Maybe it is because I’ve recently watched Tsurune but I wanted to come back to this list. There’s been a minor change to the order and the addition of Masaki to the list. Why not Minato? Because he isn’t quite ripe just yet. Give him a few more seasons (assuming the anime gets any more) and he’ll definitely find his place.
Please note: there may be some spoilers below.
Honourable mentions this week go to Sailor Mars and Madoka. Also adding in Borgoff Marcus from Vampire Hunter D who dropped out from 5th place.
Number 5: Miyuki from Red Data Girl
We see Miyuki training at archery regularly and we know he was trained as a mountain monk. Throughout the series we see him use both the bow and a staff to try to defend Izumiko (though his spiritual power is a little low when not being given a boost by Wamiya). Still, he looks pretty good when drawing his bow.
Number 4: Yona from Akatsuki no Yona
It would be almost criminal to make this list and not include Yona. She starts out having never been allowed to touch weapons and she spends a lot of time training. Yet all that hard work pays off because she becomes very competent with that bow by the end of the series. This one I particularly like because she didn’t start off an amazing archer but we saw her develop this skill over the course of the series.
Number 3: Masaki from Tsurune
No matter how you look at it, Masaki is gorgeous to look at when he is shooting. So calm and stable. Unlike so many other characters on this list he isn’t shooting to harm or to defend himself. He’s simply embracing the art itself and it is beautiful to watch. As someone who had to recover from target panic, he’s come along way and while he might make some missteps, he is really the coach the boys needed and has done a great job at helping them along. Really hope this gets another season and really hope to see more of Masaki shooting.
Number 2: Tigre from Lord Marksman and Vanadis
The show is called Lord Marksman so of course there was an archer involved and Tigrevurmud Vorn (no wonder he gets called Tigre) is the main character. In fact, bows are looked down upon as a coward’s weapon and one of not much use early in this series and Tigre faces all kinds of discrimination from the other Lord’s. However, that doesn’t last as Tigre shows time and again what a bow can do in the hand of a competent user. He wins the trust of Eleonora who ends up backing him as he fights to first defend his lands and then his kingdom from invasion.
Number 1: Ishida from Bleach
It was always going to take something a little bit special to beat Tigre on this list, but Ishida is always going to hold a special place in my heart. My favourite character from Bleach and proving just how cool a bow can be, Ishida well and truly deserves the number one spot on my list. I also love the variations of ‘bow’ Ishida uses throughout the series and it was always interesting seeing how Ishida adapted to different enemies. A far more refined fighting style than Ichigo’s swing the sword and see if it connects approach.
And that’s my list this week but I’ll hand it over to you and ask who your favourite anime archers are.
Thank-you for reading 100 Word Anime.
Join the discussion in the comments.
Karandi James
How do you make this list without a mention of Kagome Higurashi from InuYasha? She’s the most famous anime archer ever!
I still haven’t watched very much of InuYasha. It is on my list of anime to watch eventually but other stuff keeps coming up.
Yay, Yona needs more love! Glad to see it mentioned here.
I had forgotten all about Red Data Girl until reading this article, and now I feel like I should watch it again! Great post; I agree also with your inclusion of Yona! 😀
Red Data Girl is one of those shows I regularly forget about but when I come across the DVD on my shelf and watch it, I always have fun with it.
Gtrat Post and Great Choices, Karandi!❤❤❤
Where’s Umi at though?
Not familiar with her. Sorry.
Umi Sonoda from Love Live.
I take it you haven’t seen InuYasha. Lag Kagome Higurashi’s archery skills are so central to the plot that there’s no way she can be ranked lower than #1.
I didn’t get very far into InuYasha. It just didn’t work for me. Besides, beating Ishida is probably going to take some work.
Thanks for sharing your pick.
Glad to see Yona. I had already guessed you would include her in the list upon reading the title. Yona’s development is truly a remarkable one. I love the fact she doesn’t have that “overly protected by gorgeous men” type female protagonist. She is not annoying at all. She would always try to overcome her weakness. I love her character a lot.
Great list of archers! 🙂
I didn’t think I would like Yona at the start of the story, but she really does develop well over the course of the series. Only complaint of course is that the series doesn’t continue.
Well…that’s a first for me…I can’t think of any character that I had ever seen in all the animes that I have seen that was an archer. Goes to show that I really need to see some more fantasy type animes. And posts like this are great in reminding me of that, as this is quite embarrassing 🙈🙈
No archers?
While I wouldn’t recommend buying it without seeing it, I’d totally recommend trying Lord Marksman and Vanadis. It has some real harem tropes going on in it, the usual female armour doesn’t cover anything issues, and a protagonist that is covered in plot armour, but it is still actually a really interesting story. That said, its style of battle sequence is ‘unique’ in that the narrator kind of jumps in and just tells us how the conflict is set up before a fight and the different tactics before we see like a few seconds of fighting and then we move on. It doesn’t work for everyone, but I found int interesting. And Tigre is an excellent archer.
Of course after reading this comment the first thing I checked is if this one is available for me: and surprise, surprise it is ! Honestly this sounds seriously cool, especially the battle scenes that you are describing: I love unusual stuff…and this sounds unusual. Hmm…gonna have to see if I can find some time in the weekend to watch this: thanks for the recommendation! 😊😊
It is definitely a hit and miss show. Some people really get into it and some people find it off putting. I loved it, but I kind of see where other people are coming from.
Hiroki from The Place Promised In Our Early Days and Fuu from Magic Knight Rayearth
Interesting choices.
Thanks. Hiroki was the first one I could think of after experiencing that movie again not that long ago.
Fate/Whatever cracked me up 😆 Same here. FSN is the only one I’ve seen yet. I still haven’t watched the other whatevers.
Yona dear is here! Totally agree with that. Great list!
Glad you liked the list.
If we’re counting magic bows, then I’d like to remind everyone of Lina Inverse, master of the Flame Arrow and Freeze Arrow attacks.
Also, archery is my singular favorite thing in Skyrim.
Definitely love archery in Skyrim. I totally maxed out the archery skill again and again. Mostly because I remembered in Morrowind how useless bows were and you couldn’t get any better at the skill because using the bow almost definitely got you killed. Skyrim on the otherhand, allowed bows to be pretty overpowered by the time you maxed out the stats.
The original Fate/stay night anime is supposed to be poop, so you may want to re-evaluate your view after watching Unlimited Blade Works if you haven’t already. (The original anime series follows the “Fate” route of the visual novel, while UBW follows the route of the same name. Most recently, there’s been a movie based on the third “Heaven’s Feel” route.) Archer is indeed pretty awesome, and I want to drown in his voice.
I will eventually watch one of the other Fate franchises but honestly, my first experience with it wasn’t overly encouraging so I’m not in any real rush.
Did you watch Fate/stay night? It’s TERRIBLE. UBW is alright. But Fate/zero…that’s based on a light novel by Urobuchi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Psycho Pass) and it’s an absolute heartbreaking masterpiece.
I’m told Fate/Zero is better. An as I said, I will eventually get to watching something else in this franchise, but it still isn’t a huge priority for me.
Yona yes!
Yona totally had to be on this list.
I was indeed going to suggest Archer from Fate/Unilimited Blade Works but never mind that: Where is Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke?
I’m not a real fan, but probably a good suggestion.
Catching an arrow and the using it to shoot off said enemy’s head? Not bad. 😀