Vinland Saga

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Revenge, compassion, humanity, love. Pointy weapons making minced meat of people.

Vinland Saga almost has nothing in common with Makoto Yukimura's previous much praised work, Planetes, except for his passion for technical realism. He grounds his work with research, yet at the same time leaving it open for creative exploration. It’s not dry and lifeless, and at the same time it’s not completely in the realm of fantasy. Vinland saga walks the thin line well. Razor blood soaked thin.

This manga is brutal. More brutal than Berserk, Vagabond or anything of that ilk. Not to slight those manga, but one ... is a fantasy and the other is an adaptation of a romanticising novel. This manga is brutal because Vinland Saga's atrocities are reality-based and certainly not romanticised, whereas other manga usually are more fantastical or divided clearly between good and bad, right and wrong, black and white, or simply 'here is the protagonist, just root for him'. Not so in Yukimura's love letter to old fashioned beheadings, as Vinland is about Vikings.

Vikings pillage villages, they rape and plunder. There is no mercy and no survivors if they can help it. There is no such thing as a Viking displaying the positive nouns mentioned in the first sentence of the review. If Vikings arrive in your village, you will be killed or if you’re extremely lucky sold onto slavery, no matter if you’re young, old, man, woman or child. Based in reality and unflinching, our youthful protagonist, Thorfinn, is a passive-observer to atrocity and active-partaker to violence when it’s in his best interest, to further his goal. Revenge for his father.

Yukimura gets Thorfinn's flashback out of the way early in the story, and it’s a good decision as the boy is so fresh-faced, so loveable and innocent; his love for his father so pure, that to suddenly cut from the flashback back to the present and all the while leaving an essential gap in-between; the question that’s on the reader's mind for most of the manga is: how the hell did that young boy end up like this?

The flashback provides us with the motivation, the reasoning, but doesn’t reveal the details, the important montage of scenes showing a boy growing up and losing his humanity in the process; we don’t see it seep out of him gradually, which would be fascinating and make for great drama. As of this review, we have yet to see this transition from normal child to adult killer, but I have no doubt Yukimura will provide us with more glimpses of what that boy went through to get to where he is when the story begins.

Thorfinn is a jaded efficient killer. Silent and moody, he rarely speaks and when he does he is blunt and to the point. He watches the world burn and die around him without blinking because he is already burnt and dead inside. He can walk past a woman getting beaten and raped without a care in the world; this is the protagonist we're meant to root for. Yukimura doesn’t go all out and have Thorfinn inflict misery on innocents, which would make the manga even more interesting, but would also alienate a large percentage of readers too. As it is, as mentioned earlier, Yukimura walks that thin line with skill.

What Vinland Saga is more about than anything else is revenge. It is one of the best ideas to base a story around. Not the 'man on a mission' revenge, but the exploration of the concept, the idea of it all. Yukimura occasionally takes a break from the main story to focus on the concept via random characters, most humorously with a Christian priest who attempts to teach some Vikings about the concept of 'love' which they just don’t get. This side-plot not only explores revenge and forgiveness, but dovetails into Thorfinn's own predicament neatly, forcing him to reflect on what he's doing with his life.

The main story follows Thorfinn’s target who he sticks to like glue, always ready to challenge him to a duel to the death, his only requirement for completing his revenge. The brunt of all this rage and inexplicable adherence to honour, is an ambitious man seemingly lacking any of it himself, Askeladd seeks to rise in power through convoluted means and avoids becoming a cliché or a bore. His design is almost amiable at times, with a laid back expression on his cunning face belying his actual ruthful nature to achieve his goals. In short, he is not a one-note villain; he is many faceted like a few characters in the manga. Yukimura flips in and out of actual history through this man’s arc, giving the reader cliffs notes on the politics of the time.

The art, to be blunt like an axe disintegrating your face, is fantastic. There is a leap in quality from the first volume to the second, and it is maintained consistently throughout thanks to Yukimura and his budding assistants. There are plenty of memorable action sequences that are staged perfectly; lots of scope and perspective, and the composition is visceral. The violence is in your face and disgusting. Knife and sword thrusts are at times awkwardly landing into skin; fingers are thrust knuckle-deep into eye sockets. It all makes you squirm but you love it because you're reading it in the safety of your own 21st century home.

So the violence is remarkably gross and blunt, sometimes gratuitous to please the crowd, but mostly it’s just disgusting. The gore-hounds reading this will love it for that, but everyone else will feel repulsed, but in a good way because this is a story set amid war and conflict in the 11th century. What do you expect, bloodless elbows into the ribs?

The story travels around Europe, from Denmark to the UK to Wales to Iceland, we watch the invasion of England affect different players to the drama and pull them in towards each other through interesting means. There are sieges, manhunts, duels, chases, explosive action, edge of your seat tension, backstabs and unexpected partnerships, Vinland Saga has it all and is addictive reading while educating you along the way with its detailed depictions of an old way of life, from clothes, weaponry to customs and traditions.

Yukimura yet again uses the manga form to bring readers something a little different, a little more reflective of life outside of the pages. Vinland Saga is a dirty mirror of a past raged by a war not remarkable for its reasons or details, but for the ancient race that battled passionately in it. Vikings. Seriously, don’t mess with them.

"Idealistic, but not realistic" that is the core problem of Vinland Saga.

It is nothing more than an overrated manga that presents itself as a realistic, and historical take on pacifism, and the Norse setting only to fail horribly.

Characters:

-Thorfinn, the main character is nothing more than wasted potential. He starts off as a person who is fueled by revenge towards Askeladd, the mercenary who killed his father, Thors.

Not once during this period does Thorfinn ever ask himself the question of "who is the person that hired Askeladd to kill my father?" As a result Thorfinn wastes a decade of his life for ... nothing, and to make it even worse he ends up crying over Askeladd when he dies. After Askeladds passing, the prologue ends, and Thorfinn is enslaved. During this period of time, he reflects on himself and laments over the amount of people he killed in pursuit of Askeladd, and swears to live a life of peace to atone for this.

While this sounds promising and full of potential, you must understand that potential by definition is not being used, and this is where Thorfinns character begins to crack.

-Thors, is a legendary jomsviking who after having an epiphany on the nature of violence, exiles himself on the outskirts of society, and lives the remainder of his life as a pacifist. He is the one who is responsible for placing the seeds of pacifism in Thorfinn with his words “You have no enemies”.

"You have no enemies”.

The story tries to present this ideology as realistic, but if you truly have no enemies, why did Thors defend himself against the mercenaries who attacked his loved ones? Why does Thorfinn defend himself from characters like Snake, Garmr, and so on?

The reality is that YOU DO HAVE ENEMIES, and the only reason why Thorfinn and Thors are only able to be pacifists is because they have the strength and force to back it up.

The author never addresses the fact that Thors/Thorfinn have superhuman levels of strength, and their philosophy isn't applicable to regular people. In some cases it is necessary to use self defense, and take the lives of others because we don’t have the luxury of letting them live another day.

The sacrifice from this joke of a character gets even worse later on as his death was entirely preventable when it is shown that he had the reactions, speed, and strength to knock out superhumans like Thorkell before the latter could even react.


The author also never address characters like Askeladd and Thorkell who more or less lived a happy life on their terms despite all the bloodshed they engaged in.

- Canute, the prince is set up as the foil to Thorfinn where the former wants to create a utopia through bloodshed and the latter wants to create one through peace. Master vs Slave morality.

While this character sounds good on paper, he:

●barely has any interaction or screen time with Thorfinn in the later arcs, and it this point in serialization it would be too late for him to show up

●His development is incredibly rushed and makes no sense as he started off as an incompetent teen who couldn't do anything until he listened to a rant by a drunk priest and had his adoptive father die which made him into a hyper competent leader? This all took place less than 1 month in the story, and it claims it's realistic, what a joke.

STORY:

-While the prologue may have been passable, the Ketil Farm Arc is when the story begins to fall apart. During this arc we are introduced to Ketil, who is the master of the plantation Thorfinn belongs to as well as Arneis and Einar who are slaves as well as Thorfinns friends.

