(Nitsuj): Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. Vikings are awesome but dangerous. In today’s culture Vikings have been poorly represented quite a bit as Hollywood seems hellbent on showing them as nothing more than uneducated savages who only cared about fighting. Make no mistake about it, Vikings were sea-faring warriors who were badasses and weren’t afraid to pillage and kill if they had to in order to survive and were incredibly smart, cunning, and cultured people who valued freedom and the honor of battle above everything else. The Viking culture is something a lot of people find fascinating and cool. I have to admit, even I find their culture interesting. Their rules, customs, and ideology. It’s all interesting stuff. One person in particular who likes the culture is Makoto Yukimura. At a young age, Makoto used to watch Viking animes and quickly became fascinated by them. Their culture and way of life was so different from the Japanese culture he was raised in and he wanted to learn more about it. As he got older he would journey to Norway and Scandinavia to see an Osenberg ship which he described as the most beautiful ship he had ever seen in his life. He wanted to share his love of Vikings with the world and decided to make a manga based off their culture. He called it, Vinland Saga. Making its debut in 2005, Vinland Saga had an interesting start. At first, it was introduced in the pages of Weekly Shonen Magazine only to move over to the pages of the more adult Monthly Afternoon eight months after it debuted. Vinland Saga is one of those mangas that you hear a lot of people talk about, but don’t come across anyone who reads it.
(Mira): Probably all because the author didn’t do a good job introducing the story in the first chapters.
(Isis): Yeah, even Makoto goes on record saying he did a poor job introducing the story.
(Seras): It’s proof that a bad first impression can affect your audience.
(Nitsuj): And why may I ask are you three joining this review?
(Seras): Subjects of violence and revenge.
(Mira): Historical accuracy.
(Isis): Done by a studio I love and because we have a contract which allows us to join any review we want.
(Nitsuj): I really was out of it when I wrote up that new contract wasn’t I?
(Isis, Mira, and Seras): Yep.
(Nitsuj): All right, come in.
(Isis): Yaay~.
(Mira): Despite the rough start people came around to get completely engrossed in the story and the characters. The series was praised for its attention to detail and setting that was often compared to Berserk.
(Seras): While some readers had to suspend their disbelief more than they would have liked, nobody really seemed to mind as the story and characters were still engaging. And if that was their only complaint about the series, then you’re doing everything right.
(Isis): In the summer of 2019, Vinland Saga finally hit the big time as they were getting an anime produced by Wit Studio (Attack on Titan).
(Nitsuj): This was Wit’s attempt at trying to distance themselves from Attack on Titan and show they could produce other animes aside from that. Needless to say, it worked. This anime helped break the hold Attack on Titan had on the studio and showed everyone just how good this studio really was. Let’s return to the 11th century where Vikings reigned supreme and Europe was at war with each other. This is Vinland Saga.
Opening and Ending Theme
(Seras): For the first opening we have “Mukanjyo” by Survive Said The Prophet, one of the best band names you will ever hear and one of my favorite openings. The build-up at the beginning is great and then when the drop comes it fills you with such a rush of emotion and energy. This song perfectly captures the inner turmoil of the main character and what he’ll be going through as the series continues.
(Isis): The ending is “Torches” by Aimer. Calming. That’s the best word I can use to describe this ending. It’s like the characters are reflecting on what they’ve been through up until this point. All the fighting, loss, and sacrifice they had to endure and where it’s led them. Are they happy, sad, are they filled with regret? Only they can answer that question. As always Aimer delivers with her songs and has you in the palm of her hand throughout the entire song.
Episodes 1-4
(Nitsuj): The anime starts off on an epic note with Vikings fighting foreigners (scene: https://youtu.be/DS17Sqntu_g. It’s awesome, brutal, well-choreographed, and just beautiful to watch. (Seras): Yeah this is what everyone wanted Assassin’s Creed Valhalla to be like). We then cut to Iceland where a young boy named Thorfinn voiced by Shizuka Ishigami (Ikumi from Food Wars) son of the great Viking warrior Thors and his wife Helga along with his sister Ylva live. And yes, let’s get it out of the way. A majority of the characters in this anime were real people. Thorfinn was a young Viking but there’s not that many records about him. In fact, that’s why Makoto choose him as the lead. Because there’s so little known about him it would give him the freedom to write whatever he wanted to about this character. It’s the harsh winter season of Iceland where everyone is doing their best to survive. We see the kids hear about Vinland from Leif Erickson (Mira: Who in fact was a real-life person and did find Vinland off the coastal region of North America. He landed there 5 centuries before Christopher Columbus and John Cabot). Thorfinn wants to journey out into the sea and see Vinland but his father won’t let him because he’s too young. The next day, Thors and Ylva find a slave buried in the snow (Seras: He dead) but manage to save his life. The slave says he belongs to Halfdan who lives on the other side of the mountain and always seems to cause trouble for the village. Halfdan arrives in the village looking for his slave where he finds him in Thors barely hanging on to life however he’s determined to take him back to set an example for the other slaves (dude, he’s dead, what good is beating a dead body?). Thors trades 8 sheep for him (Isis: Are you drunk?) and Halfdan accepts the trade. The slave dies shortly later as Thorfinn asks Thors if it’s true that his ancestors ran away from Norway to escape the tyrannical rule of their first king (I wanna say- (Mira): Yes. (Nitsuj): That’s exactly what I was going to say. Scene here: https://youtu.be/ChMIMIFc_Yg).
