Good anime about swordplay

[Dist]

I watched a movie called Sword of a Stranger few days back, which I found by accident. After this, I've been craving for more swordplay .. But, I don't know any good ones which is why I'm posting here. It can be either series or a movie.

I'm watching Bakumatsu Kikansetsu right now, not sure if I like it yet though.

I also just watched Mugen no Junin, and I really liked the series. And I really hated it just ... ending, right there, in middle of everything x_x. I should probably get my hands on the manga ..

Anyway, I don't really have other requirements, just that the main focus is in swordplay, and the anime should be fairly new ( From this century, bad art turns me off ).

[jedinat]

Samurai Champloo
Bamboo Blade
Kazemakase Tsukikage Ran

[Guardian Enzo]

How about 1999? Rurouni Kenshin certainly has the swordplay you want.

[Nosauz]

second samurai champloo, basilik is more ninjitsu but does involve quite a few swords, katanagari is a new sword show, although it's heavy on exposition and fairly little in actual sword fighting. Also you can check out samurai seven, which is a steam punk anime remake of the seven samurai. There are probably more but these are the ones that i can remember off the top of my head.

[Wavie]

beserk - thea best war anime ever made. (episode 1 is set after the final episode so start at episode 2, lots of major spoilers in episode 1). You say that bad art turns you off or whatever but the berserk anime is actually ahead of its time and the dark art suits the anime perfectly.

just look at the ratings on that bad boy - Rated 8.47 out of 5536 votes. Its legendary.

Claymore is a sword anime to but they fight monsters and shit mmm its got quite a bit of gore tho so not for weak heart and first 4-5 episodes kinda suck. But v good after that.

[signorRossi]

Second Samurai Champloo too, some of the arcs have really good swordplay action (I especially liked the spear-fight, can't say more, otherwise I would spoil).
About Mugen no Junin, the manga is still ongoing, they simply did only part of it as anime without inventing a new ending. And if you don't know already if you like Bakumatsu Kikansetsu don't bother to watch more, it isn't getting better later on (I say this while actually liking the first part)

[Arbitres]

Try Bamboo blade. It's about swordplay, or rather -- practicing it as a sport.

Try Samurai Champloo - It was ahead of it's time in comedy and artwork. One of the main character doesn't have any formt hough, he just breakdances.. with a sword. :P

Basilisk and Rurouni Kenshin, definitely. But fi you want something more 'new', try 'Samurai x' which is the OVA of Rurouni Kenshin, I believe.

Try Tsubasa Reservoir chronicles. Several character use swords, eventually the main character, Syaoran as well. Kurogane being the initial sword-user. Though the main focus isn't swordplay...

Try another game. I forgot what it was called, but it has 'chevalier' somewhere in the name... Chevalier d'e Charlotte? Idunno..

[Last Sinner]

Samruai Champloo is a definite.
Katanagatari is the other one that comes to mind. Since it is based around swords.

[Dist]

Yeah I'm following Katanagatari. I've seen Bamboo Blade too.

And hmm.. Well Claymore, that isn't really a swordplay is it ? Or rather, I'm not really sure what the swordplay refers to but I meant where there are battles between two ( or more ) swordsmen .. so slaying monsters and stuff, that isn't what I'm looking for right now. Of course, I've seen Tsubasa and I love it, but again that's not what I'm looking for.

If I can find Rurouni Kenshin from somewhere, I'll give it a try despite it being old. Perhaps Basilisk too.. I saw this title before on Anidb but the cover seemed uninteresting so I didn't try it out ..

Samurai Champloo in the other hand seems really interesting, I'll have to check this one out immediately.

Thanks for the suggestion so far.. keep them coming.. There must be more, right ? D:

[Niji]

Fate stay night has some nice sword action.

[Scorch]

One thing to keep in mind about Kenshin - the series and the OAVs are drastically different in tone. In the series, Kenshin has sworn off killing. It's more typical of a shounen show, with lots of characters with their own abilities and conversations mid battle etc. In Trust and Betrayal (first OAV), Kenshin is an assassin and he kills people very quickly. The fights he participates in are more realistic and there's no named moves or anything like that.

I love Trust and Betrayal. I don't really like the tv series all that much.

Samurai Champloo - it's great. Definitely the most consistently exciting sword fights I've seen in a 26 episode series.

[Guardian Enzo]

I'm going to go completely opposite and tell you that I don't like the OVAs that much. They're interesting in their own emo way, and gorgeously animated - but as far as I'm concerned it's wrong to associate them with Kenshin. They're completely original, produced without the permission or input of the mangaka (who has publicly denounced their content as inconsistent with his characters) and bear no true relation to the source material.

The series, by contrast, is faithful to the manga until veering off on an anime-original tangent for the last run of episodes. It's not as lavishly animated as the OVAs, but the story is plenty gritty and at it's best, among the best and most involving of any TV anime. It's a long series and naturally has its highs and lows, but it's true to the characters and in my book, that counts for a lot. And to tie it in to your OP, though Kenshin has sworn off killing he's involved in plenty of massively GAR swordplay.

