5 Sakabato (Ruroni Kenshin)
There’s something about a weapon that can’t be used as it was intended that makes that weapon uniquely compelling. The reverse-blade katana Sakabato, owned by the master swordsman of the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū style, Ruroni Kenshin, is an unforgettable example: a sword designed to preserve life instead of taking it. Sakabato isn’t your typical weapon. It’s a moral conundrum and a reflection of Kenshin’s vow to never kill again, creating this interesting tension whenever the swordsman gets into a fight that we rarely get to see in anime. The fun thing about Sakabato is that it turns the protagonist’s primary tool into a reflection of his own identity.
4 DC Mini (Paprika)
While they may not have been designed as weapons, the dream-diving DC Mini headpieces from Paprika still give me nightmares. Satoshi Kon’s 2006 film is a trip into worlds unknown, unlocking some special part of the imagination that’s impossible to explain in words. At the center of it all is the psychiatric device known as the DC Mini, a kind of futuristic crown that allows therapists to enter and record the dreams of their patients. Used nefariously, as seen in Paprika, it can lead to the collapse of the boundaries between the waking world and unconscious thought. The DC Mini is an ironic twist on a device meant for aid. It might not be a weapon by design, but it’s still capable of turning our own imagination against us, which sounds far more frightening than anything else on this list.
3 The Inverted Spear of Heaven (Jujutsu Kaisen)
If it cuts through Satoru Gojo, it’s iconic. First appearing in the flashback episodes of Jujutsu Kaisen’s Hidden Inventory and Premature Death, the Inverted Spear of Heaven has shown it can be a formidable tool for killing in the hands of Toji Zenin, particularly when it comes to curse users. For the characters of Jujutsu Kaisen, the weapon is already well-known as an extraordinarily rare and feared cursed tool. This status is born from the fact that it breaks the established rules of combat by completely nullifying cursed techniques, making it arguably the most dangerous weapon in the series. The Inverted Spear of Heaven isn’t notable for its weight or power, though. It’s iconic for the fact that it exists as a narrative disruptor, a tool capable of overriding the very system it exists in, which explains why it has such minimal screen time.
2 Eva Units (Neon Genesis Evangelion)
The mecha genre is itself iconic in anime with titles like Gundam, Macross, Mazinger Z, and Patlabor some of its most notable examples. While each of these shows may serve as its own interesting spin on the genre, few hit that psychological framing quite like the masterpiece that is Neon Genesis Evangelion. Whether you’re watching the original 1995 run or the 2007 Rebuild, the Eva units of Evangelion are some of the most terrifying weapons put to animation. It’s not the destructive biomechanical humanoid mechs capable of decimating cities that make the Eva units so horrifying. It’s the underage pilots that are being put through some of the most grueling psychological pressure of their lives, often all for nothing.
1 Dragon Slayer (Berserk)
Less a weapon and more a massive slab of steel, Guts’ Dragon Slayer of Berserk fame is arguably the most iconic weapon of them all. One swing by Guts, and it tears through foes with a grotesque elegance only the late Kentaro Miura can dream up. Unlike traditional katanas or broadswords seen in other anime, the Dragon Slayer of Berserk is this unnecessarily massive blade that defies the refinement of its predecessors, opting instead to put on full display its immense lethality. Yet hiding beneath its absurd scale and brutal savagery is the physical manifestation of strife itself: heavy, exhausting, relentless. It puts on full display the very mentality of its owner, whose relentlessness continues to keep him going despite losing everything.