Supreme Grade swords in ‘One Piece,’ explained
Most shonen series have some kind of creative power technique or system. Hunter x Hunter has nen. Demon Slayer has breathing styles. And One Piece has Devil Fruits—a particularly silly and simple system.
There’s a guy who can turn into a jacket, because why the hell not? After a mere sentence or two of explanation, you can understand what someone’s power is.
If One Piece‘s power systems stopped at just the Devil Fruits, that would be more than enough to sustain the series. But because One Piece is a sprawling epic, there’s are additional power systems to spice things up. After all, not everyone who’s a powerful badass has a Devil Fruit Power. Haki is the obvious example, but for the sword wielders, there’s even a power system and ranking among One Piece’s swords.
So let’s take a dive into the swords of One Piece—what they are, how they’re ranked, and why they’re important. Because Zoro has a literal handful of the most powerful ones.
Meito 101
The best-forged swords in the world of One Piece are called meito, or “famous swords.” Although you could also simply translate it as “named swords”—in other words, meito are swords powerful enough to warrant individual names for their feats.
Meito largely earn their renown by being made by a master bladesmith (most of whom are from Wano), but the best swords’ renown get an additional boost from having a famous wielder in their personal histories. For example, Zoro’s sword Enma was crafted by the legendary bladesmith Shimotsuki Kozaburo and previously wielded by Kozuki Oden.
The meito don’t necessarily have to be “swords,” per se. Among them, there’s a couple spears and such—think of Whitebeard’s weapon.
“Meito” is an umbrella term. There are actually four grades of swords which fall beneath it. In ascending order of excellence there are: the Grade Blades,”of which there are an unknown number; the 50 Skillful Blades; the 21 Great Grade Blades; and the 12 Supreme Grade Blades.
Straw Hat Pirate fanatics that we all are, your next question is likely, “Where do Zoro’s swords fall?” The previously mentioned Enma is a Great Grade Sword, as is Zoro’s Wado Ichimonji—Kuina’s former sword, which was also made by Shimotsuki Kozaburo. The cursed Sandai Kitetsu is a Grade Blade.
You’ll notice that not even Zoro owns a Supreme Grade Blade. Even Shusui, Ryuma’s legendary blade that Zoro was forced to give back to Wano, was merely a Great Grade Blade. So the Supreme Grade Blades must be ridiculous. Who’s got them, anyway?
Supreme Grade Blade headcount
We’ve seen Enma in action. We know it’s a ridiculously powerful sword—powerful enough to exert its own will which has the capacity to drain the power of a normal human being. But it’s a Great Grade Blade, not a Supreme Grade. The Supreme Grade Blades are even more absurd: more powerful, more durable, more sharp and deadly.
They’re the greatest swords in the world of One Piece, and their owners are unsurprisingly the biggest names in the history of the Grand Line. One Piece doesn’t make it super obvious when a Supreme Grade Blade comes onscreen, so it might surprise you to know that we’ve encountered 5 of the 12 Supreme Grades over the course of the series. If your first guess was Dracule Mihawk’s formidably giant blade Yoru, you’re right on the money.
The other Supreme Grade Blades which have made an appearance are Whitebeard’s Murakumogiri, formal admiral Fujitora’s (AKA Issho’s) Yakuza Kasen, and Gol D. Roger’s Ace. Yes, Roger’s sword was named Ace. Yes, he absolutely named his son, our beloved Portgas D. Ace, after his sword. Don’t worry, I’m just finding this out for the first time, too.
The final Supreme Grade Blade we know about is Shodai Kitetsu, which shares a bladesmith and a cursed nature with Zoro’s Sandai Kitetsu. Its whereabouts are unknown, but considering Zoro is surprisingly Supreme Grade-less, the pungent scent of foreshadowing is in the air.
It’s unlikely we’ll encounter all 12 Supreme Grade Blades before the series is over—that doesn’t really seem like one of Oda’s priorities. But you never know. What’s certain is that, as the struggle for claiming the One Piece rears its had, some truly formidable opponents are sure to appears, which just as formidable swords.
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