Reviews for Vinland Saga Season 2

“Carve it. Carve it into your flesh. Carve it into the land. Carve it into the sea. Carve it into your spoils. Carve it into your enemies. Carve it.” The second season of Vinland Saga is a clear departure to the themes of its predecessor, with a much slower pace, and while the setting still has the backdrop of war surrounding it, a lot of it was in quite a calm, farming environment, at least for the first half. This season really embodied the Seinen genre extremely well, with much more complex themes than what the first season provided, and both seasons shine in their ownrespective ways. It’s meant for a more mature audience perhaps compared to the first season, which served as a good way to get fans into the series.

Sure, the first season had quite a lot of action, but as we keep moving along in the story, a question we could ask ourselves is, “Was the action really the main focus of what this story wanted to tell?” It’s set in the Viking era, so obviously there will be some combat, but it’s become clearer with this season that it’s not even close to the message that the author wanted to tell. Makoto Yukimura, the author, definitely put some of his ideals into the characters and the story, reflecting on the kindness and cruelty of the world, and its balance. If you haven’t already read his Twitter threads for each episode, I do recommend you read them so you understand his intent behind the story even more. If you are a huge fan of action anime, you might find this season a bit off-putting and not for you.

It’s a full 180 from Season 1 not just in its story, but also its characters. Thorfinn in Season 1 was in a way, kind of a protagonist you’d find in action shounen anime, with revenge being his main reason to keep on living after Askeladd slayed his father on the ship. He lost his reason to live after the events of Season 1’s finale, so at the start of this season, he was understandably depressed. However, if Season 1 was a tale of battles and what it means to fight and die on the battlefield, then Season 2 was a tale of what it means to live. His development this season was absolutely stellar, as he went from a very quiet, depressed character, to a character with lofty ideals, and one who influenced everyone around him, filling them to the brim with hope, and a reason to press on in a cruel world like theirs. Meanwhile, Einar, the other main protagonist, and some other characters as well, kind of feel like the Thorfinn of old back in Season 1. Snappy, quick to anger, and easy to provoke. It’s somewhat ironic that Thorfinn sometimes is the one to calm them down, but it just shows how far he’s come. He’s truly a beautiful man.

A big message, and perhaps the main one, was the fact that people draw their swords way too quickly, and don’t talk things out. It’s easy to resort to violence instead of trying to reason with others. Other characters on the farm had these traits, such as Olmar and Thorgil. Not everyone understands Thorfinn’s ideals right away, as they might seem laughable in a world like theirs, where people pillage and set fire to villages almost every day. Slowly and surely, the people understand, and get inspired by the kindness of Thorfinn, but not everyone comes around, although everyone can have the capacity to change. The contrasting ideals of what it means to be a “true warrior” will be a subject of debate always, in this anime, and in our real world. Is it someone who is physically strong, and fights with no mercy toward one’s enemies, or is it someone who has the wisdom and adaptability to prevent the conflict from ever happening to save lives? The different characters in this anime are on both sides of this spectrum, and I love how neither side backs down on their ideals. When such ideals clash, conflict will still unfortunately ensue, and it’s easy to just say that conflict is a part of life, that it’s unavoidable, but with that said, should we give up and not try to stop it, just accepting it? As Thorfinn said, “Anger begets more anger, it just results in deaths, one after another.”

All of these themes culminate in a very gripping story on Ketil’s farm, filled with very heavy episodes, raw emotion, and pure brutality on the battlefield. The violence was gruesome, with limbs lying on the ground, blood spilling everywhere, and I love how the production staff didn’t hold back in that regard. The raw emotion resulted in many painful times for the characters and for us viewers, but they don’t rely on sob stories and massive melodrama to convey such emotion, but rather, it just shows us how unlucky some people are, especially the slaves. Snake said a very interesting thing,"They say inferior people can't help but become slaves. That it's where they belong. But I don't think so. Slaves were just unlucky. That is all. If you and I had been unlucky, we might've ended up as slaves, too."

The animation was overall quite solid, though there were some episodes with rather limited movement and a few stiff looking bits of animation here and there. That would be my one nitpick, in that it wasn’t perfectly polished, but no production can be perfect, especially in these times where the production schedules aren’t the most healthy, especially from MAPPA taking on so many projects at once. There are also some scenes that feel a bit dragged to pad the episode time, but it didn’t bother me too much. That said, the background art was incredibly immaculate, especially in the important moments, to really convey the emotional weight of certain scenes. Props to director Shuhei Yabuta for doing a great job, along with the rest of the production team.

The soundtrack was also exemplary in making emotional scenes hit that much harder, with the somber piano tracks, as well as even a choir, and fitting music in more uplifting moments as well. Without this beautiful music, I wouldn’t have felt nearly as emotional as I did in some of the scenes, to the point of crying. The two openings and two endings were also quite solid, with providing the necessary hype in the openings, and the more quiet, emotional side of things from the endings.

All in all, this was most definitely my favourite anime I’ve watched this year without a shadow of a doubt, and one of the most beautiful, anime I watched ever. Truly transcendent material. It’s an exquisite story about mental and moral dilemmas that plague the world, and especially Thorfinn. It’s a tale of maturity for him, from a person driven by revenge and hatred, to a person driven by love and kindness. It was all about letting go of hate, and finding out what it means to live, to create a utopia that makes others want to live, and not resort to death as a salvation from an unforgiving, savage world. He’s well on his way to doing that.

And as a final message, the next time you encounter a fan complaining about the lack of action, or preaches their favourite shounen like the Bible, don’t make them your enemy, just say, “I have no enemies.”

