We can also mention Sasuke Sarutobi, an outcast feared by society because he grew up in a forest mastering his fighting skills, and wielder of the black Shibien blade from Samurai Deeper Kyo. Interestingly, the loneliness of black sword wielders in anime often has a social ostracism element to it like with Crona, the reclusive owner of the black longsword Ragnarok from Soul Eater and the volatile, psychologically-damaged child of one of the seriesвЂ™ main villains, who used to believe that needing other people made one weaker. Another example is Dracule Mihawk from One Piece, the owner of the giant black sword Yoru (literally translated: вЂњNightвЂќ) who for most of the story lives alone in a giant castle and travels in a single-seat, coffin-shaped ship. Sometimes it just indicates that the character works alone, which actually applies to Bell Cranel, initially the only member of the Hestia Familia centered around the goddess Hestia. And even he is out-black-sword-ed and out-orphaned by Guts from Berserk who carries the black, surfboard-sized Dragon Slayer sword, and who lost both his parents before being born (for more details/nightmare fuel, check out the anime or manga).Д«ut having more black metal than a Norwegian record store doesnвЂ™t always mean getting to save money each year on FatherвЂ™s Day and MotherвЂ™s Day presents. Like Asta, Bell also wouldnвЂ™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. We also canвЂ™t forget Bell Cranel from Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, an anime named after a question posed to exasperated D&D dungeon masters the world over. Then you have Asta from Black Clover, an orphan with the ability to summon swords made from darkness-colored Anti-Magic. Tanjiro is a prime example as he only became a Demon Slayer and got his black Nichirin after a demon Human Slayer-ed most of his family. For centuries, one of the most celebrated bridal dresses in Japan was the black Kuro-bikifurisode, because it symbolized the brideвЂ™s intention to вЂњ not be dyed by anyone else.вЂќ It really wasnвЂ™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.

But the symbolism of black is more complicated than that. On the surface, this might seem obvious due to the association of black with mourning and formality, which is present in Japan where black was and still is the color of funeral kimonos (though it depended on the color of the accompanying sash and other accessories). When you look at it closely, the clearer it becomes that the darker an anime characterвЂ™s sword gets, the fewer parents they have and the more solitary they tend to be. Black CloverвЂ™s Asta and his black sword Image: Pierrot

Demon slayer katana