Behind her smile, Arneis lost her original family, unborn child, and spent the last years of her life having her dignity taken away through being raped and abused on Ketil's plantation, she ends up dying because Ketil killed her in a fit of rage.

This event leads to Einar attempting to kill Ketil, but Thorfinn intervenes and then preaches about the cycle of revenge, and pacifism so essentially Thorfinn lets Ketil get away with raping, extortion, and all of the terrible things hes done, and Arneis is left without justice .

-The story gets a bit better in the Baltic Sea War arc, and goes back to being garbage in Vinland Expedition. During the former, Thorfinn is able to get through without killing people by having the strength to back it up, and with political connections. This arc is much more enjoyable than the previous farm arc, and it seems like the author is growing only to fall off in the next arc.

-During the expedition to the Vinland colony, Thorfinn gets into an conflict with Ivar who argues that they must bring weapons to the colony since they are going to uncharted territory, and thus need a means to protect themselves or it is all for nought. While Ivar struggles to articulate his ideas, he still ends up making a case grounded in logic unlike Thorfinn who straight up admits he has no actual response or argument for Ivar...

THIS IS MORE THAN A HUNDRED CHAPTERS IN, all this preaching about pacifism, and self reflection only for Thorfinn to have this little self awareness or ability to defend his ideas.

At this point Thorfinn should understand the rest of the settlers are just regular people, not superhuman, and need a means to defend themselves in this certain time…

SETTING:


The author fails to realize that while Norse society was violent (most of western civilization was at that time) they also had means of regulating violence through honor culture, and institutions such as the man-price or weregild where you would have to pay money for doing someone wrongfully.

He also fails to recognize that the general attitude of the Norse and their culture is what allowed them to thrive in such an environment, being a mercenary was a legitimate career path in these societies, and Thorfinn does not offer any meaningful alternative to this culture.

What the author could have done is explore the differences between Norse Society, and the Christian civilizations since the historical Thorfinn was Christian (alongside his wife is as well) and their views regarding how society should be run.

This is a massive missed opportunity since the Norse would gradually accept Christianity, and Thorfinn even travelled to Constantinople which was a civilization not only important to Christians, but the Norse as well.

BUT NO…. instead the author offscreens this travel which could have been used as a moment of self reflection, and bring more food to the table.

Like I said earlier, he could have had a master vs slave morality dynamic, and explore both cultures' views towards peace, and violence but the author does not have the nuance or skill to do this.


THEMES:
while the author is big on self introspection, he continuously proves in his writing that he has NONE.

the motto "You have no enemies" is completely unrealistic given the nature of the world the story depicts, and Thorfinn despite being all about self introspection doesn't have the self awareness to realize his philosophy is only possible because he has the power to back up, and the second you swap him for a character like Gudrid or Einar who are just a regular person, the story crumbles apart.

A horrible story, 0/10. Just watch Vikings, read the actual Norse Sagas or the New Testament instead.

I'll keep this review brief.
I started reading this manga because it was part of the recommendations for the "Kingdom" manga. Let me tell you for anyone who wants to read this for the same reason; there's so little similar about the two mangas you'll probably end up as pissed as I am.

I've never wrote a manga review before, but after reading about half-way through I got so annoyed by the complete and utter genre change from action/drama to a buddhist/hippy/drama, I just had to write my first one.

The manga starts off about a young boy thats struck with hardships and turns into a hard ... person and warrior. And as the manga progresses it seems he is trying to reach enlightenment, through the author's views of enlightenment. Theres alot of religious/anti-religious banter and rants that occur through-out.

At the end of the day, I absolutely hate this manga for what it has turned into and the people that've recommended reading this after Kingdom. Kingdom starts off a certain way and keeps on that track and the character development all continues along the same path. Vinland Saga starts off one way and transforms the manga into something else.

I don't recommend this manga to anyone looking for a war/action/strategical supplement to Kingdom. If you enjoy sob stories and read the Gandhi biography over and over, then you will enjoy this.

Looking for an intelligent manga with intense violence, action, complex character development with a little bit of viking touch? If you answer yes then this epic manga is a must read.

The story is set during the golden age of the Vikings (11th century) particularly during the invasion of England. The main story is about Thorfinn's quest to avenge his father's death by defeating Askeladd (his father's murderer) in an honorable duel and he plans to accomplish this by working for him and doing whatever Askelad asks and in return he is granted a chance to kill him in an honorable duel. The story however is ... not just focused on Thorfinn, in fact more focus is given to the other members of the cast particularly Askeladd who might actually be the real main character of the story and other historical figures such as Thorkell and Canute and their participation during the conflict of the era.

I personally loved the way each character both historical and fictional mix together during the viking age, i mean come on there is already an abundance of samurai and knights in the manga market but this might possibly be the only manga where the main characters are bloodthirsty Vikings who enjoy killing their enemies, enjoying their women and selling their defeated foes into slavery. (Absolutely Fresh!)

The artwork is extremely well-made, the attention to detail is nothing short of incredible. Each character, not only the main characters are very detailed and you can easily tell each one apart from one another and the weapons, environments, clothes, items all really look very accurate well at least based on what I've seen on the discover channel. There are plenty of battles that really show the grotesque nature of the medieval ages and the horrors of war have never been depicted this way before in any manga I know of. Often times the fight scenes are a bit exaggerated similar to the manga adaptation of Battle Royale.

The characters simply blew me away, I have never read a manga with such deep character development. Each character has a very unique and human feel to them. The characters here are unpredictable and each major character has a very detailed background that help progress the story and keep things fresh. I especially loved the way the characters here rely on their strategy as much as they rely on their brute strength.

Overall: Vinland Saga is an intelligent epic manga filled to the brim with intense action and a large cast of complex characters that make this one of the best mangas this reviewer has ever read. The excessive violence and antagonistic nature of the characters may be too much for some readers though.

Childhood innocence, murder, sorrow, revenge, emptiness, redemption and aspiration. Taking place in the 11th century, the age of vikings, Vinland Saga follows the tale of Thorfinn's path of revenge which ultimately culminates into his redemption and aspiration. From the impressive story telling to complex and deep character development, and least but not less, the art style, Makoto Yukimura manages to create a masterfully written story of the brutal age of the vikings.

~Story~

The story of Vinland Saga is set in the golden age of the vikings, narrating the tale of the protagonist, Thorfinn. Witnessing the murder of his own father Thors at a very young ... age by the hands of the antagonist Askeladd, Thorfinn is driven by pure hate to avenge the death of his father. Nevertheless, Askeladd decides to take in Thorfinn to honour Thors. The protagonist resorts to join Askeladd's group in order to defeat Askeladd in a fair one on one duel, which will dominate Thorfinn's childhood. This leads to another great aspect of the manga: the historical context in which the story develops.

As stated earlier, Vinland saga takes place in the golden age of the brutal and battle-hungry vikings. This age was characterized by the rapid expansion of viking territory throughout the northern part of Europe. The author narrates these parts carefully by selecting only the necessary parts in order to not overflow the reader with too many details. This leads to a problem though: the so-called "time skips"; this originates at times drastic changes in the main characters, as well as lack of gradual character development, which I personally like to see.

The narrative is not solely focused upon the protagonist; a lot of attention is paid upon the other main characters, especially Askeladd, in order to flesh them out accordingly to the different events and encounters that take place. The author also lays importance upon showing the reader how the 11th century was, which is important to understand the historical context: plunder, rape, the pillaging of villages and murder. Not to mention the well carved battles displayed through the art.

This fantastic pacing can't be upheld throughout the whole manga without committing possible errors along the way: this is the reason why the manga lessens its pace and settles itself after some time for a more character oriented arc, where readers are presented with humongous and great character development across the board. Some may argue that this is by far the most boring part of Vinland Saga, yet I believe it to be of crucial importance (and also fascinating) that shapes the directions and personalities characters have in the near future. In addition, it focuses as well on the other side of the everlasting battles of the 11th century, the social well-being of that era, as well as the political side of warfare. It also expands on Viking culture a bit, which is a nice addition to the storyline.

~Characters~

This is the most outstanding part of Yukimura's work, regardless of the time skips that lead to sudden character changes. Characters are introduced carefully in the story, giving Yukimura enough time to develop the characters through the interactions and events that happen to the main characters and supporting cast. While the story continues, the reader can carefully observe the changes the main characters experience and undergo.

