Almost every anime character has an iconic weapon, but few of them, heroic or villainous, get outshined by their combat abilities. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule, so much so that these weapons and moves outlasted not just their user but the anime they hailed from.
Whether it's because the attack started an anime trend or it became a bigger symbol of its story's thematic goals, these guns, swords, and more defined their respective anime in ways that exceeded both their creators' and fans' wildest expectations.
10 Attack On Titan — The Vertical Maneuvering Equipment Became Instantaneously Iconic
Almost everything about Attack On Titan was instantaneously iconic, from its mere concept to its characters. Nowhere was this clearer than in the Survey Corps' signature weapons system: the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment (or 3D Maneuvering Gear), which allowed its users to zip around at great speeds while wielding a pair of reloadable swords.
Though the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment would ultimately prove useless against the Titans unless its user was a highly skilled one like Levi or Mikasa Ackerman, its unique design and the adrenaline-pumping fight scenes it made possible were impossible to forget. While the system's best user is still up for debate, the weapon's legacy is not.
9 Fate/Stay Night — Excalibur Became The Face Of The Franchise
Fate overflows with superpowered Servants who have their own unique powersets and weapons, but few, if any, will ever come close to the level of fame and iconography of Excalibur and its wielder, Saber, a.k.a. Artoria Pendragon. Fate's Excalibur may be the nth iteration of the mythic Arthurian sword, but it's easily one of the most powerful.
To keep its long list of powers short, one of this Excalibur's main abilities is to amplify Artoria's magical energies into a deadly beam of light that destroys anything in its path. Just like its master, Excalibur has many forms and looks that are either canon or exclusively for promotional purposes.
8 Psycho-Pass — The Dominator Perfectly Encapsulated Its Dystopian Society's Failure
The Dominator is a specialized gun that's directly connected to the Sibyl System, an automated system that determines if its user can kill their target or otherwise. Even if it was used by different Enforcers who each had their own ideologies, the Dominator is its own character that perfectly summarized its setting's overreach and failures with the pull of a trigger.
The Dominator can only kill someone if their Crime Coefficient breaches the safe number, and its explosive method of execution exceeds the legal definition of "overkill." Because of its wanton excess and its inherent hypocrisy, the Dominator symbolized a dystopian Japan better than any of its wielders, even the immoveable Akane Tsunemori, could.
7 Naruto — The Kunai Is Better Remembered Than Any Jutsu
Ninja are commonly associated with shuriken/throwing stars, but Naruto changed all that with the kunai. To be fair, the kunai, a troweling tool that doubles as a handyman's knife, has always been a ninja staple, but Naruto Uzumaki and his fellow ninjas' ubiquitous usage of it cemented its popularity over the shuriken.
Naruto and its sequel series are filled to the brim with unique attack techniques and spells, but they all pale in comparison to the kunai's iconic simplicity. Paired up with a metal headband, the kunai has become an easy callsign for Naruto characters and cosplay, more than a jutsu's names and its complex hand motions ever could.
6 Kill La Kill — Ryuko Matoi's Scissor Blade Is More Iconic Than She Is
An easy way to make an anime character memorable is to give them an unorthodox weapon, like a Rickenbacker bass guitar or half a pair of scissors. Ryuko Matoi got the latter, and she and her weapon of choice became so unforgettable that people got excited for Kill La Kill based on her posters alone.
Years later, the scissor blade still remains one of the most memorable weapons in anime history. Not only is it what people remember Kill La Kill the most for, but it's become synonymous with Studio Trigger itself. While the scissor blade outlived its anime and user's hype, the most recent relevance Ryuko enjoyed was the animated pogchamp meme.
5 Death Note — There's Nothing Quite Like The Death Note
An ominous notebook that kills whoever's name is written in it, the Death Note's simplicity and lethal efficiency quickly made it one of the most iconic weapons ever used in an anime. Helping matters were its very specific set of rules, which limited the user's reach while forcing them to strategize their every move.
The Death Note's mere existence led to its titular anime's intense mind games, especially in the hands of its main user, Light Yagami. In the years since the anime's end, the Death Note still remains as iconic as ever, constantly popping up as a meme's morbid punchline more often than references to Kira, the God of the New World.
4 Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters — The Duel Disk Encapsulated The Anime's Silliness
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters is legendarily silly, from the way its characters take a children's card game too seriously to the crazy amount of rule-breaking that happens in every duel. Nowhere is this better summarized in the Duel Disk, an over-the-top card game peripheral that allows duelists to play card games with a VR system anytime, anywhere.
Though more of a weapon in the competitive sporting sense of the word, the Duel Disk and its variants became an irreplaceable Yu-Gi-Oh! staple that didn't just outlast the original cast, but remained one of the sprawling franchise's few constants. Combined with undying Trap Card memes, the Duel Disk still remains as popular as it ever was today.
3 Bleach — The Zanpakuto Are More Popular & Impactful Than Their Shinigami
Bleach was a trailblazer during its peak, and nowhere was this clearer in how the Zanpakuto were received. While the Shinigami weren't the first anime swordsmen with anthropomorphic weapons, their Zanpakuto, spirits within their swords that bestowed their weapon with unique powers and transformations, were the most popular and influential.
Besides inspiring other anime to have their own talking spiritual weapons, the Zanpakuto inspired fans to imagine what their personified forms would look like. Not only did the Zanpakuto overshadow their users in popularity, but they got their own official spin-off arc where Bleach creator Tite Kubo introduced the swords' personified looks and attitudes.
2 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure — The Stands Catapulted JoJo's Into Popularity & Immortality
When it comes to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, The Stands, their crazy abilities, their users' slick poses, and the fact that they're named after musical references are easily the most beloved part of the mega-franchise. If the memes were to be believed, it would seem as if Stands were there from the start, which they actually weren't.
The Stands only came into play in the third season, Stardust Crusaders. Before that, the Joestars relied on Hamon and other fighting techniques. Because of how unique and memorable they were, The Stands quickly became the signature JoJo's element to the point where Stands like Star Platinum or Killer Queen eclipsed their users in terms of fame.
1 Mobile Suit Gundam — Every Mobile Suit Ever Outshined Its Pilot
In any Gundam anime, the mobile suits, regardless of what side their pilot is on, are basically the mecha equivalent of a tank. Because of that, it would be safe to assume that pilots like Amuro Ray or Kira Yamato would represent the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise. Instead, it's their robots that do the talking.
Because the franchise was made to sell Gunplas, the titular Gundams and every mobile suit that they fought with or against were given the spotlight to the point where they outshined their pilots. Even someone as legendary Char Aznable is interchangeable, as more effort is put into the Char Clone's new Gundam than in differentiating its pilot from the original.