Every Sword Wielded By Roronoa Zoro in One Piece

One Piece‘s Roronoa Zoro is one of the most recognizable swordsmen in anime. Once known as one of the most dangerous Pirate Hunters on the Grand Line, pirates and marines alike trembled at the mere sound of his name. After joining Luffy’s crew to aid in his journey to become the Pirate King, Zoro easily rises to the top of the Straw Hats as its greatest swordsman, due, in part, to his Three-Sword-Style fighting.

Going into battle with a blade in each hand and one in his mouth, Zoro has bested nearly every opponent he’s faced off against throughout the Straw Hats’ adventure. He’s also built up quite an arsenal of blades over the years, some of which he’s had since before he even met Luffy D. Monkey.

Wado Ichimonji Will Be With Zoro Until He Defeats Mihawk

Roronoa Zoro originally received Wado Ichjimonji from Koshiro, his first mentor and the father of his childhood friend Kuina. Initially, this sword was supposed to be passed down to Kuina, but after her untimely death, the girl’s father gave the blade to Zoro, who promised to become the strongest swordsman in the world to honor her memory. It was originally forged by the legendary swordsmith Shimotsuki Kozaburo, the father of Zoro’s mentor.

Roronoa Zoro still bears this sword, and it’s likely he’ll carry it until the day he eventually defeats Dracule Mihawk. Although Zoro’s control over Wado Ichimonji’s sharp strength grows a lot during the time skip, there’s no doubt that the master swordsman will unlock even more of its secrets as he prepares to face his greatest opponent. As one of the 21 Great Grade Meito, Wado Ichimonji radiates incredible power as well as potential.

Zoro’s Dual Katanas Were Destroyed By Dracule Mihawk

Roronoa Zoro was a proponent of the Three-Sword Style starting from a young age, so when he first appears in One Piece, he is already wielding three blades. However, not every one of the three swords makes it through Zoro’s encounters with tough opponents. Although Zoro still wields Wado Ichimonji, his other two original blades were shattered during his battle with Dracule Mihawk. Zoro was clearly not ready to face the World’s Greatest Swordsman, which was obvious to Mihawk before they even began fighting.

It’s unknown how long Zoro used these two unnamed katanas, but he has had them ever since receiving the swords from Shimotsuki Kozaburo when he was still a child. However, since Shimotsuki Kozaburo has a keen eye for blades, it’s safe to assume they weren’t of terrible quality. Still, compared to the other swords that Zoro uses throughout One Piece, these dual katana are fairly inconsequential.

Johnny and Yosaku’s Swords Were Temporary Substitutes

After losing his swords to Dracule Mihawk, Roronoa Zoro is forced to quickly find a replacement to fend off the Arlong Pirates. When the Straw Hats and the Arlong Pirates square off in the Arlong Park Arc, Zoro temporarily borrows Johnny and Yosaku’s blades. Commonly referred to as the Nakiri swords, they are slightly elongated counterparts to the actual Nakiri knives used in Japan.

Despite being unranked and unnamed Meito, these two swords are unquestionably superior to Zoro’s previous, unnamed katanas. Zoro uses Johnny and Yosaku’s blades to fight the octopus swordsman, Hachi. While the Straw Hat Pirates’ swordsman struggles against his opponent when he only has one blade, he eventually uses his borrowed blades to win the battle before returning them to their rightful owners. Since Johnny and Yosaku’s swords are used for just a single fight, Zoro’s use of these blades is essentially forgettable in the vast scope of One Piece.

Yubashiri Was One of the 50 Skillful Grade Meito

After the undefeated swordsman Dracule Mihawk shatters Roronoa Zoro’s dual katanas, the young swordsman is forced to buy two new blades in Loguetown. One of these blades, named Yubashiri, is gifted to him by Ipponmastu — a local swordshop owner who is impressed by his courage. Yubashiri is one of the 50 Skillful Grade Meito, and although they are powerful swords, they are still somewhat weaker than those in the same class as Wado Ichimonji.

Yubashiri seems to be a rather obedient sword, unlike some of the cursed blades that Zoro has wielded. Unfortunately, Yubashiri is destroyed by Shu, a Captain of the Marines, while the Straw Hats are fighting to free Nico Robin at Enies Lobby. Shu’s consumption of the Sabi Sabi no Mi Devil Fruit allows him to “rust” any object, with metal being particularly susceptible to his ability. Zoro pays tribute to the sword after the events of the Thriller Bark Arc, during which he picks up another blade with which to finally replace Yubashiri.

Sandai Kitetsu Comes From a Family of Cursed Swords

Sandai Kitetsu is another powerful sword that Zoro picked up in One Piece‘s Loguetown Arc. However, unlike Yubashiri, Sandai Kitetsu is a lower-grade sword. As such, compared to Yubashiri, this blade is particularly hard to master — at least according to Zoro himself. Unbeknownst to commoners, the Sandai Kitetsu is a cursed blade, descended from the family of the Cursed Kitetsu swords. It has been claimed that the curse present on the Sandai Kitetsu will cause immense misfortune to those who wield it, but Zoro hasn’t had any problems with it so far.

However, it didn’t take Roronoa Zoro too long to assert his authority over it, demonstrating his natural talent as a swordsman and impressing the sword shop owner in the process. Sandai Kitetsu was also employed during the Raid on Onigashima when Zoro used it to fight Big Mom and Kaido together. Although he was eventually overpowered, the fact that he was able to block a joint attack by the two Emperors of the Sea, even for a short time, is very impressive.

