Lion/Gun/Sword...thing

Anders has a point. The whole huge weapon fad was started by video games back in the days of 8-bit graphics and such, where the only way to show a sword properly as anything other than a stick, was to make it absurdly huge. Considering how long that graphics stayed relatively simple for a relatively long time, it's no wonder the fad became ingrained in Japanese culture.

Now, this is just my opinion, but I think the reason it continued is due to cultural perceptions; Western cultures equate size with power, i.e., the bigger you, the stronger you are. On the other hand, Eastern cultures don't have that conception, being that they're mostly built smaller than Westerners; however, due to Western influence (primarily in Japanese culture), they have mixed conceptions about size equaling strength these days. Therefore, they have smaller characters defeating larger characters and smaller characters wielding humongous weapons with ease that larger characters can't even lift, completely defying conventional perceptions on the subject. Something along the lines of "I may be small, but I'm not weak."

Anyways, so as not to derail the thread any longer, I'll say that it's those fads and such that gave birth to swords like Lionheart here (as well as Sephiroth's Masamune, Cloud Strife's Buster Sword, Kurosaki Ichigo's Zangetsu, among others). Even though they're mostly unwieldable, when done right (like this one), I happen to think they're really good looking swords.