# The 14 Greatest Anime Swordsmen of All Time

> Three swords, a reversed blade, a slab of iron too heavy to swing twice: anime keeps finding new ways to put a sword in someone's hands. Who is the best of them with one?

*By YPB Team · Published August 4, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-14-greatest-anime-swordsmen-of-all-time*

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## Current results (0 votes)

1. **Roronoa Zoro**
   One Piece: three swords, one of them held in his teeth, and one ambition.
2. **Ichigo Kurosaki**
   Bleach: a sword the size of a door, and a second form for it.
3. **Sasuke Uchiha**
   Naruto: a lightning-charged blade in a series that mostly throws jutsu.
4. **Guts**
   Berserk: a slab of iron too big to be called a sword.
5. **Levi Ackerman**
   Attack on Titan: twin blades and gas-powered geometry.
6. **Mugen**
   Samurai Champloo: breakdancing footwork with a sword attached.
7. **Giyu Tomioka**
   Demon Slayer: Water Breathing, done with less noise than anyone else.
8. **Kenpachi Zaraki**
   Bleach: a captain who fights badly on purpose to make it last.
9. **Mihawk**
   One Piece: the title-holder everyone else is measured against.
10. **Afro Samurai**
   Afro Samurai: the number two headband, and everyone coming for it.
11. **Zenitsu Agatsuma**
   Demon Slayer: one technique, executed asleep, better than anyone awake.
12. **Zabuza Momochi**
   Naruto: the Demon of the Hidden Mist, and the series' first real loss.
13. **Byakuya Kuchiki**
   Bleach: a thousand blade fragments and the manners to match.
14. **Shishio Makoto**
   Rurouni Kenshin: a swordsman whose blade heats up as he fights.

Tags: animation, action, japan, characters