Vinland Saga (TV series)

• 1. Introduction

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  Vinland Saga, the Japanese anime television series adapted from Makoto Yukimura's manga of the same name, turns on a single declaration: "I have no enemies." Polygon called that line the biggest highlight of the entire anime. It hits hard because of the man who says it. Thorfinn begins as a boy who wants a warrior's life, and he becomes a hunter of one particular man. How does a character travel from that hunger for revenge to a vow of pacifism? What did a Japanese production team change in the manga to make the journey work on screen? And why did critics reach for words like acclaim when they described both seasons?

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• 2. Revenge and Restraint

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  In Iceland, a young villager named Thorfinn dreams of joining wars the way his retired father, Thors, once did. He sneaks aboard his father's ship just as mercenaries are hired to kill Thors for abandoning the fighting forces. Askeladd's men attack the ship. To save his son and his crew, Thors surrenders, and he is killed. Enraged, Thorfinn trains himself and takes jobs as a mercenary for the Vikings through his teenage years, all to claim his revenge on Askeladd. The first season presents him as a bloodthirsty, revenge-driven Viking.

  The second season opens on a different man. Einar is a farmer whose family is killed by Vikings, and he is bought as a slave in southern Denmark by a man named Ketil. There he meets another slave, Thorfinn, who was exiled after the first season's events. By now Thorfinn has lost the will to live. Einar eventually learns of Thorfinn's crimes yet befriends him anyway, and the two work together to earn their freedom. Along the way Thorfinn faces his past and learns what restraint is worth and what violence costs. Ketil, the owner who bought them, becomes the season's darkest figure.

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• 3. Building Season One

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  Director Shūhei Yabuta came to Vinland Saga after years as a 3D CGI animator alongside Tetsuya Nakatake, the CEO of Wit Studio. Together they had worked on Attack on Titan and Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress. From 2012 Yabuta was handed steadily more directing and scriptwriting duties. He was also a fan of the manga, and his pitch for an anime resonated with the producer, so he got the director's chair. He researched the Vikings, yet he believed the series' greatest appeal lay in its characters.

  The manga's artwork was so detailed that it was hard to animate. Character designer Takahiko Abiru faced real challenges in reproducing it. Art director Yūsuke Takeda was asked to give both backgrounds and designs a strong presence. The Viking ships proved especially awkward to model in 3D CGI.

  Writer Hiroshi Seko ranked Yukimura's storytelling among his three favorite manga from the first chapter onward. Even so, he said the anime would take its own approach. The manga uses flashbacks, but the anime begins chronologically, so Thorfinn's growth is seen from different angles. Yabuta also wanted the origin of the hero to rest on his upbringing in Iceland rather than on the Vikings. For the many fights, the team used 3D CG and treated the action and the camerawork as one set. Yabuta later admitted that the multiple storyboards made those scenes hard to animate. When the finale aired in Japan, he wrote: "This big incident changed everything for Thorfinn, but his story will continue!"

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• 4. Reworking Season Two

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  When Yabuta and Seko first read about Einar in the manga, they felt his presence strongly but could not see where his strength came from. After discussing it, they decided to change how Einar becomes Thorfinn's friend. Redeveloping the story took the team several hours, and they believed it would make the season more appealing. Yabuta still insisted that Einar remained the character from the manga. He described him as soft spoken, kind and strong, someone who keeps his kindness even in the cruel world of the series. Yabuta also consulted Yukimura about how to portray the superhuman strength Einar shows in befriending Thorfinn.

  The second season also added nightmares that torment Thorfinn about his sins. These alternate the violence of his past self with the shocked reaction of the slave he has become. Yukimura praised the addition for capturing Thorfinn's state of mind. Animating Thorfinn's face as a slave was its own task, and the setting was animated according to Yabuta's input.

  Producer Naokado Fujiyama said the main theme was psychology, most of all in Thorfinn, Einar and Ketil. Thorfinn and Einar grow friendlier and more active as the story goes on. Ketil moves in the opposite direction and takes on a darker tone in the final episodes.

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• 5. Sound and Song

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  Composer Yutaka Yamada arrived with a demo of 26 songs for Yabuta, each written to represent and amplify what a character was feeling. Inspired by the manga, he wanted the music to mirror the psychological states of Thorfinn and the others. Sound effects director Shoji Hata often discussed the choice of music with Yabuta, and he helped Yamada in the first season. The second season was handled without that help, and its soundtrack leaned more on piano tracks. The first original soundtrack album holds 43 tracks and was released on the 19th of February 2020. The second holds 20 tracks and came out on the 14th of July 2023.

  The first season's theme songs each carry a story. "Mukanjyo" by Survive Said the Prophet opens it, and the band said the song was comfortable to play. "Torches" by Aimer closes it. Aimer wanted to portray the emotions that Thorfinn and Thors share in the early episodes, and the song foreshadows Thors's death. The second opening, "Dark Crow" by Man with a Mission, follows the Viking theme. Milet's "Drown," the second ending, instead dwells on Thorfinn's mind and his violence.

