made to match his abilities, proving his reflexes are even faster than a machine.

19 Vicious

Series: Cowboy Bebop

Vicious is unusual in that he’s a swordsman in a world that’s otherwise ruled by guns and futuristic weaponry. It’s a sign of his “vicious” nature that he prefers such an old-fashioned weapon, but that doesn’t mean one should underestimate him just because they have a gun. Vicious goes head-to-head with Spike wielding a pistol and wins, sending Spike through a stained-glass window. Vicious’ sword skills are certainly unrivaled within his setting, and he’s earned enough respect that the entire Red Dragon Syndicate is willing to follow him after his coup.

Vicious is so confident in his swordsmanship that he doesn’t even carry a gun to fall back on, although he certainly knows how to use one. Of course, this might be because Vicious often surrounds himself with armed bodyguards as well–he’s no fool.

18 Kenshin Himura

Series: Rurouni Kenshin

Rurouni Kenshin‘s titular protagonist is Kenshin Himura, known for being a legendary hitokiri, an elite assassin who often killed others under orders from the government. His swordsmanship is legendary and unrivaled, with his skills playing a vital role in the revolution that brought the end of the war and made way for the Meiji era. Not only are his strikes so precise that he can cut neatly enough for sliced objects to be reattached, but he is also faster than most humans can see, using his agility to run across walls, jump off terrain, and strike enemies before they even notice.

17 Goemon Ishikawa

Series: Lupin III

Goemon Ishikawa XIII is a friend of Lupin and a direct descendant of the Japanese folk hero Goemon Ishikawa. Goemon’s skills with a blade are second to none; he regularly uses his sword to deflect bullets, and can attack his opponents so fast that they often won’t even realize they’ve been cut. Goemon’s sword is insanely sharp, able to split anything it touches in two with even the lightest stroke of the blade–and that includes, at times, his opponent’s own sword.

Despite this incredible weapon and his peerless skills, Goemon rarely uses his abilities to kill, instead preferring to disarm, debilitate, and even embarrass his enemies, usually as part of one of Lupin’s schemes. It’s rare that any fellow swordsmen can stand against Goemon even for a few minutes before meeting their demise.

16 Mugen

Series: Samurai Champloo

Samurai Champloo‘s central swordsmen are Mugen and Jin, who act as Fuu’s bodyguards during her search for the “Sunflower Samurai”. There is no clear winner between them, with Jin being the technical one, who learned kenjutsu in a dojo, and Mugen being the reckless one, fighting in a rather erratic manner and relying on his instincts. Still, Mugen’s unpredictable fighting style tends to translate into him being more of a threat in actual fights. Not only is it difficult for his enemies to predict and counter his moves, but he is also shown to be a quick learner, constantly copying his enemies’ moves and evolving.

15 Guts

Series: Berserk

Berserk‘s Guts, also known as the “Black Swordsman” has polished his skills in no small part due to necessity. Having to become a child mercenary to survive, he has wielded oversized swords his entire life, resulting in him becoming extremely strong and a true master of the blade. In spite of his stature, he is also surprisingly nimble and agile, easily dodging even the fastest of strikes. While he may not be a particularly strategic fighter, his talent for combat is unrivaled, being able to adapt to any situation. Moreover, Guts has essentially developed his skills by constantly fighting against supernatural opponents that surpass him in almost every aspect.

14 Sakata Gintoki

Series: Gintama

With Gintama being a comedy title above all, often incorporating gag humor and parodying pop culture, it may be easy to forget just how strong Sakata Gintoki is supposed to be. As a renowned fighter of the Joui war, Gintoki gained the “Shiroyasha” nickname, being compared to an unstoppable demon. Despite being shown to possess incredible strength and speed, as well as a mastery over various types of weapons, he doesn’t rely on his brute strength; instead, he uses his combat experience and intuition to quickly strategize and adapt to the situation, sometimes even tricking his enemies if it nets him a quicker victory.

13 Jean Pierre Polnareff

Series: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

Jean Pierre Polnareff is one of the main characters of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders. After being freed from DIO’s brainwashing, Polnareff joins Jotaro’s group in the hopes of finding the Stand user who killed his sister, but even after dealing with him, he stays with the group to help them defeat DIO and save Holly Joestar and the world, in general.

