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Touken Ranbu, starting!note 
Touken Ranbu (刀剣乱舞, literally "Wild Swords Dance") is a free-to-play browser Card Battle Game developed by DMM and nitro+, featuring an RNG-controlled turn-based game revolving around the Anthropomorphic Personification of historical Japanese objects. Wait, this is sounding suspiciously familiar...

Players assume the role of a sage, referred to as Saniwa, who travels back to the past to destroy an evil that wants to change the course of history. Being a sage, you have the ability to bring inanimate objects to life—in this case, historically famous Japanese swords, all of which take on the forms of handsome young men called Touken Danshi (刀剣男士, literally "Sword Man"). The object of the game is to bring the swords to life, create an army of them, and defeat the enemies. Battles are largely automated and manual actions by the player include smithing, repairing and creating troops.

The game officially launched on January 14, 2015 and is hosted on DMM (the same home of said above-mentioned suspiciously similar game). While being nearly identical to its predecessor save for a few key mechanics (something both fanbases quickly embraced, to the point where this game is considered KanColle's Spear Counterpart), the playerbase exploded to the point where a full-on doujinshi event opened for it only two months after the game's initial opening.

The franchise boasts several manga adaptations (including an official High School AU manga), several Musical adaptations, several stage play adaptations and two anime adaptations; one called Touken Ranbu - Hanamaru by Dogakobo which aired as part of the Fall 2016 season, then had a second season in the Winter 2018 season and a movie in 2022, and Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu made by ufotable which aired as part of the Summer 2017 Anime season. There are currently more adaptations for the musicals and stage plays in the works, including solo performances for certain characters.

A third Anime adaptation titled Touken Ranbu Kai -Kouden Moyuru Honnoji-, which adapts the story of the first stage play, was announced in 2022 and began airing in April of 2024.

Wanpaku! Touken Ranbu, which is a collaborative merchandise and design project between Sanrio, and Nitro Plus announced an animated adaptation in 2024.

A live-action movie adaptation was released on January 18, 2019, which saw the major stage play actors reprising their roles despite not taking place in that continuity. A manga adaptation of it was also made, with each chapter being posted up until the movie's release to cover each story. A sequel was released on 2023.

Touken Ranbu had its first official mixed-media exhibit called "Touken Ranbu - Honmaruhaku -" where visitors could explore the world of the game, first held in Sunshine City, Ikebukuro in January 2017.

A mobile version of the game, Touken Ranbu Pocket, was released on March 1, 2016.

The game received an official English translation on April 27, 2021. It is hosted on Johren. However, the English and Chinese versions of the game shut down on August 21, 2023.

A Warriors Spin-Off on Nintendo Switch and PC, Touken Ranbu Warriors, has been announced, with its release date revealed to be Feburary 17, 2022 on the September 24 Japanese Nintendo Direct. A worldwide release on May 24, 2022 was announced later.

Visit the character page for specific character-related tropes.


Works in the series:

     Video Games 

     Anime Adaptations 
  • Touken Ranbu - Hanamaru (2016-): A Lighter and Softer adaptation of the browser game, featuring an Ensemble Cast and primarily focused on the everyday lives of the Touken Danshi in the Citadel.
    • Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru ~Makuai Kaisōroku~ (2017): A Compilation Movie for the first season.
    • Zoku Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru (2018): The second season of the series. Notably, Kashuu Kiyomitsu replaces Yamatonokami Yasusada as the series' protagonist when the latter goes Kiwame training for most of the episodes.
    • Toku Touken Ranbu Hanamaru ~Setsugetsuka~ (2022): A trilogy of movies that serve as a third season of sorts for the series. The three movies are titled Yuki no Maki, Tsuki no Maki and Hana no Maki, and were screened two months apart in 2022.
  • Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu (2017): A action-oriented adaptation of the browser game, focusing primarily on the story of one unit. It currently has one season with a movie that was announced at the end of the first season, but the movie has been in Development Hell since it’s announcement in 2017.
  • Touken Ranbu Kai -Kouden Moyuru Honnoji- (2024): An Anime adaptation of the first stage play. It was announced in 2022 and began streaming in April of 2024.
  • Wanpaku! Touken Ranbu: An animated adaptation for the collaborative Super-Deformed redesign project between Sanrio and Nitro Plus. It was announced in 2024.

     Live-Action 
  • Musical Touken Ranbu (2016 - ): A series of 2.5D stage musicals, announced at the same time as Stage Touken Ranbu, although it was the first to premiere. It was also the very first major spin-off of Touken Ranbu. Notably, musicals are tied into two segments: Honpen, which is the main story, and Lives, where the Touken Danshi return to stage as Idol Singers. There are also a series of concerts, solo and duet events, tours, and one example of a side story performance.
    • Trial Run (2015): The initial trial to test interest in a musical series based off of the franchise. It’s success led to the first entry in the series.
    • Atsukashiyama Ibun (2016): The first entry in the series.
      • Atsukashiyama Ibun (2018, Rerun): Paris performance. Notably Kogitsunemaru's actor was missing due to needing retinal surgery.
    • Shinken Ranbu Sai (2016 - ) A series year-end live concert performances. Replaced with several other concert formats since 2018, but saw a brief return in 2022.
    • Bakumatsu Tenrōden (2016)
      • Bakumatsu Tenrōden (2020, Rerun)
    • Mihotose no Komoriuta (2017)
      • Mihotose no Komoriuta (2019, Rerun)
    • Tsuwamono Domo ga Yume no Ato (2017 - 2018): Sequel story to Atsukashiyama Ibun.
    • Kashuu Solo Performance: Tanki Shitsujin (2017 - 2019)
    • Musubi no Hibiki, Hajimari no Ne (2018): Sequel story to Bakumatsu Tenrōden.
    • Higekiri Hizamaru Sōki Shutsujin 2019: Soga (2019 - 2020)
    • Kishou Hongi (2019): Sequel story to Mihotose no Komoriuta.
    • Uta Awase Ranbu Kyouran (2020): Story-centric concert, replaced Shinken Ranbu Sai in 2020.
    • Shizuka no Umi no Paraiso (2020, rescheduled to 2021 due to COVID-19)
    • Kotobuki Ranbu Ongyokusai (2021): Concert, replaced Shinken Ranbu Sai in 2021.
    • Tokyo Kokoro Oboe (2021)
    • Nikkari Aoe Tanki Shutsujin (2021)
    • Kousui Sanka no Yuki (2022)
    • Tsurumaru Kuninaga Ookurikara Souki shutsujin - Shunpu Touri no Sakazuki- (2022)
    • Gou on stage (2022)
      • Gou on stage Zepp Tour (2023)
    • Hana Kage Yureru Tomizu (2023)
    • Suehirogari Ranbuyagaimatsuri (2023): Concert, replaced Shinken Ranbu Sai in 2023.
    • Sengo Muramasa Tonbokiri - Souki Shutsujin - (2023)
    • ~Michi no Oku Hitotsu wa Chisu~ (2024)

  • Touken Ranbu Stage (2016 - ): A stage play adaptation of Touken Ranbu, announced in 2015 at the same time as Musical: Touken Ranbu.
    • Kyoden: Moyuru Honnoji (2016): The first stage play in the series. An Anime adaptation was announced in 2022.
    • Giden: Akatsuki no Dokuganryū (2017)
    • Joden: Mitsura Boshi Katanagatari (2017)
    • Gaiden: Kono Yora no Odawara (2018)
    • Hiden: Yui no Me no Hototogisu (2018)
    • Jiden: Hibi no Ha Yo Chiruran (2019)
    • Iden: Oboro no Shishitachi (2019)
    • Kahakugeki Butai “Touken Ranbu / Tomoshibi” (2020)
    • Tenden: Aozora no Tsuwamono -Osaka Fuyu no Jin- (2021)
    • Muden: Yuukure no Samurai -Siege of Osaka Summer Campaign-
    • Kiden: Ikusayu no Adabana (2022)
    • Touken Ranbu - Muden Yukure No Samurai - Osaka Natsu No Jin (2021)
    • Guden: Mujun Genji Monogatari (2023): Notably the first Touken Ranbu work to prominently feature female characters, and as well as have female actors play the roles of the Touken Danshi.
    • Yamanbagiri Kunihiro Tandokuko -Nihontoshi- (2023)
    • 7th Anniversary Thanksgiving -Yumegatari Katana no Utage- (2023)
    • Touken Ranbu: Daienren (Cancelled): Planned to be a meeting of the Touken Ranbu Stage and Musical Touken Ranbu citadel, but cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

  • Touken Ranbu: The Movie (2019): A live-action movie adaptation of the browser game. It features the same actors that were used in the stage plays, although it takes place in a different continuity.
    • Movie Touken Ranbu (2023): A sequel to the first movie. Focuses on a different citadel from the one featured in the first movie.
  • Touken Ranbu: Tsuki no Tsurugi Enishi no Kiri no wa - A Kabuki Theatre adaptation. Originally performed live, it was edited into movie format and given a theatrical release in 2024.
     Manga 
Official Manga
  • Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru: Manga adaptation of the anime Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru.
  • Katsugeki / Touken Ranbu: Manga adaptation of the anime Katsugeki Touken Ranbu.
  • Movie Touken Ranbu: Manga adaptation of the first live-action Touken Ranbu movie.
  • Manga Musical "Touken Ranbu" Atsukashiyama Ibun: Manga adaptation of the musical Atsukashiyama Ibun.
  • Manga Musical "Touken Ranbu" Bakumatsu Tenrouden: Manga adaptation of the musical Bakumatsu Tenrouden.
  • Touken Ranbu: Outdoor Ibun - Touken Camp (2022): A Slice of Life spin-off manga series following an Ensemble Cast of Touken Danshi as they use the Saniwa's outdoor equipment to go camping. It is serialized in Monthly Princess.
  • Touken Ranbu Side Story: Tale of Ayakashi (2022): An official spin-off manga telling an original story in the franchise. Features a main storyline, as well as side stories that focus on the more Slice of Life aspects of the citadel. It is serialized on Comic Zenon.
  • Manga Touken Ranbu Warriors (2024): Manga adaptation of the spin-off video game Touken Ranbu Warriors.
  • Touken Ranbu ~Nihongo Tsurezure Sake~
Anthologies

A non-comprehensive list of Touken Ranbu's many anthology adaptations. These are not complete stories, but rather collections of different interpretations of citadels and scenarios by various artists and writers.