Shusui Was Once Wielded by the Legendary Samurai Ryuma

Image via Toei Animation

One of the strongest known swords in the entire One Piece series, Shusui is a famous katana once wielded by the legendary samurai Shimotsuki Ryuma. After Ryuma’s death, both the sword and Ryuma’s corpse were stolen by Gecko Moria, a Warlord of the Sea who used them to strengthen his army. Ryuma’s zombie effortlessly overpowered Brook during their duel, despite the latter expending almost all of his energy.

Upon clashing with Roronoa Zoro, Ryuma’s reanimated corpse is impressed by his valor, ultimately gifting Shusui to him before succumbing to the wounds that Zoro dealt. Although Shusui is one of the 21 Great Grade Meito, its true claim to fame is its status as a Black Blade. Shusui eventually made its way to the original Ryuma’s grave upon Zoro’s arrival in Wano. This was made possible by the fact that Zoro was promised Enma in exchange. These mysterious swords are only wielded by the strongest swordsmen in One Piece, which indicates Zoro’s impressive skills.

Zoro Uses the Seppuku Blade To Kill a Villainous Magistrate

Roronoa Zoro finds himself in trouble moments into the Wano Arc when he is framed for murder. After being asked to kill himself by committing Seppuku, Zoro is given a short blade known as a tanto. Zoro goes through the motions of performing Seppuku before suddenly announcing that he “smells blood.” He then sends a slash of black-purple energy at the magistrate, which kills him immediately, prompting the nearby minions to attack Zoro.

He later uses this blade to rapidly slaughter everyone in his path, while a cheery shamisen plays in the background. Zoro’s control over this Seppuku blade is magnificent, even though it was short and intentionally hard to handle. Despite Zoro’s success with this blade in the short term, due to his infusing the blade with a coating of Armament Haki, the Seppuku blade is not really meant for battle. Because of this, Zoro hasn’t handicapped himself with the unwieldy blade since.

Zoro Performs a Beautiful Onigiri With Kamazo’s Scythe

As he often does, Zoro finds himself one sword short in the Wano Country Arc when Gyukimaru steals Shusui from him. While the Straw Hat Pirate is trying to get his sword back, he is intercepted by a man known as Kamazo the Manslayer, who later turns out to be Killer of the Kid Pirates, a powerful member of the Worst Generation. Kamazo is hardly an ordinary opponent, being capable of using both Armament and Conqueror’s Haki, forcing Zoro to go all out in return.

During his fight with Kamazo, Zoro was briefly distracted by Gyukimaru, allowing Killer to pierce through Zoro’s body with one of his scythes. Zoro takes the scythe, places it in his mouth, and uses it to perform a purgatory Onigiri, slicing through his enemy in an extremely well-animated sequence. However, Zoro loses too much blood during the fight and ends up passing out after his attack, ultimately losing ownership of his impromptu weapon.

Enma Forces Roronoa Zoro To Refine His Usage of Haki

Originally forged by Shimotsuki Kozaburo as one of the 21 Great Grade Meito, Enma once belonged to the legendary samurai, Kozuki Oden. After his death, his blades were bequeathed to his children, Kozuki Hiyori and Kozuki Momonosuke. Kozuki Hiyori received Enma, named after the Japanese god of the dead. She later gifted the sword to Roronoa Zoro in exchange for his leaving Shisui in Wano Country, given Wano’s connection to Ryuma’s sword.

Enma is an extremely potent sword that very few sword masters are capable of wielding. It has a habit of drawing out all the Haki from the user’s body, which can result in the user’s death. The Blade forces the three-sword-style combatant to significantly refine his usage of Haki in order not to overexert himself. During his fight with the King of the Beast Pirates, Zoro even begins to use his powerful Conqueror’s Haki in tandem with Enma, to devastating effect.

Zoro Has Occasionally Used a Few Other Blades

Image via Toei Animation

Even Luffy has resorted to fighting with bladed weapons when necessary, so it’s not surprising that Zoro would rely on temporary swords. When the Straw Hats are on Drum Island, Zoro comes across Wapol’s soldiers attacking the islanders. He naturally engages them in battle, but only after borrowing three of their random cutlasses to compensate for his lack of swords at the given time. As expected, Zoro and his temporary cutlasses effortlessly dispatched minions of this level. Similarly, Zoro used a Marine cutlass during the Ennies Lobby conflict, as Shu had recently destroyed Yubashiri.

One of the most notable examples of Zoro’s unique combat mindset occurred in the middle stages of the Ennies Lobby arc. Usopp had foolishly handcuffed himself to Zoro’s right hand, leading to a nonsensical argument that made Usopp more and more terrified. In the end, Zoro “convinces” him to play the part of his sword, effectively transforming Usopp’s body into a blade. Zoro proceeded to swing Usopp around as the latter held Yubashiri, a technique that he named “Hana Arashi” or “Nose Storm.” As hilarious as this scene was, fans expect Zoro to lay his hands on more Black Blades before One Piece ends.

Release Date

October 20, 1999

Network

Fuji TV

Directors

Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou

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  Mayumi Tanaka

  Monkey D. Luffy (voice)

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  Kazuya Nakai

  Roronoa Zoro (voice)