Vinland Saga is the embodiment of anachronism and the self-fulfilment of the mocked utterance "If you kill your enemies, they win." Imagine yourself being sold into slavery in 11th-century Scandinavia after brute-forcing your way to the Viking conquest of England’s conclusion as a mercenary. At this point you’re well acquainted with the brutish nature of the Dark Ages and the horrors of mankind--ceaseless wars and raids, slavery, the razing of entire villages, violent wars of succession--and in particular the ruthless 'might makes right' warrior culture of the Vikings which one of your loved ones died at the hands of. Now imagine one day in that traumaticlife of yours you start preaching 21st-century first-world pacifist ideals as a hollowed-out, depressed slave because of a dream. Then give yourself a pat on the back if you think this is an inherently juvenile and asinine concept that first off could never see ideation in such a context, would never see the light of day even if you could conceptualize it, and would never work even if it did see the light of day; because unlike Vinland Saga, you have at least an iota of a grasp on reality. Vinland Saga Season 2 is not only ugly on the outside as an audiovisual experience but also on the inside as a grossly delusional historical fiction that insists upon itself with pretentious moral righteousness, wanting to have its cake and eat it with its faux philosophising whilst attempting to work within the confines of reality. It is a shounen in seinen’s clothing.

What started out as a half-decent historical fiction that read almost like a gritty epic, with clear direction and dynamic characters to match, degenerates into aimless, feeble meandering with sluggish pacing and lethargic characters that reads more like a rant from the author than an actual story in its whiplash of a shift into a slice-of-life. The seeds of failure, however, were already sown from the very beginning of the series when Thorfinn's father spoke the essence of his philosophy on his deathbed "A true warrior has no need for a sword"--like a true 17th century Bushido-ideal samurai based in 11th century Scandinavia who uses "no sword" in the literal sense of the words as opposed to metaphorically. Whilst admirable that he cast aside his penchant for violence and surrendered a prestigious life of fierce warrior-ship in order to settle down with his wife and children and ensure them a peaceful life, the story would immortalise him as an aspirational wise man for orphaning a son and widowing a wife into misery because he surrendered to a death he could've easily avoided by sacrificing his family and himself for his moral code of pacifism. What if Askeladd--who’d already shown not to be trusted--didn’t uphold his promise, or if Bjorn massacred the Icelandic village anyway? Vinland Saga expects you to take Thor’s unconvincing dichotomy in faith as it begins using this fundamentally flawed premise as the foundation of the Slave arc and Thorfinn’s character piece, and the self-defeating polarity of venerating an ideology that just lead to a family’s demise is foreshadowing for the story's downwards spiral from this season onwards. Thorfinn, seeing how well pacifism turned out for his father and reaping its fruits first-hand, suddenly becomes one himself this season.

Whilst anachronism is Vinland Saga’s biggest problem--how it’s flawed on a fundamental level because its thematic execution conflicts with its own established world due to the author projecting his modern-day moral standards onto a story about 11th century Vikings--its inoperative veer into a medieval farming simulator means the themes it wants to convey here aren’t even made palatable on an external, structural level. The Slave arc lacks a defined act structure and feels like a tedious detour from the prologue, with no narrative drive and momentum. There are long stretches of uneventful moments mostly accompanied by Thorfinn and Einar babbling in a struggle to come to grasp the basic concept of ‘self-preservation’ as the directing in all its unsophisticated artistry (or lack thereof) displays severed heads in order to depict the mental state of a man. All the philosophical ramblings with obvious implications mean pacing thrice as slow as the previous arc isn’t compelling when it fails to be the psychological character-driven introspective it pretends to be. What other stories resolve in 3 episodes, Vinland Saga takes 24 to do without a convincing conclusion. There is no reason for over a dozen episodes to be dedicated to the (bizarrely portrayed) mundane slice-of-life of slaves on a farm, it’s the most astroturfed way imaginable to advance Thorfinn’s already deficient pacifist epiphany; especially when such an overarching theme is something as basic as “Slavery is… bad!” You are taught this in elementary school. This could have been done in less than 3 episodes under the dynamism of the prologue, and Thorfinn’s pacifism would have at least been somewhat more believable in a plot with proper happenings gravitating him towards an active MC role instead of being a glorified exposition dump in disguise for what he’s thinking. The series’ soft reset completely bottlenecks the natural progression of the once hot-blooded plot and characters that the series laid out, and thus Farmland Saga struggles to justify its existence. It no longer moves forward in sharp incremental episodes but wallows in nigh-episodic bloat. The character who suffers the most from this stifling shift in direction is of course Thorfinn, who’s treated like a messianic figure for some reason that the narrative never challenges the ideals of. You can now break down his character arc as Sasuke Uchiha —> Jesus Christ. Honestly, Canute's way of peace is far more pragmatic and he should've been the main character after Askeladd's death.

The plot is also cultivated primarily by poor character drama, unintelligent character decisions, accidental happenings and plot devices, which is why aside from most of the cast being lifeless husks, are also unlikeable. Einar is only angry about no longer being a free man and seeing his family members murdered before his eyes in the immediate moment, and he and the 10 unrestrained slaves being transported by boat by the few Danish raiders never attempt to resist or hijack the vessel. Gardar is introduced to serve merely as a tool for the series to once again unsubtlely preach “Here’s why violence is bad” in a scene that diminishes both his and Arnheid’s character after the two had already received incessant flashbacks that could’ve instead made way for more pivotal moments in the story like a certain reunion not being underwhelming. Even the climax of this arc is an illustration of shallow thematic execution; a culmination of the poor character drama and unintelligent character actions, where Thorfinn displays suicidal levels of restraint that should’ve gotten himself killed if not for the plot armour that the narrative places on his idealism, followed by corny dialogue and an unbelievable resolution that assassinates Canute’s character writing.

"I have no enemies." Bravo Uzumaki Thorfinn.

Transcendent. Sublime. Ethereal. I’ve run out of words to describe Vinland Saga season 2. This series has gone far past the normal bounds of anime and has become cinema in the purest sense of the word. When Vinland saga s2 was announced I was initially skeptical about how it’d be received in the west given its slower paced nature as well as how I personally would like it. Keep in mind everything we saw in 24 episodes this season took place over the course of years in the manga. So it was a much slower process and at times I felt it dragged on. My worriescouldn’t have been further misplaced. MAPPA stepped in for WIT and gave an absolute masterclass in direction, tension, adding anime original content which enhanced and perfected many scenes and storylines from the manga, etc. There were several episodes during this season which were literally just characters talking, yet I was so absorbed in them that the 25 minute runtime felt like 5. There may not be as much of the transitional action scenes from season 1, but there’s no shortage of engaging content in this season.

