Black swords in Demon Slayer and other anime have deep meaning

The day Tanjiro got his Nichirin Sword for the first time Demon Slayer, and it changed color to match the personality of its user like all Nichirin weapons do, many fans were surprised that Tanjiro’s katana turned black. The sword was the gift of a kind and compassionate orphan who wanted to help people save from demons. An obsidian blade wasn’t exactly a personality fit.

But those facts are precisely why we should have expected the young Demon Slayer’s weapon to turn black (besides the fact that the “tan” in his name is written with a character for “charcoal”). Actually, Tanjiro’s complex symbolic meaning of the color matches the anime’s black sword-users.

Black Sword users are usually orphans and loners

Pierrot

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. It might appear obvious that black has a association with formality (which is also present in Japan), but it depends on how the accessories are colored. The symbolism behind black’s symbolic meaning is much more complex than this. Black has been the Japanese most popular bridal dress for many centuries. 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.

Tanjiro is one prime example. Asta can be found from Black CloverAn orphan who can summon dark-colored Anti-Magic swords. We also can’t forget Bell Cranel from Do You Think It Is Wrong To Pick up Girls at a Dungeon?, an anime named after a question posed to exasperated D&D dungeon masters the world over. 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. Even so, he’s out-black-sworded and left without a family by Guts. Berserk Who carries the surfboard-sized black Dragon Slayer sword and who has lost both? His parents before being bornFor more information/nightmare fuel check out anime and manga

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But 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. Sometimes, it’s just a sign that the character works well alone. That is what Bell Cranel was originally the case. Only member of Hestia Familia, centered around Hestia. Dracule Mihawk is another example. 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.

It is interesting that the lonely black sword-wielders of anime have a strong social ostracism component, just like Crona who was the reclusive owner the longsword Ragnarok in black. 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. Sasuke Sarutobi is another outcast who society fears. He grew up in the forest and learned his fighting skills. Samurai Deeper Kyo. 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.

Protectors use black swords

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Tanjiro joins Demon Slayer Corps to first protect his sister. He risks his life for both her and complete strangers throughout the series. Given the symbolism behind Japanese talismans, the fact that he defends them against evil demonic forces is almost too obvious. Japanese luck charms such as Maneki Neko waving cats figurines and Daruma dolls are available in different colors. Black varieties of lucky charms, which protect their owners from evil, come across as a bit odd. This works the same way with anime swords of black, often belonging to protectors.

Do You Think It Is Wrong To Pick up Girls at a Dungeon?The goddess Hestia asks goddess Hephaestus for a black sword to defend Bell and protect other people. Next, you will find Ichigo Kurosaki (a black sword-wielding man). Bleach, who is such a protector, he literally has the character for “protection” in his name.

His father said that the name would help Ichigo set him on the path to helping others. He really believed it and decided from an early age, to defend his mother. After his siblings were born, Ichigo took up martial arts as a way to achieve his ideals. He later used the desire to kill evil spirits to protect his family. Even when The manifestation of his power wanted to unlock more of Ichigo’s potential, he did it by trying to get him to think about what he really wanted to protect. Basically, the longer you talk about Ichigo, the more the word “protect” starts to sound off.

“Protection” is also a big theme with Berserker from Fate/Zero, a “Servant” spirit and owner of the demonic, pitch-black sword Arondight. The sword was once called The Unfading Light of the Lake, and it only turned from silver-and-gold to black after being filled with Berserker’s madness and resentment over not being able to protect King Arthur and Guinevere, since Berserker was once theSir Lancelot. Berserker is an especially interesting character because, on the outside, he looks like your cliche “badass demonic knight;” in reality, his black color scheme hints at his tragic history as a fallen protector, making him much more complex than what meets the eye.

Black Swords often tell stories of redemption

Image: Liden Films

Many good things in Japanese history were dark-colored. These included formal samurai dresses, amulets to ward off evil and black cats. Japanese sailors thought they were lucky because of their ability to predict weather. The opposite was true for orange cats, which were considered to be malicious and could have been used as a way of predicting Garfield’s fate.

Yet today, “black” is more often used negatively like in “kuroboshi” (“black star”), meaning “black mark/defeat,” or “burakku kigyo” (or “black company”) describing a business that exploits its employees. But in anime, the historical association of black with luck and other positive aspects hasn’t been lost entirely thanks to characters who embody the color’s dual nature through stories of redemption where bad things are turned good.

Guts is a man who lived his entire life killing demons and maiming people to get revenge on his deceased friends. His purpose for life changed as he gained new and more alive friends along the way. He did protect them, though he was able to free his nameake from both demons as well as humans, but that’s just the beginning.

Redemption is such a common theme with anime black swords that they can sometimes tell you which “evil” characters will eventually chill out. That’s what happened when Crona broke free from the control of their evil witch mother Medusa and almost died trying to save a friend on Soul Eater.The anime Yaiba, Takeshi Onimaru becomes a demon-horned through the cursed Fujin Sword. If he’d stuck with that non-black weapon, chances are he’d have stayed a villain until the end. But, nope; by seeking and obtaining the black Devil King Sword, he ended the anime series as a … maybe not the nicest guy, but at least no longer a complete monster.

Sometimes, though, it’s not the person that gets redeemed but the sword itself, as is the case with Sasuke’s Shibien in Samurai Deeper KyoIt was once used to kill innocent people. However, After It turned black due to the blood of the victims and found a new owner, who was less bloodthirsty, who used the newly-blacked blades for less-psychotic purposes.

Black Swords Symbolize Overcoming Unfair Limitations

Image: Toei Animation

Soul Eater the main characters’ weapons are actually transformed demons, with the black Uncanny Sword being the form taken by the evil Masamune Nakatsukasa, the big brother of the demon weapon Tsubaki Nakatsukasa. However, the katana was actually used. Only Tsubaki could transform himself into many armaments, while Masamune was limited in the form he could take. Masamune eventually became obsessed with jealousy, and he began to consume souls to get more power. This made his weapon darker, until it was a symbolic of him trying overcome his limitations.

You will see the same themes throughout anime.

Nichirin Swords, as mentioned previously, are available from Demon Slayer like Tanjiro’s black katana are one of the few ways for humans to take on the superpowered Demons. Same goes for Guts’ giant Dragon Slayer, whose first kill was an unnamed, demonic “Apostle,” and which slowly becomes the only human weapon capable of hurting the dark “gods” the Black Swordsman is hunting. Asta’s Anti Magic black weapons, which are his magic tools in an era of magic and lack of magical abilities is an example. There are many more. A Piece Kozuki Oden’s black katana known as Enma was the only weapon capable of hurting the nearly invincible Kaido who gets his powers from a magical Devil Fruit.

Black anime swords can be described as the greatest equalizer. They level the playing field and help those who are unfairly disadvantage. This trope feels almost like the culmination all of the previous rules. These black blades can be used by anyone, regardless of whether they are raised to protect others or make amends for past mistakes. Star Wars We have learned that the colour of a sword can tell a lot about an individual. The black swords used in anime are no different. These swords teach us that you shouldn’t judge a book’s cover more than any other lesson. They can look serious, but they often share stories about people who survived hell while still retaining a sense of goodness.