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The List - 7 Heart-Pounding Swordfights


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tintor2



Joined: 11 Aug 2010
Posts: 2180
PostPosted: Sat Aug 24, 2019 11:21 am Reply with quote
Nice. Still a bit weird how the two archers prefer dualwielding two small twin sword rather than a actual arrow.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11627
PostPosted: Sat Aug 24, 2019 12:13 pm Reply with quote
Since this is a repeat article, I'll just repost my comments from then too.

Cam0 wrote:
Rurouni Kenshin indeed has one of the best sword fights in anime, but it's not Kenshin vs. Shishio, it's Kenshin vs. Saito.

That's still my all-time favorite. I prefer it without Kaoru's cutaways, but the moment when Kenshin's hair is unleashed, you know it's on, and from there you really get the sense of wild animals fighting to the death. And if not for the sakabatou, Kenshin would have beheaded him with that one strike to the back of Saito's neck. It's a masterpiece that holds up to this day.

There are also too many good fights in Champloo to pick just one. Mugen vs the blind assassin was a thing of beauty, and Jin was no slouch against her either.

Syaoran vs Syaoran in Tsubasa was pretty intense and nicely animated. Though not a sword-on-sword fight, I'll also give a big shout-out to Bell vs the Minotaur in DanMachi. That was so brutal it was hard to watch.
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tintor2



Joined: 11 Aug 2010
Posts: 2180
PostPosted: Sat Aug 24, 2019 12:51 pm Reply with quote
How about Masamune Date vs Mitsunari Ishida from the Last Party? Well, they had a movie budget but the animation was insane.
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Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13243
PostPosted: Sat Aug 24, 2019 3:06 pm Reply with quote
I'd definitely put the movie version of Shiro vs Archer on here over the TV one. The TV one would have a minute of action followed by them stopping to chat for 15 minutes before repeating. Add to that the vocal performances lack the intensity of the movie ones. Also the music in the movie was far superior.
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Ruddor



Joined: 20 Apr 2016
Posts: 50
PostPosted: Sat Aug 24, 2019 3:57 pm Reply with quote
Just going to throw in Alfonso vs Leon from Garo: The Animation.
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killjoy_the



Joined: 30 May 2015
Posts: 2490
PostPosted: Sat Aug 24, 2019 4:14 pm Reply with quote
Katanagatari's entire 12th episode. Yes, those are all swords, shut up

Rakudai Kishi (Failed Knight) had some pretty neat sword fights as well. Sure, the OP has the best animation of all of them, but still - they were inventive and fun to watch.
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XerneasYveltal



Joined: 09 Jun 2015
Posts: 676
Location: Philippines
PostPosted: Sat Aug 24, 2019 5:22 pm Reply with quote
Fun fact: If I didn't play (the English version of) Fate/Grand Order since April 2018, it would have probably taken a longer while for me to find out that that Archer whom Shirou Emiya is fighting against in Unlimited Blade Works spoiler[is none other than Shirou himself from a possible timeline in the future.]
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Calsolum



Joined: 11 May 2010
Posts: 906
PostPosted: Sat Aug 24, 2019 6:14 pm Reply with quote
tintor2 wrote:
Nice. Still a bit weird how the two archers prefer dualwielding two small twin sword rather than a actual arrow.


fun fact you can just throw weapons at someone and be classified as an archer Razz
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HyugaHinata



Joined: 25 Jun 2005
Posts: 3505
PostPosted: Sat Aug 24, 2019 7:07 pm Reply with quote
I love the idea of adding videos. That makes these lists much more entertaining.
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Cam0



Joined: 13 Dec 2009
Posts: 4934
PostPosted: Sat Aug 24, 2019 7:30 pm Reply with quote
As Gina said (or I did), Kenshin vs. Saito is pretty damn awesome. If I had to choose my favourite anime swordfight that would probably be it. The part where Kenshin just easily dodges Saito's attack, parries the second one and then counterattacks with a blow to the neck is so smooth and cool. Then he just taunts Saito with such a cold tone and stare filled with bloodlust, it's so cool and shivering hearing Kenshin talk like that.

Nanashi vs. Luo-lang is pretty awesome. The dialogue before the fight is so cool. Luo-lang offers Nanashi some kind of medicine for the pain and Nanashi just refuses it like "Pain makes me feel more alive". What a badass.

Does Shiro vs. Gilgamesh from Fate/stay Night UBW TV series count as a swordfight? Because that would be my favourite fight from that show. Seeing how Shiro counters Gilgamesh's Gates of Babylon with Unlimited Blade Works is pretty cool particularly combined with UBW TV series' Emiya theme (which is the best Emiya theme).

killjoy_the wrote:
Rakudai Kishi (Failed Knight) had some pretty neat sword fights as well. Sure, the OP has the best animation of all of them, but still - they were inventive and fun to watch.


Oh, yeah! My favourite from that one is actually the last fight even though it's literally one attack. The main character bleeding blood from everywhere is a bit overblown and silly, but it's still really cool.
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Top Gun



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 4830
PostPosted: Sat Aug 24, 2019 8:34 pm Reply with quote
I can hear the pumping hip-hop track from Mugen vs. Jin playing just from reading the description. Champloo starts out with an absolute bang. And the climactic fight of Sword of the Stranger just may be the best-choreographed fight scene of any medium, period.
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penguintruth



Joined: 08 Dec 2004
Posts: 8503
Location: Penguinopolis
PostPosted: Sat Aug 24, 2019 9:49 pm Reply with quote
If you included mecha sword fights, I'd have recommended pretty much any fight Allen is in, in Vision of Escaflowne.
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Souther



Joined: 22 Feb 2015
Posts: 606
PostPosted: Sat Aug 24, 2019 10:31 pm Reply with quote
My best sword fight would go to the opening fight scene in Karas, it is fantastic. Karas has some of the best fight scenes in anime, period.
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Otaku-sempai



Joined: 27 Mar 2017
Posts: 132
Location: Lackawanna, NY
PostPosted: Sat Aug 24, 2019 10:47 pm Reply with quote
I've got a soft-spot for the climactic duel between Jiro vs. Tenkai in The Dagger of Kamui. It might not be the flashiest sword fight ever, but boy is it dramatic!
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Malsang



Joined: 29 Jul 2014
Posts: 53
PostPosted: Sun Aug 25, 2019 12:38 am Reply with quote
I would add Shirou Tokisada vs Sieg from Fate / Apocrypha. It has incredible animation and is a stellar example swordfare that manages to be both flashy and ruthless.
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