At its core, this season is philosophical struggle. A juxtaposition of two characters. Thorfinn and Canute. While Thorfinn has gone from a violent and angry young man to a peaceful and kind one who wants a world without war, Canute has had the opposite journey. He believes war is the only way to bring peace. As the neutral outside observer, we of course know that neither side is 100 percent correct and that real life is more grey than black and white.

But seeing their character arcs develop independently and then ultimately come to a head in that penultimate episode.. just no words for the job MAPPA did bringing the character drama and emotion to life in this season. The buildup and foundational groundwork that went into everything just to have a perfect sendoff in the final two episodes is something we do not get much in this medium and it needs to be appreciated.

Speaking of the penultimate episode, it’s been years since a TV anime has made me cry. Even longer since a work of fiction has made me cry not out of sadness, but out of appreciation for its sheer beauty. Episode 23 of this season was exactly that and is, as of right now, the best episode of an anime I have ever seen in my 20+ years of watching this medium.

So the story’s great, what about the animation and art? Well, as we’ve come to expect from MAPPA as of late, it’s amazing. So many episodes of this season are full of screenshottable moments and art that makes you want to pause the episode just to appreciate it. During the few key fights we have this season, the animation and choreography are stellar.

I could really go on and on for pages about how great this season is, but I’ll sum it up this way. This is the anime of the year, and I don’t see anything surpassing it. What it lacks in physical action, this season makes up for in character drama and emotional moments. A must watch for any historical drama fan or fan of the medium in general. This is the best this medium has to offer.

Vinland Saga S2 gets the easiest 10 of the year.

A new season of Vinland Saga. Vinland Saga's 1st season aired in 2019, yet this sequel is just as amazing, if not better, than its predecessor, despite having a lot less action and more attention to characters in the arc it focuses on, the Farmland Arc. This is my first review of an anime. Note that this review is purely from an anime-only perspective. Naturally, spoilers for season 1 will appear, so please read at your own discretion. STORY: 10 Vinland Saga has always had an amazing story, and so far it's been simply captivating. It should be noted that season 1 is considered as the prologue ofthis tale, and season 2 is where the "real" story begins.

In the first episode we see this season's deuteragonist Einar's story and how he winds up in Ketil's farm. The show does a very good job of attaching the viewer to characters they just met, which not a lot of shows can claim of doing as well. The next 2 episodes show us a lot more of the new Thorfinn, who is broken and sullen from the climax of season 1, where Askelaad, the man he had made his life's purpose to kill, was killed by someone else. Despite how early we are on the season, Vinland Saga has managed to easily enrapture its audience.

The series' pacing has considerably slowed down compared to last season, with fights and plot developments left and right at a breakneck pace. Season 2, in contrast, seems to be focusing on its characters for the time being. Action scenes aren't nearly as commonplace and the show takes a more SoL-oriented turn. However, none of this takes away from Vinland's strength, which is drawing its viewers into its beautiful yet horrifying world. The season paves the way for some serious character development, but might turn off some viewers who were attracted to Vinland Saga for its showy fights and lightning action and pacing.

The story takes a more dismal turn at some parts, largely focusing on death and its consequences. Topics such as "what it means to live" are briefly brought up.

CHARACTERS: 9

The characters in VInland Saga have always been one of its strong points, and this season has done nothing but exemplify that point. Thorfinn, our main character, is a broken war veteran who has lost his life's purpose and lives for the sake of living. On the other hand, Einar lives everyday in the hope of a better tomorrow, despite his dark past. This stark difference in the outlook of life between these two characters is highlighted in many different scenes, such as when Einar tries to make conversation with an unwilling Thorfinn, who seems to only answer questions he deems necessarily demand an answer. 3 episodes in, the show doesn't boast of too many fleshed out side characters yet, although Snake, the head of the bodyguards, and Arnheid definitely show potential to be very interesting.

ART: 8

Season 1 was done by Studio WIT, which did an incredible job of animating Vinland Saga. This time, the reins have been handed over to MAPPA, yet the team animating the series has stayed mostly the same. The backgrounds look absolutely divine and it shines through in almost every frame. Each cut looks more breathtaking than the last.

Some still shots have been used in scenes where motion would normally be expected, which is a slight step down from season 1. The characters, in some scenes, notably stand out as simply drawn in contrast to the highly detailed backgrounds they stand in. They look slightly strange in some shots, but it doesn't take away from the experience exceedingly.

SOUND: 8

The soundtrack doesn't stand out flashily but is able to deliver impact successfully when necessary. Some tracks were able to greatly enhance certain scenes where not too much was going on. The OP is stunning in both visuals and music, and notably, both the OP and ED are sung in English. The ED is also quite good in both the visuals and music department, though I personally prefer the OP.

The voice actors do a very good job, adding a weight to its characters that so differentiates anime from manga as a medium. No voice actors in the cast stand out greatly however, but they work together as seamlessly as a well oiled machine, with each voice actor breathing life into their character.

ENJOYMENT: 10

This season of Vinland Saga has been an amazing ride so far, with each episode exploring different facets of its character's personalities. Each episodes seems to transport the viewer into a different world, the world of the Vikings. Episodes feel like 2 minutes instead of 25, and keep the viewer longing for more every week. This season may not be as appealing to people who like more fights in their anime, but I nevertheless recommend that they try a couple episodes out before passing judgement.

Although we're just 3 episodes in, if the manga readers can be taken seriously, it's certain that the rest of this season will be just as amazing as it is so far, and I cannot wait for it.

I highly recommend Vinland Saga Season 2 to anyone who watched its first season. It may take an episode or two to get into, but once you've started you can never go back

Thanks for reading my first review!

I loved the first season. I loved it so much, that I sat through about 9 episodes of this before I realized that it was boring and I was just sitting around, waiting for something to happen. I loved it so much, that I continued to watch another 5 episodes, being as patient as I could. I can't keep watching this. I've been patient. I've given it 14 episodes. But I feel like the entire plot of the past 14 episodes could be summed up in about 2 paragraphs. Nothing happens. They go deeply into the backstory of random side characters, while ignoring the mainplot. I'm not a hater. I really wanted to like this. But I have to be honest with myself and with you. This season sucks. I don't know what happened, but it's sad.