  • Touken Ranbu Academy (2015): An official High School AU anthology for the franchise. Focuses on an Ensemble Cast in an Elevator School to accommodate all of the characters that appear. Serialized in Hana to Yume during it's run.
  • Touken Ranbu Monthly Bushiroad 4-koma Anthology: Official 4koma for the franchise.
  • Touken Ranbu - Uijin
  • Hibana Chirase, Touken Danshi
  • Touken Danshi Makuaigeki
  • Touken Danshi Shutsujin Junbichuu!
  • Touken Ranbu Monthly Bushiroad 4-koma Anthology: Official 4koma for the franchise.
  • Touken Ranbu Anthology ~ SQEX Formation ~
  • Touken Ranbu Online Anthology: Tadaima Kikan!
  • Touken Ranbu Online Anthology: Senjin
  • Touken Ranbu Online Anthology: Asobi
  • Touken Ranbu Online: Comic Anthology - Touken Danshi Funjin
  • Touken Ranbu Online: Comic Anthology: Touken Otokoshi Jinrai
  • Touken Ranbu Online Anthology: Senjou ni Sakaseru Hana
  • Touken Ranbu -ONLINE- Anthology ~Honmaru 1st! ~
  • Touken Ranbu- ONLINE-Anthology - Kizuna
  • Touken Ranbu-ONLINE- Anthology - Homare
  • Touken Ranbu-ONLINE- Anthology - Sakura
  • Touken Ranbu- ONLINE-Anthology - Touken Danshi Haruwa
  • Touken Ranbu- ONLINE-Anthology - Honmaru Ranman Biyori

Touken Ranbu features the following tropes:

