Why so many big swords?

[rocklobster]

I mean, there's Hasru i Rave Master, InuYasha, Gutts in Berserk, Sanosuke in RK, and of course Cloud in FF7. So, why do the swords have to be so big and impractical?

[Hitokiri]

Anime defies the laws of physics to the utmost degree as well. Why does anime have robots that squirt blood? Why do anime have girls who can somehow change into a magical girl with a different outfit? How can can people fly around, shooting ki out there hands, and instantly get golden hair?

As well, in most cases, huge, freakins words equals all-around coolness. A person wielding a huge sword just reeks of awesomness.

[starwarsboy90]

Besides, it's not humanly impossible to carry or wield big swords, you just have to be 90% muscle and 10% brain!

[Myoti]

Anime defies the laws of physics to the utmost degree as well. Why does anime have robots that squirt blood? Why do anime have girls who can somehow change into a magical girl with a different outfit? How can can people fly around, shooting ki out there hands, and instantly get golden hair?

Why do you think I like One Piece so much? It avoids all of those! XD
Though, there are characters who can lose more blood than the human body holds and still survive, but...

No giant swords there, either (though Hachi DID have a bunch of really heavy swords, and Arlong had a big one, but it was broken pretty quickly... hm...).

[Tenshi no Ai]

People think bigger is better. Therefore, big swords = better. It's THAT simple^^ *stills doesn't understand how Sephiroth is concidered to have a sword SO BIG that ONLY he can handle it, yet Cloud's sword is only HOW much more bigger?* *shrugs*

[Nate]

*stills doesn't understand how Sephiroth is concidered to have a sword SO BIG that ONLY he can handle it, yet Cloud's sword is only HOW much more bigger?* *shrugs*

I don't know if that's really the case, though I haven't played the Japanese version of FF7 (nor do I know any Japanese even if I had). All I can go off of is the horribly bad English translation, and all I can remember is one scene that mentioned it in passing.

Right when you get to the top of the Shinra building, President Shinra is slumped over his desk, dead with the Masamune in his back (at least, Cloud thinks it's the Masamune). I don't remember what prompted the statement, but Cloud says, "Only Sephiroth can use that sword."

He doesn't say "That sword is too big for anyone but Sephiroth to use." I took that to mean that Masamune is perhaps magical and/or slightly sentient, and rejects anyone's touch but Sephiroth's. Perhaps I'm reading too much into this, but it's never stated his sword is too big...merely that he's the only one that can wield it.

[Shadowchild]

In short, IT JUST LOOKS SO DANG COOL!

[Tenshi no Ai]

I don't know if that's really the case, though I haven't played the Japanese version of FF7 (nor do I know any Japanese even if I had). All I can go off of is the horribly bad English translation, and all I can remember is one scene that mentioned it in passing.

Right when you get to the top of the Shinra building, President Shinra is slumped over his desk, dead with the Masamune in his back (at least, Cloud thinks it's the Masamune). I don't remember what prompted the statement, but Cloud says, "Only Sephiroth can use that sword."

He doesn't say "That sword is too big for anyone but Sephiroth to use." I took that to mean that Masamune is perhaps magical and/or slightly sentient, and rejects anyone's touch but Sephiroth's. Perhaps I'm reading too much into this, but it's never stated his sword is too big...merely that he's the only one that can wield it.

"He has a giant sword which only he can handle" (just checked my instruction booklet from the game under his description ^^) Yeah, I remember it said that one line in the game, but I more remembered this line.

[Joshua Christopher]

Well, the standard joke can't be made on this site. : D

Perhaps it's some male-ego thing.

[CDLviking]

People think bigger is better. Therefore, big swords = better. It's THAT simple^^ *stills doesn't understand how Sephiroth is concidered to have a sword SO BIG that ONLY he can handle it, yet Cloud's sword is only HOW much more bigger?* *shrugs*

The skill to handle the two swords would be completely different. Clouds swords are just big heavy swords, whereas Sephiroth's is basicly a katana 3-4 times normal length, and would be much more difficult to wield.

[bigsleepj]

Because they're cool! I see I'm not the first to have said it though...

[Tommy]

Besides, it's not humanly impossible to carry or wield big swords, you just have to be 90% muscle and 10% brain!

Sounds like Cloud to me.

If you played Before Crisis, then you know what I`m talking about.

[Destroyer2000]

Ah, there is something special about the blades that Cloud and Sephiroth use that only enables the pair to use them. As far as I know, Before Crisis isn't out yet...

[GrubbTheFragger]

Big swords = cool in my oppion actually big weapons =cool and anime does have alot of big weopons i mean look at Songo's boomerag from Inuyasha that thing is huge

[Tenshi no Ai]

The skill to handle the two swords would be completely different. Clouds swords are just big heavy swords, whereas Sephiroth's is basicly a katana 3-4 times normal length, and would be much more difficult to wield.

Oh ok. That makes sense now^^

[Tommy]

Ah, there is something special about the blades that Cloud and Sephiroth use that only enables the pair to use them. As far as I know, Before Crisis isn't out yet...

It is in Japan.

I just read the game script. I doubt it will hit the US.

[CrimsonRyu17]

well, why not big swords? big swords are cool, and I guess you can't crush something to bits with a little hand sword. :p

besides, I think it kinda relates to the wielder's personality also.

[mechana2015]

One of the reasons for the extra size swords are for the sake of simplfication. Large swords allow for farther zoom and more dramatic shots without the charachter becoming unrecognizeable or the weapon dissappearing.

[Myoti]

Clouds swords are just big heavy swords, whereas Sephiroth's is basicly a katana 3-4 times normal length, and would be much more difficult to wield.