The main characters of Vinland Saga are certainly one of the best. There is Thorfinn who grows from an innocent, cheerful boy to a ruthless, straightforward, silent murder machine. Such is the impact of his father's death and hate within the protagonist. Then there is Askeladd, a viking leader with honour and pride, yet calm, resourceful and charming, who has a mysterious background. He is in fact one of the most impressive antagonists in the medium, being both fascinating and interesting as a character, his motives being fantastically supported by his past. Another character of importance is prince Canute, who undergoes drastic changes and deep character development, the same as Throfinn. The time skips may interfere in understanding the drastic character changes, though these are hinted within the story or for the reader to imagine.

Complex and deep main protagonists are not possible without secondary characters: these play a big role in the development of the primary characters. The ideals that these characters have, such as the priest or the landlord, are essential to reproduce a realistic character behaviour, as well as deep character development and intricate interactions. This happens to secondary characters too; they're likewise influenced by them, which increases the characters credibility.

~Art~

The art style of the manga fits well with the historical context of Vinland saga. The brutality and gore of the battles are drawn very well, very realistic. This goes for the background of the frames too, as well as the landscapes showing the devastation of the battles that were fought. The evolution of the art is clearly visible, due to the jump of weekly to monthly releases of the manga, giving the author time to focus upon detail rather than quantity.

The facial expressions are definitely the most outstanding part of the art style. These convey properly how the characters feel at times. This was not just limited to the main characters; even background characters were not spared. The combat scenes are drawn spectacularly too, mixing well with the facial expressions of the characters.

~Enjoyment~

Vinland saga was a magnificent read, I thoroughly enjoyed it in every aspect. From the intriguing story to the incredible character development and design, and the brutality of the art that catches you from the first moment, Vinland saga is definitely one of the top historical manga out there, and definitely a must read for anyone searching for a Viking based manga. Recommendable to anyone with interest in the historical, action genre, just not suitable for younger readers.

Thank you for reading.

Let me start by saying this is a very good manga, objectively speaking that is. The world of Vinland Saga is one of great depth and one built upon layers of history. The towns, cities, farms and campgrounds feel well thought out and are meticulously detailed, bringing the story to life with a strong sense and feel of believability. Many of the side characters in Vinland Saga seem to have been written to overwhelmingly overshadow the main character, to the point where I had fully believed that the story was in fact NOT about Thorfin, which I believe would have been a good thing. The ... main bone I have to pick with Vinland Saga lies within the writing of the main character, one who feels so underdeveloped and forgotten about by the author that he ends up feeling very forced onto the reader during the later half of the series. I wont spoil anything, but basically Thorfin changes his personality drastically after a series of events that unfold over a few years. To put it bluntly, he ruins the story for me completely by becoming a self sacrificing pussy. He creates these idiotic and irrational principals to live by that make him put up with insane amounts of unnecessary bullshit and suffering, many times it has become so brutal that I skip multiple pages because of how overly cringe worthy his bullshit can become. If you can look past and put up with a character that is incredibly arrogant and has an idiotic persistence, I recommend this manga

This is one of the comics of all times that is also very ludicrous in several levels, and a rip-off of the Chinese movie Hero (2002).

While there are normal people who get to like this story as they are just history fans that have never watched any anime, there is this pretentious weeb core within this manga that makes some anime fans think now that they heard the most delusional philosophies like ALL lives matter and pacifism can work, they achieved deepness and think this is the most superior and groundbreaking form of thinking never heard before and everything else sucks, when this is just ... the most delusional version of Power of Friendship.

The protagonist Thorfinn doesn't do anything likable in the whole series and everyone simps for him for no reason other than he is the protagonist - I don't care about how much "development" he gets as remorse-based character development is pretty lame for a protagonist, he's always been very dislikable in general whether when he is a mass murderer or a Gandhi-wannabe. He is the same as Reiner from SNK just he is a super delusional version of him. Even Reiner drops his remorse nonsense when violence was actually needed for the sake of his beloved kids.
Not to give any details or spoilers, there are these ludicrous instances where Thorfinn wonders whether or not he should use violence against the dudes putting his loved ones in serious danger (or just against evil dudes in general like mass murderers and rapists) as he doesn't wanna dream with zombies again because muh feels. Then the same dudes out of nowhere always let him be, due to the Power of Friendship No Jutsu - truly the most mature manga, you just don't get it. This is like Batman but worse, "Oh how bad it is if I punch actual criminals". It just made me wanna laugh at the idea of this even being a dilemma. The real dilemma is hoping please Hild for the love of the Gods, do shoot Thorfinn in the back.

Also it is not that historically accurate at all, the author doesn't understand anything about the Norse religion other than superficial crap like Marvel movies or things you can read on Wikipedia - as you can verify from his arrogant "author talks" trying to prove how his worldview is superior to other cultures and ages, and this passes down to the extremely pretentious fanbase of Vinland Saga.
For one, contrary to the manga, the Jomsvikings actually didn't give a shit about Norse religion and culture, and together with King Harald they brutally forced christianity in Scandinavia. Duels are also completely wrong as it's up to the person being challenged what type of duel it would be, it could be a poetry battle etc., and even if it was a violent duel, if you murdered your opponent you should comensate their family according to the law, and if you commit murder a second time, it's death penalty.
To other absurd claims that in Norse law you could abuse whoever you wanted so long you were stronger, and only christianity gave them "ethics" lmao. His whole beef with Norse culture is because as the author writes it himself, he is a prideless wimp who can't stand any pain, hard labor or masculine demands, so it's absurd and beyond his imagination a culture that is based on disregarding self-preservation and go straight ahead into war instead of accepting humiliation and cultural genocide.

Besides falsifying Norse history, this mango also ripped off the True Warrior philosophy from the 2002 Chinese movie Hero (and even the literal scene in case), but distorted its philosophy and choice of non-violence to included some "universal love" bullshit such as it's always wrong to use violence even to avoid imediate danger, and chosing one's loved ones over criminal scumbags is "discrimination".

Hating "violence" doesn't make you a kind person, it's just an excuse to feel moral about yourself for being a coward wimp (or a nerd philosopher-wannabe). Another manga that preached the same BS - Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X - well the author happened to be a pedophile... Don't hurt criminal people pls violence is Le Bad. 🤡

I mean if you wanna talk shit about the "sword" go write about your own brutal Japanese history, mr. author dude. You can only write your cartoon talking shit about the Sword today because your samurai were brutal and used the Sword to grant you this privilege (for good or for bad), otherwise Mongols and others would have wiped your culture out of existence, same with the Norse, same with Native Americans. "Violence" is a normal part of life that grants you "peace".

Your "enemies" keep you fit. If Japan had become a country that adopted this timid pacifist cancer, your men would start marrying anime waifus and AI bots, and your birthrates would start to drop drastically... Oopsie that's exactly what happened...

The author is a very good artist. The drawings are some of the best in all manga, paneling and structuring of his bullshit narrative is very good regardless of how BS the so called message here is. He should be the assistant to some other mangaká.
Very good comics 10/10, do not recommend.
If you want actually mature historical fiction that explores the moral dilemmas of peace and violence in a way that makes sense, read the work of Hiroshi Hirata instead.

"God's divine creation is so brimming with love... and yet there is no love in the hearts of men." -Canute

I believe this work to truly be the best manga series currently running, and believe I can back this assertion with valid examples. 'Vinland Saga' is available from Kodansha Comics USA in 5 double-sized volumes (containing the first 10 Japanese volumes), with the 6th and 7th double-sized volumes scheduled to come out later in 2015.

