Who is the best swordsman in fiction?
- Thread starter TWEWYFan
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I have, and was thinking Colby from the same series:Murais said:Anyone ever read this?
I'm going to nominate Rache. In the universe of his book, he was feasibly able to defeat any other swordsman who walked the Earth. It was kind of his deal, being one of the best warriors in a tribe that pumped out the best warriors.prior to him getting crippled
When his mind was invaded by the consciousness of dozens of dead wizards, he systematically put them all to the mental sword.
Has practiced so much that when he runs through katas without swords people imagine the sword in his hand, because that's the only way he can move that way.
Got stuck in a mental trap where he believed he had to die in battle to reach Valhala, but there was literally nobody on the planet who could beat him and give him that death.
Basically cuts his way through everything that tries to kill him, including but not limited to: non viking heroes, Viking heroes, demons, elves, wizards, Thor, fire giants, Surtr, Surtr's fire that is consuming the world, Odin.
Is the third son of Thor - his norse name literally meant skill.
Can possibly up Rand Al'thor on the wives front: only one wife, but she is Freyja, the norse goddess of love, beauty and war.
his deity which he would be without are:
unaging
immune to mental control
magic sword that can hurt demons/supernatural things.
So have very limited effect in this contest. He goes through most of the series thinking he is just a regular dude until Thor turns up and tries to splat him.
Rand is definitely in my top 5, awesome pic of the ladies.
Well...Dirty Hipsters said:
The samurai who smells of sunflowers was on his deathbed and was killed by the super samurai who's the big bad or whatever, who is not the sunflower samurai, but sent by the government to kill the sunflower samurai and also the protagonists. Basically, Mugen has to fight the three psychotic brothers he wronged earlier in life, while the samurai is Jin's trial. So Jin defeats him singlehandedly although earlier it took both of them to even fight on equal terms.
EDIT: And yeah, he got destroyed by that blind woman, but I suppose we can invoke the law of succession and assume that since the last guy is her superior Jin could have beat her as he was at the end of the series.
EDIT: And yeah, he got destroyed by that blind woman, but I suppose we can invoke the law of succession and assume that since the last guy is her superior Jin could have beat her as he was at the end of the series.
I was going to try and scum, and say "isn't Griffith the better swordsman because he beats him to make him join the hawks?". Then I had to slap myself when I remembered that Guts beat Griffith so he could leave.Tanis said:Guts from Berserk.
He's pretty much got the whole 'super human without any magical BS' thing down.
-Unless you count the Cursed Armor, but even without that he's taken down GODS.
My vote goes to Guts too. I dont think any of the characters these guys are mentioning, could even block one of his attacks.
But also Raiden in his Rising Revengeance form. Raiden takes down other super cyborgs and even a gigantic metal gear.
Usagi Yojimbo, completely normal.(As far as being a samurai rabbit is normal I suppose.)
At one occasion he sliced one a fly in half, another he cut it's wings off and a third he cute into thin strips.
http://images.darkhorse.com/darkhorse/index_images/news/usagi135.jpg
At one occasion he sliced one a fly in half, another he cut it's wings off and a third he cute into thin strips.
http://images.darkhorse.com/darkhorse/index_images/news/usagi135.jpg
Eh... I will be boring and say that I can't decide because I am not experienced enough in sword fighting to properly judge the performance of all these. When I tried longsword fighting I quickly noticed some interesting ways to fight that are mostly ignored. I suspect that a lot of fictional swordsmen make basic mistakes that should kill them (or miss fantastic opportunities) due to the authors not being experienced enough themselves. It is rare to see any work of fiction to even acknowledge why you would use one type of weapon over another in a given situation, much less the importance of spacing.
Sora from Kingdom Hearts, I'm not Kidding. The guy's a badass, magic aside he is still a very good swordsman, after all he can fight against Sephiroth. Alone.
He's also fast, strong, agile and has an unorthodox fighting style that would leave opponents guessing.
He's also fast, strong, agile and has an unorthodox fighting style that would leave opponents guessing.
