hontou ni
27Mar/0834

Defenders of justice!! Favourite swordwomen in anime

Instead of a silver spoon in the mouth, I was born with a wooden sword in my baby-grip. Having seen too many swashbuckling pugilists battling for righteousness and damsels, I was enamoured with the idea of being a champion for justice. Zyl would know. I insisted on being a Lawful Good paladin during our first AD&D campaign eons ago. Not a good combination since our dungeon master was essentially Chaotic Evil. (Actually Zyl is just tsundere about being nice. He's Chaotic Good really.)

So imagine my joy when I discovered Tamaki of Bamboo Blade. It's like young Stripey with kendo skillz.... less the loli-moe attributes of course. And here's a tribute Tamaki and 9 other blade-brandishing babes who have a special place in my heart.

(Note: that I limited one sword-wielding bishoujo per anime else it'd all be Claymores on this list.)

Kawazoe Tamaki (Bamboo Blade) - BLAAAAAADE BRAVER!!!

Shana (Shakugan no Shana) - The hottest anime babe with blade.

Saber (Fate/Stay night) - In Kabitzin's immortal words, "Lovably stupid." An accomplished swordwomen nevertheless.

Signum (Nanoha As) - It was a toss up with Fate. But since Fate's only a part-time sword-user...

Nekoi Yuzuriha (X TV) - It would have been Arashi if not for the betrayal.

Touka (Utawarerumono) - Such elegant swordplay!

Katsura Hinagiku (Hayate no gotoku) - Burning blade of babeliciousness! Pink hair RULEZZZ!!

Natsume Maya (Tenjou Tenge) - Redefining babeliciousness.

Yagyu Fresha (Jubei 2) - Not exactly righteous but being babelicious makes up for many deficiencies.

Teresa (Claymore) - It was a tough call with Galatea...

Related posts:

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  2. Five favourite anime studios
  3. Five favourite anime childhood friends

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Filed under: Fun Lists Leave a comment
Comments (34) Trackbacks (2)
  1. tj han
    March 27th, 2008 - 08:14

    Woah woah woah are you missing out THE CAST OF BLEACH?? Lol. Anyway, the best swordswoman is obviously Yagyu Q-bei from GINTAMA. Even 2ch agrees.

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  2. Owen S
    March 27th, 2008 - 08:27

    WTF? Where’s Motoko Aoyama and Setsuna Sakurazaki?!

    ( REPLY )
  3. Kabitzin
    March 27th, 2008 - 08:39

    I’m surprised you didn’t take chibi-form Maya or even more appropriately Madoka. Also gotta agree on the lack of Setsuna (although I felt Motoko was less refined as a character).

    Also, does Suigin Tou count? For that matter, does D’Eon/Lia count *snicker*?

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  4. Calawain
    March 27th, 2008 - 09:03

    Skipping out on Akamatsu swordswomen is quite an afront! (even though both of their anime adaptations were lackluster) But I definitely can’t say no to Saber or Hina…sigh so many choices.

    “does D

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  5. Xellos-_^
    March 27th, 2008 - 09:06

    can’t believed you have a image of Hina in her utena uniform but not Utena herself.

    Utena Tenjou – Viva La Yuri Revolution

    Jubei-chan form Jubei-chan

    Umi – Magic Knights Rayearth

    Ushio – Neo Ranga

    Sakura – Sakura Wars

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  6. Impz
    March 27th, 2008 - 09:57

    is it just me but i see this hotlinking theft thingy X_X

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  7. IKnight
    March 27th, 2008 - 11:17

    Tama-chan’s kendo skills are as dangerous as the crushing weight of moe that she carries. I’m a little disappointed that the focus on swords disqualifies Balsa, my favourite non-moe female warrior, though.

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  8. Zyl
    March 27th, 2008 - 12:41

    Is anyone else getting the same problem as Impz? If so, then I’ll have to take a look at the anti-hotlinking script in the .htaccess file…

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  9. Kabitzin
    March 27th, 2008 - 15:02

    The anti-trap script in the .htaccess?