While Polnareff, himself, doesn’t use a sword, his Stand, Silver Chariot, manifests as a robotic knight wielding a rapier. Silver Chariot is one of the fastest Stands in all of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and can overwhelm nearly any opponent thanks to that, resulting in many of Polnareff’s fights ending with his opponents skewered with countless holes they were powerless to defend against. Silver Chariot’s speed more than makes up for its lack of power, and even now, there are few Stands that can measure up to it.

12 Hinata Sakaguchi

Series: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

Hinata Sakaguchi is what’s known as an “Otherworlder,” a person from the real world who was summoned to the world of Slime to act as a hero. She leads a group known as the Ten Great Saints, the Lubelius Empire’s strongest warriors. She’s actually ascended beyond being an ordinary human into a “Divine Human,” granting her godly powers. She has inherited over 2,000 years of battle experience, giving her some truly impressive skill. Her sword, Phantom Pain, was enhanced by Rimuru’s blacksmith, giving it the ability to destroy even a being’s soul with its seventh strike.

Hinata possesses a number of other skills as well, including the ability to transform herself when in possession of certain equipment, allowing her to grow wings of light. In her fights with Rimuru, she has outmaneuvered him in swordsmanship on every occasion, even if Rimuru’s other powers may let him escape.

11 Yoriichi Tsugikuni

Series: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

As a major recurring character in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Yoriichi Tsugikuni is widely regarded as the strongest Demon Slayer to have ever existed, and for good reason. Firstly, he is the inventor of the powerful Breathing Styles practiced by Demon Slayer Corps, creating the style that even the protagonist Tanjiro Kamado uses.

However, even without this ability, his swordsmanship is still considered to be virtually unparalleled; he overwhelmed much more experienced foes from the very first time he picked up a sword as a child, and continued to perform miraculous feats ever since, such as employing a variety of techniques to effortlessly overpower even the Demon King.

10 Sesshomaru

Series: Inuyasha

Sesshomaru is easily the most skilled with a blade when it comes to characters from Inuyasha. He happens to be ambidextrous, allowing him to wield a sword equally well with either hand–fortunate for him, since he spends a fair amount of time with only one arm. His talent extends to almost any weapon he touches, instantly mastering the intricacies of it with even just a moment of experience. He even advises Inuyasha on how to make use of some of the Tetsusaiga’s abilities, a sword that he’s never truly been able to wield.

Sesshomaru’s talent comes partially from his demonic heritage, and partially from his upper-class origins. Sesshomaru’s own sword, the Tenseiga, can cheat death itself, allowing him to slay the spirits of the afterlife that come for a soul upon death.

9 Dracule Mihawk

Series: One Piece

While fans may prefer to see Roronoa Zoro here, as he is a central character, he has yet to become One Piece‘s strongest swordsman, with that title still being held by Dracule Mihawk instead. Even in a world where the power of their devil fruits usually defines the strongest characters, Mihawk can stand toe to toe against the greatest enemies without any such powers, with his strength being based purely on his skills and Haki expertise. His swordsmanship is also shown to be quite versatile, as he can alternate between techniques such as “Strong Blade” and “Gentle Blade” to adapt to the situation. While the true extent of Mihawk’s strength still has to be seen, Zoro’s rematch with Mihawk is one of the scenes that One Piece fans are most eager to see.

8 Killer Bee

Series: Naruto

Killer Bee is the Jinchuriki of Gyuki, the Eight-Tailed Tailed Beast of the Hidden Cloud Village, and the sworn brother of the Raikage A. On the surface, Bee is nothing more than a clown who spends all his free time coming up with new raps, but beneath it all is a ninja with a lot of insight into life and even more battle prowess.

Killer Bee fights with seven swords at once, the unconventional nature of it making it almost impossible for even the most skilled ninja to deal with. Add in the immense power Killer Bee has both naturally and as a Jinchuriki, and Killer Bee was strong enough to even overwhelm Sasuke in their fight, something that can be said about very few characters, so it’s hard to see him as anything other than one of Naruto‘s best swordsmen and ninja, in general.

7 Atomic Samurai

Series: One-Punch Man

Even among the numerous powerful heroes of One Punch Man, Kamikaze, better known as Atomic Samurai, his hero alias, is one of the strongest S-class heroes. Widely recognized as his world’s strongest swordsman, Atomic Samurai boasts not only immense speed and reflexes, as he is shown to strike his enemies in the blink of an eye, but also incredible strength, through which he can create shock waves with his slashes.

His signature attack is called Atomic Slash, and it lets him perform over 100 slashes within a second, even while dashing, a technique that can easily overpower even the most durable foes.

