Best Swordswomen In Anime, Ranked

Whether it be through a traditional katana or not, swordmasters in anime are one of the most exciting and entertaining reasons why various individuals love anime so much. While swordswomen are not as common in anime as swordsmen, once fans see one, they have hopes for how powerful they could be.

There are several anime series that show swordswomen who are way stronger than swordsmen. As swordmasters in their own right, Swordswomen are never to be underestimated, as they are capable of toppling kingdoms when needed. Whether it be Mikasa Ackerman or Oliver Armstrong, the various swordswomen depicted in anime are a sight to behold.

Updated November 23, 2024, by Oluwatokiloba Folami: Anime swordswomen may not be as prominent as anime swordsmen; however, they bring a certain allure to the various series they appear in that’s just unmatched. Characters like Ais Wallenstein, Eris Greyrat, and Retsu Unohana serve as iconic examples that embody the essence of swordswomen, showing that their male counterparts aren’t the only ones capable of skillfully wielding swords and that they sometimes do it better. From their allure to their unique styles and varying techniques, anime swordswomen embody styles that blend elegance, power, and swiftness, depending on their build, sword technique, and the type of sword they use. After all, some of them have the most iconic swords ever.

14 Eris Greyrat

From A Wild Fighter To A Sword King

Right from a young age, Eris has always been skilled with a sword, and her mastery of the sword gets even better and better as she grows. As someone who is constantly around Rudeus, Eris always feels inferior, and as she has no chance of beating Rudeus in terms of magic, she opts for the sword instead.

As a swordsman, Eris is generally carefree and violent, ruthlessly beating up her enemies as she deems fit. However, with age, many of her angry and violent tendencies are reduced, but her skill with the sword makes her unparalleled. Eventually and at a young age, she becomes a Sword King.

13 Ryuko Matoi

The Swordswoman With Scissor Blades

Using half a pair of scissors is one thing that sets Ryuko Matoi apart as a swordswoman, but it also means her techniques are that much different from other anime swordswomen. Starting off her journey after her father was killed, Ryuko Matoi set out to find the other half of the scissor she wielded as a sword.

However, encountering the truth meant she had to defeat many enemies that stood before her, and she did just that. Unlike the typical calm swordsman who analyzes various battles and techniques, Ryuko is more on the fierce and stubborn side; however, her skills as a swordsman, at least one that uses half a pair of scissors to fight, are undeniable.

12 Alice Zuberg

A Swordswoman Defined by Righteousness

Known better as Alice Synthesis Thirty in the Sword Art Online anime series, Alice serves as a capable woman with her fragrant olive sword. Before becoming a bonafide swordswoman, Alice was but an ordinary little girl, until she accidentally broke a taboo index and was forcefully made an Integrity knight.

As an Integrity knight, Alice’s skill with the sword ranks among the very top. Her sword also serves as the first immortal object in the Alicization project, making it an ultimate weapon. As a swordswoman, Alice embodies righteousness and strikes her sword primarily to protect what she holds dear and to reject evil.

11 Retsu Unohana

The Healer With The Death Sword

As the Gotei 13’s former fourth-division captain, Retsu Unohana was known by many to be a kind and warm-hearted healer. However, beneath that warm exterior lay a swordswoman with immense power. As the first person to bear the name Kenpachi, Retsu Unohana was incredibly violent and bloodthirsty, having cut down many Shinigami.

However, this side of her was only revealed when Zaraki was to succeed her as the next Kenpachi. As a swordswoman, Unohana’s skill with the blade can be described as brutally lethal and yet elegant. She is known to have mastered all known sword-fighting techniques, and after her death, she was cast into hell and gains the epithet, Death Sword, showing just how many lives she ended with her blade.

10 Yuuki Asuna

Lightning Flash Master Of The Rapier

The main heroine of the Sword Art Online series, Yuuki Asuna, is famed for being a master swordswoman. After getting trapped in the Sword Art Online MMORPG, she was forced to fight for her life and developed a lightning flash type of swordplay.

Asuna primarily uses a rapier, and her skills and speed with the rapier earned her the nickname, The Flash. Since she does not have the build necessary to overwhelm her opponents with pure strength, she does so with lightning-flash attacks and pure skill. As a swordswoman, Asuna possesses an indomitable will and a kind heart that helps others in need.

9 Akame

The Fearless Assassin Of Night Raid

Known for her masterful sword skills and reserved personality, Akame, the anti-heroine of the Akame ga Kill! anime series serves as one of the best swordswomen portrayed in anime. The Empire trained Akame to be an assassin. However, she eventually revolted against the Empire by joining Night Raid, a band of revolutionaries that came together to overthrow the corrupt government.

Wielding the demon sword Murasame, Akame strikes down many of her adversaries with minimal effort. Possessing physical attributes that would put many to shame, Akame defeated Esdeath, one of the anime’s most dreadful female characters.