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  10. ron~
    March 27th, 2008 - 16:36

    I also like 8 of those in your list :D didn’t know the other two tho hehe

    need to put chou’un shiryuu from ikkitousen to that list :D

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  11. Steven Den Beste
    March 27th, 2008 - 18:20

    I guess the Witchblade doesn’t rate, eh?

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  12. Owen S
    March 27th, 2008 - 18:24

    Kabitzin: Manga Motoko > Anime Motoko. Not sure if all the kissing she did with Keitaro made it to Love Hina Again, though…

    ( REPLY )
  14. Asrialys
    March 27th, 2008 - 19:47

    Heh, I would think that Akamatsu’s works weren’t faithfully adapted into anime enough to warrant those girls’ qualification. This is about anime swordswomen…

    ( REPLY )
  15. Dav
    March 27th, 2008 - 20:19

    Reading this post reminded me I used to lament at the fact that there weren’t that many women who wielded swords in the early 90′s series. Am really glad it’s about time they let more women play with blades. The next fad I’m looking forward to seeing more of now is loli’s with projectile artillery. ^^

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  16. Stripey
    March 28th, 2008 - 09:25

    tjhan: Both series which I didn’t catch. :P I need to give Gintama a chance soon :)

    Owen S: Actually I don’t remember them to be that good at swordplay. My memories dims… :P

    Kabitzin/Calawain: I’m with Calawain… No. XD I’m trying to forget that show since someone touted it as the best cure for siscon.

    Xellos-_^: Utena. Again another show I need to catch. I saw the OP on youtube and boy was it retro XD

    Impz: Zyl the resident IT wizard will look into it.

    Zyl: Neeee? Zyl-nii? XD

    IKnight: Balsa will top my female pugilist list. :) Pity she wields a spear.

    ron~: Heh, I’m still trying to forget I ever watched that show :P

    Steven Den Beste: Haven’t seen witchblade either. Any worthy blade-brandishing babes? :)

    Derek: Thanks! :)

    Asrialys: Hehe, sure makes me want to check out the manga Negima. :)

    Dav: Oh like the gothloli in the Coyote show? My favourite loli with projection happen to be the short twin tailed light haired loli in Daiakuji. Of course I didn’t watch the hentai bits. XD

    ( REPLY )
  17. Owen S
    March 28th, 2008 - 10:21

    Oh, right, I forgot about the “anime” part. Sorry. Carry on, LOL. My mind was fixated on the manga to be honest. Motoko wasn’t all that great in the anime, not sure about Setsuna myself.

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  18. Xellos-_^
    March 28th, 2008 - 11:09

    Stripey,

    Utena is the one of the great milestone of Yuri in anime. It is must see if you like yuri.

    VIVA LA YURI REVOLUTION

    and if you have some time after watching Nadesico(this is in your queue somewhwere i hope?) and Utena, watch Neo Ranga.
    1 older Brother
    3 younger sister
    1 younger brother
    1 lolicon teacher
    + Godzilla

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  19. Xellos-_^
    March 28th, 2008 - 12:00

    Forgot one more

    Katsumi Liqueur – Silent Mobius

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  20. Icteridae
    March 29th, 2008 - 10:23

    Honorable mention to Alice Malvin from Pumpkin Scissors.

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  21. Steven Den Beste
    March 29th, 2008 - 13:56

    Stripey, it depends on how you define “babe”. The wielder of the Witchblade is Masane, a single mother of an 8 year old (?) daughter. You can see Masane here:

    http://www.witchblade.jp/character/01.html

    When she’s using the blade and is powered up, her costume and her appearance changes a bit. (Ahem…)

    http://www.witchblade.jp/gallery/index.html

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  22. maglor
    March 29th, 2008 - 22:53

    My favorite Swordwoman in anime

    #1 Setsuna Sakurazaki: Especially if you include the manga

    #2 Hinagiku (from Hayate): The anime producers should forget about the main heroine thing and concentrate on the person whose 10 second appearance often is the biggest topic of the whole 24 minute episode, if Maria doesn’t do the Suigintou cosplay.