It's a completely different show. The stunning action and character development that we loved about the season 1 is totally gone without a trace. Instead this show focuses on some non violence Gandhi crap. You can even call is a slice of life anime on slaves. Thorfinn's character has taken a completele 180 and the story itself doesn't seem to head anywhere if it has any on the first place. It's getting more and more boring with each episodes and I might end up dropping it it this show continues this path. The animation is decent and the FEW action sequences this show has were good. Ifyou like to watch slaves working hard and going through the ups and downs of life then you will like this show.

If you came for the action... Sorry, Wrong Show.

There is a certain level of pretension that comes with the perception of S2 versus S1 that reminds me of the debates concerning commercial Hollywood films and foreign art films, with S1 being more so the former because it has a lot of action and excessive amounts of violence, as opposed to the latter, which is sloooooow, not just because of MAPPA corner cutting a bit but also due to the source material of this arc focusing on characters, moral dilemmas, and ideology. If not liking a famous foreign art film gets you a response of "Go watch ur Michael Bay," then maybe the responsehere would be "Go watch ur Sword Art Online"? Not sure.

Is the writing for Farmville arc better than S1 overall? I suppose so... There are at least more opportunities to focus on writing and character development alongside themes and competing ideologies because the action takes a backseat. Frankly, I think S2 has more scenarios that showcase writing than being better written as a whole, and while Thorfinn's character arc is paced far more appropriately than Canute's insanely abrupt one in S1, at least what Canute became wasn't so silly and made perfect sense within the world they inhabited. Unfortunately, much of the proceedings resemble the most boring farming simulator out there, broken up by segments featuring some hyucking punks with names like "Badger," "Possum," and "Hippo."

Thorfinn was a more superficial character in S1, and he has a lot of room for growth here. He makes a friend, learns new life skills, and goes from a low-key PTSD nihilist to an extreme idealist and messiah superhero and a real go-getter philosocan't in a way that allows him to engage in so much mental gymnastics that he twists his ass into a pretzel. If S1 could vaguely be seen as a coming of age story, then I'd suggest S2 is an uncoming of age, as Thorfinn doubles down on masochistic idealism like only a shonen main can ("ahem... ackshually, it's a seinen"). No amount of heavy character development will matter if what you become is essentially the punch line to a joke.

First of all, going back to S1, Thors is a charlatan pretending to be virtuous with his dumb dumb philosophy hour ideology that led to everything happening in the first place. I can understand not killing people if it can be avoided, but he endangered his crew by only lightly injuring Askeladd's men. Let's face it, Askeladd and his men had it coming and deserved to die, and Thors knew full well what they'd do if he failed. And that's while overlooking how ridiculous it is that Thors can solo a whole band of mercenaries in spite of the "semi-realism" the series is going for or that his kid grows up to do the same with butter knives, slicing through mail and plate armor like toothpicks through cheese.

One can value life without this puerile pacifism so common in anime, where they're so adamant about not killing anyone to the point that the people whom they love are harmed as a result, not to mention, themselves. It sickens me, and Japan has long been into these navel-gazing "love and peace" messages, when I demand more realism (character-wise) or at least not masochistic pacifism that glorifies getting beaten so hard that the MC looks like the Toxic Avenger with a wig or running with your tail between your legs and sacrificing everything. To be clear, Ketil's Farm was a futile battle that they never had a chance of winning against Canute's forces, so I can understand retreating in this case, but Thorfinn's ideology is explicitly cardio-intensive even when the odds are in their favor.

I almost dropped S1 back then, but I didn't because I enjoyed the dynamic between Thorfinn and Askeladd and liked the latter as a character. It was clear that Thorfinn would always be in the shadow of his father, and there would be an arc where he would reevaluate himself in relation to what his father was and what Thorfinn had become as a result of becoming part of Askeladd's gang and seeking "principled" vengeance (in reference to Thorfinn refusing to kill him during his sleep). That sense of "loss" Thorfinn felt when he lost the opportunity to defeat Askeladd in a duel was a preferable way to handle a theme of vengeance. Then we're left with this broken husk of a man for S2, leading to the inevitable "redemption" arc where he becomes the mirror image of his father, which leads to me not caring about Thorfinn's arc no matter how well it's handled. You know the saying, "If it's not broken, don't fix it"? Thorfinn taking up his father's mantle is the equivalent of something being broken, not fixing it, pretending it works, then the author forcing it to work due to plot contrivances.

Just as my favorite character was Askeladd in S1, the side characters tend to be more interesting in S2 than Thorfinn, even when they have relatively simple arcs, fewer scenes, and arguably less complexity (a lot less in some cases). The characters surrounding Thorfinn tend to be more realistic fixtures of the world. In contrast, Thorfinn is monumentally idealistic and allowed to indulge further in his nonsense because he has shonen powers. Other characters include the honor-bound Thorgil, who will gladly sacrifice himself for glory; the boastful and pathetic Olmer, who eventually realizes his short-comings and swallows his pride; the industrious yet meek Ketil, who keeps accumulating wealth and land yet fears he will lose everything (with his scene where he's urged to discipline the thief being among the best); and finally, Sverkel, who is kind despite his sternness and values farming as a way of life rather than the materialistic thirst of Ketil. These four present different themes associated with the Nords and their pacification, with Sverkel even having Snake read bible passages to him. Snake and Sverkel also have a compelling dynamic going with one another and are present in many of the better scenes.

Gardar and Arnheid comprise an often corny time-waster arc. I find it hard to be sympathetic with how obvious it is that things won't end well and especially after Gardar killed a bunch of Snake's men. The selflessness of trying to smuggle the two to safety, as directed by Einar and Thorfinn, feels like a cuckold simulator. While I can understand slaves trying to help each other, the duo put too much on the line. If they were going to escape with the couple, that would be one thing, but they will get caught, and punishment will not only be swift, but their freedom will be curtailed or maybe even forfeited for what is a blatant pipe dream. I get it: characters fail at doing things, but there should be more believability, so the scenario seems plausible.