8 Shinobu Kocho

The Insect Breathing Swordswoman

With its engaging ensemble of demon slayers, Hashira, and demons, the anime series Demon Slayer has recently gained a lot of viewers. Shinobu Kocho, one of the elite Hashira from the Demon Slayer anime series, has the highest level of skill with the sword.

Shinobu’s usage of poison makes up for the fact that her nichirin blade lacks the pure strength required to decapitate a demon. Shinobu has earned her spot among the Hashira thanks to her ability to dispatch demons far larger than herself using only her insect breathing technique, agility, and reflexes.

7 Erza Scarlet

Master Of Multiple Swords

The S-class mage of the Fairy Tail Guild, Erza Scarlet, is a young and powerful swordswoman. Erza is known for her strict personality in tandem with her sense of justice and pride.

As a magic knight, Erza is known for her requip ability, ‘The Knight.’ As seen in the Fairy Tail series, this ability allows her to use her master swordsmanship to its fullest effect. As a swordswoman, Erza is capable of wielding longswords, short swords, axes, lances, and many others. From the air pressure of her sword swing alone, Erza is capable of slicing through metal, and this puts her above many others.

6 Ais Wallenstein

Ais’s Aggressive Swordplay Is A Perfect Match for Battle

The anime series Is It Wrong to Pick up Girls in a Dungeon? has included many interesting characters. Among the series’ adventurers, Ais Wallenstein stands out as one of the best. Ais, although a powerful first-class adventurer and executive of the Loki Familia, is shy and modest.

The swordswoman depends heavily on a violent and aggressive style, which proves highly effective when facing off against monsters. Even against monsters considerably larger than her, she is able to achieve this due to her raw physical strength. Ais is an excellent swordswoman and an asset to Oratorio.

5 Oliver Armstrong

The Fearsome Ice Queen

The primary heir to the Armstrong family, Oliver Armstrong remains one of the best sword masters in the Fullmetal Alchemist anime series. She is a fearsome woman with a fearsome presence and is known by many as the Ice Queen. With her thin heirloom sword, Oliver is cold to her enemies and does not tolerate weakness.

While the swordswoman may look feeble, she is able to overpower bigger and more muscular characters like her brother, Alex Louis Armstrong. She is very proficient in using her sword and is strong enough to hold her own against Sloth. With the agility, speed, and combat skill she possesses, few can match the Ice Queen of the Fullmetal Alchemist series.

4 Clare

The Relentless Claymore

The main protagonist of the Claymore anime series, Clare is a female claymore, a female hybrid warrior of the Organization, an unnamed group that experiments on humans to create Claymores to battle against Yoma – humanoid shape-shifters that feed on humans. Most Claymores are half human and half hybrid. However, Clare is one-quarter Yoma.

This is due to an experiment that was meant to make her a stronger Clayomore, but she turned out weaker than the others instead. However, through her willpower, Claire mastered various sword techniques and became a master swordswoman. From Quicksowrd to Windcutter, the sword techniques she has in her arsenal are not to be underestimated.

3 Mikasa Ackerman

Star Of The Survey Corps

The highly skilled Mikasa Ackerman serves as one of the deuteragonists in the Attack on Titan anime and manga series. After the fall of Wall Maria, Mikasa was enlisted into the Military Corps, where she was seen as a gifted combatant. Later on, Mikasa joined the survey corps, where her genius combat sense was put to use.

Rather than the traditional sword that most sword masters use, Attack On Titan has their soldiers use vertical maneuvering equipment that allows them to move through the air as they strike the nape of the titans with blades.

2 Rukia Kuchiki

The Master Of Ice And Blade

The Bleach anime and manga series starts when Rukia Kuchiki comes in contact with Kurosaki Ichigo. As Rukia grew, she developed her swordsmanship and overall abilities.

Spending most of her life with the blade, Rukia stands as one of Bleach’s most iconic swordswomen. At first, Rukia only knew the rudimentary skills of handling her Zanpakuto (sword). However, after much training with Kaien Shiba, Rukia’s skill with a blade drastically improved. Rukia’s Zanpakuto, Sode no Shirayuki, is a normal katana in its sealed form. However, when unsealed, Rukia’s katana becomes white and much stronger.

1 Saber

Artoria Pendragon, known more popularly by her epithet, Saber, is a legendary King of Knights and master of the sword. Before becoming a servant for the holy grail war, Artoria served as the King of Britain who conquered battlefields in the age of legends. During the Fourth Holy Grail War, Artoria served as the Saber class servant of Emiya Kiritsugu.

As Saber class servants are known for being Heroic spirits of the Sword, Artoria’s prowess with a sword is not to be underestimated. In life, Artoria commanded the greatest knights of all — the knights of the round table. And even then, she remains at the top in terms of sword skill.