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{{quote|''"The sword is a simple tool, but in the hands of a master it becomes the most versatile of weapons. And just as the imagination is limitless, so too are the possibilities of the sword."''|'''Master Piandao''', ''[[
A character noted for his mastery of the [[Useful Notes/Swords|Swords]]. Might be a deadly duelist, a skillful swordsman, or just someone who is notably better at putting holes in other people. They may or may not posses [[Implausible Fencing Powers]] depending on the level of realism within the show. Their weapon of choice might be a [[Cool Sword]], a [[Katanas Are Just Better]], or a [[BFS]]. Some might be undefeated and renowned as the best swordsman in the world, while others might be an anonymous badass trying to stay alive.
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== Anime and Manga ==
* Sesshomaru in ''[[
* Balgus, Allen Schezar and Van Fanel from ''[[The Vision of Escaflowne
* ''[[
** Dracule "Hawkeye" Mihawk is the best swordsman in universe. He could, upon introduction, effortlessly hold off the previously unstoppable [[Dual-Wielding|tri-wielding]] Zoro with ''[[Cherry Tapping|a three-inch dagger]]'', or use his main sword to chop an entire fleet of at least fifty galleons in half from a distance. His main sword is a large [[Rule of Symbolism|cross-shaped]] [[BFS|affair]] that's longer than he is tall ([[All There in the Manual|he's 6'6"]]!), that he uses on whatever he feels like. He's skilled enough to deflect bullets with it, playing into his iconic line, "A sword without subtlety is but an iron bar."
** Zoro himself also qualifies. While his main specialty is three swords, he is proficient at two swords and one sword as well, able to cut down a man made of steel, a legendary samurai, and bring down a government assassin. Despite having the second-lowest supernova bounty, even the other supernova are wary of him. His only major loss was against Mihawk, whereas even the main character has lost more times. While he was initially very power based, Zoro has honed his skills. After the time-skip, during which {{spoiler|'''Mihawk''' personally trained him}}, Zoro has taken a few pages from Mihawk's book by casually slicing a ship in half while half asleep.
* Star Saber from ''[[
* Hiei from ''[[
* Just about ''everyone'' in ''[[
* Guts and Griffith of ''[[
* Master Tiellagory of ''[[
* Eishun Konoe and Kurt Godel in ''[[
* Master Yupa of ''[[Nausicaa of the Valley
* Many characters from ''[[
* Fuhrer Bradley in ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]''. The man can take on a tank and win with nothing but his saber, and it wasn't even an [[Absurdly Sharp Blade]]. In the ''Brotherhood'' anime, he's shown slicing bullets in half - and when {{spoiler|Scar cuts off his arms, he holds the blade of the broken saber ''in his teeth'' and still keeps fighting}}!
* Jintetsu of ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[
** The two heroes are master swordsmen, Jin, and Mugen. Jin is a traditional swordsman, while Murgen relies more on his incredible speed, unique and unpredictable fighting style, and killer instinct rather than any traditional martial arts. This is largely why Jin's hardest battles are usually classic sword duels, whereas Mugen is conversely pitted against unconventional foes who don't rely on swords.
** Various antagonists also qualify. Chief among them are jovial mercenary swordmaster Inuyaka, the deadly Shaolin Tsujigiri Ukon and Kariya Kagetoki - a peerless swordsman of such great talent that he is known widely as the 'Hand of God'!
** During Episode 21, Jin meets an old hermit called Matagi. Later, when the hermit is asked about his real name he quietly mutters that he is actually ''Miyamoto Mushashi'' - perhaps the most legendary japanese swordsman in history! When Jin asks him to repeat himself more loudly the old hermit dismisses the topic.
* ''[[
** [[Scary Black Man|Killer]] [[Uncle Tomfoolery|Bee]] can fight with ''[[Up to Eleven|seven]]'' swords at once by holding them in every possible place on his body, ''[[Crazy Awesome|except for his hands]]''.
** [[Samurai in Ninja Town|Mifune]] is a master [[Iaijutsu Practitioner]] capable of holding his own against high level shinobi despite [[Badass Normal|having no ninjutsu or genjutsu]].
** Anyone who becomes one of the 7 Swordsmen of the Mist is this by default as well, particularly Zabuza, who probably has the most {{spoiler|relatively}} normal sword out of the group, and was able to give Kakashi a run for his money {{spoiler|even after his resurrection by Edo Tensei}}.