Episode 2 starts off with a bunch of English troops killing a bunch of Vikings while they were bathing (well give them credit that’s the perfect time to attack). We then go to Iceland where Floki, a former ally of Thors comes to the village to tell Thors this news. He tells Thors that war is on the horizon between England and Denmark and Floki’s army will be backing up Denmark. He’s been ordered by his master to recruit Thors to the cause as he once used to be a part of Floki’s army but deserted them 15 years ago (Seras: And he’s still alive? Talk about luck). Thors of course has no choice in the matter as if he doesn’t go they’ll lay waste to the entire village, so Thors reluctantly agrees to fight as everyone else celebrates the fact that they’re finally going to war (they have no idea what they’re getting themselves into. (Isis): Just like Japan when they attacked Pearl Harbor). Thorfinn is especially excited (Seras: I can sense his bloodlust) but Thors tries to get him to calm down and not become a killer like him, but has no luck (scene here: https://youtu.be/g0fvpM_nrGg). As the episode ends, we see Floki talking to a mercenary named Askeladd voiced by Naoya Uchida (Daigo from Dororo 2019) who’s been paid by Floki to kill Thors.
Nothing much really happens in episode 3. The day has come to set sail as Thors leaves with 5 other men of the village with Leif accompanying them. Thors’s plan is to drop them off at the midway point and then go into battle alone to save their lives (smart. They talk tough but they’ll be dead weight on the battlefield). We see Thorfinn snuck on board (scene here: https://youtu.be/Hb8buW1djZ4) and gets a good whooping for it. They finally arrive at the midway point where they fall into a trap set up by Askeladd. He blocks their escape and Thors takes on his men all by himself without killing anyone to end the episode.
(Seras): In episode 4 Thors gets done beating up about half of Askeladd’s men single-handedly (Nitsuj: He didn’t even draw his sword. What a badass) and challenges Askeladd to a one-on-one duel where if Thors wins he lets them go. Askeladd agrees to the duel and it begins with Askeladd getting a surprise attack on Thors but he didn’t cut deep enough. The fight soon sways in Thors’s favor as it’s clear that Askeladd is outmatched in every category (Mira: Skills, strength, instincts, and most importantly, thinking ahead). Thors wins the duel but one of Askeladd’s men takes Thorfinn hostage. You can tell that this was something Askeladd had no idea was going to happen and is something he doesn’t agree with. However, in order to save face with his men, he decides to roll with it. This forces Thors to forfeit the duel and Askeladd has his archers shoot Thors with arrows and kill him (scene here: https://youtu.be/TR0Dgq30LCs. (Isis): Funny how none of them went for the head. (Nitsuj): From the mouth of a sniper. (Isis): I prefer to think of myself as a gunslinger). Askeladd allows everyone to go free and instead just takes one of their ships where Thorfinn stows away on it in order to exact revenge and kill Askeladd (scene here: https://youtu.be/hDfwt7COKyo, those are not the eyes of a kid).
Episodes 5-8
Episode 5 is considered a filler episode. Askeladd and his men land on an island where they invade a local village, kill the men, rape the women, and eat their food while Askeladd takes a nap (Nitsuj: Heavy sleeper). Thorfinn has an opportunity to kill Askeladd while he’s sleeping, but he doesn’t go through with it as that would be cowardly (he’s a Viking and Viking code dictates you fight your opponent head on and accept the results no matter what in order to reach Valhalla). Thorfinn does the right thing and challenges Askeladd in a straight up duel head-on. Askeladd beats him easily but Thorfinn refuses to give up. He goes into the woods to be by himself where he learns to live off the land and defend himself (Isis: He has good instincts). While in the woods, he realizes that he’s too small to use a sword so he switches back to his dad’s dagger as his main weapon (Mira: I’m sure Yin-Yang will be happy to hear about this). He trains with his dagger and even learns how to throw it. After days of training, he approaches Askeladd again for a duel and loses but Thorfinn refuses to give up until Askeladd is dead. Askeladd agrees to fight Thorfinn again but only if he achieves something great on the battlefield (scene here: https://youtu.be/de2Hw8cLMbQ). In the subplot of the episode we return to Iceland where Leif delivers the news to Helga and Ylva that Thors is dead and Thorfinn has gone missing (Nitsuj: Translation, I wasn’t paying attention and your son ran away from me. (Seras): Better translation, I didn’t give a damn about him). Ylva’s response is a sad but realistic one. Instead of crying or moping around, she instead engrosses herself in work realizing that as the oldest child with a frail mother, it now falls on her to support them both which means she has to do all the work by herself. It’s only until nighttime when Ylva is embraced by Helga does she finally cry (Isis: And why wouldn’t she? Even though she never showed it, Ylva loved Thors and saw him as this unbeatable demigod. To find out that he lost must have shocked her world. Scene here: https://youtu.be/psPPq2bvsQU).
