The Best Anime Knights, Ranked
From sword wielding heroes to ruthless pursuers of “Justice,” everyone likes a knight in shining armor. But not every knight is equal. The following is a definitive list of the best knights in Anime from worst to best.
This was a post previously featured on AniTAY’s Comedy Week of 2020. It has been republished as originally written. Most of these are joke entries while others are completely serious as the list moves further up. Enjoy!
For this list, I’m going by how closely they reflect the spirit of a knight, whether they are knights by title/trade, closely associated (i.e. samurai, honorable warriors, vigilantes/anti-heroes, etc.), or simply operate under similar moral codes.
*Note that these characters did not have to originate from Anime to be featured so long as they made one appearance in an Anime-adjacent work.
**One entry per series only.
100. Zen Seizaki (Babylon)
99. Alice Zuberg (Sword Art Online)
98. Seryu Ubiquitous ( Akame ga Kill!)
97. Getting hit by a car
96. Goldof Auora (Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers)
95. Ais Wallenstein (Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?)
94. Selesia Upitiria (Re:Creators)
93. Seiya Ryuguin (Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious)
92. Black Knight (Granblue Fantasy The Animation)
91. KnightMan.EXE (MegaMan NT Warrior)
90. Raphtalia (The Rising of the Shield Hero)
89. Jail Murdock (Plunderer)
88. Kōtarō Amon (Tokyo Ghoul)
87. Free Underbar (Fairy Gone)
86. Might Guy (Naruto)
85. Bang Shishigami (BlazBlue: Alter Memory)
84. Escanor (The Seven Deadly Sins)
83. Gridman (SSSS.Gridman)
82. Excalibur (Soul Eater)
81. Corviknight (Pokemon)
80. Goblin Slayer (Goblin Slayer)
79. Leorio Paradinight (Hunter x Hunter)
78. Cocytus (Overlord)
77. Darkness (Konosuba)
76. Seigen Amawaka (Twin Star Exorcists)
75. Guren Ichinose (Seraph of the End)
74. Dai (Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai)
73. Tadaomi Karasuma (Assassination Classroom)
72. Son Hak (Yona of the Dawn)
71. Bishamon (Noragami)
70. Basophil (Cells at Work!)
69. Kurogane (Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle)
68. Violet Evergarden (Violet Evergarden)
67. Sousuke Sagara (Full Metal Panic!)
66. Eiji Kashii (Juni Taisen: Zodiac War)
65. Nero Vanetti (91 Days)
64. Yu Kanda (D.Gray-man)
63. Tilarna Exedilica (Cop Craft)
62. Ira Gamagoori (Kill la Kill)
61. Sugane Tachibana (Gatchaman Crowds)
60. Omnimon (Digimon)
59. Tsubasa Kazanari (Symphogear)
58. Flynn Scifo (Tales of Vesperia: First Strike)
57. Reinhard van Astrea (Re:Zero)
56. Kinro (Dr. Stone)
55. Mirio Togata (My Hero Academia)
54. Char Aznable (Mobile Suit Gundam)
53. Manato (Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash)
52. Suzaku Kuruugi (Code Geass)
51. Tekkaman Blade (Tekkaman Blade)
50. Levi Ackerman (Attack on Titan)
48. Sebastian Michaelis (Black Butler)
47. Gennosuke Kouga (Basilisk)
46. Ninja Slayer (Ninja Slayer)
44. Vash the Stampede (Trigun)
43. Celty Sturluson (Durarara!!)
42. Saichi “Immortal” Sugimoto (Golden Kamuy)
41. Lio Fotia (Promare)
40. Yūri (Megalo Box)
39. Mikhail Ignatov (Psycho-Pass 3)
38. Yusuke Kitagawa (Persona 5 The Animation)
37. Erza Scarlet (Fairy Tail)
36. Mereoleona Vermillion (Black Clover)
35. Manji (Blade of the Immortal)
34. Dudley (Street Fighter)
33. Kyoko Kirigiri (Danganronpa)
32. Naoto Shirogane (Persona 4 The Animation)
31. Kaisar Lidfard (Rage of Bahamut)
30. Boogiepop (Boogiepop and Others)
29. Daryun (The Heroic Legend of Arslan)
28. Arthur Auguste Angel (Blue Exorcist)
27. Gintoki Sakata (Gintama)
26. Jin (Samurai Champloo)
25. Kikuchiyo (Samurai 7)
24. Shimazu Toyohisa (Drifters)
23. Mumen Rider (One Punch Man)
22. Byakuya Kuchiki (Bleach)
21. Clare (Claymore)
20. Lord El-Melloi II (Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files {Rail Zeppelin} Grace note)
19. Sword (Garo: Vanishing Line)
18. Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki (Joker Game)
17. Saitō Hajime (Rurouni Kenshin)
16. Roy Mustang (Full Metal Alchemist)
15. Roronoa Zoro (One Piece)
14. Cronen von Wolf (No Guns Life)
13. Alexander motherfucking Anderson (Hellsing)
12. Skull Knight (Berserk)
11. Tanjiro Kamado (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba)
10. Jonathan Joestar (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure)
9. Goemon Ishikawa XIII (Lupin The Third)
8. Astolfo (Fate/Apocrypha)
7. Anime Batman
6. Alucard (Castlevania)
5. Klaus Von Reinherz (Blood Blockade Battlefront)
4. Doppo Kunikida (Bungo Stray Dogs)
3. Thors Snorresson (Vinland Saga)
2. Arthur Boyle (Fire Force)
- Ocoho (Radiant)
The definitive list of Anime knights.
Originally published at https://anitay.kinja.com on April 2, 2020.
