Vinland Saga (TV series)

Vinland Saga (ヴィンランド・サガ) is a Japanese anime television series based on Makoto Yukimura's manga of the same name. The first season was produced by Wit Studio in 2019 and the second by MAPPA in 2023. It follows the life of a child named Thorfinn who becomes involved with Vikings following his father's death. The first season follows his exploits as a revenge-driven Viking, while in the second season, the story shifts to his life as a stoic slave who has lost the will to live.

Despite the two seasons being produced by different studios, director Shūhei Yabuta and writer Hiroshi Seko worked together on both. They aimed to bring more original content to the adaptation in order to further develop the characters, like Thorfinn's transformation into a Viking, the nightmares that haunt him, and Einar's life before becoming a slave. The series was streamed by Amazon Prime, and Netflix for a worldwide release.

The first season of the anime has received critical acclaim for its animation, direction, writing, cinematography, action sequences, voice acting, and themes; particularly the handling of the Vikings' violence. The second season received similar responses but for its themes of slavery, pacifism, and Thorfinn's psychological state.

Season 1 (2019)
Thorfinn is a young Iceland villager who aims to participate in wars like his retired father, Thors. He sneaks onto his father's ship while at the same time mercenaries are hired to kill Thors for abandoning the forces. They are attacked by Askeladd's forces and, to prevent the deaths of his son and his men, Thors surrenders and is killed. Enraged, Thorfinn starts training and working as a mercenary for the Vikings for several jobs during his growth as a teenager in order to get his proper revenge on Askeladd.

Season 2 (2023)
Einar is a farmer whose family is killed by Vikings. He is taken and bought as a slave in southern Denmark by a man named Ketil. Upon his arrival, Einar meets another slave, Thorfinn, who was exiled after the events of the first season. As time passes, Einar learns of Thorfinn's crimes but befriends him as they work together to earn their freedom. Thorfinn confronts his past, learns about the value of restraint and the cost of violence, shaping his decisions and interactions.

Season 1
Shūhei Yabuta had been working as 3D CGI animator with Wit Studio CEO Tetsuya Nakatake on several projects, including the anime series Attack on Titan and Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress. He was gradually given more responsibilities involving directing and scriptwriting from 2012. Yabuta was a fan of the Vinland Saga manga and his ideas for an anime series resonated with the producer, and he was given the opportunity to direct the series. He researched the Vikings but believed the biggest appeal of the series was in the handling of the characters. He found the artwork of the manga very detailed which was difficult to animate, and noted that designer Takahiko Abiru was put through some challenges to replicate it. Art director Yūsuke Takeda was requested by Yabuta to give both backgrounds and designs strong presences. The Viking ships were also challenging to model in 3D CGI animation.

From the first chapter, Seko was impressed by Makoto Yukimura's storytelling to the point of considering it one of his three favorite manga. Nevertheless, Seko mentioned the anime would have its own take on the story. For example, the anime begins chronologically while the manga uses flashbacks, so Throfinn's growth develops from different perspectives. Yabuta wanted to focus more on Thorfinn's upbringing in Iceland rather than using the Vikings to show his origins. With the need of animating several fight scenes, the team used 3D CG with the action and camerawork as a set. In retrospect, the fight scenes were difficult to animate as Yabuta grew tired of making multiple storyboards. When the anime finale aired in Japan, director Shuhei Yabuta wrote, "This big incident changed everything for Thorfinn, but his story will continue!".

Season 2
Yabuta and Seko had a strong impression of Einar when first reading the manga but did not understand where the character's strength originated. Upon discussing, they decided to change the way in which Einar becomes Thorfinn's friend. This required several hours to redevelop the story but they felt it would add appeal to the second season. Despite the changes, Yabuta insisted that Einar was the same character from the manga. Yabuta described Einar as soft spoken, kind and strong but even in the cruel setting of the series, he retains his kindness. Yabuta consulted with Yukimura about Einar's portrayal with a superhuman strength in befriending Thorfinn. The anime's second season added more content about Thorfinn's sins through nightmares alternating the violence of his past persona with the shocked reaction of his slave persona; this was praised by Yukimura for the understanding of Thorfinn's state of mind.