* [[
* Early in ''[[Blood+
* ''[[
** Ogami Itto. Being the former Executioner of the Shogun, he was expected to fight for the right to get such a cushy job, presumably besting every other swordsman in Japan for the right to be "the Shogun's right hand". Consequently, when he goes rogue, no man/woman/ninja hit squad can stand against him. At one point in the series he literally fights off an entire crowd of female assassins while drugged unconscious. Despite this, the series is fantastic for trying to find new, creative ways for the bad guys to provide some challenge worthy of him. His enemies, acknowledging him as the greatest swordsman in Japan, will attempt to send, say, the greatest rifleman in Japan against him, or some such.
** Yagyu Retsudo, the series main antagonist, is also a master swordsman and [[Ninja]].
** Yamada Asaemon is the Shogun's sword-tester, and is thought to be the only swordsman in Japan who can match Ogami. {{spoiler|He goes up against Ogami, and is only defeated because Retsudo secretly tampered with his sword}}. The creators later made a spin-off starring Asaemon, ''Samurai Executioner''.
* Oyuki from ''[[
* Hattori Hanzo in ''Path Of The Assassin'', in addition to his Ninjutsu skills.
* Goemon Ishikawa of ''[[
* Nanashi and Luo-Lang from ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[
** [[The Ace|Conrad]] is the 'best swordsman in Shin Makoku' and turns out to have an international reputation; he takes after his father, Dan Hiri, who was a widely known master in his day. ''Gunter,'' who is easily taken for a [[Squishy Wizard]], turns out to be amazing with a blade as well. (Yuuri has still never seen him fight.)
** In season three we learn Gunter ''trained'' Conrad--in his adolescence (i.e. [[Half-Human Hybrid|maybe fifty years old]]?) he was getting to be cocky and bitter due to his [[All of the Other Reindeer|social isolation]] and genius, and Gunter, who was still teaching back then, [[Curb Stomp Battle|handed him his ass]] to show how much he still had to learn. Their only battle during show-time (probably best fight in the series) was inconclusive, since Conrad had a separate agenda and ran away at the first opportunity he could make.
** Hube is also pretty damn good, and prone to cutting improbable things; he fixated on Conrad in his first appearance because he knew only a master-level fighter [[Death Seeker|could defeat him]].
* Kuno, from ''[[Ranma ½
* Kamika from ''[[
* ''[[Karano Kyoukai
** Shiki Ryougi is mainly known for being a [[Knife Nut]], but her skill with a sword was enough to {{spoiler|surprise and eventually kill an [[Big Bad|immortal Buddhist mage]] who had basically set up an alternate reality to capture her.}}
** Shiki's father is also implied to be one, since he trained her in the first place. We only see him in flashbacks and in one practice match with her that he wins handily, though.
* The ''[[Lyrical Nanoha]]'' franchise has Signum, the [[Magic Knight]] ancient leader of the Wolkenritter. She's introduced in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha As
* In ''[[Fate/stay
== Comic Books ==
* Cutter from ''[[
* Katana in [[The DCU]].
* John Doe, the eponymous protagonist of ''[[Nth Man:
* The Swordsman from ''[[The Avengers (Comic Book)|The Avengers]]'' in the [[Marvel Universe]].
* Don Cabellero, a [[Captain Ersatz]] of [[Zorro]] in [[
== Film ==
* Practically every Jedi character with a real role in the ''[[
* ''[[The Princess Bride (
* The vast majority of [[Wuxia]] characters, even relatively minor ones. Even if they are masters of [[Game Breaker|arcane]] [[Bare-Fisted Monk|barehanded]] [[I Know Karate|martial arts forms]], it is rare for them not to be equally skilled with blades.
* Many characters from ''[[
* [[Tim Roth|Archibald Cunningham]] in ''[[Rob Roy]]'' is a master swordsman with sadistic tendencies. He spends most of the final [[Sword Fight]] toying with Rob Roy, dancing around him and bleeding him slowly until he's collapsing from fatigue.
* Kyuuzou and Kambei from ''[[Seven Samurai]]''
* Sanjuro from ''[[Yojimbo]]'' and ''[[Sanjuro]]''
* Madmartigan in ''[[Willow]]''
* Hirayama Kujuro, Shimada Shinzaemon, Kuranaga Saheita and Kitou Hanbei from ''[[
* Ichi, from ''[[Zatoichi]]'', is one of the Trope Codifiers for [[Blind Weaponmaster]] and [[Handicapped Badass]].
* ''[[Zorro]]'' is a master swordsman in all his incarnations and movies. It's helped in both the 1922 and 1940 versions of ''[[The Mark Of Zorro]]'', where he's played by Douglas Fairbanks and Tyrone Power, respectively, both of whom were expert fencers.