     Trope A-C 
  • Absurdly High Level Cap: While swords have a maximum level cap of 99, the player level can be as high as 300. The Kiwame system plays this trope straight, as it will reset your swords' level to 1, giving players a chance to further raise their swords' already maxed stats.
  • Achievement System: The missions act like this, granting you some resources when you fulfill certain objectives. There are separate sections for missions which can only be completed once, daily missions, and monthly missions.
  • Adaptational Badass: While every Touken Danshi is already powerful in the browser game, to varying degrees, the animated spin-offs usually give them additional powers in addition to being skilled swordsmen, most of which their original browser game counterpart either didn't have, was only hinted at having, or didn't acquire until they returned from Kiwame training. It could be blamed on the limitations of it being a browser game, however.
  • Adaptation Expansion: The base game has few story elements beyond the basic premise and character dialogue, allowing the spin-offs to expand on the world of Touken Ranbu and how the concept of Touken Danshi works, often leading to different interpretations that contradict how another work depicts the setting. The few story-based events in the game are also expanded upon in the stage plays or musicals.
  • Adapted Out:
    • Konnosuke is absent from all of the live action continuities by virtue of being a talking fox. The Musical and live-action film do reference him in the form of props, although his existence is never verbally acknowledged In-Universe.
    • Tousou have only appeared as minor cameos in Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru. Every other work, animated or otherwise, depicts the Touken Danshi fighting alone.
    • In most adaptations, the arbitrary battle mechanics from the game—like some sword types being nerfed to give weaker types an advantage—are typically ignored. For example, most swords aren’t shown to be at a disadvantage during nighttime combat despite how big of a mechanic that is in the game. If the mechanics are referenced in a work, such as in the anthologies or in Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru, it's always Played for Laughs and, in the latter case, dismissed right after.
  • The Ageless: The Touken Danshi are immortal in the sense that they can live indefinitely as youthful beings who cannot die naturally, but they can be slain if their sword, which is their spirit's home, breaks. Attacking their human bodies will cause damage to their swords as well, requiring them to be "repaired" whenever they are seriously injured. Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu is one of the few works that demonstrates how this works, as when Tonbokiri, a Yari-type Touken Danshi, sustained a grave injury to his human body, a massive fracture developed in his spear at the same time.
  • A God I Am Not: A variant. The Touken Danshi are gods of objects given human form. However, the Touken Danshi not only do not embrace the fact that they are gods (although they do remind the player/audience that they aren't human), but they are also subservient to the Saniwa, who is a lower life form, as they believe that the person who owns their blades is more important in ranking, which is why they refer to the Saniwa as "Master."
  • Alternate Continuity: All of the spin-offs are implied to take place in a different continuity unless stated otherwise due to their wildly different interpretations of how the Touken Ranbu world works, making it unlikely that they're set in the same universe.
  • Always Chaotic Evil: Zigzagged with the Historical Retrograding Force. They are Touken Danshi, just extremely corrupted versions of them, and they are hardly ever depicted as sympathetic or given the same consideration and understanding as the Touken Danshi, who, for the most part, don't even try to sympathize with the reasons behind their attempts to alter history, even though some of them are also tempted to do so out of selfishness. The musical, which has a Gray-and-Grey Morality take on the Touken Ranbu world as a whole, is the only serious work that humanizes them slightly, revealing that, while they are still the enemy, they are more than just thoughtless evil monsters to be dispatched; they have desires and fears, too, and are occasionally willing to set aside their differences with the Touken Danshi to help each other out in times of desperation.
  • Ambiguously Bi: Almost every character; Most Touken Danshi were fervently loyal (sometimes to the point of obsession) to their previous masters, who were almost all male, and will show the same level of devotion to the Saniwa, regardless of gender, even flirting with them at times after Kiwame training. Turns Ambiguously Gay instead for adaptations with male Saniwa.
  • Ambiguously Human: The Touken Danshi look human for the most part, and their forms are described as "human-like," though whether they can be considered "human" is debatable, given that they stand out significantly when compared to actual humans in the setting. It's also evident that they aren't human in other ways, such as their need to be "repaired" rather than simply patched up when injured in battle, as they'll break otherwise.
  • Ambiguously Related: Since many of the swords in the browser game are from the same schools, they are sometimes considered to be "related," usually brothers, according to Touken Ranbu's shaky standards, though in other cases it's not made clear whether they see themselves as family or not:
    • The Sanjou school was one of the first offenders, as in the early years there were no inter-school interactions between any Sanjou in the browser game except Iwatooshi and Imanotsurugi, who are close but didn't specify the nature of their relationship. The first musical, which included the entire Sanjou school, would go on to silently confirm that in that continuity the Sanjou don't exactly view themselves as a family, which is exemplified by how they use formal, antiquated honorifics when referring to each other, note  but that they maintain a sense of closeness and community despite their high regard for each other.
      • Another long-standing mystery surrounds Tsurumaru Kuninaga's status as "related" to the Sanjou swords: although he was actually forged by Sanjou Munechika's apprentice, his school isn't listed in the game, he doesn't interact with the Sanjou, and he's treated more like a Dateguminote  sword. The adaptations also don't clarify his relationship to the Sanjou swords either, but they do establish a connection between him and Mikazuki Munechika whenever they appear in a work together.
    • None of the Sadamune swords interact, with Taikogane Sadamune being treated more like a Dategumi sword, as is Tsurumaru Kuninaga, leaving it unclear how he feels about the other members of his school.
    • In the browser game and even in the spin-off works, most of Osafune swords don't interact with or acknowledge one another, with a few exceptions, such as Shokudaikiri Mitsutada and Fukushima Mitsutada having a Recollection. Interestingly, Fukushima's dialogue suggested that brotherly dynamics can be determined by the swords themselves, since he wants to be considered Shokudaikiri's older brother despite being from a later generation.
    • Like the Sanjou swords, the Gou swords all behave more like a close-knit group of friends than a family and imply that they've known each other for a long time, though they never explicitly state their relationship to each other.
  • Anachronism Stew: Despite being swords from varying eras of the past, some of them inexplicably wear clothing that wouldn't be worn in Japan for decades or centuries.
  • Animate Inanimate Object:
    • The Touken Danshi are Tsukumogami, or inanimate objects (in this case, weapons) that gained souls after 100 years. The Saniwa gives them human-like bodies after they are forged, but their dialogue reveals that they were sentient long before this. As well, even after being given their new forms, they still do not consider themselves to be human. 
    • The various treasures from the treasure system as well. Despite not being granted human forms like the Touken Danshi, they possess sentience and form bonds with the Touken Danshi they are partnered with during combat. After a while in use by them, they even adopt the name of the Touken Danshi that they have come to love the most.
  • The Anime of the Game: Touken Ranbu has two Anime adaptations in the form of Touken Ranbu - Hanamaru and Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu, with Hanamaru having a more Slice of Life tone and an Ensemble Cast sort of episode rotation, while Katsugeki has a serious tone, is action-oriented, and mainly focuses on a single team.
  • Anthropomorphic Personification: Except for the unseen Saniwa and the few humans who appear in the adaptations, all of the characters in the series are tsukumogami, a type of Japanese Yōkai who gain spirits after 100 years. The Saniwa has the ability to give these spirits human forms, with the swords from which they are born becoming not only the weapons they wield, but also their lifelines, as if their sword breaks, the Touken Danshi "break," too, and die. As such, the swords frequently require polishing and repairs after returning from battle, since their wounds won't heal on their own. It's also established that, despite their appearance, none of the Touken Danshi regard themselves as human. They're all swords with specific roles to play in the honmaru.
  • Anti-Grinding: While you are encouraged to Play Everyday, the game has safeguards in place to prevent players from abusing the system, such as flooding maps with Kebiishi, who spawn at the same level as the highest leveled Touken Danshi on the player's team and will break your swords if you are unprepared or entered the map with everyone at breakable health. There's also the fatigue system, which usually begins with one sword but gradually spreads to the rest of the team until everyone is exhausted. Fatigue causes the Touken Danshi to perform poorly in battle, eventually forcing the player to use an item to reduce fatigue, switch teams, or take a break until the fatigue subsides.
  • Anyone Can Die: Saniwa beware, swords broken in combat will be lost forever if not careful. They can be protected from fatal damage with omamori, but the item itself is one-time-use and can only be otherwise purchased with real money.
  • April Fools' Day: Nitroplus' 2017 prank was a fake trailer for the second season of Thunderbolt Fantasy, featuring a puppetified Mikazuki Munechika fighting with Lin Xue Ya over a meat bun as well as a little voice actor fun for Kosuke Toriumi. The 2018 prank had Shang Bu Han face off with Sengo Muramasa, again playing on their shared actor Jun'ichi Suwabe.
  • Armor Is Useless: Prior to Kiwame training, most Touken Danshi wear the bare minimum of armor (if any at all) into battle and, unless outright broken, walk away with the bare minimum of cuts and bruises. However, after Kiwame training, most characters return decked out in armor that doesn't seem to offer any more protection than when they were without it, and they still end up losing most of it, necessitating a Walking Shirtless Scene after Awakening.
  • Art Evolution:
    • Every year, the opening movie for the game is updated, often featuring new animation and an updated art style. The best way to see how much the art style has changed is usually to look at Mikazuki Munechika, who often has a close-up in these movies (especially the earlier ones), as his model is updated almost every time. Funnily enough, it seems that not even animators are able to figure out how to translate his artist's style into 3D, a problem that the MMD community has long faced.
    • After Kiwame training, along with having new designs, a majority of the characters new art reflects their artists advancements in technical skill.
  • Artistic License – History: Historical accuracy will be sacrificed for the sake of story-telling on occasion in the series. In many cases, this is justified, given that the Historical Retrograde Armies' interference is frequently the cause of events not playing out the way they're supposed to.
  • Augmented Reality: The otomo feature released in early 2020, which allows one to take photos with sprites of the swords overimposed on top.
  • Badass Adorable: The younger-looking sword boys, like Hotarumaru and Gokotai, are definitely this. Gokotai's Kiwame form leans to the badass side, as he trades in his five tiger cubs for a large adult tiger.
  • Badass in a Nice Suit: Swords from the Osafune school trade more traditional Japanese clothing in for cool suits, with Shokudaikiri Mitsutada being one of the earliest examples. Sanchoumou, a sword from the Fukuoka Ichimonji school, also wears a traditional suit, and is the only sword from his school who does so.
  • Barbie Doll Anatomy: Zigzagged, like in all cases of Depending on the Artist, most swords do not have nipples and quite a few of them have no navels as well.
  • Bad Future: While the current state of the world is never explored outside of the serene-looking Honmaru, the year 2205 is set in one, after a global crisis claimed the majority of the population and necessitated the recruitment of Touken Danshi to replace human warriors.
