Vinland Saga (TV series)

Season 1 (2019)

Thorfinn is a young Iceland villager who aims to participate in wars like his retired father, Thors. He sneaks onto his father's ship while at the same time mercenaries are hired to kill Thors for abandoning the forces. They are attacked by Askeladd's forces and, to prevent the deaths of his son and his men, Thors surrenders and is killed. Enraged, Thorfinn starts training and working as a mercenary for the Vikings for several jobs during his growth as a teenager in order to get his proper revenge on Askeladd.

Season 2 (2023)

Einar is a farmer whose family is killed by Vikings. He is taken and bought as a slave in southern Denmark by a man named Ketil. Upon his arrival, Einar meets another slave, Thorfinn, who was exiled after the events of the first season. As time passes, Einar learns of Thorfinn's crimes but befriends him as they work together to earn their freedom. Thorfinn confronts his past, learns about the value of restraint and the cost of violence, shaping his decisions and interactions.

Season 1

Shūhei Yabuta had been working as 3D CGI animator with Wit Studio CEO Tetsuya Nakatake on several projects, including the anime series Attack on Titan and Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress. He was gradually given more responsibilities involving directing and scriptwriting from 2012. Yabuta was a fan of the Vinland Saga manga and his ideas for an anime series resonated with the producer, and he was given the opportunity to direct the series. He researched the Vikings but believed the biggest appeal of the series was in the handling of the characters. He found the artwork of the manga very detailed which was difficult to animate, and noted that designer Takahiko Abiru was put through some challenges to replicate it. Art director Yūsuke Takeda was requested by Yabuta to give both backgrounds and designs strong presences. Yabuta found the Viking ships challenging to model in 3D CGI animation.[7]

From the first chapter, Seko was impressed by the manga author Makoto Yukimura's storytelling to the point of considering it one of his three favorite manga. Nevertheless, Seko mentioned the anime would have its own take on the story. While the anime begins chronologically while the manga uses flashbacks, so Throfinn's growth develops from different perspectives. Yabuta wanted to focus more on Thorfinn's upbringing in Iceland rather than using the Vikings to show his origins. With the need of animating several fight scenes, the team used 3D CG with the action and camerawork as a set. In retrospect, Yabuta found the fight scenes were difficult to animate due to multiple storyboards.[8] When the anime finale aired in Japan, Yabuta wrote, "This big incident changed everything for Thorfinn, but his story will continue!".[9]

Season 2

Yabuta and Seko had a strong impression of the character of Einar when first reading the manga but did not understand where the character's strength originated. Upon discussing, they decided to change the way in which Einar becomes Thorfinn's friend. This required several hours for the team to redevelop the story but they felt it would add appeal to the second season. Despite the changes, Yabuta insisted that Einar was the same character from the manga. The director described Einar as soft spoken, kind and strong but even in the cruel setting of the series, he retains his kindness.[10] Yabuta consulted with Yukimura about Einar's portrayal with a superhuman strength in befriending Thorfinn.[10] The anime's second season added more content about Thorfinn's sins through nightmares alternating the violence of his past persona with the shocked reaction of his slave persona; this was praised by Yukimura for the understanding of Thorfinn's state of mind.[11]

The developers had a need to properly animate Thorfinn's facial expressions as a slave. The setting was animated based on Yabuta's input. Producer Naokado Fujiyama said the main theme involves the handling of psychology, most notably in Thorfinn, Einar and Ketil. In contrast to Thorfinn and Einar who become friendlier and active across the story, Ketil displays a darker tone in the last episodes of the season due to the violent themes[12]

Critical response

The anime Vinland Saga was received with critical acclaim with several websites like IGN,[45] Kadokawa Game Linkage.[46] and Anime News Network listing it as one of the best ones released upon their release.[47] "Mukanjyo" was also listed as one of the best songs of 2019 by Anime News Network (ANN) for both the music and the lyrics, which focus on Thorfinn's revenge quest and its failure.[48] In regards to the first season, Polygon commended the character development shown in its first three episodes and ultimately enjoyed its portrayal of violence.[49] Otaku USA called Vinland Saga enjoyed the handling of the revenger's narrative and named it one of the best anime series of 2019 due to its focus of characters and setting.[50] On a more negative side, Decider found Thorfinn's quest sad but considered that it still makes the series entertaining to watch, comparing the violent and fight sequences to other series like Berserk or Bastard!!. Nevertheless, he noted that the violence might turn down some viewers.[51] Nick Creamer from ANN placed it among the year's best anime and praised the themes, action scenes and characters.[52] While the protagonist Thorfinn was praised for his action sequences, he was still criticized for his lack of development.[53][54] Den of Geek found Askeladd to be "just as often the victim as he is the villain", with his humanity shown in interactions with Thorfinn and Canute.[55] Hajime Isayama, the creator of Attack on Titan, was surprised by Askeladd's death, most specifically by how Wit Studio animated it in the season finale.[56] The Fandom Post found the relationship between Thorkell and Thorfinn interesting but lamented how the latter is not changed by the fact that both know Thors or are related by blood.[57]

The second season's premiere earned praise by several writers from ANN for focusing on the violence in Einar's backstory, fitting in with the elements of violence from the first season.[58] According to The Escapist, Einar adds to the thematic cycle of violence and revenge the series portrays. After interacting with more people, Thorfinn makes the series depart of the theme and removing violence.[59] Both ANN and The Fandom Post praised the episode where Thorfinn realizes mistakes of his life as a Viking and makes an oath of pacifism.[60][61] The Daily Star agreed and found that Thorfinn's mundane life as a slave brings intriguing stories about "redemption and self-discovery".[62] The climax was praised for the handling of Thorfinn and Canute. Polygon compared Thorfinn's pacifism with anime characters Shigeo Kageyama and Naruto Uzumaki as they look for more peaceful resolution. The website particularly felt Thorfinn's resolution in the declaration "I have no enemies" as the biggest highlight of the anime.[63][64] As a result of Thorfinn's changes, Anime News Network listed him as the best character from 2023.[65] In another article, ANN listed the scene where Thorfinn confronts Canute's soldiers as the best from 2023 thanks to the warrior philosophy.[66] THEM Anime Reviews gave the second season a perfect score thanks to the handling of multiple characters at the same as they are explored in the farm with major focus on Thorfinn's parallel with Canute due to how they changed after the first season.[67] ANN praised the plot and Japanese voice cast but criticized the English dub's choice to cast Mike Haimoto as Thorfinn again in the second season, referencing a controversy linked to the actor, maintaining that Yūto Uemura's original performance was still the best fit for the protagonist.[68]

Awards and nominations