The whole setup seems to be there solely to reinforce "slavery bad" on top of our running theme of "war bad," so Thorfinn and Einar can throw their lives away for "the greater good" before everything turns out fine and Thorfinn can flesh out his utopian ideals faster. When the dream sequence shows Thorfinn and Einar as a deer and a wolf standing together, I laughed my ass off, as it seemed to be an admission by the author of how absurd this segment was and how preposterous Thorfinn's vision is. Nevertheless, props to the author for failing to present Snake as a fufufufu-tier villain, when he sought to uphold justice. The author tends to depict character actions without being overly judgmental, which is rare enough to be commendable.

The confrontation between Thorfinn and Canute is also laughable. "Forcibly expropriating land is bad, and you shouldn't do it! I can't oppose you, but it's really, really, really mean if you do this, so I just came to tell you that you'd better not, and then I'm going to RUN AWAY!" and Canute is like, "LOL! Alright, big guy, you win. If you got my hole covered (wink), I'll work out my daddy issues and learn to trust people." AND THEN CANUTE'S FLEET SHRUNK, AND BLAH BLAH BLAH. Honestly, I think Vinland Saga S2 is one of the finest examples of extreme pacifistic masochism from an idealistic and naive character that I've ever seen in anime. I know it's not a parody, but I've seen this kind of thing in anime throughout the years, and it's perfectly tailored with the zeitgeist of a clash between Viking warriors and pagans and Christianity to become the ultimate deadpan parody of shonen idealism. I see this as a borderline comedy, and evidently, so does Canute, who also laughs his ass off at Thorfinn, as if to say, "Your standup comedy routine is so funny that I'm just going to do whatever you want. You're the greatest court jester I've ever had."

The series is so preachy that it presents Thorfinn's method as the greatest and most noble one imaginable and that it should be generalized elsewhere when possible, irrespective of the fact that Thorfinn's circumstances were highly unique—that is, a prior connection to Canute and Thorfinn having badass shonen skills—and not applicable to almost anyone else.

The aesthetic fails to enhance the writing: it looks like a Hanna-Barbera cartoon or Viking Boondocks, so it's ugly and stiff. Occasionally, a backdrop will have more dramatic lighting, such as with easy shots like a sunset or the solemn scenes where columns of light are breaking through the clouds. Often the animation is like a PowerPoint presentation, the composition is so-so, and we have these turgid tracking shots. We don't need better combat animation or anything, but character acting can help bring a production to life, especially since the series focuses on characters and writing. It can hammer the emotion into a scene when the dialogue is not enough, and when it is enough, just the right amount of character acting enhances the scene, possibly even to greatness. When I think about which anime are the most emotional for me, most of them have freer character animation, such as Letter to Momo, Jin-Roh, Junkers Come Here, Ping Pong, or Kaiba, for example. MAPPA even managed to pack decent character acting into their recent Chainsaw Man adaptation, and I wish it could have rubbed off on Vinland Saga a little bit because, of the two, this one needed a generous budget for character animation a hell of a lot more.

When considering the subpar aesthetic, the sclerotic character acting, and Thorfinn's disgusting idealism, all we're left with are a few decent characters, a small amount of conflict and butting of ideological heads, and a few scenes of fair enough writing, spread thin across long stretches of nothing, it's hard to think of this as anything special.

The audience’s reception of Vinland Saga S2 has been pretty bipolar. On one hand, we have the fans saying Thorfinn has had fantastic character development and is now a very wise and mature figure, while on the other hand, critics say this season was slow and boring like a farming simulator. However, very few people seem to share my main issue with the show. Thorfinn is a hardcore pacifist, which is alright, but the show tries to present him and his philosophy as *THE* right way to live your life, and that anyone who uses violence has yet to come to the “enlightenment” that Thorfinn hasarrived at. I think a great example to illustrate this would be Thorfinn’s iconic “I’ll run away” line, which is basically his response to Canute’s violent expansionism. I’ll reiterate that there is nothing wrong with Thorfinn’s ideology, but at the same time, there’s also nothing wrong with standing your ground and fighting back. Vinland Saga fails to realize this. Ketil is portrayed as this insane, bloodthirsty man who beats up pregnant women simply because he chose to fight for what is rightfully his. Yes, Ketil’s paltry farm guards had no chance against Canute’s Vikings, but what matters here is the intention, and Ketil has every right in the world to try to defend his homeland, even in a losing cause. Meanwhile, Thorfinn pulls up at Canute’s camp to show off his masochism in the most obnoxious way imaginable. The 100 punches deal was dumb for a variety of reasons. First, there is no way an ordinary person can bear a 100 punches. Thorfinn was only able to do it because he used to be a Viking, aka the antithesis of his present ideology. Second, 100 punches was just an arbitrary deal made without the knowledge of Thorfinn’s past. What if the deal was a 100 punches by a 100 different people? Even Thorfinn wouldn’t be able to bear that. The point I’m trying to make is, there’s absolutely no need to subject yourself to such suffering simply because someone tells you to. If you want to do something and someone is trying to stop you, you either defeat the guy by force or give up on your objective. The whole idea that you’ll prove his violence wrong with your silent suffering is so embarrassingly childish.

But for whatever reason, Canute, who went from being a devout Christian to an unholy, immoral aggressor in the span of 10 minutes in S1, again did a 180 and decided to shrink his fleet in England after Thorfinn told him to do so. And guess what happened next. The people whom Canute had so brutally oppressed suddenly realized his goodwill and were all too happy to let themselves be ruled over. The amount of plot contrivance Yukimura adds just to justify his puerile pacifism is honestly hilarious, and it’s baffling to me how so few see the show for what it truly is.

As for the production, MAPPA did a fairly decent job, but I guess the manga is the superior version. Despite finding his ideology disagreeable, I do think Yukimura is a great mangaka, and his panels, at least from what I’ve seen here and there on the internet, are absolutely gorgeous. Either way, the experience isn’t going to be much different if you agree with the points I’ve made.