-Story-

This series is brutal and it's mature, but those two things are not the same. There's no shortage of graphic carnage and gory battles, but any mangaka worth his or her salt ... can splash some buckets of blood around and call their story 'mature'. Where this story earns its praise for maturity is in how it handles that brutality. There is no romantization of the Viking Age here, the Norse glorification of violence is not just devastating the people they come into contact with, but even their own culture (suppose you're a Dane who DOESN'T want to go around murdering and raping everything in sight? Too bad- at best you'll be an outcast). In some way every character has to react to the violent culture of the Norse and their reactions are critical in determining their personality. Some embrace it, some run from it, some try to change it through politics, some find solace in religion, some despise it and lose themselves in the hatred of everything. While plenty of manga (and other media in general) simply use brutality for shock factor and call themselves 'deep and mature', this manga actually successfully uses the brutality as part of its main theme. But 'Vinland Saga' doesn't simply wallow in nihilism either (another easy trap for 'brutal' stories to fall into), it has rays of hope. Not easy to reach, not without its own cost, sometimes not without going through Hell first, but still real.

This story uses brutality well, incorporating it into a deeper theme instead of losing itself to gore and nihilism; and it uses hope to counterpoint the brutality without resorting to saccharine slap-happy schlock. The only thing keeping 'VS' from a perfect story score is that the series has yet to end in the US market (I am uncertain of how far it has progressed in Japan). So far, however, it has been magnificent. 8/10

-Art-

Seriously, look at this manga! Since it's on a monthly release schedule Makoto Yukimura can afford to go for quality rather than quantity. The first chapters were on a weekly release schedule, so they are somewhat less impressive (but still excellent, it's only that the monthly chapters are utterly jaw-dropping). It's clear that a great deal of research went into this series, houses, clothes, utensils, and weapons are all highly detailed- no settling for slapping some medieval stereotypes on the page and moving on. The panels are simple squares and rectangles with clear borders between them, broken up by the occasional splash page- with a series this detailed special care must be made to make sure each image is distinct and the flow is easy to follow. The aesthetic goes for a high level of realism, with very little stereotypical 'manga' influence (no chibis or gigantic eyes here). The art is absolutely stunning. 10/10

-Characters-

Characters make a story. If the cast doesn't have engaging conflicts and interesting development, neither the art or the plot will be able to make up the difference. Thorfinn is a ball of rage and pain as he tries to avenge the father he hardly knew. Canute is a timid and frightened young prince who must conquer or surely die. Askeladd's mind has plots within plots and is more than meets the eye. Thorkell.... OK, he IS pretty easy to figure out, but that's the point. Even the secondary characters have distinct and believable motivations and a few surprises. Nobody feels like a plot device or a cardboard archetype who's only there to do some specific thing because 'the story said so', the cast truly seems like real, flawed (often badly, occasionally horrifically flawed) people interacting with each other. 10/10

-Enjoyment-

There are only two reasons to write about a manga in this much depth: 1) It sucks on a truly incredible scale 2) It is utterly magnificent. Take a wild guess which is my opinion.

-Overall-

The cast is a masterclass in character development. The art is stunningly real. The story takes full advantage of its setting and subtly communicates a deep and mature theme- the ONLY thing I can see undermining this series is a bad ending when it finally finishes (not that I hope it will do so any time soon). I will confess I have a love for historical fiction that might make me more predisposed to liking a series of this nature, but given the examples I've provided I believe I can honestly this is a series any fan of serious manga needs to read. 10/10

This is an updated review, and I feel the need to do so because the reviews at the top of the page are over 1 DECADE old.
Did it change much the perception that not only I, but people in general have of this manga? let's see it

To take a weight off my shoulders, I LOVE the first two arcs of this manga. It is one of the most moving stories of revenge, coming of age and redemption that exist. easy 9 or 10. Unfortunately from that moment the manga goes downhill.

I'm not a fan of manga with pasifist messages; I think that on most occasions ... these are executed poorly or tend to be very childish "not all people understand with words" is as easy as understanding that. Vinland saga was a brilliant example of how to execute a believable and moving wooden pacifist message (like gundam). The problem is that this reaches the point of absurdity after the second arc, falling into the sick, idealistic and childish.

The "baltic sea" arc (who started the decay) has MANY PROBLEMS.

Not only does this "passifism" end up being completely ridiculous, seeing Thorfinn spare the lives of rapists, murderers and psychopaths as if nothing had happened; going to a war WITH ONLY HIS HANDS. His attitude DOES NOT FIT in the context of the manga. The uncomfortable reality is that Thorfin wouldn't be able to do ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING or live by HIS FOOLISH PHILOSOPHY if he wasn't a stupid powerful being (as he apparently possesses supernatural abilities).

But that my friend is not the only problem. So that this is not too extensive, we are going to list them.

-A highly disconsonant change of tone. It went from having a more dense tone that had its brief comedy and break moments to lighten the mood, to having tons of slightly off-kilter humor and even a fart joke. even the exploration of themes was greatly diminished. One could argue that this is due to thorfinn leaving more toxic holes and his evolution, but the change is too exaggerated and more so considering that we come from the arc of the farm that executes this change better.
- humor that is VERY out of place
-Mishandling of issues
-Unidirectionality in conflicts. There is no longer a "grey" morality, now you are on the side of the messiah Thorfinn or the author will demonize you as a caveman.
-Introduce Hyld, who is a mery sue without any flaws, Extremely intelligent and strong with the personality of a wooden plank. that she only has ONE DIALOGUE DURING THE WHOLE MANGA and that it is highly irritating (the case is so sad that her "best moment" is not even starred by her lmao, but by Thorfinn)

Etc etc.

All these problems are deeply rooted in the CORE of vinalnd saga and the message that it wants to give that it simply DOES NOT WORK and nobody will ever be able to apply it in their real life.

Anyway, although it may not seem like it, I like this manga, and its two arcs will always have a place in my heart. I just hate what it has become.

Does Vinland Saga live up to all its HYPEEEEEEE? Does it live up to the title "Masterpiece" like Berserk and Vagabond in a similar genre? No, it doesn't. It come closer to Naruto at this point.. Hell, he runs like him and even preaches similar bullshit now.

I'l go over the main problems i had with Vinland Saga.

The first problem: Thors, who preaches about his pacifism in a viking setting which for those that are critical of the historical/viking setting will be a huge turn off because it doesn't fit the setting whatsoever. The second problem for some
is that he goes around defeating his enemies ... with his fists which is pretty stupid and comical in general.. The one thing i did like was that Thors foreshadowed what was to become of this series, an anti war message. The phrase "a true warrior needs no sword".
Despite me not being a fan of how Vinland later on it was foreshadowed nicely.

The second problem: Thorkell, basically just a Zodd rip off from Berserk turned into a comedic dumb ass. In all seriousness his character is pretty funny and his strength is very over the top. He hasn't served much of a purpose other than being comedic relief with signs of slight development.


The third problem: Thorfinn, your typical edge-lord thirsty for revenge. To begin with again, some might be turned off by how annoying that archetype is already and dropped it instantly. However he does get some good development
later in the story, but becomes another generic archetype, a pacifist.. Despite me enjoying the farm arc, the change has made his story rather boring, predictable and generic.

The fourth problem: Canute, his character development felt far too sudden and drastic that it comes across as forced. BUUUUUT, he is the only reason i will probably keep reading to see what becomes of Vinland Saga. I think that his story will perhaps be the only redeeming quality Vinland Saga has left and might change my mind later on in the story.

Would i recommend Vinland Saga after trashing on it? Yes surprisingly, and that reason is because of the AskaLADD. His character is definitely one of the best characters in anime/manga and makes AT LEAST the first arc well worth the read.

I really wanted to give this Manga a 10.
It starts out very well, with a plot hook that makes you want to know what happens onward. The reason I can't possibly give this manga more than 6 is because of the characters. Almost all the main characters are so incredibly Japanese. It hurts seeing a character that is portrayed as a Norse warrior do things, and think things, that fits for a Japanese peasant.

One comment in particular stuck with me. And this isn't a big spoiler as it comes up very quickly and is often repeated.
"A true warrior don't need a sword".
How do I ... start elaborating on this? What on earth does such a Japanese mentality have to do in a manga about vikings? And the worst of all, is the pacifistic attitude portrayed. It doesn't fit into the setting at all...

I went into this, not expecting it to be historically correct at all. But the blatant disrespect it shows towards the culture of the time, and the force-feeding of Japanese culture into a Manga about Norse people is just too much.
When starting reading this manga the expectations were very high, because it started out very well. The way it develops is frankly an insult to old Norse culture, while it oddly enough glorifies the church? That one really took me off guard.