[Wavie]

Originally Posted by Dist

Yeah I'm following Katanagatari. I've seen Bamboo Blade too.

And hmm.. Well Claymore, that isn't really a swordplay is it ? Or rather, I'm not really sure what the swordplay refers to but I meant where there are battles between two ( or more ) swordsmen .. so slaying monsters and stuff, that isn't what I'm looking for right now. Of course, I've seen Tsubasa and I love it, but again that's not what I'm looking for.

If I can find Rurouni Kenshin from somewhere, I'll give it a try despite it being old. Perhaps Basilisk too.. I saw this title before on Anidb but the cover seemed uninteresting so I didn't try it out ..

Samurai Champloo in the other hand seems really interesting, I'll have to check this one out immediately.

Thanks for the suggestion so far.. keep them coming.. There must be more, right ? D:

what about berserk, what you think of that suggestion ? That anime is and always will be the best war anime with swordplay ever made. Big battles lots of different types of characters using varied weapons. War comes into play like sieging castles, raising an army from nothing and one man the famous blacks swordsman becomes famous accross the lands as the anime goes on.

It is much better than rurouni kenshin. I watched all of that anime and he just keeps using the same move over and over and over until the end of the anime. It gets so boring, but at start when this move he uses over and over and over its ok cause you are new to it. By ep 30-40 your fed up. Maybe worth watching first lot of that. I like an anime where it feels like the main character develops or improves, I just felt that was lacking. I guess the romance part of it kept me watching. I'd rate it about 6-7 out of 10 and berserk at 9 out of 10.


Samurai Champloo is a bit crazy but none the less has quite cool fight scenes, the story was to crazy for me. I love an anime with a good story and fight scenes. Samuri champloo story wise prob about rating of 3 out of 10 and the fighting prob about 8 or 9. Berserk story wise about 10 prob and fighting about 8.

Yea claymore isnt what your looking for then, it does have human vs human but its just crazy and non-realistic. Fate stay night also supernatural stuff and not realistic.

Basilisk is like a weird sadistic version of naruto. With a guy fighting with a sword against a guy that can spit webs and stuff. Not really sword fighting.

I have seen most animes (not something to boast about hehe - maybe is here ) but I doubt people can disagree with what I am saying about those animes

[lelouchlover]

tokko...even though it's a cliff hanger ending n no one knows if there'll be a season two yet.....

[Dist]

Wavie, I don't really mind supernatural stuff. Just that, like I said, I want fights between _people_ who both use swords, so no monsters and stuff. But like Mugen no Junin was..Well, Manji was immortal.. so I guess that makes it pretty much supernatural eh ?

[Wavie]

ok i give you list then

berserk (push through first 10 minutes of episode 2 remember dont start at episode 1. Start episode 2 - the teddy bear looking guy at beginning almost put me off that series (WHAT WERE THEY THINKING) but anyway i stuck it out and gladly put that at top of best sword fighting/war anime) and you said no monsters, monsters in berserk appear only in episode 1 and episode 26. So don't be put off by that anime cause u think there is monsters in it (you watched episode 1 and turned it off didn't you... cause you thought it was about monsters ) Episode 1 is set like 5 years after episode 26. So episode 2 takes place before episode 1, thats why i say start at 2. He ages as the anime goes on.

rurouni kenshin definitetly has it (might be worth watching ova set before the series, more enjoyable and closer to what you want i reckon)

bleach obviously but starts off with humans vs monsters and eventually leads to human vs human fights.

Claymore has human vs human fights but quite a bit of gore (and starts off on first 5 eps against monsters before it twists at episode 5/6). Majority of it is against monsters but the sword fighting (when it occurs between them) is cool.

Samuari champloo has it.

Rest of animes recommended dont really focus on swords i think.
only one i have not watched is Kazemakase Tsukikage Ran. (so i dont know what that is about)

I know more but that will do for now i reckon.

[Jesushalero]

check out shura no toki, shiguiri, condor hero(might be too old)

[signorRossi]

How could I forget Shura no Toki (even if the main characters don't use weapons)! As for Shigurui, that one is pure madness, have to add my usual line for it: Prepare a puke bag! :-)
As for RK, the first OVA is the best, the second is O.K. and I don't like the series or the manga at all, the same plot repeats over and over, bleh.
And come on, Wavie, the story of Samurai Champloo isn't crazy, only part of it, it has some pretty serious arcs too. And I still have to laugh when I think of the episodes where Mugen learns to read and write and Jin and the girl (what was her name) are captured at the Hakone checkpoint. :-) :-)

[KiNA]

Dont really fit swordplay, but try Seirei no Moribito. Its a series that made you wonder if its actually a TV series .. and not some high budget OVA episode. ..Not one fight scene disappoint me a bit.. I would rate them much higher then any fight scenes even in Samurai Champloo.. And I rate SC as one of the best when it comes to sword fight scenes.

[SaintessHeart]

Katanagatari. Just about the most annoyingly long-winded, yet epic anime ever.

Ruroni Kenshin is not bad too, and Juuden-chan. And there is also Omamori Himari.