* Nameless and Broken Sword in ''[[Hero (
* Aragorn in ''[[The Lord of the Rings (
* [[Blade (Comic Book)|Blade]] in the ''[[Blade (
* Lancelot in ''[[Excalibur (
* ''[[Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children]]'': Cloud, who expertly uses a composite BFS composed of [[Bifurcated Weapon|six component swords]], either individually or in [[Dual-Wielding]] combos.
== Literature ==
* Many knights and some other characters are noted as such in ''[[
** [[Posthumous Character|Ser Arthur Dayne]] is generally remembered as the quintessential "greatest swordsman," aided no doubt by his [[Thunderbolt Iron]] sword Dawn. Jaime Lannister, himself no slouch, tells Ser Loras Tyrell, "I served with Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning, who could have slain [all six of the other Kingsguard] with his left hand while taking a piss with his right."
** Jaime is more than not just a slouch, {{spoiler|before he lost his hand}}, he was probably the best swordsman in the series. He was a child prodigy and nearly every other character is terrified of his skills.
** Syrio Forel is the former First Sword of Braavos, a culture that takes its fencing very seriously. He kills several armed and armored guardsmen with his wooden practice stick.
** Ser Barristan Selmy, Lord Commander of Robert Baratheon's Kingsguard, is near the [[Badass Grandpa|age of 60]] and generally held as the last representative of a bygone age of heroes. He's quick enough to kill two guardsmen without a weapon and is also no slouch with a quarterstaff.
* ''[[
** [[The Chosen One|Rand]] earns his position as a blademaster after killing [[Authority Equals Asskicking|a Seanchan High Blood]] at the climax of the second book. At this point in the series, he's still not very far removed from a being a simple sheepherder, so it's quite an accomplishment.
** Lan is the stand out in the series--in the prequel to the series, seven men come to kill him. He muses to himself as he faces them that only in stories does one man face seven and come out unharmed...or alive. He doesn't do the former, but obviously manages the latter. There are many others, too, and having a 'Heron Marked' blade is the sign of a true master swordsman.
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* ''[[Dune]]'': Duncan Idaho. Also anyone else trained on Ginaz, the most famous of these being Jool Noret, the first true Swordmaster. His skill with a blade was so great that no man or machine could kill him. Only a massive tidal wave finally ended him.
* Benedict in ''The [[Book of Amber]]''. Most of the male members of the Royal Family of Amber are expert with a sword, but Benedict is universally acknowledged as being the greatest among them.
* There is an ancient order of Mantids in ''[[Shadows of the Apt]]'' known as the [[Exactly What It Says
* In the [[Tortall Universe]] we have Gareth the Elder of Naxen, who Alanna says is the best swordsman in the kingdom. Alanna herself becomes one later- the ''Protector of the Small'' series mentions that she's never lost a fight as King's Champion.
* ''[[
** The best of them is generally held to be Araris Valerian, whose abilities are advanced enough {{spoiler|that he can transform his skin into metal}}. Since most of the [[Authority Equals Asskicking|high lords]] are excellent metalcrafters stone knives are favored for assassination attempts.
** [[Noble Demon|Aldrick ex Gladius]] and [[Dark Action Girl|Phrygiar Navaris]] are both only ''just'' below Araris in terms of skill, and are similarly famous for their abilities.
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* [[Zorro]], of course. In ''The Curse of Capistrano'', he easily is the best swordsman in the area, and later works only cement his status as a Master Swordsman.
* Hiro in ''[[Snow Crash]]''. Says so right on his business card. The claim seems dubious at first. His success in VR seems to come from the fact that he wrote the swordfighting code himself. In the real world, however, he proves to be just about as good as he claims he is.
* In [[David Weber]]'s ''[[Honor Harrington
* In the [[
** Luke Skywalker has become such a god with a lightsaber that one [[Villain Sue]] who thinks of himself as a [[God Mode Sue]] admits to himself that Luke is better with a lightsaber than he is. In ''[[
** Mace Windu's skill with a lightsaber outdoes both Yoda and Darth Sidious. Furthermore, due to his use of the [[Game Breaker|Shatterpoint]] Force ability, Mace can see the weaknesses of nearly anything in life. Those two things are what allowed him to defeat Sidious. Only Anakin's intervention prevented him from achieving victory.
* In the ''[[Malazan Book of the Fallen]]'', [[Badass Normal|Brys Beddict]], [[Physical God|Anomander Rake]] and [[Badass Grandpa|Kallor]], [[World of Badass|amongst others]], would all qualify. The Seguleh are [[Planet of Hats|a whole race of these]]; their culture focuses on swordsmanship to the exclusion of all else, to the extent that they're ranked according to their sword skill, and as such are regarded as some of the deadliest hand-to-hand combatants in the whole [[World of Badass]].