  • Bash Brothers: Touken Ranbu gives us a huge amount of duos on the grounds that they have belonged to the same owner (or belonged to two different owners who knew or worked for each other), and/or are actual family and therefore have met or at least know of each other. For example:
    • Hirano and Maeda
    • Taroutachi and Jiroutachi
    • Mikazuki and Kogitsunemaru.
    • Izuminokami and Horikawa.
    • Honebami and Namazuo
    • Imanotsurugi and Iwatooshi.
    • Kiyomitsu and Yasusada.
    • Ookurikara and Mitsutada.
    • Oodenta and Sohayanotsurugi
    • Higekiri and Hizamaru
    • Tonbokiri and Muramasa
    • Hizen and Nankai
    • Suishinshi and Kiyomaro
    • Jizō and Kokin
  • Big Fancy Castle: Honmaru, the home of the Touken Danshi and Saniwa, is portrayed in every work as being a large, traditional Japanese citadel with beautiful scenery.
  • Bling of War: Characters return from Kiwame training with updated outfits, some of which are extremely bulky and extravagant. It makes you wonder how they're able to move around in battle in some cases.
  • Bloodless Carnage: Zig-zagged; A number of characters bleed when they are injured, though this is usually dependent on the artist who is drawing them.
  • Born as an Adult: The characters are "born" looking the age they do currently. For example, all Tantou are "born" looking like children and do not age, so they will always look like children. Izuminokami is also the game's youngest sword historically, but he looks older than the Tantou, some of whom predate him by hundreds of years, playing this trope straight. Mikazuki Munechika lampshades this in his Kiwame "After Casting Beans" Setsubun voice-line, where he says he felt like a child again but then wonders if there was ever a period where he was a child.
  • Breaking Old Trends:
    • The One-Steve Limit was broken with the introduction of Yamanbagiri Chougi in Jurakutei 2018.
    • In 2019, an entirely new sword class, the Tsurugi, was introduced after 4 years. They apparently serve as a support class for teams.
    • New casual outfits for Touken Danshi were also introduced in 2019, with the first batch featuring Nikkari Aoe, Hirano Toushirou, Maeda Toushirou, Akita Toushirou, Midare Toushirou, Yagen Toushirou, and Tsurumaru Kuninaga. From there, the outfits were sporadically released in batches of random (or rarely, related) Touken Danshi.
    • In 2022, the trend of Highest rarity swords exclusively being tachi (pre-Kiwame) was broken with the release of Shichiseiken, a tsurugi.
  • Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Every single Touken Danshi has an eccentricity, no matter how big or small. They are, without a doubt, all brilliant swordsmen who get the job done, however.
  • Cannibalism Superpower: As a gameplay mechanic; The player can boost the Touken Danshi's stats by feeding him unwanted duplicates of other swords. None of the characters mention how unusual this is, instead enthusing or musing about their increased strength. Raising a character's Ranbu level also entails feeding them unwanted copies of themselves, though these do not improve stats and only unlock additional voice lines.
  • Canon Foreigner: The spin-offs have introduced several Touken Danshi before the browser game, such as Inaba Gō in the musical continuity, Omokage in Touken Ranbu Warriors, Hotogisu in the stage play, and Kurikara Gō in the live-action movie. So far, only Inaba Gō has been brought over to the browser game.
  • Canon Immigrant: Inaba Gō, who was introduced in the musical continuity but was eventually implemented into the browser game, albeit with a different appearance.
  • Cast Full of Pretty Boys: You bring swords to life, and they all take the forms of good-looking men or cute boys.
  • Cast Herd: Due to the size of the cast, this was inevitable. In fandom and official material, cast herds usually depend on sword types, rarity, schools, or who historically made them/wielded them. Popular examples include:
    • Sanjou swords, swords forged (or supposedly forged) by Sanjou Munechika. note 
    • Rare 4 Tachi or Rare Tachi 4, the four swords that were the first to be labeled as "Special" rarity before more were released over time. This became an Ascended Meme in some of the anthologies, and the four were occasionally treated as a group. note 
    • Shinsengumi swords, swords that belonged to the Shinsengumi.note 
    • Dategumi, swords that belonged to the Date clan.note 
    • Odagumi, swords that belonged to Oda Nobunaga.note 
    • The Awataguchi swords, swords that were forged by Awataguchi Yoshimitsu, Awataguchi Kuniyoshi, or Awataguchi Kunitsuna.note 
    • The Tenka Goken, a group of five swords renown for their beauty and the legends surrounding them.note 
  • Cast of Personifications: The aim of the game is gathering various Japanese swords and give them life and human forms - as pretty boys, that is. Specifically, they're the swords used by various historical Japanese figures, particularly the Sengoku era, such as Date Masamune or Oda Nobunaga, and brings with them characteristics and history of each swords in question (along with their former owners).
  • Cat Boy:
    • Nansen Ichimonji has some cat-like characteristics, including meowing as a Verbal Tick and having hair that curls in the shape of tiny cat ears. However, these traits stem from a dark place, as he was cursed to act like a cat after killing one.
    • Touken Ranbu Tounyan Danshi sees all of the Touken Danshi transformed into free-spirited cat boys.
  • Character Development: Most Touken Danshi return from Kiwame training with a fresh perspective on life, having learnt new things and grown from their past trauma, or having accepted it and their circumstances. They also almost always return to the Saniwa more loyal than before if they have finally moved on from their attachment to their previous master.
  • Character Roster Global Warming: While plenty of new swords have been added, the number of ootachi has stayed at just 4. It wasn't until December 2018 that the developers teased a new oodachi.
  • Cherry Blossoms: A very common motif in the game and later the series:
    • In the original game:
      • Both the game's original and new icon have cherry blossoms incorporated into their designs.
      • The loading bar is in the shape of a cherry blossom.
      • The rarity of a sword is represented by the number of cherry blossom petals associated with it, with one being the lowest and five being the highest by default, though six becomes the highest after Kiwame training and is exclusive to Touken Danshi who were five petal rarity on release.
      • When a sword reaches Toku status (level 20 or 25, depending on the sword), static cherry blossom petals will appear in the background of their icon.
      • All swords enter Sakura Fubuki state when they are in high spirits and have low fatigue levels, with this being represented by cherry blossom petals flowing over their icon. These petals become a brighter pink and glow the higher their spirits are.
      • Mikazuki disappears into a burst of cherry blossoms at the end of the 2022 opening movie.
    • In the spin-offs:
      • Aside from being a general recurring motif in Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu, cherry blossoms appear when the Touken Danshi time travel to different periods, signaling their arrival in a burst, or hurricane in Mikazuki's case, of petals.
      • In Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru, the show is mostly set in spring, and thusly a large cherry blossom tree is in bloom in Honmaru. Cherry blossom petals also flow when characters enter Shinken Hissatsu.
      • Cherry blossoms flow in Touken Ranbu Warriors when the Touken Danshi enter battle, during Shinken Hissatsu, and when certain Touken Danshi perform special moves. Because the game is set in spring, there is also a large cherry blossom tree in bloom in Honmaru.
      • In the live-action film, cherry blossoms flow around the Touken Danshi whenever they time travel. They also flow around Mikazuki when he drinks a potion to heal his injuries.
      • Because stage plays and musicals are live performances, cherry blossoms appear less frequently, though they can often be seen falling during the endings.
  • Child Soldiers: The Tantou are technically not children, as they are several hundred years old by the year the game takes place, if not older, but they certainly look, act, and think like children, and some characters, such as Ichigo Hitofuri and Himetsuru Ichimonji, regard them as such. They are quite deadly, however, making it no wonder that the Government of Time has no issue sending them out to battle.
  • The Chosen Many: The players citadel isn't the only one that exists, nor are they the Touken Ranbu world's only Saniwa, as there are many other chosen Saniwa out there with their own Honmaru, and their own versions of Konnosuke and Touken Danshi, all with the same mission to protect history given to them by the Government of Time. While alternate Honmarus and Saniwas aren't often alluded to in spin-offs, the existence of multiple Saniwas is a plot point in the second live-action film.
  • Chromosome Casting: Being a Cast Full of Pretty Boys, this is expected.
  • Clap Your Hands If You Believe:
    • An odd variation. Given that the Saniwa is able to bring inanimate objects, swords in this case, to life, one would think that the corporeal swords would have to exist somewhere, even if in the present they are currently lost (such as Hotarumaru or Kogitsunemaru). However, when Imanotsurugi leaves for his Kiwame training, his letters reveal that he didn't really exist in history, implying that swords can be revived even if they just exist in legend.
    • According to the musical continuity, copies of real swords can overtake the original if enough people believe that the copy is the real one. This causes problems for the Touken Danshi in these scenarios, as they have to suffer the consequences of being labeled a fake by literally losing their status, identity, and colors until they become the "copy," while the actual copy becomes more and more real as people's belief in their authenticity grows.
  • Clothing Damage: Like in Kantai Collection, this is a visual representation of how much damage the swords take (though unlike in KanColle, Bloodless Carnage is averted, since the swords do bleed as well). Major damage will make their clothes dirty and slightly torn in places, but their Awakening modes will ruin their clothes even more, sometimes resulting in Shirtless Scenes, usually seen as torn, open shirts. This aspect is intensified in Kiwame forms, where all swords' Awakenings result in proper Shirtless Scenes regardless of how damaged their clothes got originally.
  • Close-Enough Timeline: It's shown in some of the spin-offs that the Touken Danshi can't always completely correct the Historical Revisionists' changes, only getting things close to perfect or how the timeline once was, with the Government of Time often allowing it as long as it doesn't completely mess things up further down the line.
  • Combat Medic/Healing Hands: In February 2019, Hakusan Yoshimitsu of the Tsurugi class, the only sword capable of healing in combat, was introduced. His Shingi feature allows him to restore HP of anyone but himself..
  • Common Crossover:
    • The game has frequent crossovers with KanColle in fanart, due to being made by the same developers and hosted on the same site, not to mention their gameplay being near-identical and Tourabu being considered KanColle's Spear Counterpart due to all these factors. Fanworks of this crossover is tagged "TouKan Love" (刀艦らぶ)
    • Shinken!!, also hosted by the same website, often gets crossed over with Tourabu as well. The crossover is done so often that it's garnered the Pixiv tag "Shinken Ranbu".
    • Oshiro Project sometimes gets folded into the mix when they want to depict the swords with the castles they historically protected.
  • The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: The types of troops that can be equipped by your swords are limited by their sword types, but enemy swords can equip any troop, regardless of type.
  • Connected All Along:
    • Following the implementation of Taikogane Sadamune, Tsurumaru Kuninaga, Shokudaikiri Mitsutada, and Ookurikara were given in-game interactions to reflect the fact that they were swords previously owned by the Date clan around the same time period.
    • After years of Iwatooshi and Imanotsurugi being the only Sanjou swords to interact, Mikazuki Munechika and Kogitsunemaru were finally given in-game interactions after Kogitsunemaru's Kiwame training.
    • The browser game does not always acknowledge the historical connections between certain pairs of swords, no matter how well-known they are. Even some swords from the same schools do not have in-game interactions. However, many adaptations tend to compensate for where the browser game falls short:
      • The first musical is dedicated to the Sanjou school (with Kashuu Kiyomitsu), making up for the lack of Sanjou school interactions in the browser game at the time, other than Imanotsurugi and Iwatooshi. The musical also established that the Sanjou school swords do not see each other as a family, but rather as a group of close friends, setting a precedent for subsequent adaptations and the fandom.
