Highlights
- Swords in One Piece come in various grades, with the Supreme Grade Blades being the rarest and most powerful weapons in the series.
- Skillful Grade Blades are known for their speed and agility, while Great Grade Blades offer power and durability in battle.
- Ungraded swords like Rayleigh's, Vista's, and Shank's Gryphon also play significant roles, adding intrigue to the world of swordsmanship.
Swords have always played a massive role in the story of One Piece, ever since the introduction of Zoro. In his quest to become Luffy's right-hand man and the greatest swordsman in the world, Zoro has trained extensively over the course of the story, coming across many new and different kinds of swordsmen who possess incredible strength and weapons.
Swords are by far the most ubiquitous weapons in One Piece as they can be wielded by anyone from lowly soldiers to the Yonko. However, where they differ is their grades. The regular weapons used by common infantrymen and cutthroats are nothing to write home about, however, the ones often used by major-named characters belong to the special grades of the story, so let's break down these grades and the weapons that belong to them!
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What Are Sword Grades And How Are They Classified?
As stated earlier, the weapons of One Piece are generally confined to these grades and, the ones belonging to the higher grades are typically used by those in a position of power within the series. The lowest of these grades house the 'Grade Blades', which are weapons of exceptional quality that outshine pretty much all others but are heavily outclassed by the top 3 tiers. This means that, despite being decent weapons, they do not compare to the highest-quality weapons out there.
The higher grades, or 'Meito', include 3 tiers of weapons that are far greater than all the others that one can find in the world of One Piece. They include the 50 Skillful Grade Blades at the lowest of these 3 tiers, the 21 Great Grade Blades, and finally, the 12 Supreme Grade Blades, which only belong at the top of the pecking order of One Piece.
The 50 Skillful Grade Blades
First Appearance | One Piece, Chapter 96, "The Meanest Man In The East" |
|---|---|
First One To Be Shown | Kitetsu 3 |
Other Examples | Yamaoroshi, Yubashiri, Kashu |
This weapon class houses the third-highest quality swords in the entire world and there are a total of 50 of them. Though they possess great strength, resilience, and sharpness, the real place where they shine is due to how light-weight they are, allowing for great speed and fluid movements by prioritizing an agile moveset from the swordsmen who wield them.
Swordsmen who are just simply faster than others and prefer such speedy movements in their attacks shine with Skillful Grade Swords. However, these blades are not perfect. Despite being very resilient, they aren't as strong as the higher-tier swords, as Zoro's Yubashiri was broken by Marine Captain Shu.
The 21 Great Grade Blades
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First Appearance | One Piece, Chapter 96, "The Meanest Man In The East" |
|---|---|
First One To Be Shown | Wado Ichimonji |
Other Examples | Enma, Nidai Kitetsu, Shusui, Ame no Habakiri |
The 21 Great Grade Blades of One Piece are legendary blades that are the second-highest tier of weapons, only below the 12 Supreme Grade Blades. Despite being below the Supreme Grades, these armaments are incredibly powerful and possess some of the highest durability and sharpness in the entire series. These swords are known for their power as well as their incredible balance and resilience.
Though these swords are incredible and can withstand a lot of damage, they truly shine in the hands of capable swordsmen, as an adept fighter who possesses these weapons can even go up against Supreme Grade Blades in a fight! An example of this is Oden using his 2 Great Grade Blades against Whitebeard and Roger, both of whom possessed Supreme Grade weapons.
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The 12 Supreme Grade Blades
First Appearance | One Piece, Chapter 49, "Storm" |
|---|---|
First One To Be Shown | Yoru |
Other Examples | Ace, Murakumogiri, Shodai Kitetsu |
On top of all the other weapons in One Piece, there exist the 12 Supreme Grade Blades as the strongest in the series. These weapons are incredibly powerful and are so rare that only the appearance of 4 of them has been confirmed. The ones that have been shown, however, belong to some of the strongest and most important characters in the series, who have also turned out to be some of the greatest swordsmen, as only those of the highest level of swordsmanship can find and wield these weapons.
The calling card of these weapons is that they take the strongest bits of the previous 2 grades and just multiply them to their utmost degree, as these are the strongest, sharpest, and most durable weapons in the whole world. When wielding them, the users can perform feats that are generally thought to be impossible. While there are a few weapons that are rumored to be Supreme Grades, only 4 are confirmed to be so far, 3 of whom belong to legendary figures who are largely considered to be the strongest characters in the series.
And to pay my respect to you as a fellow swordsman, I shall end this duel with my Black Sword, the world's strongest sword!
Ungraded Swords
Despite there being a fixed number of graded weapons in One Piece, there exist many others that don't have a stated grade. Instead, their grade is left up to the speculation of the readers. Such examples are:
- Silvers Rayleigh's Sword - Rayleigh was a very renowned and infamous swordsman before retiring from piracy. He wielded a long, double-edged straight sword that's confirmed to be a legendary weapon but one whose name or grade is not known.
- Vista's Dual Swords - Vista was a commander for the Whitebeard Pirates and his skill as a swordsman is renowned, as even Mihawk himself has commended his prowess in a duel. Vista wields 2 swords and they're both confirmed to be Meito, though their names are still unknown.
- Shank's Gryphon - Though this weapon's rank and grade are unknown, it is incredibly powerful and durable. This saber clashed with Whitebeard's Murakumogiri and, presumably, Mihawk's Yoru, both of which are Supreme Grade Blades.
Though there are many more, these are just a few examples of some powerful, ungraded swords.
One Piece can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
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One Piece (1999)
One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga's popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Number of Episodes
- 1082+