* In ''[[
* In ''[[The Princess Bride (
* In RA Salvatore's ''[[The Dark Elf Trilogy]]'', the drow ranger Drizzt Do'Urden is one of the greatest swordsmen in the [[Forgotten Realms]]. His primary disadvantage is that he is small and, while in excellent shape, not as strong as, say, an orc king or an ogre warrior. He starts training at sixteen; in most of the novels, he's around seventy or eighty, but for a dark elf that's still young.
* Many characters in [[S.M. Stirling]]'s [[Emberverse]], notably Mike Havel, Norman Arminger, Pam Arnstein, Astrid Larsson, Tiphaine d'Ath, Rudi Mackenzie, and Mathilda Arminger.
* [[The Three Musketeers (
* [[John Carter of Mars]], the greatest swordsman of two worlds, at least. He's not the only one, though, what with swordsmanship being an incredibly prized skill among the Martian races, almost all of whom are varying degrees of [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]]. In particular, Carter complements the [[Path of Inspiration|Therns]] for their swordsmanship (though it's the ''only'' thing he finds praiseworthy about [[Always Chaotic Evil|them]]), and the Okar (Yellow Martian) elite guard [[Badass Grandpa|Solan]] gives Carter a serious run for his money in the third book.
* This is one of the things about Commissar [[
** It's not merely that Cain won't die. It's that he's (against his will) right up close and personal with the enemy, and nonetheless won't let them land a hit on him. '''That's''' the swordsmanship part.
* Richard of the ''[[Sword of Truth]]'' becomes this due to the memories magically imbued in the titular sword, accrued from every single former user of the blade. He unlocks the knowledge in battle with ''thirty blademasters''. Each one is also an example of this trope, coming from a culture that has been training for 3,000 years just to help Richard unlock the sword's power. Richard also becomes an expert with all sorts of bladed implements. His skill with the symbolic language of magic is ultimately explained by it being analogous to swordsmanship.
* Lancelot from Arthurian myth, including literature such as ''[[Le Morte
* Gilbert of ''[[
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* Hiba Takayuki from ''[[Taiyou Sentai Sun Vulcan]]''
* Doggie Krueger from ''[[Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger]]''. In a police-themed series, he's the ''only'' character using a sword - and his first scene as a Ranger involves wiping out 100 henchmen without breaking a sweat. [[Power Rangers SPD|His American version]] matches up.
* Joe Gibken from ''[[
* From ''[[Garo]]'', we have the protagonist Kouga Saejima, his father Taiga Saejima, and his rival-turned-best friend Rei Suzumura. Later, the second season introduced [[Big Bad|The Man in The Red Mask]] the one-off character [[Samurai|Igari Juzo]] in episode 8, Kouga's mentor Wataru Shijima and {{spoiler|Makai Priest Reo Fudou}}.
* In ''[[
== Tabletop Games ==
* ''[[
** The kensai/weapons master class kit is a subclass of fighter who forfeits all armor in favor of sword mastery. He can take ''five'' skill levels in a single weapon (other fighter classes can take up to two) and do, indeed, crazy things with swords. For example, a level 16 Weapons Master [[Dual-Wielding]] [[Katanas Are Just Better]] (which he is fully proficient with) with Haste buff can land as much as 24 successful hits in one round.
** AD&D allows first-level fighters to specialize in weapons on character creation, with the aim of creating characters like this. They had a bonus to hit and damage with their chosen weapon, and could attack more often with it.
** The Duelist prestige class from 3rd Edition is a master fencer. The class focuses on combat with a light weapon (usually a rapier), with the off-hand kept free.
* ''[[Warhammer Fantasy]]''
** High Elf [[Exactly What It Says
** Sword wielding [[The Berserker|Champions of Khorne]] are similar, but don't fight in a particularly graceful manner. They can still easily match Swordmasters blow for blow.
* The advantage Weapon Master in ''[[
* ''[[
* According to [[Word of God|Ed Greenwood]], the creator of ''[[
* In all incarnations of the ''[[
* In ''[[The Dresden Files (
== Video Games ==
* Several from the ''[[
* The ''[[
** ''[[
** ''[[
** ''[[
** The ''[[
** ''[[
** ''[[
** ''[[
** ''[[
** ''[[
** ''[[
** [[The Epic of Gilgamesh
* Tricolour in the second ''[[Freedom Force]]'' can take on the Nazi Army and keep up with Freedom Force's super powered heroes with just Olympic level fencing.
