Back to najumobi's Profile najumobi's Profile

**SPOILER-FREE REVIEW**

I'm glad I found Vinland Saga. I've enjoyed watching it so far, and I think the average viewer will also find it to be enjoyable.

However, Vinland has some idiosyncrasies that could make it less enjoyable for you. The anime could vastly differ from your expectations. For example, Vinland is an action anime. But it prioritizes highlighting more casual character interactions, so fighting takes a back seat much of the time.

The show is loosely based on historical figures & events, and Vinland takes time to construct characters in a way that makes their personas seem authentic, giving us a better understanding of character motivations & ... decisions. The world-building is meticulous, constant, & seamless, making the ebb & flow of the story believable.

But the anime exaggerates the fighting prowess of 6 characters, to make those characters more monumental than others and to allow action scenes to appear more dynamic. This stylistic choice is in the same vein as historical sagas of the Viking Age, however it can be jarring, depending on your expectations & preferences.

Closeup action animation, especially during individual face-offs, along with background art, is where Vinland shines. However, wide shots of large-scale battles are less attractive due to the use of CGI.

There isn't much of anything in Vinland's plot that is necessarily bad. In fact, the storytelling is solid. But the story progression is slower than typical action anime. It's as if the writer deliberately installed a speed limiter to limit the top speed of a car. He slows things down to provide in-depth characterization & world-building, which is then enhanced by WIT Studio's competent directing & presentation of scenes.