Demon Slayer Loses No. 1 Spot for Highest-Ranked Anime Swordsman of 2026

Demon Slayer may have dominated the anime box office over the past year, but it has lost out on one of Japan’s newest ranking competitions. Instead, a recent Japanese reader poll has named Sword Art Online‘s Kirito the country’s favorite dual-wielding swordsman of 2026.

Major Japanese anime news and entertainment platform Anime! Anime! recently asked readers to vote for their favorite dual-wielding character from any anime, manga or video game. The free-format poll allowed participants to submit any character of their choosing, with 440 readers casting votes between June 2 and June 9.

According to the newly released poll results, Sword Art Online‘s Kirito finished first with roughly 19% of the vote, followed by Inosuke Hashibara with approximately 10%. Demon Slayer also earned another spot in the rankings through Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui, who tied for sixth place.

The top 10 winners of the competition are listed below.

Sword Art Online’s Kirito Wins Landslide Victory as Top-Ranked Anime Swordsman

Demon Slayer Loses No. 1 Spot for Highest-Ranked Anime Swordsman of 2026 — Kirito smiles while gazing at two swords he is crossing in front of himself in Sword Art Online.

Kirito (Sword Art Online)
Inosuke Hashibira (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba)
Roronoa Zoro (One Piece)
Youmu Konpaku (Touhou Project)
Aoshi Shinomori (Rurouni Kenshin)
Tengen Uzui (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba) (tie)
Miyamoto Musashi (Baki-Dou) (tie)
Shunsui Kyoraku (Bleach) (tie)
Ryo Sanada (Legendary Armor Samurai Troopers) (tie)
Kei Tachikawa (World Trigger)

Inosuke, a key member of the Demon Slayer Corps, has long been one of the franchise’s most popular characters thanks to his loud personality and Beast Breathing — a sword style practiced by nobody else in the series. According to the poll results, readers praised his jagged Nichirin Blades, which he intentionally chips himself, with one voter saying the rough design perfectly matches Inosuke’s wild personality.

Others pointed to the way he throws his swords during battle, making his dual-wielding style even more unpredictable. Although Inosuke had relatively little screen time in the last Demon Slayer film installment, he’s expected to play a much larger role as the Infinity Castle trilogy continues.

Tengen Uzui, the Sound Hashira, also appeared in the rankings after tying for sixth place. Uzui played a major role during the Entertainment District Arc, where he fought Upper Rank demons Daki and Gyutaro, alongside Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Inosuke.

Even after losing a hand during the battle, Uzui continued wielding both of his oversized Nichirin cleavers, at one point even carrying one in his mouth. He later returns during the Hashira Training Arc before making a brief appearance guarding Kagaya Ubuyashiki’s remaining family in Infinity Castle Part 1.

Kirito’s victory comes more than six years after Sword Art Online‘s anime concluded. Within the series, Kirito is the only player capable of using the exclusive Dual Blades skill — a unique ability automatically granted to the player with the fastest reaction speed in the game. The reveal became one of the biggest moments in the original anime, separating Kirito from every other player in Aincrad and establishing him as one of the game’s strongest swordsmen. Readers certainly remember the iconic moment when Kirito was called “the face of dual wielding.”

One Piece‘s Roronoa Zoro finished in third place with approximately 8% of the vote. While Zoro is best known for his Three Sword Style, readers noted that he has also used numerous two-sword techniques throughout the series, including Rashomon, making him one of anime’s most recognizable dual-wielding swordsmen despite primarily fighting with three blades.

Demon Slayer may have placed two characters in the top 10, but this year’s poll belonged to Sword Art Online. More than six years after the anime’s conclusion, Kirito remains the character Japanese fans most associate with dual-wielding. Sword Art Online is available to stream on Crunchyroll, while Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is currently available on Crunchyroll and Netflix.