Who is the best fictional swordsman of all time?

[2fish]

Nimco Cosca is fun, but not a big fighter.
Sand dan Glokta was the best before he was crippled.
Collem West is damn good but a lowborn. Who can back a lowborn?
I back Shivers in this fight.

Wait no! I just remember Friendly. I want him at my back. Well as long as the numbers are in my favor.

I mean I could name more but Friendly is my vote. Also a knife is just a short sword so he counts!

 

[Fox12]

As for Guts, I have to disagree with a lot of what's being said here. When he was branded, he was given extra strength and endurance (which is why he can even wield the Dragonslayer in the first place). The sword he used before that was quite a bit smaller. (Granted, it's been awhile since I've read the manga, the author takes too many large gaps in publication)

I don't think it's stated anywhere that the brand gives Guts any supernatural ability, apart from being able to slay demons. I always thought it was simply his size, physical conditioning and willpower that allowed him to wield it. Additionally, there's a magnet in his fake hand that snaps the pommel of the sword into position; that kind of pulling technique is a stock standard part of effective two-handed sword use (it allows you to strike with them without pulling the sword back significantly).

The line between 'natural strength' and 'supernatural strength' tend to get get blurred when it comes to animes like Berzerk-lots of people doing feats that would be impossible by any human alive today without magic. But Guts seems to be pretty remarkable even for the setting. Bisecting a horse and plate armored rider in one swing is the sort of thing that's seen as remarkable even in the setting.

I thought about that, since he's basically superhuman by the time he gets the berserk armor. However, since he was nearly defeated by serpico, a normal swordsman who was able to use the terrain to his advantage, I didn't think it was too outlandish to place him against enemies like Aragon or Link, so long as he couldn't rely on his additional weaponry. A blunt attack probably wouldn't work, but I think a clever person could beat him.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

There's a lot of other great mentions here, but I haven't seen anyone bring up Skilgannon, Waylander and probably a few others from David Gemmell's books. Almost all of his heroes are impossibly good with a blade, although I'm not sure how many of them are non-magical pure humans.

Skilgannon was going to be my pick, actually (Druss would probably be my 'best fictional warrior of all time evah' pick, though that's with Snaga, not a sword). Not read everything he's written (most, though), but I can't think of any magically inclined warriors in his main series', so the vast majority could be up for this particular accolade.

In film: Mifune's Sanjuro, from Yojimbo and Sanjuro. Swordsmen/warriors who never want to draw steel are always the most interesting.

 

[trollnystan]

I second this oro

I mean seriously in his prime the guy could cut bullets, move faster then the eye can see, and could hit with such precision that he doesn't kill people unless he wants to.

Fistbump!

The only problem is that not only is there a better swordsman than Kenshin out there, but said swordsman comes from Kenshin's own universe!

*points to his previous post a couple posts above this one*

Kenshin's master. :3

Meh, I never liked him much so Kenshin wins in my book! =P

 

[RJ 17]

I second this oro

I mean seriously in his prime the guy could cut bullets, move faster then the eye can see, and could hit with such precision that he doesn't kill people unless he wants to.

Fistbump!

The only problem is that not only is there a better swordsman than Kenshin out there, but said swordsman comes from Kenshin's own universe!

*points to his previous post a couple posts above this one*

Kenshin's master. :3

Meh, I never liked him much so Kenshin wins in my book! =P

Well he certainly is a narcissistic prick and I love the way Kenshin describes him: "Hiko Seijuro the 13th. His skill is without a doubt the best. But his personality is twisted, brusque, misanthropic...so bad mannered that he brings up embarrassing things about people that even the person concerned has forgotten about them..." So yeah, he's a right-proper jackass. However it is a fact that his physique makes him much more capable at utilizing the Hiten Mitsurugi style than Kenshin (Kenshin lacks the weight and upper body strength necessary to fully utilize the charging techniques of the Hiten Mitsurugi style). Don't get me wrong, Kenshin is my favorite anime protagonist of all time. Hiko, however, is still far better with the sword than he is.