      • If Mikazuki Munechika and Tsurumaru Kuninaga appear together in an adaptation, the writer will always take the time to establish that they know each other.note  This is because Tsurumaru was forged by Gojo Kuninaga, the son (or grandson) of Sanjou Munechika, the swordsmith who created Mikazuki.
  • Cool Old Guy: While many of the Touken Danshi are old, especially by the year the game is set in, very few of them act like old men, instead emulating the spirit and enthusiasm of young men, or even teenage boys. There are a few exceptions, however, such as Mikazuki Munechika, Kogarasumaru, Shichiseiken, and Ichimonji Norimune, who fall into this trope, with all being among the oldest swords in the game.
  • Costume Porn: While most of the characters are drawn by different artists, their clothes are consistently detailed and usually referencing back to the sword or sword master's history. Seeing their Kiwame forms, you wonder how some of them can fight.
  • Color-Coded Characters: The Sanjou and Gou schools have color motifs for their characters:
    • Sanjou School:
      • Mikazuki Munechika: Dark Blue
      • Kogitsunemaru: Yellow-Orange, or Yellow
      • Ishikirimaru: Green
      • Imanotsurugi: Red
      • Iwatooshi: Purple
      • Mikazuki Munechika and Kogitsunemaru's official artist highlighted this in her third year anniversary art for them.
    • Unlike the Sanjou School, whose signature colors are the colors of their outfits, the Gou School swords have their signature colors represented by their accessories, while the school itself is color-coded as green:
      • Matsui Gou: Turquoise
      • Samidare Gou: Lavender / Purple
      • Murakumo Gou: Pink
      • Kuwana Gou: Yellow
      • Buzen Gou: Red
      • Kotegiri Gou: Green, like the school itself.
      • Inaba Gou: Black
    • Chatannakiri, Chiganemaru, Chiyoganemaru's school is Unlisted, but they are officially treated as a trio, with their outfits color-coded as Pink, Yellow, and Blue, respectively.
  • Crossover: A few in different forms. The game had a collaboration with Cardfight!! Vanguard in 2016 ( With Touken Ranbu - Hanamaru following suit in 2017), a fight between Rin Setsua and puppet Mikazuki Munechika (and the following year, Shang Bu Huan against Sengo Muramasa) as an April Fools joke in 2017-8 with Thunderbolt Fantasy, and one of the Anime adaptations, Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu, having crossed over with Granblue Fantasy in September of 2017.
    • All three of Mikazuki Munechika's actors—voice actor Kousuke Toriumi (as the narrator), Kuroba Mario from the musicals, and Hiroki Suzuki from the live-action films and stage plays—were featured in a special program called "Hajimari no Uta, Hajimari no Tsurugi" that was released on the official Touken Ranbu YouTube channel in 2021. The program was a sword dedication project that also featured Yumi Matsutoya, the singer of the browser game's opening theme song, and covered topics related to sword culture and future hopes related to it. It can be watched for free here.
     Tropes D-E 
  • Damn You, Muscle Memory!: Despite this game being extremely similar to KanColle, players of both games are suspect to get thrown off by the minor differences, the most significant probably being that while in KanColle, ships can only be taken down if they're sent forward in critical damage, in this game - to the horror of some unsuspecting saniwa - swords can be destroyed at theoretically any degree of damage provided certain factors.
  • Darker and Edgier: As a Spear Counterpart to Kancolle, as it takes its silly premise of "Swords brought to life as pretty boys to protect history" quite seriously. You can count the number of swords who aren't coping with residual troubles on two hands, and even those who aren't openly, when they are sent off for Kiwame training, they will inevitably be forced to confront a painful aspect of their past and grow from it. As well, even many of the series' spin-offs, including largely light-hearted adaptations like Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru, deal with the trauma the Touken Danshi have experienced in the past.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: Most swords have violent and tragic background histories, which is understandable, considering that they are weapons.
  • Deadly Euphemism: The Touken Danshi often refer to their own deaths as "breaking" because their swords, which also serve as lifelines, literally fall apart when they die due to being too damaged to be repaired. The animation for their deaths in the browser game reflects this by showing cracks forming in the background as their silhouette breaks and falls apart.
  • Depending on the Writer: As per Word of God, the writers' interpretation ultimately determines how the world functions in Touken Ranbu since there is no established canon apart from the premise and the characters. That means that almost every other aspect of the setting varies from adaptation to adaptation: the characterization, the Saniwa, the citadel, the powers (if any) of the Touken Danshi, time travel, and so on, with all being considered equally valid interpretations.
  • Dem Bones: The enemies are typically accompanied by bone-like creatures.
  • Denser and Wackier: The anthology manga are rarely serious, often making fun of the implications of the game's premise or simply depicting the Touken Danshi goofing around.
  • Double Meaning: Tonbokiri's quote about people's misconceptions of Muramasa can be viewed as him talking about both the man who forged him and his similarly-named uchigatana contemporary.
    "Many misunderstand, but Muramasa is not a bad person."
  • Dress-Coded for Your Convenience: While not for the sake of telling heroes and villains apart, you can often tell which swords are from the same schools, the same masters and etc. by the clothes they wear, as they tend to have similar motifs exclusive to that group. Several examples can be made for:
    • Sanjou Swords: Their outfits are color coded, all wear traditional horse riding hakama with a gray to white note  gradient on them, neckguards and their outfits overall are more traditional compared to other swords due to these swords being forged in the Heian Era.
    • Awataguchi Swords: The most distinguishable sword family due to their outfits appearing to be more like military uniforms.
    • Sadamunes: All have primarily white motifs for their attire.
    • Osafune: All wear suits and appear to be suave in appearance. They also have a bit of asymmetry, with one pauldron on one side of their body.
    • Miike: Wear grey suits with gold accents, especially gold leg armor.
    • Muramasas: Have similar purple/white sleeveless clothes, as well as a fully black kimono for casual wear.
    • Kunihiros: They wear a navy blue pinstriped shirt and grey pants, though how they wear them is more customized to their tastes. All of them share a red track suit in their casual outfits.
    • Samonjis: All wear traditional clothes, as well as a shroud matching their motif color.
  • Dualvertisement: Touken Ranbu's official social media accounts frequently promote spin-off works. For stage plays and musicals, they also hold in-game lotteries in which players can sign up to win tickets to the performance, which causes both the game and the performance to trend on social media, promoting both.
  • Dude Looks Like a Lady: Several characters, including Midare Toushirou, who was originally the best example, Chatannakiri, Namazuo Toushirou, Honebami Toushirou, and Jiroutachi, could easily pass as female. However, their voices usually dispel any doubt that they are, indeed, male.
  • Dysfunction Junction: Many of the swords are messed up, either from lingering trauma from the deaths of their former masters, tragic events they were forced to participate in before they had free wills, or from deep-seated insecurities that they may or may not grow from after Kiwame training.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: The Mikazuki Munechika puppet seen in the 2017 April Fools' Day joke made a brief appearance at the Nitro+ booth in the 2016 winter Wonder Festival.
  • Every Japanese Sword is a Katana: Averted. The game features several different kinds of Japanese swords and makes clear differences between sword types, ranging from their stats, combat mechanism, availability to equip troops, smithing time, and many more.
  • Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Most of the swords address the Saniwa as either Master (主, aruji or 主君, shukun) or General (大将, taishou).
  • Excuse Plot: Subverted; The "Go back in time to prevent historical revisionists from changing the course of history" backstory is more or less an excuse to make cute boys fight for you in a Jidaigeki setting. However, the game has less of the No Plot? No Problem! aspects of its predecessor, KanColle. For example, while in Kancolle the nature of the shipgirls' origins are extremely vague, to the point that various official sources have different explanations for what they are, Tourabu makes it very clear that the swordboys are swords that have been brought to life and they don't consider themselves human. Touken Ranbu is also darker than Kancolle in general, as it takes its debatably silly premise quite seriously, with the stories of the Touken Danshi and how they're written in the spin-offs being tragic and rife with trauma and loss in the majority of their cases.
  • Ensemble Cast: Due to the sheer number of Touken Danshi in the series, Touken Ranbu Hanamaru focuses on a different set of swords each episode, although some swords, such as the main characters, are more recurring than others.
  • Exotic Eye Designs: Surprisingly not very common among the Touken Danshi, although there are a few examples:
    • Mikazuki Munechika was the first example, as he has a golden crescent moon shape under his pupils.
    • Nansen Ichimonji has slit pupils, calling back to his cat motif.
    • Sanchoumou has red flame-like patterns in his eyes.
  • Expy: A deliberate, In-Universe example. A number of Touken Danshi adopt the characteristics of the master to whom they are most attached or famously associated, such as Yamatonokami Yasusada, who not only dresses like his former master, Okita Souji, but also looks like a younger version of him.
     Tropes F-H 
  • Face Death with Dignity: The Touken Danshi are generally accepting of their deaths if they are broken in battle, and in some of the spin-offs, they discuss that dying in battle is an honorable death, or simply what is fated to happen to them.
    • Post Kiwame Midare is a particularly tragic aversion, as he is terrified and begs the Saniwa to save him as he dies.
  • Failure Is the Only Option: The first sortie with your starter only, will always result in an (uncounted) defeat regardless of his Awakening happening soon after. That is, until the UI overhaul update results in a maiden victory due to the first Tanto smithing coming first instead of after.
  • Fanservice:
  • Fantastic Racism: Among the Touken Danshi, counterfeit and unoriginal swords tend to be looked down upon. Yamanbagiri Kunihiro, who is a good copy of Yamanbagiri Chougi, even has some internalized hatred about not being original.
  • Field Power Effect: Beginning in world 6, the game introduces different types of maps which give advantages and disadvantages to certain types of swords and troops.
    • Night battles: Tantou and wakizashi are buffed; tachi, ootachi, yari, and naginata are nerfed. All swords have a chance at evading long-range attacks (only Kiwame tantō can do this in daytime battles).
    • Urban battles: Swords will not receive stat bonuses from equipping horses.
    • Indoor battles: Same as urban battles, with the addition of ootachi and naginata only being able to attack one enemy at a time and catapults and archers being unable to attack (however, the stat bonuses from equipping the troops still apply).
    • Rainy battles: Musketeers are unable to attack, though swords will still receive stat bonuses from equipping them.
  • Fish out of Temporal Water: Oddly, all of the Touken Danshi are treated like this despite existing in the far, far future. The adaptations reveal that the majority of them are unfamiliar with the fundamentals of modern technology (for example, no one understands what a camera is until Mutsunokami brings one to Honmaru in Hanamaru) and often imply that their knowledge is limited to earlier periods of Japan's history, with the traditions and technology of our time being lost on them.
  • Flashy Protagonists, Bland Extras: With the exception of the Saniwa from Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu, human characters in the series almost always look like normal people in comparison to the Touken Danshi with their technicolor hair and eyes and brightly colored, extravagant clothes.
  • Flat Character: This applies to the vast majority of Touken Danshi in the browser game, as the limited amount of context-related dialogue they receive means that only a few personality traits can be demonstrated. In many cases, the writers will base this dialogue on one or two characteristics or quirks, and it will become their entire character. For example, you could easily characterize Houchou Toushirou as an energetic kid who likes married women and candy, because that's most of what he talks about. That said, some Touken Danshi benefit from more varied dialogue and characterization than others, as well as having Hidden Depths, allowing for multiple interpretations of their character.