Yeah, that's why I was sort of thinking. Kind of like the sword is difficult to use due to it's length, and Sephiroth was the only one trained to use it.

I mean, it'd probably be far easier to cut yourself misusing something like the Masamune than a massive blade like Cloud's.

[Destroyer2000]

If I may...

http://www.weaponmasters.com/index.html?ID=c8e6b6bb0fd69e6ab118155870025208&ITEM=WM-5000&AD=072996f54b20cdc0045d1e2ecbeb0dde

[Tenshi no Ai]

If I may...

http://www.weaponmasters.com/index.html?ID=c8e6b6bb0fd69e6ab118155870025208&ITEM=WM-5000&AD=072996f54b20cdc0045d1e2ecbeb0dde

0_0 wow they really made one!

[Destroyer2000]

Yeah, and...

http://www.weaponmasters.com/index.html?ID=c8e6b6bb0fd69e6ab118155870025208&FDX=&FMAX=&SORT=&ITEM=BC-006&SORT=&FDX=&FMAX=

[Destroyer2000]

That site is awesome. Most of their stuff is full tang, full contact, perfect design...hence the price of most of them, but I am ordering some stuff from there.

[Tenshi no Ai]

Yeah, and...

http://www.weaponmasters.com/index.html?ID=c8e6b6bb0fd69e6ab118155870025208&FDX=&FMAX=&SORT=&ITEM=BC-006&SORT=&FDX=&FMAX=

Not only does it look smaller than the real one (or is it?), but sort of dregrades the fact that that little piece is ONLY 4.5 pounds while the Masamune's 16!

[Destroyer2000]

Yeah, but those are display blades...and neither got very good reviews. They are having a flash sale on a Sakabatou, and you can save nearly 50 percent on it.

[uc pseudonym]

As odd as it is to say this, I think that really big swords actually make sense using anime physics. The characters are strong beyond human limits, so much so that they can not only wield massive swords, but use them as quickly as normal swords. Considering that force = mass x acceleration, they might as well increase the mass of their weapons for more damage, if they can use them.

Why do you think I like One Piece so much? It avoids all of those! XD

I'll assume that was in jest, because One Piece defies the laws of physics and plausibility more than most. Think about the utter uselessness of Zoro's third sword. Even if we take Luffy's ability for granted, the idea that he could be sliced but not shot is flawed - bullets have far more cutting power than any sword. I also just want to note that Chopper is probably the equivalent of a magical girl and that Eneru is pretty DBZ-esque.

whereas Sephiroth's is basicly a katana 3-4 times normal length, and would be much more difficult to wield.

Next to impossible, I would think, unless you don't care about your surroundings.

[Sennin]

Despite the reasons given above, I think that the principle reason anime has so many huge swords is simply because few people give heed to the wisdom contained in Musashi's Book of Five Rings:

"Some other schools have a liking for extra-long swords. From the point of view of my strategy these must be seen as weak schools. This is because they do not appreciate the principle of cutting the enemy by any means. Their preference is for the extra-long sword and, relying on the virtue of its length, they think to defeat the enemy from a distance." (from the Wind Book)

If mangaka and animators were more widely versed in the classical books of swordsmanship, we would see more swords with a proper length--like in Rurouni Kenshin. Though this series features Sanosuke's Zanbatou, he was easily defeated because such a large sword which lacked proper agility.

[Myoti]

I'll assume that was in jest, because One Piece defies the laws of physics and plausibility more than most. Think about the utter uselessness of Zoro's third sword. Even if we take Luffy's ability for granted, the idea that he could be sliced but not shot is flawed - bullets have far more cutting power than any sword. I also just want to note that Chopper is probably the equivalent of a magical girl and that Eneru is pretty DBZ-esque.

I didn't mean it was completely exempt, just that it didn't appear to have as many of those other cliches (or if it did, they were treated differently). I suppose those points might have been like that, though (Chopper as "Magical Girl"? That's an odd thought... O.o ).

Even if we take Luffy's ability for granted, the idea that he could be sliced but not shot is flawed - bullets have far more cutting power than any sword.

Most of the bullets in the series are done as Musket balls, though. It would be treated as a blunt strike instead of cutting (like Krieg's stake bullets). Saying that, though, a bullet shot with enough force probably WOULD tear through him.

Next to impossible, I would think, unless you don't care about your surroundings.

Anyone read Bleach? Remember when he tried fighting in the hospital and got the Zanpakotou(?) stuck in the roof?
Exactly.

[Arnobius]

The Zanbatou from RK appears to have been fictional. However, there was a Chinese sword the RK author may have borrowed from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhanmadao. The zhǎn mǎ dāo was prety ancient and used to cut the legs off horses

http://www.huanuosword.com/e/asp/english/product.asp?id=400

Those big things Sanosuke and others used never existed though historically. Something that big would leave the weilder worn out very quickly. Just consider the weight, the force needed and the repetitive motion.

The weapon used by the Japanese for this purpose tended to be the Naginata, which noble class women trained with actually.

The real weapons used (and they seemed to die with the musket) were much lighter and thinner. Even the massive 6' no dachi sword weighed under 10 lbs.

Some of the reasons these giant swords never caught on:

* The blade was more difficult to forge compared to a normal-sized sword
* The nodachi required greater strength to properly wield
* Weapons such as the naginata or nagamaki were arguably more effective for the same role on the battlefield.

I think it's just big weapons look more impressive than the real thing. You need to see a movie like Azum to see cool sword battles with ordinary swords
http://www.naginata.org/background.html

[Sami_jane]

you know technically speaking...inuyasha's sword is only big when he pulls it out or has it in his hand.

lol dont know why i said that...just felt like it.