Thank you for reading.

kinda spoiler warning vinland saga s2 starts off kind of dry, it leaves off after season 1 which has many unexplained question like "what happens to thorfinn" or at the start of this season "where's the action" At first it might bore you, but you'll slowly realise that this season is what vinland sagas plot is supposed to be the entire time between the first season its always mentioned about a place without fighting which was the main reason for the first season to show that thorfinn is going to go on a pursue that aim. Overall 9 characters 8 the new characters feel like the entire story has just beenresetted and forces you to learn new names but even so thorfinn character development is worth it

This arc 10

Farmland saga is arguably the best arc in the entire series

other than that I still recommend watching at least 5-10 episodes and if you decide its not worth it then it wont be your thing from now on.

The concept of a Mangaka, encompassing both exceptional artistic talent and exceptional writing, has always been a challenging feat to achieve. To possess one can already be considered lucky, but to excel at both is truly rare. While there have been exceptional Mangakas, Makoto Yukimura's Vinland Saga Season 2 unfortunately falls short of this mark. Part 1: A Mockery of the Norse Culture Vinland Saga Season 2 can only be described as a direct mockery of the source material that served as its inspiration. In contemporary Manga adaptations, one would expect a deeper exploration of the chosen setting. However, Vinland Saga neglects to incorporate any elements ofNorse mythology and culture. The omission of such crucial aspects is a glaring flaw, especially considering the story's focus on pacifism. This deliberate exclusion undermines the depth of the narrative and showcases the shortcomings of Yukimura, who can merely copy the aesthetics at a superfiscial level but not the substance. In contrast, even mainstream series like Vikings (2013) contrasted the Old Norse religion with Christianity, sparking engaging debates on life, death, and the Viking way of life.

Part 2: Pretentious Defenses and One-Dimensional Redemption

The zealous defenders of Vinland Saga dismiss any criticism, hailing the show as "profound and insightful," while labeling dissenters as individuals who merely revel in mindless violence, incapable of grasping the show's depth. Such claims come across as pretentious and fail to acknowledge the audience's own preferences. Let's not forget that Season 1 primarily focused on action and violence. Moreover, the redemption aspect of the show proves disappointingly one-dimensional. The main character, Thorfinn, undergoes an abrupt transformation from an Uchiha Sasuke archetype to a Jesus Christ-like figure, leaving no room for nuanced character development. While it is common for shounen anime to embody a specific idea through the protagonist, Yukimura positions himself on the moral high ground by advocating 21st-century pacifism in the Viking era, all the while eliminating any other ideologies that could challenge his narrative.

Conclusion:

In my preliminary review, I maintained a rather comedic tone, but the praise bestowed upon Vinland Saga Season 2 seems excessive considering its actual merits. The talented artists who brought the animation to life deserve better material to showcase their skills. Ultimately, Vinland Saga Season 2 fails to meet expectations, leaving viewers longing for either a more thought-provoking plot or more action. Peace.

I rewatched the first season before starting this one, and man did it keep up with my memories of it watching the first time around. The thrill of action, story, and developments of the first season are undoubtedly up there with the best. Diving straight into the 2nd season-- it's terrible. I feel like 6 episodes went by without a single meaningful thing happening. It genuinely felt like sitting through the endless 8 arc. So far there is no action, no meaningful contributions to the original story, and no characters developments. Sadly, the production is still almost as beautiful the first season. Which is anabsolute shameful waste of talent on this uninspired boring show.

The main character was conveniently "emptied out" and had his personality replaced by hollow depression. They virtually nullified the entire plot of the first season with amnesia to, what feels like, buy time to come up with the next good storyline. You could genuinely watch a 2nd season of a plot-heavy anime and understand almost everything that has happened so far. It's unacceptable.

It's like watching a CGDCT anime, but the characters are all depressed and void of any unique personalities. So far, it's 7 episodes of nothingness. Every new character is entirely uninteresting. Their scripts all follow what you'd expect to hear from an NPC during a sidequest. The main character is literally doing a sidequest while the authors develop the rest of the mainstory. I could understand this sidetracking for an episode or two, but this looks to continue on for probably half the season.

I'm extremely disappointed to see such a beautiful and well executed story get absolutely dumpstered. Even if it picks up in the later half, this stain will never go away. I can no longer in good conscience recommend Vinland Saga.

If you looking for meaningless gore and nonstop action, then this is a skip. Vinland Saga offers more than that. It shows you the horror of war and violence, but also the life and that the change is possible. It tells a mature and incredibly relatable story that creates memorable moments without exploiting action and gore just to grab viewers attention. Animation is nothing less but magic, which is expected by WIT Studio after their work on Attack on Titan. Openings and Endings are not just cuz its anime, but is part of the story and without exception, all are top tier. It's impossible tosay this without sounding cringe, but some dialogue lines put me in deep thought of my own life. One of the best character development in any media and deepest stories told that deserves recognition around the world.

Vinland Saga S2 is incredible, and I firmly believe that this show is required viewing by anyone who really wants to explore the emotional depth of what can be achieved through Japanese animation. Through all my time watching anime I've never quite seen a show that handles emotional drama, conflict, worldbuilding and character progression in the grounded and absolutely breathtaking way that Vinland Saga does. Season 1 of Vinland Saga came out roughly three years ago. I remember watching it and enjoying it quite a bit. Going in, I had heard people liken it to shows like Berserk, so I was going in with high expectations.Thankfully those expectations were largely met, and while the action scenes were obviously a huge highlight, I was also surprised with just how much gravity the show treated serious subjects like war, destruction, colonization, and so on.

I was expecting more of the same with Season 2, and I would probably have been perfectly happy with that, but as you may or may not already know, Season 2 of this show is a pretty large departure narratively from what the show has been up until this point. Much of it takes place on a farm, instead of a series of battlefields around Europe like it did in season 1. This allows for the pace to slow down a bit and really focus on building up our main characters.

Vinland Saga season 2 has been absolutely incredible so far, and I feel very comfortable giving it a 10/10 without even seeing more than half of the episodes so far. Even if the second half is a complete disappointment (it won't be), what we've gotten so far is absolutely worth the price of admission. Studio Wit did the animation on season 1, and for season 2 Studio Mappa has taken up the mantle and injected a ridiculous amount of quality into what is already a really solid framework for an anime. It should already be obvious if you've seen any of their other shows lately, but Mappa has just absolutely been killing it lately. I can't fathom how anyone else is going to come close in the future. But I digress.

