Have you ever experienced a work with an intriguing premise capable of appealing to you… being undermined by a plethora of flaws and handled half-heartedly?
Vinland Saga is such a case. I do not consider this to be a great anime, let alone the AoTY; for all (or actually, because of) my love of medieval history, I couldn’t resist reviewing this too ambitious-for-its-own-good work.
Note: this work may contain spoilers, at the final section for the plot.
[1. Starting with the visuals]
(-) The animation is simply put, lackluster. Audaciously lackluster.
And it shows early: at the first episode we are shown a flashback to a naval battle where Thors (the protagonist’s father) participates, based on the Battle of Hjörungavágr. Immediately, we are greeted with ugly CGI. For example, water does not feel natural at all, but rather as some industrial sludge.
This gets worse during later parts, for CGI utterly fails to not stand out like a sore thumb at animated sequences. The blending of hand-drawn animation with CGI is poor, with certain sequences having a rather unnatural feel. One of my biggest complaints though has to do with abusing stills and limited animation.
Before presenting examples, I want to say this loud and clear: I do NOT look down on any animation techniques, but here the execution is full of eyesores and inexcusable. When decent CGI is featured on Land of the Lustrous or when Kill la Kill uses limited animation to save budget while oozing originality, I find it odd that WIT failed to achieve harmony. The production often screamed sloppiness and cutting down costs rather than presenting something worth its hype.
Anyway, at the aforementioned battle we are treated to an aerial view shot of miniature toy soldiers “fighting” on longboats… resembling sequences in some B-grade browser strategy game. With these longboats floating on the aforementioned CGI sludge.
Concerning limited animation and stills, they are abused for crowds, the result being jarring and ill-fitting. Mostly in duels, but is rather commonplace for enemies to be frozen in place before getting slaughtered by characters forcibly being established as master fighters.
(+) The art is not perfect, and in fact, can feel bland and drained of detail.
Examples include longboats, distant crowds, fortifications, armor, etc. They often lack eye candy and polish and the palette feels too “worn out”, despite the fact plain colors can draw the best qualities out of the historical genre.
Nonetheless, I include art in the positive aspect for two reasons. First of all, each person depicted has a different build, clothing and facial features, including freckles and scars. The second is the backgrounds. Whether an Icelandic settlement wracked by the elements, the town of York or a mountainous passage in Wales, there is a plethora of gorgeous landscapes that caught my eye.
[2.About the audio sector]
I won’t say much, despite valuing sound direction, voice acting and music a lot. I’m mostly content, though I would prefer a more medieval-sounding OST rather than one fitting for a stock shonen.
Characters from different peoples were supposed to be unable to communicate, but all lines are in Japanese. I recall the first chapter featuring Franks speaking in (nonetheless modern) French when in the presence of Norsemen, to portray this. An understandable break from reality, given how difficult it would be to include lines in Welsh, Old Norse, etc. But it still seemed odd.
[3. On to the non-production factors, starting with characters]
(-) I’m either neutral or dislike most of them.
Thorfinn is a flat revenge story protagonist: being obsessed, brooding and resentful are his sole traits. He is static, never takes notice of the surrounding environment to contemplate and thus is easily manipulated. Thorkell is mighty and larger than life. Given the setting and his culture, his character somewhat fits but to an extend also ruins the tone; multiple sequences and lines are straight from B-grade action films, one of the worst offenders being his debut at the first episode. Still, the ones that left me with the sourest of impressions are Thors and Canute, enough to include separate explanations at the plot section.
(+) Despite my distaste for multiple characters, one fascinated me deeply: Askeladd, the deuteragonist.
He is a ruthless and callous commander but also compelling, being calculated and abusing obfuscating blitheness to take advantage of his enemies’ carelessness. But this is only the peak of the iceberg, as we are gradually shown more fascinating facets (e.g. being a “stealth mentor” and a person forged by tragedy). He is also morally myopic and commits multiple atrocities, but this makes him more than a mere villain or anti-hero, he is over half of the show’s magic.
Askeladd aside, I believe some side characters served their selected roles well. One of them is King Sweyn, whom I deem fit as an aged and jaded ruler.
[4.And, let’s conclude with the plot]
(a.) “A true warrior does not need a sword.” – Thors.
First arc: as you may understand, I am not fond of its start. However, the production is not the sole issue: it’s the presence of Thors.
After the naval battle, we are treated to Thors living with his family in Iceland as settlers. Because of a conflict of interest, a landowner and his retainers arrive and we are treated to interesting historical elements: slavery and the workings of a commodity economy. Thors established himself as unlike his peers; he shuns violence and favors negotiations, even for no practical gain and much for the village to lose. The problem is, it makes zero sense to display such morality more in line with modern pacifism. It is simply not convincing in such a warlike honor-based society, and during these turbulent ages.
My bewilderment is summed up by the aforementioned phrase. What on earth is its meaning? If you are not willing to take up arms and be cautious, you may end up enslaved, raped, tortured and/or killed. And this is a fact, no presence or enforcement of any form of international law back then.
What really ticked me off however was the event that kick started the revenge arc: rather than brush aside his morals to defend nail and tooth his own son and kinsmen, Thors resorts to punching and preaching to a bunch of pirates, whose leader is willing to exploit anything and anyone for the sake of his goals.
Everyone could end up dead or worse, if it wasn’t for the leader’s personal morality. The outcome to this clash ends as a disgrace entirely because of the context. It is an insult to my intelligence, and too convenient.
The rest of the arc is about the relationship of Thorfinn and Askeladd, as well the Danish invasion on England, following St. Brice's Day massacre, concluding with a battle for London.
The point of view is focused on the Norsemen, the Anglo-Saxons being treated as either naïve civilians or soldiers ready to die en masse. One positive aspect is presenting samples of Norse culture, such as whaling and the Laugardagr. I also liked how a siege at France was included in an episode.
A negative aspect was the presence of pop and Japanese culture references; a moving Star Wars reference, the protagonist Naruto-running and others, this trend continuing to the second arc, without contributing to anything. Another example is right below.
(b.) “Battle isn’t the same as Shogi.” – Askeladd.
Second arc: I prefer this arc by far, yet also has issues of its own. I was mostly content with the plot; a conflict of faiths, legitimate elements of values dissonance, plus insight on the history of the British Isles. There were even clever tactical elements.
This arc introduces Canute, based on Cnut the Great, for whom I will not pretend that I know everything. Whatever I judge is according to the anime. After a certain event and a trial of related hardships, Canute needs development, being established as a fragile young man who loathed violence. Disappointingly, this turned into a total disaster: rather than make the process gradual and natural, the creator decides to exploit an outrageous plot device.
He dreams, apparently receives enlightenment, is given a Christian lecture on the true meaning of love (i.e. on agape) and makes a 180 degree turn. Why is this outrageous? Because it is a blatantly supernatural asspull, not convincing or realistic and on top of that, preachy. Canute’s transition towards a charismatic and gallant leader is too sudden, and infuriatingly poorly written. Even worse, the same preaching is used to excuse Thors’ morality; on top of him being constantly praised as the best warrior, this bothered me to no end.
Negativity aside, the last episodes are amazing. From skullduggery and political intrigue, to one blast of a conclusion, they actually brought a smile to my face. If anything, these episodes are a reason for which I haven’t rated Vinland Saga lower.