Really wanted to like this manga, but I can't advice it if you want something that actually represent Viking culture at all. The pacifistic attitude is way over the top stupid.

Anime Recommendation and Review.

Manga - Vinland Saga
Author - Yukimura, Makoto (Story & Art)
Genres - Action, Adventure, Drama, Historical, Seinen.
MAL Rating - 8.72

Vinland saga is a Historical Seinen manga based on true historical facts along with . It is more like famous manga Kentaro Miura's Berserk and Takehiko Inoue's Vagabond. If you are a fan of Vikings TV show then Vinland saga is basically a manga version of it with Realistic art, Gore and blood, Tragedy, Self Reflection, Emotions, Adventure, Dreams, War, Conflict and Vengence!

Plot summary
Thorfinn is son to one of the Viking's greatest warriors, but when his father is killed in battle by the mercenary ... leader Askeladd, he swears his intent to have revenge. Thorfinn joins Askeladd's group in order to challenge him to a duel, and ends up caught in the middle of a war for the crown of England.

Art - 10/10 : The art is quite realistic and detailed.Each and every armor, tools, clothing, weapons etc. are well drawn that each part has perfectly look and feel as a Viking or Saxon Merch.

Here is photo -[ http://i3.mangareader.net/vinland-saga/91/vinland-saga-3947335.jpg ]

The Vinland provide the excitement and feel of being a Viking.Though it might be crime to feel like that now in this age and era.It has tons of Slashing and hacking of flesh of human kind.Blood and Gore is about at average level and thus its Seinen.

Here is photo -[ http://i2.mangareader.net/vinland-saga/91/vinland-saga-3947367.jpg ]

Story - 10/10 : As you can guess from the plot summary, the story is well equiped with Good story.It contains Drama, Tragedy, Comedy(not much) and catchy phrases.
Eg.“A true warrior needs no blade” – Thors
Each and every character is unique and has different personality and psychology befitting their character design.You may not have any problem with characters being out of the line or their behaviour is weird.The mangaka placed utmost care in handling the psychology of the character.

The story is Very Brutal. There is no good or Evil in this manga, it is just you and your views towards it. The Vikings are very Brutal rac as they are also called as 'Pagans'. The Vikings used to raid, rape, kill and destroy the innocent saxons village. Same goes with Saxons as they used to kill Danes village(non-raiders).

Enjoyment - 9.5/10 : You might be thinking why is it all so high? well The art is very realistic and mistakes bound are very few.The Story and concept of the manga is really unique and entertaining.I have enjoyed all the moments from the manga as the adventure of thorfinn leads from Vengence to Self-Enlightenment.

I dare you to read this manga to read thorfinn's Adventure to New World.
Overall - 10/10

It was a long trek since I started this manga. There were two attempts. The first, I lasted until 6 chapters, the second, with effort and scrolling, I finished 'till the latest update of chapter.

The manga details the prologue around the first 50 chapters and after that, the real story.

And when it comes to details in the story, well, let me tell you, it equals to describing thick fantasy books.

I don't mind this style. I mean, if done well, it could be a great captivating read. You'd bury yourself to the world the manga enforces.

It's just that, I've seen this kind. Can't tell you ... a specific title of a manga series but it just seems I've read this kind to many series, movies, anime, books , etc. It was predictable. And when you read a lot of pages just to get to that predictable point, it's just no fun.

Though, the only thing that should have keep me on edge was if this or that one's going to die next. Well, let me tell you, almost all women, girls, children gets killed, raped. And so, normally, I couldn't care less to any introduced characters they put in. When so many are whores, killers, murderers.

== Story ==

As said, the first 50 chapters is part of a prologue. It describes the boy in vengeance. He suffered a lot. But when prologue, I'd assume little characters are going to matter. Right I am, many in it got killed. and 50 chapters? Talk about long. He come on this journey and neglect the teachings he was brought up by, with abandon, he becomes stronger as time passes. But along the way, an unexpected event turned this brutal environment we were suppose to head and teach us the value of life and repentance.


== Art ==

Gruesomely detailed. There is a certain ruggedness to the style of drawing. The Main character got a really suitable face for his purpose. Cruel and bitter. Enemies were quite well drawn. From one look, there no chance you could mistake them for good bunch. They reek of malice.

== Character ==

The character is predictable. His actions, his face, reactions are predictable. Being a kid around adults, we could expect this so, but after growing up, he still is. I mean, the story or arc his heading to has been done enough to be as predictable as a kid. Expect him to be brash, hard head and all that is expected from a kid whose been through hard life.

== Enjoyment ==

Me no likey this series. It's brutal expected from a savage time. But more from that, more than 10 times I've said it in this review, the story/arcs were predictable. Though its quite good for a bit of history lesson here and there, assuming they be a bit accurate in their time. So if you like history, since its full of it, and brutal encounters, and life lessons, then this is for you, though I warn you, there is a high chance it is Predictable for your taste.

Historical fiction is often a hard subject to tackle, especially for anime/manga. The pandering nature of the medium somewhat limits the spectrum of takes on historical events in a fictional retelling, usually falling into the comedy "parody" or shonen-action genres. Vinland Saga is not either of those. It's everything historical fiction should be. It’s fun, it's sad, it's epic, and it's thoughtful. High adventure, fast paced action and political intrigue are abound in Vinland Saga, balanced out by an equal amount of philosophical introspection and character development. All around, it's an uncommon masterpiece.

Vinland Saga, as stated before, is historical fiction, and set in a uncommon ... era for the medium, and especially uncommon for anime/manga. Touching off during the Danish invasion of England in 1013, we follow Askeladd, a mercenary leader and Thorfinn, a vengeful youth serving Askeladd only for the opportunity to avenge his father's death at Askeladd's hands. Vinland Saga’s story possesses this amazing and tantalizing sense of grandeur and epic scale to its conflicts that makes every chapter feel fresh and exciting. For every chapter with adventuring and warring this is another for plotting, thinking and contemplating. And for every moment of triumphant victory there is a moment of bitter defeat and death. It’s a fantastic ride, and continues to be.

Character-wise, Vinland Saga is not lacking in the slightest. The cast is a mix of fictional characters loosely based on Nordic legend and real historical figures. Thorfinn starts off seeming like some bitter, whiny, revenge obsessed shonen protagonist, but he quickly comes into his own. His development takes off as the story progresses. Askeladd is nothing short of my favorite anti-hero in all of manga. He's ruthless, cruel, and bitter, but at the same time he possesses a sort of charm about him. He takes no pleasure in his actions, with his motivations shrouded in mystery. He’s just overall a great character. But, the crown for character development in Vinland Saga has to go to Cnut, one of the aforementioned real historical figures. He goes through transformation through transformation, and always accompanied by serious philosophical pondering and questioning. These parts are an absolute joy to read. Surrounding these three pivotal characters is a retinue of side and minor characters, from the real life Thorkell the Tall to the not real members of Askeladd's company. Each character retains a certain aspect that makes them unique and likeable, all adding flavor to an already fantastic plot; It’s just more excellence on top of excellence.

Vinland Saga started off with a somewhat simplistic art style. It was still good, but there were no great details to characters faces or anything to really write home about. Keyword started off. As the manga progressed, the art becomes darker, more refined, and much more detailed. Wrinkles on character's faces become apparent, creating some awesome panels of badass men being badass. The action sequences are very fluid and a blast to look at, and the grand panoramic scenes are nothing to scoff at either. As it stands now, the art is very impressive and a feast for the eyes in spots, acting as an excellent supplement to a great premise.

At the time of this writing, Vinland Saga looks like it is only gearing up for its main act, which baffles me considering the quality of its apparent preamble. It’s a story of adventure, of war, of politics, and of men seeking paradise. So just do yourself a favor and read it. I promise you won't be disappointed, because Vinland Saga truly is a-

10/10
Masterpiece.

STATUS: 187 chapters read.

Prologue Arc: 9/10
Slave Arc: 9/10
Eastern Expedition Arc: 4/10
Vinland Arc: (In Progress)
Overall: 6/10
----------

REVIEW CONTAINS MILD SPOILERS - DO NOT READ ARC DESCRIPTIONS IF YOU WISH TO AVOID THEM
...
----------

"You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." This quote applies to the writing of Vinland Saga, which became its own villain.