In essence, I think season 2 of this show is extremely good. But at the same time, I also can't really recommend it to everyone, at least not without a small disclaimer: If you have a short attention span, or if you are just watching for the combat sequences and nothing else, you're probably going to be disappointed. Look at any of the other reviews, it isn't too hard to find people who feel this way.

However, if you come in with an open mind like I did, you'll be seriously impressed with some of what this show has been able to deliver. Episode after episode is just, for lack of a better description, an emotional rollercoaster. I'll be the first to admit I do get teary-eyed occasionally to anime, but gods be damned if I wasn't ugly-crying for at least half the episodes I've seen so far. It's just seriously high-quality character progression, writing, messaging, and world-building. And of course, the animation and cinematography, both in and out of fight scenes, is nothing short of amazing. And that soundtrack and sound design, oh my goodness.

In season 1, Thorfinn started off as a character that we, the audience, felt sorry for. Then, as he found his footing as a warrior, we started to cheer him on, fight after fight. Thorfinn at the start of season 2 is almost unrecognizable from the person we watched in season 1. His story of revenge has basically concluded, and he now finds himself listless and unfeeling, unable to justify his existence. After all, Thorfinn's entire life up until now was all about getting revenge for his father's death, so with Askeladd gone now, what's left to do in this horribly depressing world Thorfinn finds himself in?

The world of Vinland Saga is often depicted as one of incredible beauty, while simultaneously showcasing the absolutely worst depths of humanity. The captivating thing about this however, is that the "bad guys" in Vinland Saga are all written so well, that even the most despicable ones have perfectly understandable motivations and justifications for the things that they do. In Vinland Saga, just like as was the case in real life, people are beaten to death by those with power, slaves are commonplace, and things show no signs of improving any time soon. But despite how dark humanity can be, that's no reason to give up.

One major theme of Vinland Saga season 2 that's really resonated with me is that of optimism. Thorfinn is now a slave. He's lost everything he ever cared about, as has Einer, a new slave that is assigned to work with Thorfinn. Both of these people have had, without spoiling too much, really really miserable lives. Thorfinn and Einer are both incredibly broken people for differing reasons, but instead of giving up and breaking down, they instead decide to continue, because what other choice is there?

Einer acts as the perfect foil to Thorfinn with his seemingly unending reservoir of optimism. To Thorfinn, his life is basically already over. He sees no real purpose to continue doing what he's doing out of anything more than habit. Einer, along with some other characters later on, acts as a secondary perspective so that Thorfinn can understand himself better, and try to overcome the many demons of his past. Also, it should be noted that Einer, as a character, is written fantastically. His inclusion is absolutely a positive one, and just like Thorfinn, he has A LOT of emotional depth as well.

So many things in this show are clear indications that the audience is meant to feel that things can truly get better. The conditions of Thorfinn and Einar's slavery is a good example of this. They actually are owned by a slavemaster, Ketil, who is apparently very kind and strangely humanitarian, who has offered them a potential way out of slavery when they are eventually able to finish work on his new wheat farm. There are many other moments similar to this which echo a similar theme, but I really don't want to spoil much else.

Another thing I really appreciate is that Vinland Saga appreciates the intelligence of the viewer. Many shows would take the easy route and show the slave masters as being evil and easily hateable, because after all, slavery is bad. Vinland Saga KNOWS that you know that slavery is bad, because you aren't stupid. Instead what it does is it presents you with different situations, many of which are loaded with moral ambiguity, and allows you to make your own honest assessment of how you feel. It's extremely refreshing to see a show with topic matter this heavy allow the viewers as much breathing room as it does. Some characters definitely skew harder towards "evil" than others, but it's done in such a way where you just understand why that is.

I see Vinland Saga season 2 as an amazing character study of what makes a person who they are. Everyone in this show is a product of their environment and upbringing, but simultaneously everyone also has motivations and interests unique to them, which furthers their growth as a person, much like how real life works. This show has very quickly become one of my new favorites, and I strongly recommend you all to give it a watch and see what you think.

Vinland Saga's second season retains the beautiful visuals from the first and still contrasts those with the cruel nature of the world it portrays. However, the tone and overall nature of the show have changed significantly. For most of the season the setting has been changed from the battlefield to just the field. The season has little action and has become much more drama oriented. While the lack of action may be a turn off for some viewers, my problem with the second season lies elsewhere: I'm old enough to have gotten most youthful idealism out of my system, so I simply dontreasonate with the now turned pacifist protagonist. The show goes from amazinly writen to silly as soon as pacifist Thorfinn enters the fray, making the tone oddly inconsistent.

All that being said, the show has good production value and, when not disturbed by Thorfinn's pacifism, can be quite gripping.

In conclusion, if you go into this season expecting action and a "badass" protagonist, you are going to be disapointed. But if you are looking for a gripping drama, and are not put off by the idea of viking Gandhi, this show is for you.

This pains me to write but Vinland Saga season 2 is a huge disappointment. I am a huge fan of the series but Season 2 just might have some of the worst pacing, characters, acting, and directing I have ever seen in an anime of this caliber. I won't go too into details, just watch the show for yourself and you can see, but my main issue with the show is the characters. My problem isn't the lack of action, the new characters are just about the most unlikeable people in all of anime. Two characters in particular bother me the most: Einar, who takesup way more screen time than Thorfinn, would be the worst character in all of anime, except for Olmar, the son of the farmer who owns Thorfinn. Einar's actor is just bad, plain and simple (you have to watch for yourself). Olmar is the typical cocky loudmouth, except he also gets more screen time then Thorfinn. Honestly all of the actors are bad, even Thorfinn's 2 lines every other episode are awkwardly delivered and overshadowed by his weird ass screaming.