* Alix Lencolia in ''[[
* ''[[The Elder Scrolls II Daggerfall
** Frandar Hunding was a Redguard hero known as an "Ansei": swordsmen that could create weapons ''with their minds.'' Says Allena Benoch, another Master Swordsman, of Hunding and swordsmanship in general: "Frandar Hunding lists thirty-eight grips, seven hundred and fifty offensive and eighteen hundred defensive positions, and nearly nine thousand moves essential to sword mastery. The average hack-and-slasher knows one grip, which he uses primarily to keep from dropping his blade. He knows one offensive position, facing his target, and one defensive position, fleeing. Of the multitudinous rhythms and inflections of combat, he knows less than one."
** An in-universe short story states that there were some Redguard masters so skilled that their blades could be used to cut atoms, causing the massive explosion that destroyed their home continent of Yokuda. Cyrus the Restless (the protagonist of the spin-off game ''Redguard'') bluffs out Vivec, an archetypal [[God Mode Sue]], with the very ''idea'' of it and forces the god to flee.
* Most characters belonging to the Myrmidon class and its ascended class Swordmaster in the ''[[
* The old Tales character cameo [[Bonus Boss]] in the [[Tales
* Royal Guards and Elvish Champions from ''[[Battle for Wesnoth]]''.
* ''[[
** Richard
** Georg Prime. He has nations across two continents calling him [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|"Deathblow"]] like it's his first name. There's [[Crutch Character|a good reason]] that, in [[Suikoden II
* At least three characters in ''[[Fate/stay
** Saber uses a heavy western sword and is, of course, of the actual Saber class.
** The second (and less fitting) case is Archer, who has no actual talent for sword fighting and got to be as good as he is through damn hard work and improvised techniques. Arguably more a master of [[Confusion Fu]] though.
** The standout example, however, is Assassin - actually some nobody who only got summoned ''because'' he was a master swordsman. He was the only person who ever really learned Tsubame Gaeshi - this being a technique which uses 'dimensional refraction' aka ''the Second freaking Magic'' to let him deliver three simultaneous strikes. Assassin achieved this not through some magical artefact or hidden superpower; he just trained really hard for a really long time, and was rewarded with this beast of a technique, on par with a Noble Phantasm all by itself. Further, while basically only fighting on the level of a human, he scares Lancer and would have beaten Saber (who uses bursts of mana to stand toe-to-toe with [[Lightning Bruiser]] Berserker), only his sword bent. In Unlimited Blade Works it's mentioned he successfully saw off Lancer, Rider, and ''Berserker himself'', again using nothing but his own ludicrous sword skill.
** The prequel novels ''[[Fate
* Karel from ''[[
* The various Links in ''[[
* Ezio Auditore from ''[[
* [[Tyke Bomb]] Ramirez from ''[[
* Several of the units in ''[[
* Meta Knight from ''[[
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* ''[[CHEVALIER]]'' in this romantic fantasy adventure Chevalier is a master swords-mouse. [http://shivae.net/chevalier/ Here]
* Julio Scoundrel, Elan's mentor in the ways of the Dashing Swordsman, in ''[[
== Web Original ==
* Admiral Harper from ''[[
== Western Animation ==
* Master Piandao of ''[[
* Jack from ''[[
* The Duelist in the ''[[
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* Vincentio Saviolo, though an Italian, produced the first fencing manual written in English.
* Fiore dei Liberi was a Medieval fencing master who wrote ''Flower of Battle'', one of the oldest and most comprehensive fighting manuals in existence.
* Ridolfo Capo Ferro was an Italian fencing master probably best known today for getting name-dropped in ''[[The Princess Bride (
* Achille Marozzo was an Italian fencing master of the Dardi school, whose style was extremely influential in the 16th century.
* Giacomo di Grassi was an Italian fencing master whose style was particularly popular in Elizabethan times, as swordsmanship began to favor lighter rapiers.
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* Explorer, soldier and all-around Renaissance man Sir Richard Francis Burton studied swordfighting with the same enthusiasm he pursued his many other areas of expertise. He wrote ''A New System of Sword Exercise for Infantry'' as well as his uncompleted ''The Book of the Sword''.
* George S Patton is the Army's youngest ever Master of the Sword. In 1912, he sought out Europe's greatest swordsman of the time, the French Cavalry's Adjutant M. Clèry, and returned to America to redesign the Army's saber, giving us the Patton Saber.
* Mariel Zagunis, from Beaverton, Gold Medal winner in Sabre and a literal [[Hot Chick
* Hollywood swordmaster Bob Anderson. Chances are, if there was a swordfight in a film within the past 50 years, Bob Anderson choreographed it. He recently passed away at the age of 89, while working on ''[[The Hobbit (
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