“Far, far to the west, across the sea, there’s a land called Vinland. It has lush green plains and trees bearing countless fruit. It’s warm and fertile. It’s a faraway land without slave traders and without war.”
If you know your basic geography (and watched the show), then you would know that the physical place of Vinland is referring to America (as it is later revealed in the 2nd OP as well), and the ideal that Vinland represents is the American dream. It is without a doubt that the show was inspired to be a commentary on the American dream and the values it represents set during the Viking era of the 10th and 11th centuries. The way “Vinland” plays a role in the show is extremely subtle and remarkable as it serves to be a spark of hope, prosperity, and most importantly peace, in this dark, corrupt, and war-tormented world of Western Europe. I read a few reviews for this show already and I get that this 1st season is just the prologue, however, I am still surprised that a lot of people missed this allegorical connection to the American Dream so I just wanted to point that out.
Vinland Saga is a fictional Viking lore based on the lives of REAL PEOPLE. That’s right, the writer actually chose real people from that time period and created his own story of how their lives may have played out solely from their knowledge and curiosity of medieval European history. I want to be clear that not every character is real, for example, Askellad is an original character whose their for maintaining proper flow within the narrative. Most of the main cast, such as Thorfinn, Canute, King Sweyn and more are all real people that existed. Considering that most historical anime happen to be based around Japanese history, I cannot stress enough the cultural and historical significance that Vinland Saga brings and what it means for the future of anime.
The premise of the show is about a boy, Thorfinn (based on the real sailor Thorfinn Karlsefni), whose honorable and “true-warrior” father, Thors, is murdered by a band of pirate mercenaries run by the conniving and snake-like Askellad. In order to exact revenge, Thorfinn travels along the band of mercenaries in hopes of slaying Askellad in an honorable Viking duel.
Ok. So I noticed that a lot of people are saying that Thorfinn is an absolute garbage main character who is just an emo teenager, however, I can assure you that that is completely false. Sure, Thorfinn may come off as an edgy teenager during the middle few episodes, but it oddly enough works considering the rough past he has had and all the traumas he’s been through on his journey with Askellad. Regardless of his edgy behavior, Thorfinn still goes through a whole lot of significant character development. For example, at the start of the show, Thorfinn enjoyed playing war so much he intentionally used to injure the other kids severely and cheered with pride and honor when he finds out he can go to war. Several episodes later, after his father’s death and a few broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder, Thorfinn begins to realize the cruelties of war and the inherent evil of all human beings. There is also the contrasting philosophies of Askellad and Thors that play towards Thorfinn’s development where Thors stands for honor and civility and being a “true warrior,” whereas Askellad represents represents the virtues of scheming and abandoning pride in order to survive. Seeing Thorfinn go from being a cheery young boy to a somber teenager because of the shit he goes through is the main highlight of his story.
Now, Askellad is one of those characters that you would come to hate at the beginning but slowly grow respect for over time. When you think of “conniving”, it is often associated with negative connotations, however, with brilliant writing skills, world building, and the overall flow of the story, the show genuinely convinces the viewer to respect such attributes. Askellad is one of the most philosophically deep characters in all of anime and the lessons he indirectly teaches Thorfinn over the show are some really beautiful moments and speeches that really resonate within me. There is a lot more I would like to write about Askellad, however, it’s almost impossible to do so without spoiling. He is without a doubt a doubt one of the greatest Anti-Heroes of all time.
As for Thorkell, there isn’t anything philosophically deep like with Askellad, nor is he a growing character like Thorfinn. Instead, Thorkell is used primarily as a depiction of what the ideal Viking should be like and just the stereotypical Viking as a fun and comedic character within the show that really brings the historical atmosphere of Vikings to life.
Canute is the prince of the Danes and the commander in charge of leading the revolt on London. Being the whiny wuss of a character he is, gets himself repeatedly tossed around like a basketball from King Sweign to Thorkell to Askellad and his life just completely being toyed with, and the only reason he’s still alive in this cruel world his because of his nobility status. He is even characterized to have the physical appearance of a woman to depict just how much of a wuss he is. One of the episodes is about Canute finding out his subjective opinion on what the meaning of love is based on the cruel and tormenting background he comes from. Although I was half hoping that Thorfinn would come out of nowhere and tell Canute that love is not “death” but in fact “hope” and proceed to tell him about the ideal of Vinland, Canute’s development is still an outstanding treat to enjoy that will really get your blood boiling and especially considering his change in motive and how he wishes to accomplish them. This one episode really nails downs Canute’s development from being a shy, weak boy to a fearless and authoritative prince. This episode is one of my absolute favorites, despite the fact that the whole “meaning of love” thing came off as a little cringe at the beginning but it absolutely pays off later in the 2nd half.
Wit Studio has also outdone themselves in the making of the show. The sound editing is absolutely phenomenal everytime I hear the sound of swords clashing and the boats soaring the seas and even the sound tracks prevalent throughout the show are so well done and capture the atmosphere of a medieval setting so nicely. The animations are on point from the scarlet red blood drops to the beautifully choreographed and directed fight scenes. Not to mention, the CGI is actually fairly good. I know, CGI in anime has really come a long way since the abomination that was the 2017 Berserk.
The biggest highlight from Wit would have to be the extraordinary writing as it captures the setting extremely well by being loyal to the historical accuracy in that time period it takes place. When you think about war in the modern era, the most common answer is that people want to stay away from it at all costs. That is with the rise of advanced technology in weapons, infantry is almost redundant and the horrors of war are far worse than they were in the 10th century. In the Viking lore however, it is the opposite as Vikings take far more pride and joy in fighting as infantry are the biggest resource in war back then. One scene depicts all the young citizens in Iceland, including young Thorfinn, cheering in joy as they find out they have the opportunity to go to war alongside the Danes. This is my favorite scene in the anime as that is what caused me to get hooked on the show. It is honestly a beautiful scene that captures the Viking nature so fabulously. The writers also manage to include Gossip within the show along with many other small features, that would take too long to list, which really further adds to the world building.
One thing I think the Wit could’ve done better was to make the show about a series of sequential episodes that focus on the main story rather than diverting to side events. However, these few side events are still very outstanding individual stories that contribute towards the characterization of Viking mercenaries and building the main characters.
Overall, I rank this show to be a 9.8/10. Vinland Saga truly is a modern classic with it’s unique and brilliant setting in the anime industry. The world-building, characters, sound and animations, and the general art style of the show and the figurative language and messages really enhance the enjoyment and highly recommend checking this out and even rewatch in a years time because it’s just so fantastic.