Oh yeah Thorfinn is no longer even in the show, he has been reduced to Sakura status and his acting is pretty poor too. It has to be the director. Whoever directed this absolutely butchered the season. They have tried so hard to turn Vinland into a comedy which is clearly not the way the author wants the story to go. Between the plethora of annoying characters, bad acting, terrible pacing, and unclear directing, Vinland Saga season 2 is beyond salvation (at the halfway point).

I just wanted to take this chance to compare it to season 1. Not even the action but the characters. By episode 4 we had an array of badass, interesting, developing characters with stories to tell and backgrounds to discover. Season 2 has none of that, not even for Thorfinn. He serves no purpose in this season, so far, and it breaks my heart. Thorfinn is one of the best characters in Anime and he has been reduced to a side character in his own show. Only to be replaced by an annoying foil for Thorfinn. Season 1's pacing and directing were God tier. Unfortunately season 2 has no good notable qualities. Somehow season 2's animation also took a significant step back, but it is clearly on the director as it is more of a pacing issue and not so much bad animation.

Overall, just stop at season 1. The story was complete.

Having read the entire arc of the manga (and well after that), and having watched 3 episodes, I believe I am qualified to write a review of season 2 of Vinland Saga. The second arc of the manga (farm arc) is a masterpiece and IMO one of the best arcs of the manga (probably the best arc in fact). It's very unconventional and less about fighting, and more about psychological themes such as PTSD or the depiction of Norse slavery (in addition to the implications of being a slave), and also destroying the myth of the warrior and showing the impact of killing. This arcwill FOR SURE get bad reviews from the crowds, simply because it's a U turn from the previous arc which was all about fighting, with a pretty shonen style hero in the dual blade using Thorfinn. This arc shows Thorfinn in the worst state possible (slavery) but also is an amazing story about gaining your life purpose back. It's simply a masterpiece with great characters such as Snake, Einar (Thorfinn's best friend), Arnheid (a female slave), and Olmar/Thorgil.

From watching the three episodes, you know it's a 9/10. The animation is equal to the first season, and the opening & ending themes are beautiful. Knowing (without spoiling viewers) how the arc escalates to a crescendo of things happening, I can say this will be a definitive masterpiece, and probably the real fan's anime of the year. Just like when Vinland Saga season 1 came out.

This anime/manga is a gem amongst the medium, because it's very rare that we get anime from this genre.

This is psychological & coming of age drama set in the Viking age. It's not an action anime.

It's also very relevant to the current generation of young men and women living in the world. Many themes will hit hard.

I strongly recommend watching this.

Season 1 offered us an exceptional experience, with incredible openings and endings, and high-quality dubbing that added even more depth to the characters. The animation of the fights was beautifully done, and the battles and wars were closely tied to a story of revenge, promising a perilous journey towards a utopian destination: Vinland. We hope to see this explored further in the following seasons. In summary, Season 1 presented us with a captivating and successful set of elements. However, Season 2 is a disappointment in many ways. The absence of fights, battles, and wars has taken away the very essence of the Viking world. Instead ofpursuing epic quests, the characters now seem to spend all their time crying over nothing and digging holes, waiting for wheat to grow (oh, miraculously after 10 episodes, we realize that indeed the wheat grows well in the ground), which doesn't align with the Viking spirit at all. The story stagnates for numerous episodes, which is frustrating for fans who were expecting a continuation that would match the first season's level.

It's hard to understand why Season 2 was conceived in this way, disregarding elements that had worked so well before. The absence of fights and alcohol, which are prominent aspects of the Viking universe, is a very regrettable idea. Many other animated series have also declined in quality by continuing beyond their initial strong point, and unfortunately, this one falls into that category.

As a result, Season 2 was a considerable waste of time and greatly disappointed me. Although I would like to give it a 0 for this letdown, the lowest rating being 1, I will give it a 1/10, no more. It's a shame to see a series with promising potential sink in this manner.

I don't get some positive reviews on this scam... If you want to get what this season is about quickly, take a minute to imagine what you would feel if a series like "Friends" from one season to another turned out into something similar to a horror/suspense movie instead of fun and entertainment. If you wouldn't like something like that to happen, then you get what this season is about. On the other hand, if you are a loser who enjoys that kind of nonsense changes of topics in a series, then you will love this. I like drama series, and I like action animes; I watchthem depending on my mood when I start it, and here, I wanted action, but I found drama.

I recommend you to watch "To Your Eternity" if you are into the topic; there, you will find real emotions (as in many other good animes), not this scam of the season.

If you liked season 1 of Vinland Saga, you better bring some caffeine to season 2 because you will be bored to sleep. If this was a standalone anime, it wouldn't be half bad. But to go from an amazing, action packed season 1 where you are constantly on the edge of your seat to a boring ass farming simulator is a travesty. 10 episodes in and I cant honestly tell you anything that has happened in that 10 episodes... You would probably find more enjoyment out of going to a farm near you and watching the farmer toil away in the fields. EDIT: Now that I havefinished the entire second season, I felt it necessary to update my review. While I still dont have it anywhere near the caliber that season 1 was at, season 2 made up for it by the end. The first ~14 episodes can be skimmed through, or watch it while you're preoccupied because I still hold firm that that first half was boring as all hell.

The second half of season 2 had just enough action, intrigue, and philosophy that it made up for the snooze-fest of the first half. With some beautiful action scenes, moral conundrums, and the worst possible way to prove his identity that has ever been devised; I was pleasantly surprised with the last 10 episodes.

I don't know who marked this thing as Action/Adventure, but he should really buy a dictionary. Action is non-existent, they spend 10 seasons farming. Adventure is non-existent, because they never leave the freakin' farm! Almost nothing happens. This is slice of life with drama elements, and 99% of what you see is moralizing. What's more, the moralizing doesn't even fit the historical setting. Plot armor is the only thing allowing the main character to nurture his new way of life. Boring, boring, thrice boring. In other news: - story was unpredictably stupid and unrealistic, not fitting at all - characters either lacked depth or had depth that doesn't fit them - art style didn'tmatter, just like horrible meal will not be better whether you serve it on golden platter, or on toilet paper

- the only people I can imagine enjoying this 2nd season are those so self-rightous that they fail to see realism (or rather blatant lack thereof)