In episode 6, we see the growth and transformation of Thorfinn now voiced by Yūto Uemura (Hiro from Darling in the FRANXX). The Danish are at war with England after England attacked and killed a Danish settlement. Askeladd and his men have agreed to team up with the Danish to attack English settlements and clear a path for them. It’s here that Thorfinn’s transformation from a child holding a knife to a young man becoming a fighter is completed. While his first time on the battlefield left much to be desired (Nitsuj: He was in tears after he killed his first man. Baby. Scene here: https://youtu.be/uaxtq_rBIXI) he slowly grew to become a competent fighter able to hold his own on the battlefield (scene here: https://youtu.be/q-8VCOY9_nc. (Mira): I have to say his transformation is really good). One day, Thorfinn is given the task of scouting out the area in search of an English settlement. He runs into some British soldiers in the forest and gets hurt only to get saved by an English woman and her daughter. Thorfinn tells them to run away before he alerts Askeladd and the others but they don’t listen to him and possibly wind up dying during the raid of their village with Thorfinn accepting his actions and moving on (scene here: https://youtu.be/fDxOFpxmHoQ. Now this is a beautiful scene. It’s this scene that changes Thorfinn forever. This is where he blocks out all of his emotions and keeps telling himself that everything he does is to avenge his dad. Get used to that look, because that’s the look he’s going to have all anime).
(Isis): In episode 7 winter is around the corner, so the Danish army decides to hold off on attacking England saying that come spring they’ll resume their attack. This leaves Askeladd and his men without work but luck would come their way when they head to France and see them in the middle of a battle with each other. A France army serving the royal family is trying to take over a fortress and having no luck. Askeladd decides to team up with the royal family army and sends Thorfinn as a messenger saying that he’ll fight him if he can bring back the head of someone wearing a helmet (Mira: In other words, bring me the head of the enemy you killed). Thorfinn negotiates with the royal army and they accept Askeladd’s help. The next day the royal army attacks the fortress where Thorfinn does his best Naruto run towards the fortress to kill their captain. Meanwhile, Askeladd and his men are carrying their ships on land in order to reach the river surrounding the fortress and attacking from the other side (Nitsuj: That was smart. (Seras): And badass). Thorfinn finds the captain and kills him while Askeladd and his men raid the fortress and kill everyone inside (scene here: https://youtu.be/PQKk0YTIfpY). When the royal army finally breaches the gate they find that Askeladd and his men have taken all of the treasure and escaped down the river to the ocean. Thorfinn presents his treasure from battle to Askeladd and demands a duel which Askeladd accepts (scene here: https://youtu.be/zlupDnfDXtQ?t=321).
In the first half of episode 8 Thorfinn gets his duel with Askeladd in the village of Askeladd’s uncle. The fight begins very quickly as we can see how strong and wise Thorfinn has become that even Askeladd is surprised (Seras: He needs to end this fight quickly. (Nitsuj): Agreed. The longer this fight goes the more it shifts in Askeladd’s favor. Thorfinn has caught Askeladd off guard, but he’ll soon recover and counterattack). However, while Thorfinn has gotten stronger, Askeladd is still smarter and more experienced. He knows that deep down Thorfinn is still a child haunted by his past and all he has to do is exploit that. Things go south for Thorfinn when Askeladd mocks Thors which riles up Thorfinn that he loses his cool and Askeladd takes advantage of his immaturity to win the duel. Askeladd doesn’t kill him (Mira: Why would he? He’s still a good asset. He won’t kill Askeladd in an underhanded way or allow him to die by anyone else and Askeladd knows that Thorfinn will do whatever he says to get another duel), he just breaks Thorfinn’s arm and that’s it (scene here: https://youtu.be/AJmy9JuOHVw). Thorfinn sulks on the ship of Thors where he gets food from a slave girl named Horda a noble turned slave. After that, the episode wraps up by showing the Danish and Vikings continuing their march on England and having a battle in London (Nitsuj: Where we meet possibly the best character in the series, Thorkell. Scene here: https://youtu.be/PvY95Ca66KA).