  • Gameplay Grading: After a win, you get graded on a scale (C, B, A, S) based on how much damage your swords sustained and how many enemies you defeated. Winning a duel grants you a special "Duel Victory Rank S" grade regardless of how much HP your team has left.
  • Gameplay and Story Integration: Most special battlefield conditions consider how specific sword-types and Tousou would perform in battle, if at all, affecting their gameplay.
    • The status boosts gained from equipping horses are reduced in narrow, urban areas during Urban Battles due to the logistics of maneuvering horses through small spaces. Horse status boosts are also nerfed during castle battles due to these battles taking place on high, sturdy castle walls instead of on the ground,
    • Ootachis and Naginatas are disadvantaged in indoor and castle battles due to their large sizes and difficulty moving around, and their effective ranges are limited to attacking one enemy at a time. Catapults and archers also cannot attack while indoors due to the small space.
    • Musketeers are useless in rain battles because gun power cannot fire when wet. They can be used during drizzle battles, but do less damage for the same reason.
  • Gameplay and Story Segregation: Many of the Touken Danshi return to the citadel with spiritual abilities after completing Kiwame training, and their artwork reflects this. But aside from the stat increases that come with training, the spiritual abilities that characters acquire have no bearing whatsoever on the gameplay.
  • Generic Doomsday Villain: The Historical Retrograding Force. The plot begins with them wanting to change history and gathering over 800 million recruits to do so, and no one for sure knows why, not even the Touken Danshi. They're just sent back in time to prevent them and the human historical figure (or, in rarer cases, Touken Danshi) they recruit from changing history. In a number of cases, the Historical Retrograding Force isn't even that big of a threat on it's own, with dealing with historical figures and the Touken Danshi's angst over the cost of preserving history proving to be a bigger issue in the story.
  • The Ghost: The Government of Time, for whom the Saniwa and Touken Danshi work, is only mentioned and never seen in any Touken Ranbu work. Konnosuke and other Kudagitsune working for them are the ones who deliver missions and other information from them to Honmaru.
  • Gods Need Prayer Badly: For the Touken Danshi, the gods of swords, it appears that in certain circumstances they can lose their identity if people stop believing in them, which is what happened in the musical continuity when a shadow version of Ichigo Hitofuri was believed to be the genuine article over the original.
  • God Was My Co-Pilot: Although most don't act or regard themselves as such, the Touken Danshi are literally gods in human form, and are frequently dispatched on missions where they must advise, protect, or even raise historical figures without revealing their true nature as Tsukumogami/Touken Danshi to them.
  • High School AU: The official manga anthology Touken Ranbu Gakuen is this, though technically it takes place at an Elevator School so it can accommodate all the characters that characters that appear. Each chapter also appears to be set in a different school, with the characters playing different roles. Mikazuki Munechika, for example, is a high school student in one chapter and then the eccentric principal in the next.
  • Historical Domain Character: While they do not appear in the browser game, the characters frequently run into their former masters in the spin-offs, meeting historical figures such as Oda Nobunaga, Date Masamune, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, among many others. 
  • Humanity Ensues: Every character in the game was once an inanimate yet sentient sword who was given a human-like body by the Saniwa of their citadel. In the browser game, at least, most swords don't seem to mind the sudden change after hundreds of years of being an inanimate object, as they act as if having a human body comes naturally to them and don't dwell on it. On the other hand, some adaptations address the fact that them suddenly becoming human is strange for them, and they'll either discuss the difficulty they're having adjusting or rave about the things they can do now that they couldn't do before.
  • Hunk: If the sword isn't a Bishōnen, then they'll be this.
     Tropes I-N 
  • Immortal Immaturity: While every Touken Danshi is several hundred years old, many of them behave like they're much younger. Notably, the entire Tantou class (with the exception of Yagen Toushirou, usually, and Fudou Yukimitsu, who is an alcoholic) acts like children and are regarded as such by the more adult-like Touken Danshi such as Ichigo Hitofuri.
  • Kabuki Theatre: One of Touken Ranbu's adaptations is a Kabuki play featuring the Touken Danshi with significantly altered designs to suit the aesthetics of these plays.
  • Killed Off for Real: Averted in the browser game; While your swords can break, resulting in the loss of that particular version of the sword, obtaining another version of that same sword is always possible through smithing, events, or smithing campaigns.
    • Played straight in stage play adaptation, as Yamabushi Kunihiro was permanently broken, and Mikazuki Munechika was dismantled. Hototogisu, a Canon Foreigner Touken Danshi, was also killed in the same stage play he was introduced in, making it unlikely that he'll ever make an introduction in the browser game.
  • Last-Name Basis: If a Touken Danshi has a "family" name (which is often just the family name or alias of the swordsmith who forged them), they will be addressed by their given name most of the time. However, in some cases, a Touken Danshi will request to be addressed by their "family" name, most notably Heshikiri Hasebe, who prefers to be addressed as "Hasebe" because his given name reminds him of his old master, and Sengo Muramasa, who is inexplicably only addressed as "Muramasa" by everyone who interacts with him.
  • Leitmotif: Each sword has their own theme music – their attendant BGM – that can be unlocked via Village of Treasures events and will play if said sword is set as the attendant. Swords that have connections to one another will have their tracks share a particular melody.
  • Level Scaling: Justicar encounters scale based on the level of the highest-leveled sword in your party, regardless of the party's average level or the level of the stage's normal encounters. It's a very good idea to keep the swords in your party around the same level if you're doing a Justicar-infested map; depending on the makeup of your party, having a sword that's just one level higher than the other swordsnote  can result in massive damage for the rest of the team.
  • Limited Wardrobe: Unlike in many DMM games, the Touken Danshi's wardrobe is limited, with only two clothes available at the start: default and Internal Affairs. However, two new costumes for the Touken Danshi were introduced over the years in the form of their Kiwame clothingnote  and their casual Yukata.
  • Living Weapon: The Touken Danshi were fully sentient even before the Saniwa gave them human forms, and thus were aware of the historical events and tragedies in which their former masters used them throughout history. Some swords even suggest that their memories date back to when they were first forged, such as Sasanuki, who is still resentful of being thrown into the sea by the man who forged him.
  • Long-Haired Pretty Boy: A handful of Touken Danshi have long hair (extremely long hair in some cases) and are very attractive. The length of their hair doesn't seem to hinder them in battle, but some have it tied up, such as Izuminokami Kanesada following his Kiwame training.
  • Magikarp Power: Naginatas, with the ability to hit the entire opponent party at once...at the price of an aggravatingly slow damage to level-up ratio curve (to the point where even after their rank-up at level 25, they still regularly be doing only one point of damage per opponent). Once they're properly leveled up and maxed, they could clear high-level maps almost by themselves.
  • Magitek: While it is not explained how most things in the Touken Ranbu world work, the characters appear to use Magitek for both time travel and keeping track of changes in historical timelines in the browser game and spin-offs.
  • Massive Numbered Siblings: While it's not always clear which Touken Danshi are considered "brothers," let alone "family," this trope is represented by some of the game's largest schools, the most notable of which is the Awataguchi school; all of the Touken Danshi of that school see themselves as siblings and spent the first few years of the game filling out their roster until new Touken Danshi releases began to diversify. Ichigo Hitofuri even jokes about it in his Touken Ranbu's Seventh Year Anniversary voice-line.
    Our seventh anniversary, is it. When speaking of swords manifesting one after another us Awataguchi used to be the first to come to mind, but the other sword schools have been gaining members as well. We must put in effort not to lose to them when it comes to that impression... I'm joking. Hahaha.
  • Moe Anthropomorphism: The Tantou, who look and act like cute young boys.
  • Modern Stasis: Despite being set in 2205, the future appears to the players to be very similar to modern times, as the Touken Danshi live in Honmaru, a very traditional looking Japanese castle with no signs of technology, modern or otherwise, other than what the Government of Time uses to communicate missions with them. This is also true for the vast majority of spin-offs, with the exception of Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu, which for some reason chose to make Honmaru more futuristic and Konnosuke an AI from the Saniwa era.
  • The Movie: The live action film that was released in 2019 acts as this for the series. This film uses the casting from the first stage play, but follows a different set of stories. It received a sequel in 2023.
  • Multiple Demographic Appeal: Although the original browser game was labeled "Joseimuke,"note  the series drew attention from a wide range of demographics due to its focus on popular historical figures and groups, the traumatic pasts of the swords they once wielded, Japanese history (both historically accurate and made up), action, slice of life, and the bonds formed between the Touken Danshi as they go on their adventures. Notably, both of the anime adaptations, as well as the stage plays and musicals, took into account the demographics of the series and have wildly different tones, with Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu being darker and more actionized, whereas Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru is more lighthearted.
  • Muscles Are Meaningless: The Touken Danshi are all shown to be extremely powerful, regardless of how muscular or thin they appear. This trope is especially prevalent in the spin-offs, where even the Tantou are shown to be capable of easily defeating beefed-up Historical Revisionists.
  • The Musical: Like many successful franchises in Japan, it has one. It also has a stage play adaptation.
  • Necessary Fail: Every continuity runs into this trope. The general idea that they accept is that the major failings and deaths in history are ultimately part of what makes the historical figures who they are for us in the present, so some Touken Danshi prefer to honor their legacy by ensuring the mission goes as history recorded it.
  • Nipple and Dimed: Most swords are not drawn with nipples in their Awakening sprites.
  • No Hugging, No Kissing:
    • While the game is a Joseimuke, there is no direct romance or potential for romance between the player and the Touken Danshi. At best, the player receives attractive men who are extremely loyal and, in some cases, flirtatious and attached, but nothing more.
    • The lack of romance in the game is best demonstrated with it's first Valentine's Day-themed event, where instead of being able to give chocolates to your favorite Touken Danshi on Valentine's Day and receiving a love confession in response, as would be the case with most mobile games, Konnosuke drops the implication that Valentine's Day in 2205 no longer exists as a day to express one's love to one's crush or close companions in history books, with the reception of "Chiyoko/ちよこ" (as opposed to "Choco/チョコ") instead being treated as a way to determine who the strongest warrior is, scrubbing the day of all romantic implications. The player can also not directly give "Chiyoko" to the Touken Danshi, nor do any of them have voice-lines regarding the event; instead, it is just a gameplay mechanic that lets you to trade for the sword you want.
    • This is also the case with the Touken Danshi. A number of them do receive Ship Tease with each other, one-sidedly or otherwise, but it not only is never explicitly stated whether their feelings are romantic, it also never evolves into an actual relationship.
