Vinland Saga S1 — Season 1

Vineland Saga Season 1 was great! My favorite part about it is the character development. Especially for the main character, but there are plenty of other characters that have interesting arcs. The story throws a few plot twists here and there that had me going 😱. Would recommend 10/10 in my book.

I really really enjoyed the first season of this show. This show makes you feel for its character Thorfinn by the end, the pure anguish he feels when seeing Askeladd die not by his own hands but by someone else, I felt really empathetic towards him by the end of the show and it made me connect to his character on a greater level, I'm super excited about how this anime goes forward with this last episode because everything is HOT MESS. Love the realism of this story, it doesn't pull back from making significant characters die and still carry the show good afterwards, the last episode is such a good example of this. The injuries look real , feels real. It's not something super heroey going down here. If a character is injured on his arm, he takes the impact and it takes time to heal and the story does a really good job of portraying that. The PURE PRIMAL ACTION this season was breathtaking, each episode progressing towards something better, and even bigger fights. The whole season had action sequences throughout but the story doesn't really allow the action to be the main center which just tells how awesome of a story it is. Thors dies really early in the season, and it just makes me sympathize with Thorfinn because he is filled with revenge and revenge only, he becomes an apt fighter but still not enough to beat Askeladd in a duel. Thorfinn loses his focus when provoked about his father's death which causes him to lose again and again. but Now that Thorfinn is dead, i'm super invested of what's gonna happen. His only purpose was to kill Askeladd, and now that he is dead. There must be pure darkness in his soul so how he wades through it and goes forward would be interesting to see. The theme of Christianity is pretty evident through out the season. But what struck my mind was, everyone's goal is peace and love in one way or another. Be it finding Vinland, or finding Heaven, Valhalla, or waiting for a great warrior. All of them were wanted in a way or other. The person who is portrayed much more closer to finding that is-Thors. Much to my disappointment he died early but I'm interested to see how this idea is discovered more in subsequent season. I'm sure the next season delves more deeper into this idea of achieving peace. Canute's rejection of Christian idea and trying to create paradise himself is also really interesting so lets go where they go with it. and My man Askeladd, he was my favorite character in this season. His character was so grey and there was so much depth to him, I love that. RIP.
Also, the Pacing of story is done really well and the music is just beautiful, really impressed by the music choices here.
My one minor complaint is that we didn't really get to see what happens back in Iceland after Thorfinn leaves, I hoped that we would get to see more of that. They didn't show neither Thorfinn's Mom and Sister and how they have been throughout the season. Just after Thors dies, they have been shown to be dealing with the trauma of losing Thor and the sailor says that he will Find Throfinn. The sailor does find Thorfinn by the end and tells Thorfinn about Iceland but I still think they could've shown Iceland, home of Thorfinn a little bit more.
All in all, it was a superb 1st season and I'm really excited for the next one.

It's was Great Season, although some not strong episodes,but i really enjoyed it and so excited for the next season, Really good and there is a lot of emotional moments...
although also i didn't want the ending..
it's sad one....

My feelings about this anime are very mixed. If we look at its premise and themes, I should be in love with this anime, but it constantly distracts me and fails to convey what I should focus on and what the real story is.

The first 6-7 episodes are clearly the introductory phase of the anime. After that, the anime jumps about 10 years. The things shown clearly in the first 6-7 episodes are Thorfinn's character, his story, and his motivation. There's a huge loss of focus between the introductory part and the last 4-5 episodes. After making such an introduction, Thorfinn is hardly present in a big part of the anime; he serves as a side character. You might accept this, but as I said, in that middle part of about 10-12 episodes, the anime shifts its focus so much that it's hard to connect to an arc. At least in the last 4-5 episodes, it picks up and the anime gets back on track. I really liked those final parts.

The character of Askeladd is very well-written. I went from hating him in one episode to feeling a sense of sincerity in the next. He's a truly grey character and definitely more interesting than Thorfinn.

Except for the war episodes, the animation budget seems to be kept very low. There are many scenes where a still frame is on the screen while someone is talking in the background without any animation.

The music was very good.

From the characters shown at the end, I understand that the second season will tell completely different things. I almost felt like Thorfinn won't be there much.

8/10

When I started reading _Vinland Saga_ I assumed it would be a story about revenge filled with awesome action and battles. But instead it is a story about violence and what it does to people. It's a story about humanity and what drives us. About deception and intrigue. It's also about loss.
It does feature awesome action and battles, but it's much more. And it's going to be even more going into the second season.