I'm rubbing my head at this one. This is the longest review I've ever written, and I'm devoting this much time and effort to it because I truly care about Vinland Saga. I want the series to continue be good, because it was good. I've binge-read nearly 190 chapters of manga in a week, and the question left on my mind is:

"What happened?" (I)

Vinland Saga had a strong start. The first two arcs were well-written, and defined what will become the 'Vinland Saga' feel, the theme, tone, characters, etc. The plot is grounded, grand, and constantly moving forwards - there's very few spots of stagnation, where the reader feels like they're crawling along, and you just want to page flip to get past it. The manga has the feel of a legendary epic, or some mythological tale. Then .. that feeling vanishes. Everything I've just mentioned goes up in a puff of smoke. The world, the characters, the politics .. they all become flat, uninteresting tropes.

...What happened?! (II)

The tone of Vinland Saga changes. The characters and how they are written and defined diminishes. The quality of its arcs dips hard. If I were to show you the fist five chapters of this manga, and then provide you a selection of five further chapters in the later half of the Eastern Expedition arc, you would probably think it is some spinoff series. The tonal shift is that drastic. The tone of the manga, its very spirit, flatlines in the third arc - and the Vinland Saga that you started with is not the Vinland Saga you will come to read. The shift is gradual, but too severe to not be noticable. I'll be discussing it in detail below.

---------- SPOILERS BELOW ----------

I'm going to take a step back and explain my gut feelings regarding the arcs, as this will provide insight into my claim, and my lamentations about Vinland Saga falling from grace:

+ + + + + Prologue Arc (War Arc) + + + + +

This is the arc that has been turned into an anime. This arc is VERY solid, it has a solid introduction, a great body, and a iron-clad conclusion. This arc is a fantastic prologue. Perhaps this is funny, because the worst part about this arc is our supposed main character, Thorfinn! All he can do the entire arc is brood over his loss, and his only motivation to do anything is the chance of dueling and defeating Askeladd, the villain of the arc. And what a fantastic villain Askeladd is, so much so that many would consider Askeladd to be the protagonist of the series, or even to think of him as an anti-hero (he is a villain through-and-through, just a very well written one).

If there's one thing that stands out in this arc, it's the constantly moving plot. The plot is well written, well-paced, satisfying, and above all: it sets the mood and tone of Vinland Saga. This will become important later on, as I've already revealed that the series, unfortunately, loses its shine later on. Thorfinn's desire for revenge is contrasted by his former father's peace. His rage and mercilessness as part of Askeladd's band is contrasted by his desire to have an honorable duel with Askeladd. Akeladd practically assumes the role of father, of Thorfinn's dad, who he ordered the death of. Major plot points are established and touched upon throughout this arc, keeping it consistent and not leaving the audience feeling like they have missed out.

The payoff is ... fantastic. Just when the manga starts to slow down, it floors the accelerator, drawing the reader back into the wider plot and context of the world the characters find themselves in. The conclusion of the prologue arc is one of the best I've seen in a manga, and the anime conclusion is fantastic as well. It's a great springboard to launch Thorfinn away from his past, and into his future.

+ + + + + Slave Arc + + + + +

This arc takes place several years after the Prologue arc, with Thorfinn being sold into slavery as punishment for his crimes against the king. We are introduced to Einar, a slave who, along with Thorfinn, shares the main character spotlight. This arc is jokingly refereed to as the 'Minecraft' arc by some fans, and ... well, you'll see why. Like the previous arc, we have a great introduction, a fantastic body of events, and a solid conclusion. Importantly, the tone of Vinland Saga remains, it's just the setting and characters that change. The characters are well written and consistent. Their interactions are genuinely interesting because they do not all get along, and like in the prior arc there is conflict between them, their personalities personalities, their morals .. you name it. I'm not the most adept at defining characters, but the writing here of them is very good.

The subplots in this arc are meaningful, and like the prior arc, contribute to and shape the story in meaningful ways. It still feels like a manga set in the 1000 AD, in the land and era of Vikings. Perhaps most importantly, it still feels like Vinland Saga.

+ + + + + Eastern Expedition Arc + + + + +

You may note that I will be explaining this arc in detail, moreso than the prior two arcs. This arc is the turning point in the series' quality. Understanding this arc, the setup, and the very poor payoff is critical, in my eyes, to understanding why the series has taken a nosedive in quality, and why I've given it an overall 6/10 score.

This arc starts strong. Thorfinn is now no longer burdened by a corrosive sense of revenge, and is free from slavery. He has reunited with his family and village, and the stage is set for him to prepare to undertake the journey to Vinland. But, before this vast undertaking can occur, Thorfinn has a set of goals that he knows, and that the reader knows:

1. He must obtain money to fund his venture.
2. He must obtain manpower to assist in the journey & country-building in Vinland.
3. He must prove he has the motivation and capacity to do steps 1 & 2, and the ability to deliver.

This is some strong stuff, great groundwork for what should've been a great third arc.

If this isn't the climax of the entire series, with Vinland being the conclusion, this is surely the direct rise to the story's climax.

So, how will Thorfinn accomplish the 3 goals above? First and foremost, we're introduced to our first new crewmember: Gudrid. She's not a fantastically interesting character, but a pretty decent side character. Most of her background revolves around her wanting to explore and see the world, but being locked in her place on account of Gudrid being a female character. Realistic, given that the series is set in the 1000 AD.

In addition to gaining a new crewmate, Thorfinn's team gains a commodity that they must sell: narwhal horns, which can be passed off as horns belonging to unicorns in the south. By south they mean Miklagrad, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. They will get there by traveling through the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, then down through the rivers of Russia, into the Black Sea, and back. At this point, we've now established the journey of the arc, the goals, and that it will probably take them two years to complete the journey there and back (this is stated by a character). The setup is golden, makes sense, and will be interesting to tag along in. The scope is a natural expansion in the lead-up to the titular journey to Vinland.

The group journeys out with their commodity and their destination, coming along two new crewmembers. A dog, and Karli, the lone survivor of a village destroyed by warfare. Neither of these characters are of particular note, and Karli is an infant, though thankfully, a decently comical one. His role is small, like he is, and thankfully - he does not get in the way too much and is just along for the ride.

Next up, the group, now with a four-legged friend and an infant, arrives in Norway. We're making pretty good progress on this journey. Here we run into Hild, who I will declare: is the last decently-written, interesting character that will join Thorfinn. Hild has history with Thorfinn, and her life was changed because of his past atrocities he committed when a member of Askeladd's Army. Her backstory is interesting, well written, and meaningful, and she'll make a great addition to the team as a skilled hunter and creative inventor. She wields a crossbow with a built-in goat's foot lever, which while fictional is at least grounded somewhat in reality for the time period.

Unfortunately, her backstory and value as a character are diminished by the fact that she's ... well, she's Thorfinn from the first arc. Though she's far less pissed, her entire personality largely revolves around her being emotionally dead inside once she confirms Thorfinn's identity and relation to her past, and her primary character trait is following Thorfinn around. Why? Because she wants to be the cause of his death if Thorfinn slips up. If you were getting major deja vu vibes here, you weren't the only one. This sure sounds a fair bit like Askeladd and Thorfinn's relationship. It's a shame too, Hild could be a significantly better character if she was given the time of day to actually develop, as opposed to remaining some sort of always-watching-you, permanent-grudge-holding character ... like Thorfinn was in the first arc. Unfortunately, for the entire duration of this arc, she receives ZERO development, despite having such an interesting premise and important set of skills.

Alright, we've picked up a useful, if vengeful character! Time to head further east, and then south to Miklagrad, meeting other useful characters along the way, and running into sub arcs!

BZZT! WRONG! Here, have a THIRTY SIX (!!!) CHAPTER ARC about the Jomsvikings! It is WAY too long, FAR too drawn out, and at the end: it's totally worthless to the main cast.

(To the readers who kept up with this when it was releasing in live time, you have my sympathy. This SUB-ARC lasted for THIRTY EIGHT (38!!!) MONTHS! I would have absolutely quit this series if I was keeping up with it in real time at this sub-arc.)