    #3 Sakura ( from Sakura Wars ) : Slender as Blade, fair as cherry blossom.

    If the list gets widened to include any weapon wielder, the #1 in the list would be Balsa from Seirei no Moribito, however. Balsa just radiates that aura of invincibility which is rarely matched by any other character.

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  23. smile
    March 30th, 2008 - 02:05

    Nice to meet you.
    The blog that introduced Anime and Manga of Japan was started.

    ?Japan Animation mania?
    //animated-mania.blogspot.com/

    “NARUTO”"Dragonball”"Gundam”"Rurouni Kenshin”"One Piece”"DEATH NOTE”
    “NANA”"EVANGELION”"GHOST IN THE SHELL”"STAND ALONE COMPLEX”
    “Miyazaki anime”etc…

    Please come to see at any time.
    And, please paste the link.
    Moreover, please teach interesting Anime.
    It comes ..then…

    ( REPLY )
  24. vexx
    March 31st, 2008 - 00:50

    Aye, I was about to hurl a few plasma bolts when I backchecked … “anime” Otherwise, forgetting Motoko and Setsuna was unforgiveable (both had as many killing moves or more than half your list and they mostly “came afterwards”).

    I do see one missing that is amongst my favorites — Tsukikage Ran from the series of her name. Possibly the finest REALISTIC swordplay (no supernatural froufrou) and a serious sake drinking drifting samurai.

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  25. Asrialys
    March 31st, 2008 - 08:52

    We have the new Negima OVA’s coming up. If they show some focus on the training bits, then we may be able to see some awesome Asuna and Setsuna swordplay (although I feel we’ll see little action).

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  26. Author
    April 1st, 2008 - 19:30

    + Tsukikage Ran

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  27. Viny
    April 4th, 2008 - 22:01

    swordswoman ey? U forgot abt Sawatari Mai XD

    ( REPLY )
  28. Viny
    April 6th, 2008 - 01:45

    oops

    i mean Kawasumi Mai

    ( REPLY )
  29. blurry
    April 17th, 2008 - 22:45

    you forgot saya from blood+??

    ( REPLY )
  30. Mizu
    August 9th, 2008 - 12:59

    I totally agree with you, Claymore is frickennnn kick asssssss!!!! :]
    Teresa of the faint smile is one of my favorite characters of all time=]

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  31. monkiki
    February 21st, 2009 - 18:28

    Teresa rocks!!!!! number 1 ever.

    ( REPLY )
  32. Dinoagent
    March 22nd, 2009 - 22:52

    You forgot Kaoru from Rurouni Kenshin! @_@

    http://www.toonamifan.com/Images/Kaoru.jpg

    She’s my favorite :)

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  33. vexx
    March 24th, 2009 - 17:39

    Sorry… the classics:

    Tsukikage Ran: Carried by the Wind
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazemakase_Tsukikage_Ran

    Some of the best swordplay I’ve ever seen animated.

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  34. hikaribun
    June 10th, 2009 - 13:40

    Well can’t say much here since most of the women you listed are in the fanservice category which I don’t hate but I find them boring. However Shana, Saber, Hinagiku, and Freesia does kick ass and are attractively designed, although this doesn’t apply to whether I like the characters themself. Personally prefer Jubei than Freesia since I like stoic types better and Jiyu herself is adorable. But yes, why no Setsuna Sakurazaki? She’s a amazing swordswoman while being ridiculously cute at the same time (especially with Konoka).

    Finally, yes Tsukikage Ran definitely. I only found out about her recently. Wish I knew her earlier, she’s just full of awesome.

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