    • According to the creators of Touken Ranbu Warriors, Ruby Party, they originally intended to use the Touken Ranbu IP for a romance adventure game, but ended up making an action game instead, devoid of any romance except for some questionable ship tease between Hasebe and Omokage.
  • Non-Action Guy:
    • The Saniwa, even in works where they're an actual character.
    • Konnosuke, too, because he's a tiny fox who can't do much against the Historical Revisionist Army. He does prove his worth in being Mission Control for the Touken Danshi, however.
  • Non-Entity General: Much like the Admiral from KanColle, the Saniwa functions as this. This rule is lifted in the most of the spin-offs, save Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru and Touken Ranbu Warriors.
  • Non-Standard Character Design: While most Touken Danshi from the same school dress similarly, some deviate from the design "standard" because they are designed by different artists.
  • Non-Uniform Uniform: Touken Danshi from the same school tend to dress similarly, though their designs are often unique to the type of character they are. The Awataguchi school Tantou, for example, wear actual uniforms, often with shorts, but Midare Toushirou wears a uniform dress with a frilly hem to reflect the fact that his blade has a wavy pattern.
  • Noob Cave: Hakodate. There's only up to two skrmishes per sortie, only one branching path, and the Justicars can't be summoned here.
  • Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: Tantou and wakizashi (though especially tantou) play this very straight on World 6, Memory of Ikedaya. While high-leveled tantou/wakizashi are not weak per se in previous worlds, they are definitely outshined by the other more powerful swords, namely ootachi and tachi, who have higher HP and more powerful blows. Then comes World 6, where all battles take place at night, giving huge advantage to tantou and wakizashi and weakening all other sword types (save for uchigatana, who in this world are So Okay, It's Average).
     Tropes O-Y 
  • One-Gender Race: As the name "Touken Danshi" would suggest, there are no female sword Tsukumogami in the Touken Ranbu universe, exemplified by the fact that even the sword that embodies what would be considered a "feminine weapon", in this case the naginata, is simply a feminine-looking male.
  • One-Man Army: In the spin-offs, a number of the Touken Danshi are shown to be able to dispatch the Historical Revisionists with minimal effort, raising the question of why some of them are required to be in teams in the first place.
  • One-Steve Limit:
    • Averted Trope after the release of Yamanbagiri Chougi, the original Yamanbagiri, long after the release of Yamanbagiri Kunihiro, though the adaptations usually get around the fact that they have the same name by referring to Yamanbagiri Chougi as simply "Chougi."
    • There are few swords with similar names, such as Taiko Samonji, who was released a few years after Taikogane Sadamune, note  or Ookurikara and Kurikara Gou, the latter of whom has only appeared in the live action movie continuity so far.
    • Also averted with Konnosuke, as all Kudagitsune that resemble the Konnosuke from the browser game are invariably named "Konnosuke", even if there are multiple ones in the same setting.
  • Only One Name: Every character in the cast is a famous sword brought to life, so it's not uncommon for some of them to only have one name. Ookurikara, Kogitsunemaru, or, really, any Sanjou school sword except Mikazuki Munechika, and Kogarasumaru are just a few examples.
  • Original Generation: Occasionally, there will be Touken Danshi introduced into other aspects of the series rather than through the browser game. "Nue-to-Yobareru" is this for the stage plays, and Kurikara Gou is this for the movie continuity. ''Touken Ranbu Warriors' also introduced an Odachi named Omokage.
  • Our Time Travel Is Different: Not only is the time travel different from usual, it's also inconsistent across the continuities:
    • The characters in Touken Ranbu Hanamaru travel through time using a massive clock-like mechanism. They use smaller time machines that resemble pocket watches to return to Honmaru once their mission is completed.
    • In Touken Ranbu Warriors, the characters use a time machine that looks like a traditional Japanese well, while Konnosuke's technology is responsible for transporting them back to their Honmaru.
    • In Touken Ranbu: The Movie, the characters use one-time-use teleportation orbs to both travel back in time and return home. They toss them into the air and the time travel is almost instantaneous.
  • Out of Focus:
    • Many, many Touken Danshi tend to fall under the radar owing to the sheer number of them in the browser game with many more added every year. While some adaptations attempt to compensate for this by focusing on a different sword group in each installment (and Hanamaru introduces a new Touken Danshi or two with each episode), more well-known and well-liked swords are almost always given priority when it comes to appearances, especially if they're tied to a popular historical period.
    • Konnosuke tends to be Adapted Out of spin-offs due to being a talking animal.
  • Overly Long Name: Given that the Touken Danshi get their names from real swords, this is unavoidable, and several have tongue-twister names, with Kokindenjunotachi being one of the longest.
  • Petal Power:
    • Sakura Fubuki is a state that the Touken Danshi enter when they are in high spirits and have low fatigue levels. It is represented by cherry blossom petals flowing over the Touken Danshi's icon, with the petals becoming a brighter, glowing pink in color as their spirits rise. This status also moderately improves their battle abilities, such as speed.
    • In a number of the spin-offs, cherry blossom petals are incorporated into the ultimate attacks of the Touken Danshi, likely referencing back to the aforementioned Sakura Fubuki state.
  • Physical God: The Touken Danshi are spirits of their respective sword given human form by the Saniwa. They look completely human—that is, until they are positioned next to real humans—but they are the manifestation of ancient sword techniques, and are stronger and more skilled than typical humans by nature, in some scenarios appearing to even have super strength. Some Touken Danshi also possess spiritual abilities, usually stemming from legends associated with their blades, but even those who don't start out with any powers acquire them after returning to the citadel following Kiwame training.
  • Piñata Enemy: The rare golden tantou (dubbed "kunai" by the Japanese community) serve this purpose in the Edo Infiltration event: they're easy to kill, give more experience than regular enemies and will always drop several keys, which are the main resource players will be hunting in this event.
  • Play Every Day: Encouraged with the daily missions, which are one of the primary ways of gaining resources.
  • Player Data Sharing: The Practice mode relies on this. Twice a day, the game matches you with five random players on your server (four around your level, one at a much higher level), and you can fight against their primary party with no consequences for losing. Since one of the daily missions involves winning five practice battles, some users will intentionally put weak/underleveled swords in their primary party when they're not playing in order to make it easier for others to get that mission's rewards. It can be amusing to engage in battle with a level 216 user whose primary party consists of a single level 6 tantou.
  • Popular History: The series occasionally runs into the issue of mainly focusing on well-known historical stories, although each time it’s handled in a unique way:
    • Three out of six of the series' major spin-offs have tackled Date Masamune's story with the Dategumi swords note .
    • Except for the live-action films and Touken Ranbu Warriors, damn near every spin-off has tackled the story of The Shinsengumi at some point during their runs, with the musical doing so twice.
    • Oda Nobunaga's story has been adapted four times in the series: first as a stage play (which would eventually go on to be made into an anime), then as an episode of Touken Ranbu - Hanamaru, then as the first live-action film, and finally as a chapter in Touken Ranbu Warriors.
  • Power Glows: Following Kiwame training, a number of Touken Danshi's swords glow in battle, representing the spiritual power they possess after growing stronger.
  • Power Equals Rarity: Zig-zagged; While the lowest rarity characters are undoubtedly the weakest in the game, stats among the higher level ones (High, Special, Highest) tend to vary greatly, and Highest rarity characters aren't guaranteed to be stronger than everyone else, although they won't necessarily be weak, either.
  • Power Makes Your Hair Grow: Kiwame training is intended to strengthen the characters, with some, like Honebami Toushirou and Shishiou, returning with even longer hair for some reason.
  • Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Each sword gets one of these when they land a critical hit, trigger a duel, or go into Awakening mode.
  • Present Day:
    • The games 2022 opening movie is set in the present day, with Mikazuki Munechika seen standing on the Tokyo tower as he reminisces about the other Touken Danshi.
    • The second live action movie has the Touken Danshi travel back to 2012, with the main setting of the movie also being in Tokyo.
  • The Proud Elite: Zig-zagged in a number of cases;
    • Notably averted with the Tenka Goken. They're known as the "five great swords of Japan," and as such, they're some of the most important swords in the game, as well as history. Despite this, they don't dwell on their position, with Oodenta openly feeling insecure about it.
    • Yamanbagiri Chougi, who is very proud of his pedigree and spends a lot of time in the spin-offs trying to convince people that he is better than Yamanbagiri Kunihiro.
    • Also Ookanehira, who is known as one of the "champions of all swords" and loves reminding the Saniwa of his position, but is also deeply insecure because he is not considered one of the Tenka Goken and is constantly complaining about it.
  • Public Domain Artifact: Almost all of the swords in this game did actually exist, though some are myths, such as Kogitsunemaru or Shishiou. However, many of the swords are lost in Real Life due to various factors (particularly after World War II, when America confiscated many nihonto from Japan). This game is popular enough that many fans have visited museums that hold the actual swords their favourite characters are based on (if they haven't been lost).
  • A Quest Giver Is You: Expeditions, where you send out teams of swords to do tasks in real-time for resources and XP.
  • Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The Touken Danshi have a wide range of personalities, with some being friendly, flirty, hostile, emotionally distant, overly loyal, perverted, mysterious, lazy, and so on. But one thing they all have in common (usually) is their devotion to the Saniwa and their desire to preserve history at all costs, which forces them to band together and do what is necessary on the battlefield.
  • Rainbow Motif: A rainbow background represented the game's original highest rarity, literally called Highest and represented by five Sakura petals, until the Kiwame system introduced Godly rarity, which is six petals and symbolized by a rainbow pattern on an otherwise black background.
  • Random Number God: Much of the gameplay depends on this.
  • Rare Candy: Experience point boosters in the game are actually candy—Konpeito, to be exact. It comes in two forms, either Standard Konpeito (White) or High Grade Konpeito (White and Gold), with Standard Konpeito granting 500 Experience Points each, while High Grade Konpeito grants 10,000. Naturally, High Grade Konpeito is more rare, and can either be obtained from limited-time events, as special log-in bonuses, and as Ranbu Level rewards.
  • Really 700 Years Old: Due to being Anthropomorphic Personifications of centuries-old swords, all of the characters fall under this. Additionally, the physical age of a character has nothing to do with how old the actual sword is; it's usually determined by the type of sword they are, with short swords like tantou and wakizashi looking like children or teenagers and the larger swords usually looking like adults, although this has become less and less consistent over the years. The youngest sword is the older-looking uchigatana Izuminokami Kanesada (forged in 1867), while the younger-looking tantou Imanotsurugi (forged in 989) is one of the oldest.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: While some Touken Danshi have red eyes by default and are usually friendly despite this, glowing red eyes are a telltale sign that someone is being influenced by the Historical Retrograde Army, which even the Touken Danshi are susceptible to.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: Other than Kashuu and Yasusada that are clearly this, some other swords can be seen to have this dynamic too.
    • Namazuo (red) and Honebami (blue)
    • Shokudaikiri (red despite dark blue color theme) and Ookurikara (blue despite red color theme)
