Vinland Saga: A Review

How it started...

It was about two years ago when I had just finished watching Attack on Titan till it was released and was looking for a new anime to watch. I was looking for something that had kind of a dark, moody, depressing kind of feel to it. When I went to my brother for a suggestion, he suggested the anime in the title of this blog, Vinland Saga.

Now, at the time, I had just started watching anime and only had watched about 3 to 4 animes including AoT. I did not watch any trailers at that time since the animes suggested by my brother were all 10/10 and trusted him for this one as well.

vinland saga; thorfinn; canute; arnheid; hild; einar

Season 1

I excitedly went on my browser and searched for Vinland Saga and clicked on the first episode. On completion of the first episode, I thought it did not have that "dark, moody" feel to it that much. But as I progressed through the next 5 to 6 episodes, I found a hint of those vibes that I desired, but not too much.

Since I was suggested this anime in accordance to the feelings of darkness, and moodiness, as such, I was hoping that it might be pretty philosophical if not the previous things. All I can say is that there was philosophy mixed in the anime, but then again, not too much. And it was more of a letdown for me personally since I really really like philosophical animes.

Now, I know that I only have been bad-mouthing the anime a lot, but don't get me wrong...it's actually far from it. It was just from my perspective of what I wanted to watch at the time. Setting that aside, Season 1 of Vinland Saga was nothing short of an art. The beautiful landscapes, the music, the stunning animation, the engrossing story, and last but not least, the antagonist, Askeladd. I don't want to say too much about the anime since I don't want to spoil anything for new viewers, but man oh man, was Askeladd an extremely well-written character.

Also, Thorfinn's father, his hero, Thors, was a man to behold. That man is someone to be inspired by. He always lived by his principles, never backed down, and he did what he had to do to save his son. He was a true warrior.

And as I said, the animation, done by Wit Studio, was stunning. It is quite hard to describe how insanely good the animation was. Not only did it deliver impressive visuals, but it also accentuated certain moments in the anime very very well. It did hit home sometimes

The music was also done very well. Like, the combination of visuals, music, characters, and storyline Vinland Saga season 1 delivered was, again, nothing short of an art.

But, subjectively speaking, I felt that a few things were missing in season 1 of Vinland Saga that I would have liked to see and was hoping to see as well. Like Bjorn's backstory and more of Thorfinn's homeland, Iceland. But this is just me nitpicking.

So, my rating for Vinland Saga season 1 is 8/10.

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Season 2

Then, a year later, the trailer for Vinland Saga season 2 came out.

When I first heard that season 2 was being animated by MAPPA, I was a bit disappointed since the only MAPPA animation I watched was AoT Season 4 Part 1, which really wasn't that good in my opinion. But when I watched the trailer, I had goosebumps. The animation was perfect and the music was insane. That made me way too excited for the S2 of an anime that I rated 8/10.

Soon, the episodes started coming out. And I kept watching them. Being blown away would be an understatement. The animation, the music, the opening, the ending, the characters, their development... there was NOTHING to complain about. And the best part, for me, was that it was completely tilted towards philosophy with little action.

Thorfinn's character development from season 1 to season 2 was impeccable. The way he followed and upheld the principles of his father was true bravery. And in season 2, he had a companion, a brother, whose name was Einar. He truly was the one needed in Thorfinn's life. And there was a slave who worked for the head of the farm Thorfinn was at, whose name was Arnheid. She was beautiful, kind, and hard-working. And she also is the push needed for the title of this anime. Didn't understand what I meant by the previous line? Then you should watch the second season. Oh, and Canute is a whole different man in this season. He came a long long way from being a coward and fearful. Great character.

It is quite hard for me to describe how good the second season of this anime was properly. My expectations for this season, while keeping in mind the first season and the studio animating it, were not much. But my expectations were blown away completely.

Vinland Saga Season 2 is a masterpiece. It's easily one of my favorites, without a doubt. So, my rating for season 2 is 11/10.

After the airing of season 2 ended it was quite hard for me to wait patiently for the next season to come out, since S2 itself came out three years after S1. So I instantly picked up the manga from where it ended in the anime.

The manga was another piece of art. A new character was introduced in the manga whose name was Hild. She soon became one of my favorite characters in the series mostly because her character dynamic with that of Thorfinn's was impeccable.

I could easily blabber on and on more about the anime as well as the manga, but there's a chance that they might be spoiled, the ones who haven't watched season 2 of the series or haven't read the manga.

The manga starts at chapter 101 after the end of season 2 of the anime.

Oh and by the way, my rating for the manga is 10/10.

Conclusion

So yes, if you like action, you will like season 1.

If you like the philosophy genre and don't have a problem with slow pacing, you will like season 2.

If you love(d) season 2, don't wait to start the manga.

Thank you for reading till the end. Hope you have found this blog useful.

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