Rating: 10
Vinland Saga is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Yukimura, It has been in serialization since 2005. Initially published in Weekly shonen magazine, it was later shifted to Monthly Afternoon aimed primarily at Young adult men. Vinland Saga was adapted into an anime series by WIT studio in 2019 and a new season is expected to air in 2022
Overview
Far away in distant Iceland, Thors and his family are living a cold yet happy life. They tend to the animals, live a normal life of a farmer and his family. Thors although has a past that nobody knows of except his wife. Thors; also known as Thors the Troll is one of the strongest Vikings and a member of Jomsviking. He left behind the world of war and deaths to be with his family. An unfortunate event leads to thors losing his life when a hired hitman kills him by deceit, Thors’s son who also was around at his demise is taken under by the hitman and his crew. Thus begins his journey of avenge and vengeance
SPOILER ALERT!
Vinland saga was praised to be one of the best animes of 2019; Although, I never watched it until recently because I was already too deep into seinen shows. Vinland Saga was an incredibly pleasant watch if I had to put it in the least expressive words possible. It made a room for itself in my mind and made me constantly wonder where I can find a single flaw in its perfect 24 episodes. VS takes enough time to give each character a place to shine and be called the main character.
Thors who left behind the world of war and deaths to be with his family is amongst people in Iceland who love to be in a war. The young men who have never been on a battlefield don’t understand the sacrifices and burdens one has to harbour to stay on it. Thorfinn who eventually sees his father die, quickly realises his life is about to be ridden with self-hate and revenge. Thorfinn’s first kill is beautiful, it shows the loss of innocence perfectly. The term Vinland is explored many times in the anime, It’s often pointed that Vinland doesn’t exactly exist but is a sort of utopia. A place far away from loss of life has lush land of greenery and beautiful weather.
VS often goes into beautiful turns where we question humanity, faith, love and religion. All the characters, including the side characters, leave an impact on the show. The old mom who combs Thorfinn’s hair sees how he has lost his innocence. The family amid snow who pray to Jesus and their young daughter who stole the ring, wonders if she can get into heaven. She is relieved when she realises there is greater evil on the earth as her family slowly dies in front of her eyes.
The priest who is a stout believer of god drowns himself in alcohol. The rather weak prince Canute hates nobles and has his caretaker act as his father.
The priest believes that death is the truest form of love because at that time a man is complete, he doesn’t complain and becomes one with the world. Canute’s monologue after Ragnar’s death is one of the most incredible scenes in the show, it really changes our perception of the prince.
Let’s talk about Askeladd, he’s the only antagonist who I’d never be able to hate. His presence is absolute, it’s necessary. Askeladd throughout the anime shows a conscious and understanding personality. He isn’t evil because he wants to be but needs to be, He has pride and understands the world. His experience and swiftness always reign triumph on the battlefield which also connects very well to his backstory explaining why he is the way he is. He’s the antihero antagonist combination which you would eventually come to respect. This section of VS to the point where Askeladd dies is critical because it explains why hatred and revenge aren’t healthy. Thorfinn is so blinded by rage and vengeance that it eventually becomes his life purpose. Askeladd also sets up a stage for Canute to become the next king by putting his life on the line. Ragnar’s death, his sacrifice for the country and prince, him eventually opening Thorfinn’s eyes are all morally incorrect but necessary actions. The soundtrack to these episodes, the realizations and the conclusion this anime gets leaves no flaws in my opinion and it’s only a prologue for what’s about to come next
There’s a bit in the end where Thorfinn drops his dagger and there’s a small flashback that recaps all that happened on the surface of the dagger. Ever since Thorfinn picked up the dagger, his first kill and the purpose of the dagger I feel that him dropping it was sort of a nod at him overcoming what was tying him down; the grief of losing his father. The whole point of Vinland saga is finding a utopia, a place where everybody wishes to go but nobody has ever been. This was the beginning of finding Thorfinn’s Vinland
Vinland Saga was a sleeper, everybody passed on it to watch demon slayer including myself only to realise we have been missing out all along. I sat for days after this rewatching clips and reading other people’s thoughts to find something I can point out which I didn’t like but it’s a 10/10. It’s a good combo of seinen/ shounen, beautifully animated and conscience 24 episodic runs which I doubt many shows have to offer. I can’t wait for season 2 coming out next year
Conclusion
That brings about an end to this post, sorry I’ve been gone for a while. I just didn’t watch enough anime or read much to write a good review on, I’m still just chilling and doing reviews whenever I feel like but next year seems hopeful, lots of great anime is coming by us. I did catch up to a couple of big names in shonen jump which i might write about in the coming future
Till then thanks for staying , and reading my work. I hope you guys are doing good, see y’all next time.
Thanks for reading, do check out other posts ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ
The FlyOtaku 