Who is the best fictional swordsman of all time?
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Goemon from Lupin III? Every time he quickdraws his sword, something splits in half, no matter what it is. I recall he once expressed his anger by quickdrawing his blade while a shooting star flew by in the sky. The star then split in half, because anime.
Does it count when it's a comedy gimmick?
Does it count when it's a comedy gimmick?
Yaaaaay, more Malazan fans! I'd like to throw Iron Bars and Blues of the Crimson Guard into the ring. True, being Avowed, they do have a certain magic and enhanced endurance to assist them, but even without those, they're superb swordsmen. I don't think they're actually better than Dassem or Brys, but they're definitely noteworthy.Raesvelg said:
He himself said he would have died if not for Howland Reed. The fight was 6 vs. 3 in favour of Ned. Only Ned and Howland survived. Ned may be one of the most honourable and beloved characters, but he is certainly nowhere near the best swordsman. It's hard to say who the best from that series would be. To give you an idea though, Ser Barristan himself (probably one of the best) says that there is no such thing as a knight without peer. There are many greats in ASOIAF, but I wouldn't count Ned among them even though he's one of my favourite characters.Breakdown said:
OT: I'm inclined to agree with the OP. Guts takes on a hundred men by himself and he still wins. Against any other mortal being, he seems pretty much unstoppable. Then again, they throw in that whole destiny thing and demon mumbo jumbo so I don't know if he really counts. I haven't read the mange so I really don't know.
That's not a sword, it's a surfboard tied to a stick.jhoroz said:
Anyway, it's kind of a hard question because any writer can just say, 'in universe this is the best swordsman of all time' and you're done. So er. Fuck it, Aragorn. We all like Aragorn.
Guys. He said "peak-human". So all the anime characters go out of the window, because even though they don't use magic they're inhumanly powerful. Zoro, Guts, Madara etc. They're all non-human in terms of powerlevels.
If you count those, it becomes a "Whos the best comic/anime swordsman" because humans can never compete with Superman-esque characters.
I can only second many that were already mentioned: Zorro, Montoya, Samurai Jack
Ontop of that probably every 2nd japanese/chinese fighting movie protagonist. They all fight ridiculously good.
If "the force" doesn't count then i'd say the Jedis will beat most fighters, just because they basically can't lose as long as their force is big enough. So the whole Skywalker bunch comes to mind.
If you count those, it becomes a "Whos the best comic/anime swordsman" because humans can never compete with Superman-esque characters.
I can only second many that were already mentioned: Zorro, Montoya, Samurai Jack
Ontop of that probably every 2nd japanese/chinese fighting movie protagonist. They all fight ridiculously good.
If "the force" doesn't count then i'd say the Jedis will beat most fighters, just because they basically can't lose as long as their force is big enough. So the whole Skywalker bunch comes to mind.
Although my vote would also go for Lan (his ride for Demandred with the help from the Two Rivers archers and the duel are among the best I've ever read), I don't agree he won. He said it himself: "I did not come here to win, I came here to kill you". And if he didn't Sheathe the Sword, he would have actually lost.jurnag12 said:
Still, like I said, Lan gets my vote.
Shimada Toranosuke (Mifune Toshiro's character) from Sword of Doom, a great samurai film from Okomoto Kihachi in 1966. It also stars Takadai Tatsuya and has some of the coolest cinematographic sequences from the eye of Murai Hiroshi. Seriously, check this one out folks, it's great.
I think he's already been mentioned before in this thread but once again: Decado "The Ice Killer" of David Gemmell fame.
Well known as the most badass swordsman in an elite organization packed full of badasses he retired to a monastery to
spend the rest of his life in peace (after realizing he had become a monster due to his intention to seek out and kill his friend
because it would be one of the few tests left for him).
Long story short he's pulled out of retirement and ends up fighting the leader of an evil brotherhood of knights who A) can use magic to put the fear of death into people's minds and B) can read your mind while he fights so he knows what you're going to do.
Of course Decado doesn't fear death at all so that doesn't work and is so fast that the knight's mind reading doesn't help at all so he sees the blow that kills him 0.25 seconds before it does. He's one of the top 5 or so Gemmell characters in terms of power, and the strongest swordsman.
Well known as the most badass swordsman in an elite organization packed full of badasses he retired to a monastery to
spend the rest of his life in peace (after realizing he had become a monster due to his intention to seek out and kill his friend
because it would be one of the few tests left for him).
Long story short he's pulled out of retirement and ends up fighting the leader of an evil brotherhood of knights who A) can use magic to put the fear of death into people's minds and B) can read your mind while he fights so he knows what you're going to do.
Of course Decado doesn't fear death at all so that doesn't work and is so fast that the knight's mind reading doesn't help at all so he sees the blow that kills him 0.25 seconds before it does. He's one of the top 5 or so Gemmell characters in terms of power, and the strongest swordsman.
I know your post is being moronically facetious, but it actually is:someonehairy-ish said:
http://berserk.wikia.com/wiki/Dragonslayer
I never claimed Berserk portrayed swordsmanship in a realistic and practical way, but when the criteria is no magic (which plenty of people have gone and ingored anyway) I see no reason why this can't be considered as a serious candidate.
Also Guts would destroy Aragorn in a heart beat.
This is a really hard question because there's so many out there and for any reasons, do you go by skill, accomplishments, philosophy strength, sword?