Let me summarize it:

There's a power struggle between two sub-factions of the Jomsvikings, each following a different leader.
Thorfinn wants no part of it. Thorfinn gets dragged into it.
One of the Jomsvikings sides has its leader killed.
Thorfinn still wants no part of it. Thorfinn & crew get dragged into it.
Siege is then laid to the other side of the Jomsvikings.
Thorfinn still wants no part of it. Thorfinn & crew get dragged into it.
The conflict comes to a conclusion after an excruciating THIRTY SIX chapters.
Thorfinn is appointed leader of the Jomsvikings, despite his insistence he didn't want to be a part of it since the start.
Thorfinn, now leader, disbands the Jomsvikings, refuses to explain, and leaves.

Wow, that was an awful sub-arc. It's made even worse by the fact that FUCKING BIG FOOT SHOWS UP. OUT OF NOWHERE. If you think I'm joking, I'm not. Look up Ymir. You can't make this shit up people.

Thank God. It's finally over. We're past it, we can finally get back to Thorfinn's epic adventure to Miklagrad, securing both crewmates and gold to launch his journey to Vinland...

BZZT! WRONG! Yeah that's right, FUCK YOU READER!

We. Get. None. Of. That. The manga completely timeskips. We go straight from the War in the Baltic Sea sub-arc straight back to Iceland. A year and then some of character development and growth, gone. A grand adventure, gone. Potential to recruit interesting new additions to the cast, gone. The whole setup of the arc, gone with the snap of the fingers.

My breath was taken away from me. After the absolutely awful War in the Baltic Sea sub-arc, the LITERAL TITLE OF THE ARC, "EASTERN EXPEDITION ARC," is ripped out from beneath us. It's boiled down to they got to Miklagrad, sold the horns, made gold, the end. Nothing else happened.

What. A. Waste.

From here on out the story nose-dives. The War in the Baltic Sea was the turning point, but the remainder of this arc only solidified that what had happened in sub-arc we had just escaped from, was going to continue to happen. Like the arc we just got out of, chapters drag on. Gone are the days of interesting, well-developed discussions and interactions in meaningful chapters from the first two main arcs, and the start of the third arc. The tonal shift we saw in that 36-chapter long arc is here to stay.

Vinland Saga no longer feels like Vinland Saga.

+ + + Vinland Arc + + +
-----
IMPORTANT NOTE: This is the final arc, and is not complete.
-----

What should've taken part during the travel to Miklagrad instead happens in some crammed chapters leading up to their departure to Vinland. Ontop of being significantly less interesting than discovery on the way to Miklagrad, it's poorly written and still missing the 'Vinland Saga' feel.

We're introduced to the son of Thorkell, who is either inserted to be the de-facto gender confused character found in many comedic mangas, or as some sort of cruel comedic gag. Thorkell was never stated to have any children in any of his chapters prior, and this character is literally dropped on our heads out of the blue, in a fashion that reminds me of the Bigfoot from the previous arc. There's no context or reason behind it, and the quality of this character makes Hild (our last named crew addition from 58 CHAPTERS AGO!) look like Askeladd in terms of writing quality. Not a great addition to the cast, and the character design is ... well, I think it missed the mark big time. I struggle not to see this character as some sort of cruel comedic gag with how ridiculously they are presented. What could've been an interesting character is tarnished by poor writing, and a character design that does not mesh with the series.

Thorfinn goes from using a knife purely for defense, as his own father instructed him immediately prior to his death, to wanting Vinland to be totally without weapons. He will not let people join his expedition with swords, spears, etc. Yes, this brave venture to uncharted lands with the hopes of building a country will go totally unarmed. Oh, but weapons that are used for hunting? Or building? Yeah, those are fine. You can keep your crossbow Hild. You definitely have not used it against people in multiple prior instances. Axes? No problem. Knives are fine too, fuck it! Seems like the only things that are banned are swords and spears!

{EDIT: Later on we see farmers in Vinland with spears, I guess swords are the only banned weapon?!}

...Inconsistencies aside, they finally depart. Okay, we've had a terrible 36-chapter arc, we totally missed out on the Eastern Expedition, the titular arc, SURELY we'll have some development and drama on the high seas, on their journey to Vinland.

THEY CROSS THE OCEAN AND REACH VINLAND ... IN ONE CHAPTER.

I'm cutting my review off here, as the next sub-arc of the series has not concluded. I don't want to judge an incomplete sub-arc. At this point, I think you can imagine my level of enthusiasm whenever a new chapter is released.

----------
CLOSING THOUGHTS

I'm remorseful that the series I fell in love with for the first and second arcs, and some of the third arc, has flatlined. Vinland Saga has now entered its fourth and final arc, and I truly hope that it ends well. However, given the current downward trend of the manga's quality, I, solemnly, have my doubts that a quality ending will be achieved.

To people wanting to get into it would recommend but only the first part after the farmland arc there is a big dip in the story imo. Here are the reason


Art gets worse imo the dark and griddy vibe is gone entirely gone mc gets such a wierd face especially compared to other characters it's like a jojo character replaced him


Immature topics sometimes characters used to be so multidimensional but it's like they are given one trait and that's the only thing that matters.

Mc becomes increasingly naive it's so frustrating to me i can understand avoiding violence you can make a brilliant story ... about that like ruroni kenshin (admittedly haven't finished it yet but it had a much more mature way of than violence is bad for being bad) and the male female division is so poorly done sadly even the women at that time were supporting when men used to go to war as it was a very important part of life to manhood and it was a quick and easy way to fame and fortune like today's YouTube. All in all mc becomes worse with time imo hild lowkey becomes the best character imo she is the best character in story rn.

FL is trash is gudrid a character I knew I would hate from the start I touched on this earlier but the men women division is so stupid it's like every men is a war loving moron who does everything in the name of family instead of realising he's doing it for himself which is wrong as most families HAD to fight to survive.

And the inequality factor of not having women hunter or sailors is simple they woulf not provide enough value. I think people forget that it is set in 1000' so the problem about stuff like period is way bigger than people realise since it makes you way more vulnerable to infection and that was one of the biggest causes of death back in that time. Second women are not as strong as men you can get more work done at a faster pace by replacing one women with men. THIRD pregnancy of a women is on board with several men a entanglement is bound to occur which can cause pregnancy and a child is one of the biggest problem on board and it's handles it so stupidly like men don't allow women cause man bad and women morally good.🤦‍♂️


It's forgot the virus plot line but it's still a bit new so I think it will take time to grow so I will allow that.


All in all imo the first part is a 9-10/10 but the later part after farmland is like a 6 so disappointed with where it went and how it's going wish something big happen push the mc in a mature direction to make him understand not all violence is bad cause according to that logic even police are bad.

Don't get it twisted.
This manga is good.
For the first half, at least.

I first read this manga a few years back, watched the anime that just aired, and caught up to the manga again just now. And honestly, Vinland saga's story gets worse and worse once you get to the part where the anime drops off. It's a whole completely different story.
Is it a bad thing? Well, yes. The entire genre of the story is basically changed, and so is the pacing. And if I'm being blunt here, I don't quite like the direction the story goes. The story goes from a hardcore blood and ... iron cutthroat battlefield to a sort of coming of age story that's frankly, kind of mediocre.
I get that Thorfinn had to come to his own conclusion about his father's lessons, so to speak. That was clear very early in the story. However, such a conclusion could be realized without changing the entire genre of the story. Anyways, I can't really agree with how the story came out to be. But, if you like a kind of cheesy coming of age story, you will surely love Vinland Saga's second half. Maybe I'm sulking that the story isn't what I anticipated. Maybe I'm not "cultured" enough to get think that the second part of the story was interesting. Or maybe the second part of the story is just not that good. Hey, I can recognize something as good even if I personally dislike it. And sorry, it's just kind of boring.

In a world which knows nothing but violence, war and betrayal, it is still possible to find your glimmer of light.
Vinland Saga takes you away to the 1000s, an old, long forgotten era, where seamen known as Vikings are the ruler of the sea. They murder and plunder without inhibitions.
The protagonist of Vinland Saga, Thorfinn sun of Thors, is one of those Vikings. Only with revenge on his mind he travels from battle to battle, day in, day out.