    • Aizen (red) and Hotarumaru (blue)
    • Jiroutachi (red) and Taroutachi (blue)
  • Scenery Porn: The backgrounds that the player can obtain, which have become increasingly detailed over the years, depict various aspects of Honmaru's scenery, and it's stunning.
  • Series Mascot: Mikazuki Munechika is the primary face of Touken Ranbu, along with the five starter swords, Kashuu Kiyomitsu, Yamanbagiri Kunihiro, Kasen Kanesada, Hachisuka Kotetsu, and Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki to a lesser degree.
  • Set Right What Once Went Wrong: What kickstarts the plot. A group of historical revisionists go back in time to change history in their favor, and you are sent to stop them.
  • Shōnen Demographic: Not the game itself, which is labeled Joseimuke, but many of its spin-offs, especially when adapted into manga, are marketed to the Shonen demographic. Touken Ranbu Hanamaru, for some reason, also received this treatment after being adapted into a manga and is serialized in the magazine Shonen Jump+ while the musicals take a different approach and are deemed Seinen.
  • Shout-Out:
    • One of Mikazuki Munechika's dialogue lines used to go like this (it was eventually removed and replaced with a more generic line):
    "The admiral is in the base... Hahaha, as expected, that is not quite right, is it?"
    • Both Kashuu Kiyomitsu and Yamatonokami Yasusada shout "Ora ora ora!" when attacking.
    • The designs and lines of swords of famous historical figures pay homage to their owners. Shokudagiri Mitsutaida, the sword of Date Masamune, wears an eyepatch. The crest of Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki, which was owned by Sakamoto Ryoma, has an anchor. Heshikiri Hasebe mentions temple burning and servant killing, which his owner Oda Nobunaga was infamous for, and so on.
  • Shown Their Work: Although historical accuracy is occasionally sacrificed for the sake of being a time travel Historical Fantasy story, the writers make it clear that they're well researched on the time periods the Touken Danshi visit and the historical figures they interact with.
    • The horses the Touken Danshi equip in battle are revealed to have been previously owned by historical figures such as Maeda Toshimasu, Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Sakuma Shōzan, Kiyohara no Iehira, among others.
  • Sickly Green Glow: The weaker enemies have this effect to them.
  • Slipknot Ponytail: This can result for swords with longer hair if they take enough damage.
  • Spear Counterpart: The game is essentially this to KanColle, which is hosted on the same website.
  • Starter Equipment: When a player first begins, he or she is given the option of choosing one of five Uchigatana as their starter sword, with the options being Kashuu Kiyomitsu, Yamanbagiri Kunihiro, Hachisuka Kotetsu, Kasen Kanesada, and Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki.
  • Static Character: While most characters return from Kiwame training with character development that also affects how they behave, there are instances where a character returns essentially the same person they were when they left, with the excuse in their letters usually being that they accept who they are and don't think it would be worthwhile to change. Justified because some characters—like Nansen, whose appeal comes from him being a cat boy—have peculiarities that define who they are or make them attractive archetypes; eliminating these traits would detract from their appeal or defeat the purpose of them embodying a specific archetype.
  • Stepford Smiler: Most swords are quite disturbed by their past or still miss their former masters, but try to look cheerful in front of the Saniwa.
  • Stop Poking Me!: While most of the characters don’t mind being poked in general, poking them while they’re injured will elicit a negative reaction every time because, well, it hurts.
  • Strong Family Resemblance: While not really related by blood, some swords who are part of the same family have similar appearances:
    • Hirano and Maeda Toushirou look like twins, and many fans mistake them for one another. Honebami and Namazuo also apply to a lesser degree, although it's primarily due to the fact that they were drawn by the same artist.
    • Despite being forged by different swordsmiths, Taroutachi and Jiroutachi consider themselves brothers and share physical characteristics such as tall stature, long dark hair, peachy skin, and golden eyes.
    • As Hiromitsu school swords, Ookurikara and Kashagiri are distinguished by their dark complexion, golden eyes, and multicolored dark hair.
  • Super-Deformed: The Wanpaku! Touken Ranbu series, a joint venture between Nitro Plus and Sanrio, features adorable chibified redesigns of the Touken Danshi and Konnosuke. This project was initially conceived as a merchandise line, but in 2024 it was revealed to be receiving an animated adaptation.
  • Super Move Portrait Attack: The Awakening mode, complete with unique art. Double attacks (randomly triggered when you have at least one wakizashi and uchigatana in your party) also have this, though with the normal battle art.
  • Super-Strength: Touken Danshi are stronger than the average human, and in some cases, appear to have super strength when going against the Historical Retrograde Army in battle.
  • Sympathy for the Devil: Some Touken Danshi sympathize with their previous masters, despite the fact that they were often reputed to be terrible people.
  • Taste the Rainbow: With almost 100 swords by 2024, it's only natural that there are Touken Danshi that will appeal to nearly anyone that plays, whether they like their boys tall, short, muscular, thin, masculine, feminine, pretty, handsome, or any other combination of these characteristics. Almost all male character archetypes, whether well-known or not, are also tackled, and at times, repeated, among the Touken Danshi.
  • Team Dad: Some characters are called 'dad' by fans, but the shout-out goes to Ichigo Hitofuri.
  • The Team: In the musical, the main characters form a group. As we see from the main website:
    • Team Sanjou with Kashuu Kiyomitsunote 
    • Team Shinsengumi with Hachisuka Kotetsu note 
    • Team Mihotosenote 
  • There Are No Therapists: Many of the Touken Danshi are deeply damaged, but given the state of the world, there are no therapists to help them sort out their problems. Instead, they receive Kiwame training, which not only strengthens them but also allows them to embark on a journey of self-discovery to help them in resolving their issues. That said, whether or not they return "better" or have simply come to accept their situation is ultimately dependent on the sword.
  • Those Two Guys: Outside of herding swords together based on schools and other factors, occasionally some swords are paired off in duos for one reason or another. Notable examples include:
    • Mikazuki Munechika and Kogitsunemaru note 
    • Kashuu Kiyomitsu and Yamatonokami Yasusadanote 
    • Izuminokami Kanesada and Horikawa Kunihiro
  • The Time Traveller's Dilemma: While it is only mentioned explicitly in a few works, this is an underlying issue that the Touken Danshi are always confronted with, and why they are so adamant on protecting history no matter how painful it may be, because they always risk the lives of people in the future blinking out of existence as a result of them attempting to save their old master, change history in their old masters favor, and so on.
  • Too Awesome to Use: You get three ema (charms to boost your luck for smithing or troop forging) for free; the rest must be either bought with real money or obtained in events, so saniwa are understandably hesitant to use them.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Kiwame training. You send off your sword on a journey to become stronger, and after 4 (real-time) days, they come back with new artwork, Character Development, and hugely improved stats.
  • 20 Minutes into the Future: The story takes place in the year 2205.
  • Undying Loyalty: When the Touken Danshi are obtained by the Saniwa, they are often fiercely loyal to them, and are willing to lay down their lives for them if necessary. However, many of them are still very attached to their previous masters, which can cause problems at times.
  • Uniqueness Rule: While the player can obtain duplicates of the Touken Danshi, which can be used for a variety of purposes (such as raising Ranbu Level), they cannot be used in the same teams.
  • Uniqueness Value: The "Highest" Rarity, represented in the game by five cherry blossom petals, was once exclusive to the Tenka Goken, and other swords, mostly Tachi, who had the historical significance, legendary relevance, or fame to make them worthy of being the highest rarity, with this rarity also making them more difficult to obtain than most other swords. However, after the Kiwame system was implemented, swords with the Special (four petals) could achieve Highest rarity, while swords with this rarity at the start would be promoted to Godly rarity (six petals) after their training.
  • Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Due to the series' frequent use of Flashy Protagonists, Bland Extras, as well as the Touken Danshi's often flashy or anachronistic clothing compared to how normal humans in the setting dress, the visual difference between the Touken Danshi and human characters is fairly obvious. However, in most of the adaptations, human characters rarely comment on how the Touken Danshi look or dress.
  • Valentine's Day Violence: In 2024, Touken Ranbu held its first Valentine's Day-themed event, "Tactical Enhancement Training ~Operation Chiyoko~," where Konnosuke explains that this event, according to history books, is used to determine the strongest warrior based on who receives the most Chiyoko (rather than Choco). To obtain Chiyoko, the player must clear the mission puzzles, which include completing specific mission requirements such as clearing certain battles. The Chiyoko can then be used to exchange for their Touken Danshi of choice up to four times. Needless to say, unlike most mobile games of its kind, where the player would simply give their favorite character chocolate and receive a love confession in exchange, Touken Ranbu has an unusual idea for their "romantic" holiday, in that it isn't romantic at all, but very characteristic of the series.
  • Walking Shirtless Scene: A lot of the Touken Danshi lose their tops after entering Shinken Hissatsu in Kiwame form.
  • Walking Spoiler: Yamanbagiri Chougi, the real identity of the mysterious hooded figure in the Jurakutei 2018 event.
    • Hosokawa Gracia, the only active female character in the game as the one-time final boss of Keichō Kumamoto Special Investigations.
  • Wham Episode:
    • The Kiwame Training segments, while very useful gameplay-wise, have this effect on some of the sheltered Touken Danshi. The notable examples are Midare and Imanotsurugi, learning that humans are frighteningly flawed and that his (Imanotsurugi's) existence is fictional, respectively.
    • The Resistance Against the Great Invasion event begins with Mikazuki Munechika missing in action after giving a curbstomped team time to retreat by distracting a gargantuan foe, then the Citadel's background locked to a large, mist-covered moon in the centre and front of the horizon. The gameplay highly reflects this.
  • World of Technicolor Hair: Hair colors among the Touken Danshi range from black to brown to dark blue to pink to green to unnaturally yellow, and so on. Human characters, on the other hand, appear to have hair colors that are limited to black and brown, with the exception of Saniwa from Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu, who had the good ol "One of the main characters" hair color privilege.
  • Wound That Will Not Heal: One of the game mechanics. The Touken Danshi's health does not regenerate on it’s own, so whenever they are injured in battle, the player has to send them for repairs, which often have absurdly long real-time timers depending on the sword.
  • Year Inside, Hour Outside: This appears to be the case when the Touken Danshi time travel, particularly during Kiwame training, as they will be gone for years or decades from their perspective, despite only a few days passing in the present. Mikazuki Munechika provided an extreme example: he traveled over a thousand years for his Kiwame training, but from the players perspective, he was only gone for four days.
  • Youkai:
    • The Touken Danshi are a type of youkai called Tsukumogami, spirits born from inanimate objects.
    • Konnosuke, Momonosuke, Kuronosuke, and Fukunosuke are all Kuda-gitsune.
  • You Require More Vespene Gas: The primary resources are charcoal, steel, coolant, and whetstone, which are required to smith and repair swords and create troops. These regenerate slowly up to a cap that increases with the player's level, but you can also get them via expeditions, daily missions, and resource nodes on maps. There's also request tokens, which are required to smith swords; help tokens, which allow you to instantly smith/repair a sword; and koban, which is usually just used to buy backgrounds for the main screen, but which can also be used for extra attempts on certain event maps.

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