Episodes 9-12
It’s the Battle of the London Bridge in episode 9. Askeladd gives Thorfinn the task of killing Thorkell who has defected to England not because they offered him more money, but because they’re weak. Thorkell isn’t interested in money, glory, or fame, he just wants to fight and if the other side is too weak then there’s no joy in fighting. Thorkell simply joined the other side to make the odds even and fight against strong opponents (sounds like a madman. (Mira): Sounds like Seras. (Seras): Hey, I would never betray you guys if the enemies were weak). Thorfinn fights against the monstrous Thorkell where he’s unable to win. Thorkell tosses Thorfinn around like a ragdoll spraining his ankle, breaking ribs, and dislocating his shoulder and Thorfinn cuts off two of Thorkell’s fingers which he allowed to happen in order to get the upper hand on Thorfinn. Thorfinn manages to escape (scene here: https://youtu.be/L7JZLTjyVaI) and the king of Denmark decides to leave 4000 soldiers in the command of his second son Canute to capture the London Bridge while the rest of the army marches on Wessex. Thorfinn rejoins the army and once he finds out that Askeladd is heading to Wessex he relocates his shoulder himself and marches with them angry at his loss and confused on how Thorkell could gain so much joy from battle.
(Mira): Nothing really happens in episode 10. Thorkell attacks Canute’s army taking out a majority of the army (Seras: This guy’s amazing) and capturing Canute. Only about 400 men survived the attack and Thorkell is making his way with 500 men to the main army of Denmark to kill the king. Once a messenger tells Askeladd this, he kills the messenger (Nitsuj: Don’t shoot the messenger. (Isis): Kill him instead) and tells his men that they’re going to capture Canute and get the reward themselves (they can either give him back to Denmark or give him to England as a bargaining chip. No matter which side they choose, it’s a win. Scene here: https://youtu.be/uBqduydozq4).
In episode 11 as Thorkell and his men are traveling through the forest with Canute, his priest (Seras: Who’s always drunk otherwise he gets crazy on us), and retainer Ragnar, they get ambushed by Ragnar’s men who demand the return of the prince. Thorkell willingly gives up Canute and the others because it was never about capturing them it was all about getting a fight out of it and a fight Thorkell and his men get. Thorkell provokes Ragnar’s men into a battle by calling them cowards for retreating and since all of them are proud Viking warriors who refuse to run away from battle despite getting what they came for, they stupidly fight against Thorkell and his men (Isis: And people wonder why pride is considered one of the 7 Deadly Sins. (Nitsuj): Well they say pride comes before the fall). While two sides duke it out, Askeladd and his men start a forest fire (Seras: And no Smokey around to stop them) to confuse everyone and Thorfinn goes in to save Canute. The plan manages to work as Thorfinn makes contact with the prince and gets him, Ragnar, and the priest to safety (scene here: https://youtu.be/KcCz86cXtHI). They meet back up with Askeladd who becomes Canute’s new bodyguard and we get to see Canute’s face where he looks like a young woman (scene here: https://youtu.be/LgkCt9u0TsM. (Seras): He’s either a very girly man or he’s a straight up woman. (Nitsuj): Either way, people are questioning their sexual preference right about now).
The last episode for the first half of the anime sees Askeladd and his men marching to stay ahead of Thorkell who is right behind them. Askeladd knows he and his men don’t stand a chance if Thorkell catches up to them, so he tells them to keep marching saying that they’re going to meet up with his reinforcements (Seras: And hopefully they have food and weapons). After much marching, they finally reach the spot of Askeladd’s allies, Gratianus, a general of the kingdom of Morgannwg, a small kingdom in Wales which isn’t an ally of England. Gratianus takes Askeladd and his men to Wales where they’ll continue to march to Gainsborough in enemy territory (Isis: It’s better than being chased by Thorkell). Askeladd assigns Thorfinn as Canute’s personal bodyguard promising to give him a duel once they reach Gainsborough. As they travel through Wales (first the forest now the mountains. At least the scenery is lovelier) they get ambushed by another kingdom (Nitsuj: Just how many kingdoms does this country have? (Mira): Many. They’re all small kingdoms) and we end the episode with a shot of all the major characters so far (Seras: Except for Thorfinn’s family. For some reason they’re left out. Scene here: https://youtu.be/L44vaQgKPs4).
(Nitsuj): And that does it for the first half of Vinland Saga.
(Isis): We hope you’re enjoying the review so far.
(Mira): Tune in next week where we close out the year on the second half.
(Seras): Until then. Thanks for reading and happy holidays from all of us at Project Nitsuj.
(Nitsuj): We’ll see you next time.