Hey guys what is up welcome back to my blog I’m so thankful that you guys took the time out of your day to read my blog post. Hope you all are safe and healthy. This is one of those anime that I expected to be overhyped and not be of much value however I liked this a lot and I absolutely cannot wait for a season 2. MILD SPOILERS AHEAD.
The story is about Thorfinn, a young boy living with his father Thors, mother Helga, and big sister Ylva in Iceland. He often hears stories from Lief about a land named Vinland which is far far to the west, a land where there is no war and slaves with fertile lands and peace. Thors however is not a typical man, one day a Jomsviking named Floki comes the village to enlist Thors who is a former Jomsviking in a battle. In a desperate attempt to save the village from being raided by Floki and his soldiers, Thors decides to answer the enlistment call. However, as they sail, Thors, the Troll of Jom is killed by a Viking named Askeladd. Throfinn, having witnessed the incident swears to take revenge for his father and joins up under Askeladd who tells Thorfinn that he will duel him if he achieves something great on the battlefield. What follows is a tale of revenge, of Thorfinn losing his innocence and facing the brutal world while getting dragged into a war for the crown of England where characters make power plays and schemes while he just wants his revenge.
I absolutely loved the characters in this show, they are beautifully crafted and given a great deal of depth and detail that makes watching them exciting. We have Thors, the honourable warrior and loving father. His character is one that keeps adding new elemts to the story even after dying at the very start, especially his definition of a ‘true warrior’. There’s his friend Floki who is loyal to the Jomsviking code. The MC Thorfinn a once innocent boy who loses his childish innocence once he faces the harsh world. His gradual maturity and him still keeping his core qualities the same makes him an intriguing character. There’s also my favorite character Askeladd, a cunning and manipulative Viking who I love for his multi-layered character and his plans.
Vinland Saga has some really beautiful animation that is worth looking at. This animation makes the combat look good and the battle IQ of the characters as well as the choreography of the fights makes it exciting. It also doesn’t shy away from being brutal with its scenes. The good music and great angles also set the tension of scenes extremely well, whether it be in combat or in a ming game. I personally loved the politics and power struggles as well as how they are shown because the focus is not always on Thorfinn but also on other characters and their own plots and motivations to do what they do. There’s one thing that’s bad about Vinland Saga and its that its sometimes slow and also that it is a very ‘hit or miss’ kind of an anime, I say that because while I loves the powerplays and politics, some people don’t people who expect a straightforward revenge story filled with action will be disappointed because it is filled with plot twists and the revenge is only one part of the plot.
I also feel that the anime managed to show really well how the people who thirst for blood are the ones who are unwise and young. Thors’ definition of being a ‘true warrior’ as well as us being shown how even the warriors we consider tough get scared in the face of death really drives the point home. Lusting for blood is something that naive people do and plays a great part in Thorfinn’s character and maybe will play a bigger role later on.
The anime has 24 episodes with a new season in the works. The finale is well done with a really nice climax that closes off the plot points but still leaves much of the story open, how the story goes from there will be interesting to see. A tale of a child losing his innocence to the cruel world, getting dragged into a war for the crown, mixed with good animation and music, Vinland Saga is definitely a 8/10.
So that is it for this post guys hope you got some value from this. Thank you guys for reading to the end hit me up on Instagram and Twitter with your thoughts and if you have any ideas on what I should write about. Stay safe from the COVID-19. Thank you again and I’ll see you all next week.
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