To put it in Yahiko's words: "He's a little irritating, but when he acts that bad-ass...I have no choice but to think he's really cool."

 

[Lil devils x_v1legacy]

It has to be Highlander.. because there can be only ONE! XD

 

[ecoho]

I second this oro

I mean seriously in his prime the guy could cut bullets, move faster then the eye can see, and could hit with such precision that he doesn't kill people unless he wants to.

Fistbump!

The only problem is that not only is there a better swordsman than Kenshin out there, but said swordsman comes from Kenshin's own universe!

*points to his previous post a couple posts above this one*

Kenshin's master. :3

Meh, I never liked him much so Kenshin wins in my book! =P

Well he certainly is a narcissistic prick and I love the way Kenshin describes him: "Hiko Seijuro the 13th. His skill is without a doubt the best. But his personality is twisted, brusque, misanthropic...so bad mannered that he brings up embarrassing things about people that even the person concerned has forgotten about them..." So yeah, he's a right-proper jackass. However it is a fact that his physique makes him much more capable at utilizing the Hiten Mitsurugi style than Kenshin (Kenshin lacks the weight and upper body strength necessary to fully utilize the charging techniques of the Hiten Mitsurugi style). Don't get me wrong, Kenshin is my favorite anime protagonist of all time. Hiko, however, is still far better with the sword than he is.

To put it in Yahiko's words: "He's a little irritating, but when he acts that bad-ass...I have no choice but to think he's really cool."

well kenshin did beat him so........yeah hes a great swordsman but not as good.

 

[spartan231490]

Tough call. Kirito is pretty impressive, cutting bullets and magic spells clean out of the air. He might not count, though, as he's technically not a human. Al Lan Mandragoran is also in contention. Years of skill, practice, and experience combined to make one hell of a dangerous swordsman. Can't have magic . . . I think it's between those two, at least amongst swordsman I'm familiar with.

Actually, as good as they both are, any of the masters of Nami's weapon division would be better. The masters in that Manga were supposedly human, but the least of them had abilities far beyond what any human is capable of.

 

[RJ 17]

well kenshin did beat him so........yeah hes a great swordsman but not as good.

Yeah...because he was using the ultimate technique while Hiko wasn't, and that was the point. If Hiko really wanted to kill Kenshin, he would have used the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki. The difference between them is illustrated when Hiko teaches Kenshin the Kuzu Ryu Sen.

 

[Mr Companion]

Jetstream Sam uses barely any augmentations in a world of superpowered cyborgs and he is still one of the most deadly dudes around.

Of course eventually Raiden beats him but Raiden is full of cyborg s**t and not really a "swordsman" as far as I am concerned. More of a... ninja... warrior man thing? I dunno.

 

[conmag9]

My vote would lie with the anyone in the Elder Scrolls series capable of executing the Pankrato Sword technique. Power and precision sufficient to slice atoms apart and release the energy contained within. A single swing, atomic death. Which, yes, isn't even remotely how fission actually works, but it's fantasy.

Even if you don't mean "most destructive", they can hold back enough enough to not obliterate everything. The technique is all about epic amounts of technical control, so...yeah, they'd be pretty darn awesome.

Oh, and to anyone who wonders how they would survive an atomic blast at ground zero? They don't. It's a suicide attack.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

Guts from Berserk is the best swordsman ever in my opinion..don't believe me? Read the manga to see for yourself (it's the best manga I have ever read).

 

[Ramzal]

In retrospect?

Spoiler

The Black Knight. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn.

He could barely be stopped by the strongest beings on the planet when the blessing on his armor vanished and after he got it back he became more unbeatable namely having solo'd an entire platoon of laguz, men laced in a goddess's blessing and COULD have killed Ike in the first Fire Emblem game had he not been told that Gawian had purposely crippled himself so he waited until Ike was older and more experienced to have a duel with Gawian again.

