* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Record of Ragnarok
終末のワルキューレ
Manga by Shinya Umemura (story) and Ajichika (art), serialized in Coamix's Monthly Comic Zenon since 2017, and a Netflix original anime since 2021. It depicts 'Ragnarok,' the one-on-one battles of 'gods vs. humanity's representatives' in which gods fight with the survival of humanity at stake. The third match, in which the Japanese swordsman Sasaki Kojirō defeats the Greek god Poseidon with the long sword Monohoshizao, is the episode most closely tied to Japanese swords in this work.
Description
Overview
Shūmatsu no Warukyūre (English title: Record of Ragnarok) is a fighting fantasy manga with story by Shinya Umemura, composition by Takumi Fukui, and art by Ajichika. It has been serialized in Coamix's Monthly Comic Zenon since the January 2018 issue (released November 2017). As a Netflix original anime, season 1 streamed in June 2021, season 2 in January and July 2023, and season 3 in December 2025. (Production: Season 1 by Graphinica; Season 2 by Graphinica and Yumeta Company; Season 3 by Yumeta Company and MARU animation.)
Setting and Ragnarok
At the Conference of Humanity's Survival, held once every 1,000 years, the gods of the world resolve to destroy humanity. The backbone of the story is 'Ragnarok,' one-on-one battles between 13 gods and 13 human representatives, proposed by the Valkyrie Brunhilde, who is trying to stop that decision. The human representatives are chosen from real heroes, great figures, and warriors from across time and the world, and the gods are summoned from world mythologies including Greek, Norse, Indian, and Chinese.
Sasaki Kojirō and Japanese Swords — Third Match
The match most closely tied to Japanese sword culture is the third match, Sasaki Kojirō (humanity) vs. Poseidon (the Greek god of the sea). Sasaki Kojirō was a real swordsman (? – 1612) said to have been defeated in a duel with Miyamoto Musashi on Ganryūjima. In the work, he is called 'History's Greatest Loser' because he kept fighting by replaying in his mind the opponents he had faced during his life. Holding the long sword 'Bizen Nagamitsu Sanjaku Yosun' (nicknamed Monohoshizao, 'Laundry Pole'), which the Valkyrie Hrist forged as a divine weapon, he faces Poseidon. He defeats him through the state of 'Senju Musō,' which lets him anticipate his opponent's movements, and through his ultimate technique, 'Sōen Zanko Banjin Ryōran.'
Relation to History
Sasaki Kojirō's secret technique, 'Tsubame Gaeshi,' is described in later legend and became widely known through works such as Eiji Yoshikawa's novel Musashi. The depiction of the long sword Monohoshizao is also based on historical tradition. The work reconstructs the historical swordsman with the philosophical interpretation that he 'remembered every match the losing man could not win and kept polishing his ideal sword,' and it embeds connections to Sasaki Kojirō's actual swordsmanship history throughout.
Cultural Impact
It is streamed in countries around the world through Netflix.
Real Swords Featured
Monohoshizao
A long sword of a little over three shaku (about 1 meter) said to have been used by Sasaki Kojirō. In the work, it is depicted as the divine weapon 'Bizen Nagamitsu Sanjaku Yosun,' forged by the Valkyrie Hrist.
This page is intended to introduce Japanese sword culture and is not affiliated with any of the works mentioned.