For those saying Saber, remember her power is largely super natural. Her blade is forged in Avalon by the fairy's, her battle power and magical ability comes from or is enhanced by the same source too. Plus she rarely wins a straight up fight (She needed Shirou's power to fight Beserker (F/SN) and the power of Avalon to fight Gilgamesh (F/SN))
My vote would go to Colin MacLeod from Highlander: Search for Vengeance:
1) He has over 1800-2000 years of battle experience (The end scene is never fully dated but he was alive during the Romans fight against the Celtic people of Britain)
2) He has experience in western sword fighting as well as eastern
3) There can be only one (Though i see someone did Duncan)
My vote would go to Colin MacLeod from Highlander: Search for Vengeance:
1) He has over 1800-2000 years of battle experience (The end scene is never fully dated but he was alive during the Romans fight against the Celtic people of Britain)
2) He has experience in western sword fighting as well as eastern
3) There can be only one (Though i see someone did Duncan)
But nominates a character that can supposedly swings a sword so fast that it creates a vacuum by deflecting air... Heh, sorry had to nitpick that.TWEWYFan said:
I'm going to toss one out just because I haven't seen him yet.
Reason: What more do you need. He's mother fu**ing Snake Eyes.
So many have forgotten the old ways...
Hail, the Great Warrior, Kahless [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kahless], the One who is Not Forgotten. He was the first warrior-king, uniting all the Klingons; a badass so badass a race of badasses consider him "the greatest warrior of them all".
He was the creator of the Klingons' signature weapon: forged from a lock of his own hair thrust (barehanded) into the fires of a volcano, then into a nearby lake. He twisted the hair and fire into a new shape (again, bare-handed). When he had used it to kill the unbeatable tyrant Molor, Kahless held the sword aloft and gave it its name, "bat'leth", meaning "Sword of Honor".
Think about it, how many swordsmen become so proficient that they need to create a new kind of sword that can keep up?
Not many.
Hail, the Great Warrior, Kahless [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kahless], the One who is Not Forgotten. He was the first warrior-king, uniting all the Klingons; a badass so badass a race of badasses consider him "the greatest warrior of them all".
He was the creator of the Klingons' signature weapon: forged from a lock of his own hair thrust (barehanded) into the fires of a volcano, then into a nearby lake. He twisted the hair and fire into a new shape (again, bare-handed). When he had used it to kill the unbeatable tyrant Molor, Kahless held the sword aloft and gave it its name, "bat'leth", meaning "Sword of Honor".
Think about it, how many swordsmen become so proficient that they need to create a new kind of sword that can keep up?
Not many.
They are VERY good, but you're right, they have in-lore people who can thrash them. Although it wasn't the sunflower samurai they fought. I won't go any further than that, because I want people to watch the series and enjoy it fully.Dirty Hipsters said:
OT: I was going to say Roronoa Zoro, but where I am, Mihawk is probably still better than him. I'm watching the Funi dub, so no spoilers, please.
Given that we are to nominate a swordsman who is either a human or who is reduced to human-level ability, I am going to have to put forth the somehow over-looked Conan. There are those who are swifter, stronger or even more skilled, but none combine both sheer athleticism and skill to overcome any enemy!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dugu_Qiubai
From Chinese Wuxia Fiction
"His full name is thus roughly translated as "The Loner Who Seeks Defeat". It represents Dugu's status as an invincible swordsman who is haunted by solitude as no one can defeat or equal him in swordplay."
From Chinese Wuxia Fiction
"His full name is thus roughly translated as "The Loner Who Seeks Defeat". It represents Dugu's status as an invincible swordsman who is haunted by solitude as no one can defeat or equal him in swordplay."
One being the 2nd most powerful hero in the war and other one of the most powerful of all time.CaptainMidlands said:
If it was straight sword on sword she could beat both of them, Gilgamesh just a 'user' of blades and Berserker just screamed a lot and was abnormally strong.
My vote goes for Saber
Ahhhh glad somebody said him but it should be mentioned that he has been training with the sword since he was 5. He has also very rarely gone a whole day without fighting for his life with said sword. The sword he uses is so large that it was designed to be impossible to use and it has and will cut three horses in half in a single swing. He also has the nickname the 100 man slayer which is actually one of his smaller achievements.Tanis said:Guts from Berserk.
He's pretty much got the whole 'super human without any magical BS' thing down.
-Unless you count the Cursed Armor, but even without that he's taken down GODS.
I was waiting for this. Too much anime bullshit, not enough sci-fi bullshit.BanicRhys said:
Not only is Lucius the Eternal the best swordsman in the galaxy, but, even if you do manage to kill him [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheating], he simply takes over your body and continues on his orgasmic killing spree in the name of Slaanesh.