Then you have the black sword-wielding Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach, who is such a protector, he literally has the character for “protection” in his name.Īccording to his father, the name was supposed to help set Ichigo on a path towards helping others, and he really took it to heart by deciding from an early age to protect his mother. In Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, the goddess Hestia begs the goddess Hephaestus to create a black weapon for Bell specifically to protect him and for him to protect others. It works similarly with black anime swords, which often belong to protectors. The fact that he protects them from evil demonic forces seems almost a little too on the nose, given the color symbolism of Japanese talismans: Japanese lucky charms like Daruma dolls or Maneki Neko waving cat figurines come in different colors, with black varieties said to protect their owners against evil. But throughout the series, he risks his life not just for her but also complete strangers. Tanjiro only joins the Demon Slayer Corps at first to protect his sister. Black Swords Are the Weapons of Protectorsīell, in Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, holding a black blade Image: J.C.Staff Perhaps this too has basis in historical fact as black is the color of Nara ink that’s been used in the past to tattoo and, consequently, ostracize Japanese criminals. We can also mention Sasuke Sarutobi, an outcast feared by society because he grew up in a forest mastering his fighting skills, and wielder of the black Shibien blade from Samurai Deeper Kyo. Interestingly, the loneliness of black sword wielders in anime often has a social ostracism element to it like with Crona, the reclusive owner of the black longsword Ragnarok from Soul Eater and the volatile, psychologically-damaged child of one of the series’ main villains, who used to believe that needing other people made one weaker. Another example is Dracule Mihawk from One Piece, the owner of the giant black sword Yoru (literally translated: “Night”) who for most of the story lives alone in a giant castle and travels in a single-seat, coffin-shaped ship. Sometimes it just indicates that the character works alone, which actually applies to Bell Cranel, initially the only member of the Hestia Familia centered around the goddess Hestia. And even he is out-black-sword-ed and out-orphaned by Guts from Berserk who carries the black, surfboard-sized Dragon Slayer sword, and who lost both his parents before being born (for more details/nightmare fuel, check out the anime or manga).īut having more black metal than a Norwegian record store doesn’t always mean getting to save money each year on Father’s Day and Mother’s Day presents. Like Asta, Bell also wouldn’t be able to ask his parents for help if he ever lost his black Hestia Knife in the dark, since they died kind of unceremoniously off-screen. We also can’t forget Bell Cranel from Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, an anime named after a question posed to exasperated D&D dungeon masters the world over.
Then you have Asta from Black Clover, an orphan with the ability to summon swords made from darkness-colored Anti-Magic. Tanjiro is a prime example as he only became a Demon Slayer and got his black Nichirin after a demon Human Slayer-ed most of his family. For centuries, one of the most celebrated bridal dresses in Japan was the black Kuro-bikifurisode, because it symbolized the bride’s intention to “ not be dyed by anyone else.” It really wasn’t such a big leap from that to anime, where black sword users are often strong-willed individualists or people who lost their loved ones. But the symbolism of black is more complicated than that.
On the surface, this might seem obvious due to the association of black with mourning and formality, which is present in Japan where black was and still is the color of funeral kimonos (though it depended on the color of the accompanying sash and other accessories).
When you look at it closely, the clearer it becomes that the darker an anime character’s sword gets, the fewer parents they have and the more solitary they tend to be.
Black Clover’s Asta and his black sword Image: Pierrot
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