A master in sword/long/and great swords as well as extremely skilled in pole-arms, throwing Javelins and heavy anti-Calvary spears that are supposed to be used to hold up and hope for the best in large groups but he uses it like a bo-staff. He is as tall and possibly stronger than The Mountain from a song of Ice and Fire and faster on his feat than a friggen Olympic sprinter in that heavy armor.

 

[gorfias]

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.

King arthur?

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/Galahad

 

[ecoho]

well kenshin did beat him so........yeah hes a great swordsman but not as good.

Yeah...because he was using the ultimate technique while Hiko wasn't, and that was the point. If Hiko really wanted to kill Kenshin, he would have used the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki. The difference between them is illustrated when Hiko teaches Kenshin the Kuzu Ryu Sen.

but he did and kenshin's was stronger I went and rewatched the episode kenshins ultimate technique was strong then his masters or at least faster.

 

[Rebel_Raven]

I'm gunna throw out Sekhmet/Naaza from Ronin Warriors/Yoroiden Samurai Troopers for consideration.
Yeah, he rarely, if ever wins, but he's the bad guy, and that's how anime generally works.

He bears mystic armor, and 6 swords all coated in poison that can be tailored to his needs from mind control to creating evil duplicates of people.

The big thing is that he has enough talent to move his arms so fast that he creates afterimages which can convince his foes that his 2 arms, and 2 swords have become 6 arms and 6 swords. Moreover, he attacks with enough speed to keep it convincing.
It wasn't until someone took a photo of him that the illusion of extra arms were revealed as after images. Even with his opponents knowing that, it's still a super human feat to avoid the attacks.
Moreover due to the mystic nature of his armor, and swords he can connect his 6 swords into a sectioned blade whip to lay out some devastating cuts.

 

[likalaruku]

Zorro? The 3 Musketeers? Yeah, the name implies they used muskets, but I only ever remember them using swords. Perhaps King Arthur or one of his knights (never really read it). Maybe some viking?

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Not even a fuckin' contest

Spoiler

 

[RJ 17]

well kenshin did beat him so........yeah hes a great swordsman but not as good.

Yeah...because he was using the ultimate technique while Hiko wasn't, and that was the point. If Hiko really wanted to kill Kenshin, he would have used the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki. The difference between them is illustrated when Hiko teaches Kenshin the Kuzu Ryu Sen.

but he did and kenshin's was stronger I went and rewatched the episode kenshins ultimate technique was strong then his masters or at least faster.

Well go watch it again, my friend. Or here, allow me:


At 2:26, you see the 9 sword strike that is the Kuzu Ryu Sen, that's the technique that Hiko uses against Kenshin. After teaching Kenshin the Kuzu Ryu Sen and beating him in a dual in which they both use it on each other, Hiko explains that the only technique that can surpass his Kuzu Ryu Sen would be the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki (which is a sword-draw technique while the Kuzu Ryu Sen is a charging technique). By using his Kuzu Ryu Sen against Kenshin after saying he fully intends to kill him, it forces Kenshin to walk the line between life and death grab hold of the all-powerful Will to Live, thus enabling him to use the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki (which is the only technique faster than the Kuzu Ryu Sen).

He then goes on to explain that this is how it's always been, how the student finally masters the Hiten Mitsurugi style: by surpassing his master's Kuzu Ryu Sen with the only technique that's faster: the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki.

If they both use the same technique, Hiko will always win...as he explains after they use the Kuzu Ryu Sen against one another. They move at the same speed, but Hiko outclasses Kenshin in strength by far.

 

[Gizmo1990]

Not even a fuckin' contest

Spoiler

I am with you but the OP said no magic and lets face it he is all about the magic.

That being said I cannot think of anyone without magic due to 90% of games, books and movies that I have read, played and seen involve magic.

Aragorn. He counts right? No magic involved just really strong plot armor.