I mean you could go for Kenshin, Guts Zorro (one piece and espanic), Samurai Jack, Jubei, Link, Ike, Ichigo, King Aurther and on and on and on.
I mean you could go for Kenshin, Guts Zorro (one piece and espanic), Samurai Jack, Jubei, Link, Ike, Ichigo, King Aurther and on and on and on.
You'd have to be pretty skillful to be one of the only two survivors of that fight though, and Ned wasn't the sort of guy who'd hang around at the back and let his men do all the fighting.RedDeadFred said:
Oh absolutely. I'm not saying that Ned isn't skilled, I just don't think he's among the greats of the series: The Cleganes, Jaime, Barristan, Arthur, Brienne, Robert Baratheon, Khal Drogo, Knight of Flowers, The Viper, some of the more talented Wildlings, Victarion, probably a bunch of others. Granted not all of those people are swordsmen, but you get my point. Ned was great for other reasons while still being an accomplished fighter.Breakdown said:
Edit: then again, he did seem to be doing fairly well in his short bout against Jaime. Maybe he's better than he lets on. Still, I don't think Jaime intended to kill him in that fight. If he did, he probably would have.
Yeah, it's pretty much stated straight-up that Ned's not even in the running for best swordsmen in A Song Of Ice and Fire. His brother Brandon was supposedly much better, and in their younger days both Robert Baratheon and Rhaegar Targaryen could beat both of them. With that in mind, my personal pick for best fighter in ASOIF is Sandor Clegane. Jaime Lannister himself says that at his peak he would have considered the Hound a match for him, and Sandor is one of two people who manage to go toe-to-toe with his brother and have it be an even fight.Breakdown said:
Is Jamie Lannister that good though? He think's he's great, but the other characters don't seem that impressed with him. He spent most of his life as a glorified guard. And Sandor Clegane struggled to beat 2 of his brother's soldiers.
On reflection, I'd probably say Barristan Selmy was the best swordsman in terms of sheer skill, with Robert Baratheon (in his prime) as the best overall warrior.
On reflection, I'd probably say Barristan Selmy was the best swordsman in terms of sheer skill, with Robert Baratheon (in his prime) as the best overall warrior.
Was Galahad better then Lancelot? I didn't know that. He's certainly more likable, no one cares for Lancelot. At best he's portrayed as a tragic hero who redeems himself, and at his worst he's basically a raging douche bag that steals his best friends wife.Gorfias said:This doesn't seem a bad choice:
Galahad. I actually had to look him up when he beat evil Lancelot in "The Librarians". Actually, in the original Arthurian tales, Lancelot was kind of a tool. Galahad was cool. He is thought to be a gift to humanity as the greatest knight, but his real claim to fame seems not to be his skill with a sword but his purity, leading him to find the holy grail.
You could do this whole thread with a different question that would be very, very hard to answer: who is the greatest swordsman of Game of Thrones, taking into account their best years may NOT coincide with their nearest competition.
Not sure how I'd answer. Jamie Lannister, with his hand gets a big vote. But he sees in the Knight of Flowers, himself in his youth.
Arthur was supposed to be very, very good but due to the power of Excalibur. There have been many versions of the tales and typically, Lancelot was better. After some searching after seeing that episode of "the Librarians", arguably, the legend has it that Lancelot's son Galahad was even better. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GalahadFox12 said:
As for Game of Thrones, yeah, I don't know. The problem with Game of Thrones is that Martin never focuses on action, instead worrying about characterization and politics. This isn't bad, in fact it's one of the things I like about him. In a vs thread, though, it's somewhat of a mute point, since we never see what these people can do. Everyone makes a big deal out of Jaime, for instance, but for the most part we're just told how great he is, we never get to really see him do anything impressive. Now we never will. I've heard people say he could take Aragorn, for instance, but we haven't seen anything that would even suggest that. In universe, I'd say Khal Drogo. I'm pretty sure he could take Jaime at his best. Alternatively, Barristan could possibly win in his prime, but, again, we never get to really see that.
Another vote for Guts I think. It's juts the raw power behind him.
Yeah, Jaime is a pretty impressive fighter. When Brienne has him clapped in irons and they have their little bout, he still manages to do pretty well against Brienne and this is after being locked up and starved by the Starks, as well as being a little out of practice. Jaime is Barristan in his prime.Breakdown said:
I loved the movie "Excalibur" that treats him as torn. In the original, he was sort of a vehicle for male fantasies, schtupping the boss's lady. Appears it was OK to schtupp the queen, just be discreet: Arthur is supposed to be older than either Lancelot or Guenevere. In the movie, Lancelot can barely bring himself to beat up Liam Neeson. In the book? Both lovers happily kill the accuser (who is telling the truth!)Fox12 said:
But if real power comes from purity of spirit, Lancelot is a tool. Galahad a gift to the world, the best Knight who finds the grail and is given the gift of choosing his own time to die and ascend to Heaven (In the story, pretty immediately, but might explain why he is old and alive in The Librarians: didn't make the same choice in that continuity).
At their prime? Robert Baratheon is supposed to have been a monstrous warrior. Barristan is an interesting character. Rather than naturally powerful, through will he acquired the skills to become the most respected Knight in Westeros. Khal Drogo? That's a good one! Almost like there could be great face-offs. I'd certainly like to have seen him fight Daario Naharis. Barristan vs. Syrio Forel etc.