However, you will learn that everyone has his own reasons, his ambitions to go that path of violence. And even among those Vikings there are libertines such ... as Thors(father of Thorfinn)who kinda works as a moral authority.
It's my belief that Thors character may leave the biggest marks among all readers. That's propably due to his perfectly adjusted use of rethorical questions. Questions which can bother me even know, but that's not bad though.

Apart from that the story is kinda predictable and therefore a little bit underwhelming. Sometimes you may realise that characters act completely out of their former pattern. The authors logic is also questionable, when he can't even complete a plotline appropirately. The best example would be Askeladd, one of the most mysterious characters in the manga. Due to that the author wastes too much potential.
On the other hand there are quite a few times when the protagonist, Thorfinn, lacks temper.
Another point of criticism is misplaced and unfounded character developement.
Later in the story a character will go against his own principles and it will result in death That's purely arbitrary. I can't spoiler you, but see it four yourself.

I enjoyed Vinland Saga to a certain point, sure, however, I also 'raged' due to the authors unfounded caprice.
As I mentioned before there was potential the author never considered to begin with.
Furthermore I had many problems to admit Thorfinn as a protagonist. Most of the time he is nothing more than a side-kick without relevance. That changes later with further progress though. I could offer criticism the whole day about Vinland Saga, but it won't change the fact that it's still really entertaining.
It's thrilling, it's thought-provoking. Vinland Saga won't become boring.


See yourself and maybe you will come to a different conclusion.

Makoto Yukimura’s award-winning Vinland Saga is the #1 manga I look forward to reading every every few months when a new volume is released. Why? Well, maybe because it's maybe the best historic - fact and fiction story I've ever read. After all the it's-amazing blah blah blah praises I've heard from the anime community, I finally decided to give this manga a go a couple weeks ago and once I started, I just could not put the manga down. Who knew that a mere manga about Vikings-love-revenge could result in one of the greatest tragic stories ever both inside and outside of the manga ... community. From the historic settings to the masterfully developed characters to the captivating plot, this manga doesn't leave anything out.

I'm sure most of you have read Berserk and loved it considering it's one of the most popular, and highest rated manga here on mal; I'm going to tell you that Vinland Saga is much more violent, touching, deep, romantic, enjoyable and to an extent, sinister. Vinland Saga takes us back in time a thousand years, to the world of the historic Vikings. What did Vikings do back in the day? They conquered and slaughtered. Sure the entire manga isn't all realistic and doesn't follow history exactly, but Vinland Saga still stays true to it's reality-based horrors and battles; you could call a realistic mythology.

The basic outline of the story follows the adventures and misadventures of a young viking, Thorfinn's path to revenge, love, betrayal, and redemption. After witnessing the murder of his father as a boy, Thornfinn swears revenge against Askeladd, his father's murderer as well as Thornfinn's cunning commander. But Thornfinn's reason for joining Askeladd's band of Vikings isn't solely for his revenge, there are hidden deeper meanings of Thornfinn's reason for life that date back to his past in Iceland and the mythical country that's said to be peaceful and perfect to the west of Iceland - Vinland. But in the midst of his revenge and search for this mythical land, he gets caught up in the middle of a great war for the Crown of England.

What do I love about the plot? Not only is it mind-blowingly genius, and absolutely captivating, but there's absolutely no sugar-coating anything, no cute, childish crap, no bullshit. There is only the harshness of reality back in the 11th century. What's the first thing we get to see in the manga? People being turned into Slaves, Mass Murder, Torture (More people get their eyes cut out in beginning than I've ever seen combined from any other stories), Rape, and a supposedly heroic main character who sits back, watches, and laughs at the horrors unfolding before him. This is portrayed perfectly, for War in reality, isn't one where some main character decides to befriend a couple enemies through compassion, and suddenly they go super-sayan and end up defeating their enemies-a greater army because they have "the will to win"... No, War is a disgusting event in which everyone that's part of it will end up suffering, and Vinland Saga portrays that to it's finest. The first half of the manga truly depicts and draws the reader into horror-the world of the Vikings. The plot is my favorite historic-drama story I've ever read, it's just on a whole new level of greatness. It strives to teach the reader's about the Viking's history, while keeping us entertained by adding fiction and allowing the readers to not only read it, but live it. You think this story is only about revenge and war? Oh how you couldn't be more wrong. The Viking's were merciless, but that doesn't deny them from being a human being does it? It's an instinct for survival of their own. What does it mean to be a human? To have a conscience, to show compassion, to love others and to have others love you back? Thorfinn's brutal journey to revenge (think, there must be a reason Thorfinn's father was murdered right? What do you think that reason is? That is an ongoing mystery in the series~) yet maintain his humanity and experience a magical thing called "love" sets the tone for what's to come for this masterpiece~ But beyond just the story, the themes and philosophical questions brought up in the story keep the readers thinking, which is half the fun in reading. The psychological emotions that the characters experience translates directly to what the readers feel: This series just takes psychological minds to a whole new level. This manga has officially made me a fanboy.

But truth be told, the "character" aspect of this manga is the greatest part of this story. The first thing that really stands out about Vinland Saga is the writer, Yukimura Makoto’s ability to weave together the characters’ past and present to create a deeper understanding of the characters’ motives and characterizations. The reader gets to go on a grandiose journey from 6 year old Thornfinn to adult Thornfinn and learn all about his history, as well as the history of the Vikings-events that happened in real life during the 11th century Europe. Anyways, all the characters are multi-faceted and intriguing, especially the two main characters, Thornfinn and Askeladd. Everyone is developed to their maximum potential.

Askeladd, did you know that that name is derived from a North European Folk Tale hero, Askeladden? I sure as heck didn't, until I read about it. From the get-go of the series, we see the evolution of Thorfinn from happy child to bitter teen because of what Askeladd did to Thorfinn's father. So obviously the first thing we think is that Askeladd is the bad guy. But as we delve into his past, and how/why he became the cruel, mercenary man that he is currently, more questions arise about the concept of evil/good and right/wrong. Askeladd's design and development is one of the most memorable character developments I've ever seen. Thornfinn isn't much different at all. Thornfinn, is he even a hero? Certainly he's a morally ambiguous character whom can't be distinguished as purely good or bad; it's left to the readers to decide for themselves accordingly to their own beliefs and ideals whether what Thornfinn is doing is truly righteous or evil. He's awfully similar to Light Yagami in many ways; absolute power corrupts absolutely. It's disturbing how true this saying is. Thornfinn too starts off as an innocent boy and as tragedies unfold one after another in his life, his ideals and personality changes, turning Thornfinn into one of the most ruthless main characters of all time, and this anti-hero is who we're supposed to root for. Mmmmm, fascinating indeed.

Hah, the art puts every single other manga's art to shame. I proclaim Vinland Saga as the manga with the best art. The art just adds onto the realism aspect of this masterpiece. The detail put into each character's (Viking's) portrayals should be lauded. Holy Moly, absolutely stunning. Askeladd practically oozes underhanded nastiness without being drawn as an exaggerated farce of a man with his emotionless wrinkled up face alongside his intimidating Viking beard. Thornfinn looks like a wild savage beast trying to find his humanity yet at the same time prioritizing his revenge above anything else, including his own life. The portrayal of the historical setting is a true work of art~ Every volume, the art just improves too~ The memorable vicious, gory scenes are all beautifully portrayed as well, without hiding anything - perfect.

This is the single-most enjoyable manga I have ever read, period. I'm sure you won't be disappointed either~

In my opinion, the manga is very overrated. With a pretense for realism, there is nothing realistic in it at all. The manga is full of convenient developments, plot armor, unbelievable personality changes. Many characters look interesting at first, but eventually degrade into typical stereotypes from a shonen manga, losing any believability. Strategy and politics look realistic only until the main characters are getting involved, then things just start to bend conveniently to make the heroes shine.

The manga is not bad, by any means, compared to other similar works out there, but one shouldn't expect anything more than a viking-themed time-killer, and imho it ... certainly does not deserve its place in the top 50.