6 Asta

Series: Black Clover

Given the series’ setting, Black Clover’s most powerful characters are typically those who have mastered the various types of magic present in its world. Although Asta later obtained the unique power to nullify magic, which greatly boosted his potential, he was born without the ability to use magic, yet with the strong desire to become Wizard King, which seemed impossible to most.

Asta has two special swords: the Demon-Slayer Sword and the Demon-Dweller Sword, both swords with anti-magic properties.

In spite of that, he trained both his body and his swordsmanship relentlessly, reaching a point where he could boast not only exceptional strength and durability, but also remarkable sword skills in spite of his lack of formal training. Furthermore, Asta’s swords are essentially constructs of his anti-magic, meaning he can wield them as naturally as they were parts of his body.

5 Shiki Ryougi

Series: The Garden Of Sinners

Shiki Ryougi is the protagonist of the film series The Garden of Sinners by Ufotable. After a near-death experience, Shiki develops the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, an all-powerful ability that lets her kill anything with a single touch, and she now works as a paranormal investigator to both master her new abilities and defeat any dangerous threats that may appear in front of her loved ones.

In addition to the deadly power of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, Shiki can push her physical abilities far above what should be possible for a human, and both skill sets allow her to come out on top against even the strongest of opponents. The Nasuverse repeatedly depicts Shiki as someone who can hold her own against Servants, even if she could never actually beat one, and with how powerful Servants are, that’s an incredible testament to how powerful Shiki is.

4 Saber (Altria Pendragon)

Series: Fate/stay night

Altria Pendragon, commonly known as Saber, is one of the Fate franchise’s most recognizable characters. Her identity is that of an alternate King Arthur, the legendary hero and King of Knights who wielded Excalibur. In the Fate series, her main role is that of a Servant, participating in the Holy Grail Wars alongside Shirou and Kiritsugu Emiya.

Given her background and her mastery of the legendary powerful blade, it should be no surprise that Saber can win a duel against almost anyone. Even though she belongs to the Saber class, she also possesses a significant amount of magical energy, which she uses to cast skills such as Mana Burst, boosting her attack power.

3 Sosuke Aizen

Series: Bleach

Sosuke Aizen is the main antagonist of the first half of Studio Pierrot’s Bleach. Originally just one of the Thirteen Court Guard Captains, Aizen had secretly spent centuries building up a plot to destroy Soul Society and overthrow the Soul King, the ruler of the three realms, but was ultimately stopped by Ichigo and imprisoned in Soul Society’s Mugen prison for all eternity.

Aizen is already one of the strongest Soul Reapers from raw power alone, but thanks to the nigh-invincible illusionary abilities of his Zanpakuto, Kyoka Suigetsu, he becomes a threat that only the strongest characters can deal with. Even worse is that according to Urahara, Aizen’s imprisonment has only made his power grow higher, despite how he’s supposed to be in a weakened state, so there’s no telling how far his strength will go.

2 Future Trunks

Series: Dragon Ball

Future Trunks is a major character in Dragon Ball who, as the name would imply, is the future version of Vegeta and Bulma’s son, Trunks. Future Trunks traveled to the past to try and prevent a future where the world is destroyed by evil Androids, and decades later, in Dragon Ball Super, Future Trunks would reappear seeking help dealing with a new threat to his world, the mysterious Goku Black.

Like many characters in Dragon Ball, Future Trunks is someone with such immensely high power that he can destroy entire planets singlehandedly, and when combined with his sword fighting, it results in a powerful fighter with a far more unique fighting style than other characters in the franchise. Trunks is easily one of the strongest characters in all of Dragon Ball, and because of that, his swordsmanship is similarly impossible to ignore.

1 Arthur Boyle

Series: Fire Force

One of the major characters of David Production’s Fire Force is Arthur Boyle, a new recruit to Company 8 and Shinra’s rival from the academy. Arthur is constantly under the delusion of being a real-life knight, but despite his bizarre personality, he’s one of the most competent and powerful fighters among Shinra and his allies.

Arthur uses pyrokinesis to manifest a sword made out of plasma, and the further he sinks into his delusions of knighthood, the stronger his sword and overall powers become. That reaches its peak in the final arc of the story when Arthur’s delusions allow him to bend reality to his whims and create a blade large enough to cut through the entire planet; there are few anime characters quite like Arthur, and it’s why he stands out as the most proficient anime swordsman.