  In the second season, Anonymouz sings the first opening, "River," about the weakened Thorfinn and the new emotions he might find as a slave. LMYK's "Without Love," the first ending, is more tragic and meant to show hopelessness and regret. Survive Said the Prophet returns with "Paradox" as the second opening. The final ending is "Ember" by haju:harmonics, who wanted her song to carry courage and hope.

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• 6. Release and Voices

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  The series was announced in March 2018 and was produced by Twin Engine, Production I.G, Wit Studio and Kodansha. Wit Studio animated it, with Yabuta directing, Seko handling series composition, Abiru designing the characters and Yamada composing. NHK General TV premiered the first three episodes on the 8th of July 2019. The run of 24 episodes ended on the 30th of December that year. Amazon streamed it worldwide on Prime Video. Sentai Filmworks issued it on home video on the 31st of August 2021, with a new translation and English dub. A different English dub, made by VSI Los Angeles, had already launched on Netflix in Japan. MVM Entertainment licensed it for the United Kingdom and Ireland. Netflix began streaming it globally on the 7th of July 2022, and Crunchyroll and Hidive joined in select territories the same day.

  In July 2021, Twin Engine announced that a second season was in production. Yabuta and Abiru both returned, and MAPPA took over the animation. It premiered on Tokyo MX, BS11 and GBS on the 10th of January 2023 and ran for 24 episodes. Netflix and Crunchyroll simulcast it globally, excluding China, South Korea and Japan.

  In Japanese, Yūto Uemura voices Thorfinn, with Shizuka Ishigami as the child. Naoya Uchida plays Askeladd, Akio Ōtsuka plays Thorkell, Kensho Ono plays Canute and Shunsuke Takeuchi plays Einar. In the Sentai Filmworks and Crunchyroll dub, Mike Haimoto voices Thorfinn and David Wald voices Askeladd. The Netflix dub casts Aleks Le as Thorfinn and Kirk Thornton as Askeladd. Anime News Network criticized the choice to cast Haimoto again for season two, citing a controversy linked to the actor. It held that Uemura's original performance remained the best fit.

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• 7. Critical Reception

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  Anime News Network, IGN and Kadokawa Game Linkage each listed the first season among the best anime released at the time. Anime News Network also named "Mukanjyo" one of 2019's best songs, praising its music and its lyrics about Thorfinn's failed revenge quest. Polygon liked the character development in the first three episodes and enjoyed the portrayal of violence. Otaku USA admired the handling of the revenge narrative and ranked it among 2019's best series. Nick Creamer of Anime News Network placed it among the year's best too, praising themes, action and characters, though he thought Thorfinn lacked development. Decider found Thorfinn's quest sad but still entertaining. It compared the fights to Berserk and Bastard!! and warned that the violence might turn some viewers away.

  Den of Geek described Askeladd as "just as often the victim as he is the villain," pointing to his humanity with Thorfinn and Canute. Hajime Isayama, creator of Attack on Titan, was surprised by Askeladd's death, particularly by how Wit Studio animated it in the finale. The Fandom Post found the bond between Thorkell and Thorfinn interesting. It regretted that Thorfinn is not changed by learning they both knew Thors or are related by blood.

  The second season's premiere won praise from several Anime News Network writers for focusing on the violence in Einar's backstory. The Escapist said Einar adds to the series' cycle of violence and revenge. Polygon likened Thorfinn's pacifism to Shigeo Kageyama and Naruto Uzumaki, who also seek peaceful resolutions. The Daily Star found redemption and self-discovery in his mundane slave life. Anime News Network named him the best character of 2023, and THEM Anime Reviews gave the season a perfect score.

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• 8. Awards and Honors

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  In 2019, IGN Awards listed Vinland Saga for Best Anime Series and Best Animation. The 6th Anime Trending Awards followed in 2020, with Anime of the Year, Best in Sceneries and Visuals and Best Action and Adventure Anime. That year the 4th Crunchyroll Anime Awards listed it widely, including Anime of the Year, Best Drama, Best Animation and Best Director for Yabuta. Other categories there were Best Character Design for Abiru, Best Antagonist for Askeladd, Best Opening for "Mukanjyo," Best Ending for "Torches" and Best Fight Scene for Thorfinn against Thorkell.

  The second season earned its own entries. In 2023, IGN Awards listed it for Best Anime Series, and the 7th Crunchyroll Anime Awards listed Torsten Michaelis for Best Voice Artist Performance in German. In 2024, the 8th Crunchyroll Anime Awards listed it for Anime of the Year, Best Drama and Best Continuing Series. Thorfinn was listed for Best Main Character, and Hisashi Matsumuko and Yuki Kawashita for Best Cinematography. At Japan Expo, "Paradox" was listed for the Daruma for Best Opening. The 9th Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2025 then listed Abhishek Sharma for Best Voice Artist Performance in Hindi.

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