If you’ve been alive for the past forty years, there’s no way you haven’t heard about Dragon Ball Z (DBZ) and its powerful Saiyan warriors who sometimes exchange sword blows along with energy blasts.
While the show is best known for really long scenes where Goku goes into Super Saiyan mode and shouts “Kamehameha!”. Real hardcore fans will recall the Z sword, a powerful and ancient blade that’s been featured in the manga, anime, and video game adaptations of the series.
4 Quick Facts About the Z Sword
The Z Sword shows up in tons of DBZ related content, including the Dragon Ball Super manga making it one of the harder anime swords to keep track of in terms of history and usage in the franchise. That’s why you’ve likely missed these quick facts about the Z Sword.
1. The Z Sword Is Gohan’s Version of the King Arthur Sword
Like many swords in anime and fantasy media, the Z Sword takes inspiration from the Sword in the Stone, an Arthurian legend about a sword whose blade is stuck in a stone by magic and can only be pulled out by someone who is pure of heart and worthy of becoming a king.
DBZ’s super hero style take on this was to have Gohan pull the sword out of a rock while in his Super Saiyan form. Interestingly, Goku says the situation felt familiar to him which, in a way, implies that the King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table legends exist in the DBZ universe in some way.
2. It Was Created By A God of Destruction
Gods of Destruction are powerful beings who represent the entropic forces of the universe in the world of DBZ and serve as counterparts to Supreme Kais, creator beings who resemble Majib Buu (who himself was one). Once in a while, these beings meet in the Sacred World of the Kais. Though the meetings are usually civil, there was a time when a God of Destruction called Lord Beerus got into an argument with Old Kai.
Beerus, being one of the more short-tempered and petty Gods of Destruction, decides to seal away the elder kai in a sword. When none of the Kais were able to free him, a legend started to spread throughout the planet that whoever could release Old Kai would receive unstoppable power.
Centuries later, Gohan arrives on the planet severely injured and Shin, a Supreme Kai who takes pity on him, shows him the Z Sword saying that he could be healed if he could unlock the power in it. Gohan transformed into his Super Saiyan form and pulled out the sword from the stone successfully, surprising even Kibito, the Attendant Supreme of Universe 7, who thought he couldn’t do it because he was part-human.
3. It’s Basically Everyone’s Sword
Pretty much every easily recognizable character in the DBZ universe gets to use this sword barring the likes of Frieza, Majin Buu, and Vegeta. Since it’s been featured in DBZ games, manga, and other related media for several times, it has been featured in the hands of Gohan, Future Gohan, Goku, and Future Trunks.
Goku wields it momentarily in the anime while Future Trunks uses it years in the future where he trains with Shin and Kibito, the same guy who doubted Gohan’s abilities. At the time, they believed the sword to be especially powerful in its own right, as opposed to the elder kai trapped in it, because they never got to break the sword.
4. Surprisingly, the Z Sword Isn’t Very Strong
Interestingly, Gohan only gets to use the Z Sword after Gohan does even though it’s common for shows to have dads pass on weapons to their sons. Unfortunately, Goku breaks the sword when he decides to stress test it with Gohan by throwing boulders and Katchin at it for Gohan to cut in half. In this main timeline where the sword breaks, Gohan is able to unlock his dormant powers because he ends up releasing Old Kai.
The sword breaking scene also appears in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot after Goku suddenly appears once Gohan pulls the sword from the stone.
Even in the alternate timeline where Future Trunks has the sword, it is later proven to be quite fragile as Dabura’s spit turns it into stone and breaks it.
While these scenarios might make Gods of Destruction sound quite weak, it’s also likelier that Beerus wasn’t really thinking about the sword’s durability so much as he was making sure that it would keep Old Kai trapped in it. Whatever it was made of, it certainly wasn’t the MCU’s adamantium and vibranium, let alone DBZ’s very own Katchin.
You Can Have Your Very Own Z Sword Replica
What if you could have your very own Z Sword or any sword from your favorite anime for that matter? Sword replicas can make your playground fantasies of wielding the Z sword real. A sword replica is a costume and display purpose copy of a sword from any media franchise or historical era that isn’t made for real fighting. Usually, this just means the sword isn’t sharpened as many replica swords are made of stainless steel.
Here are some factors to consider when buying a Z sword replica.
Material
Replica swords for anime are typically made of stainless steel, wood, plastic, and foam in that order. Stainless steel is popular because it’s durable and looks very realistic, making it perfect for both cosplayers and collectors. Wood is popular for similar reasons though you get blades painted to look like steel rather than real metal ones.
Plastic and foam are better for toy swords as they’re unable to perfectly replicate the visual shine and texture of real steel as well as stainless steel and wood. That said, they’re alright if you don’t have a big budget to work with.
Price
Speaking of budget, price is another consideration for replica swords. Whether you’re buying a Z sword or any other fictional sword, you can typically get stainless steel swords for cheap provided that they’re not battle-ready replicas, a type of sword replica made of steel and sharpened, ready for real fighting. This makes these swords cheaper, but other materials like wood, plastic, and foam are even more affordable.
Purpose
You don’t really need a super pricey replica sword to pull off a cosplay, but if you want to get very realistic and accurate, you’re better off picking up a pricier sword which will have more defined features and better paint work. Stainless steel and wood are also much better for long term collections than foam or plastic since they don’t easily develop discoloration because of heat, moisture, or aging.
Z Sword Replicas We Recommend
Z Sword replicas are quite rare to come by and that’s mostly because it gets conflated with Trunks’ sword, another DBZ blade that’s also designed after a medieval style hand and half sword. That said, it’s for good reason: the swords are practically identical and are both significantly used by Trunks in the franchise.
If you’ve been having trouble looking for a direct replica of the Z Sword, you can have a look at this version of the Z Sword that Trunks uses instead.
Future Trunks’ Sword Replica
The Z Sword shows up as a sword of Future Trunks in an alternate timeline in the manga, but another sword shown wielded by Future Trunks is this Future Trunks’ Sword Replica that also comes with its own sheath. This second Future Trunks sword is conflated with his earlier Z Sword largely because it’s basically the same sword, except with a sheath and without the notch at the base of the blade.
The sword is made of stainless steel and features an aluminum hilt and rounded pommel. Its handle is wrapped with vegan synthetic leather and has a silver toned groove running along the middle, giving it a more visually distinct look compared to generic hand and a half sword replicas on the market. It comes with its own sheath complete with a strap, so you can easily carry it around at cons and hang it on your wall.
Material: Stainless steel
Length: 117 cm
Conclusion
Some lesser known anime swords can be difficult to find exact replicas for, which is the case for the Z Sword. That said, this often featured blade from the beloved Dragon Ball franchise has many lookalikes from within the series. It has also inspired many replicas, allowing you to have your very own Z Sword with features of other famous DBZ blades.
20-something freelance writer who likes games and history maybe a little too much. When I'm not writing for the web, I write notes for a new Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Hyperfixations include Genshin Impact, color eyeliner, true crime, and Star Wars.
Juliana has been writing for nearly thirty years and concentrates on Tudor and Medieval history. She has written for Tudor Dynasty, Tudor Writing Circle, Historian Matt Lewis, and others. Juliana currently writes for Pen and Sword Publishers and is the author of several books, including Medicine in the Middle Ages and A History of Insanity and the Asylum.