There was a need to properly animate Thorfinn's facial expressions as a slave. The setting was animated based on Yabuta's input. Producer Naokado Fujiyama said the main theme involves the handling of psychology, most notably in Thorfinn, Einar and Ketil. In contrast to Thorfinn and Einar who become friendlier and active across the story, Ketil displays a darker tone in the last episodes of the season due to the violent themes

Release
The series was announced in March 2018. Produced by Twin Engine, Production I.G, Wit Studio and Kodansha, the series is animated by Wit Studio and directed by Shūhei Yabuta, with Hiroshi Seko handling series composition, Takahiko Abiru designing the characters, and Yutaka Yamada composing the music. The series ran for 24 episodes on NHK General TV, premiering July 7, 2019, with the first three episodes. Due to the pending arrival of Typhoon Faxai on September 8, episode 10 was pre-empted by news broadcasts and instead premiered the following week. Due to the airing of the World Para Athletics Championships sports tournament, episode 18 was delayed to November 17. The first series concluded on December 29.

Amazon streamed the series worldwide on its Prime Video service. Sentai Filmworks released the series on home video on August 31, 2021, with both a new translation and English dub. A different English dub, produced by VSI Los Angeles, previously launched on Netflix in Japan. MVM Entertainment licensed the series in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It began streaming on Netflix globally on July 7, 2022, as well as Crunchyroll and HiDive in select territories on the same day.

On July 7, 2021, Twin Engine announced that a second season was in production. Shūhei Yabuta returned as director, and Takahiko Abiru returned as character designer. The second season is animated by MAPPA, and premiered on Tokyo MX, BS11, and GBS on January 10, 2023, running for 24 episodes. The second season was simulcast globally on both Netflix, and Crunchyroll, excluding China, South Korea and Japan.

Music
The soundtrack of the series was composed by Yutaka Yamada while the sound effects director was Shoji Hata. Inspired by the manga, Yamada wanted the music to represent the psychological states of Thorfinn and other characters. Yabuta and Hata often had discussions in regards to what kind of music they should use. In testing, Yamada provided Yabuta with a demo of 26 songs, made to represent and amplify the emotion a character was displaying. Yabuta was impressed with Yamada's works, giving for example the first season finale where the music elevates Thorfinn's mental breakdown at Askeladd's death. While Hata helped Yamada in the first season, for the second season he worked alone. Yamada's favorite theme was the piano theme in the first episode which he felt fit the story and visuals. This led to the next season having more piano tracks. The original soundtrack album contains 43 tracks and was released on February 19, 2020. The second original soundtrack album contains 20 tracks and was released on July 14, 2023.

The first opening theme is "Mukanjyo" by Survive Said the Prophet, while the first ending theme is "Torches" by Aimer. Yosh from Survive Said the Prophet said he the band found the theme comfortable to play thanks to their relationship with Yabuta while Aimer instead wanted to portray the emotions Thorfinn and Thors share in the early episodes in a attempt to "pass the torch". The second opening theme is "Dark Crow" by Man with a Mission, and the second ending theme is "Drown" by Milet. "Dark Crow" is intended to follow the Viking theme while Milet said that the overlapping music in "Drown" is meant to immerse listeners into Thorfinn's new conflicting world.

For the second season, the first opening theme is "River" by Anonymouz, while the first ending theme is "Without Love" by LMYK. Anonymouz wanted to portray through her songs the weakened Thorfinn and what new emotions the protagonist could obtain as a slave. LMYK expressed similar desires but in a more tragic nature as the song is meant to show the hopelessness and regrets the character suffered. The second opening theme is "Paradox" by Survive Said the Prophet, and the second ending theme is "Ember" by haju:harmonics. Yosh was inspired to write more stylish lyrics with far more hopes. haju:harmonics, meanwhile, wanted to portray courage and hope with her song.

Critical response
The anime Vinland Saga was received with critical acclaim with several websites like IGN, Kadokawa Game Linkage. and Anime News Network listing it as one of the best ones released upon their release. James Beckett from Anime News Network listed Askeladd as best character. "Mukanjyo" was also listed as one of the best songs of 2019 by Anime News Network for both the music and the lyrics, which focus on Thorfinn's revenge quest and its failure.

In regards to the first season, Rafael Motamayor of Polygon praised it, drawing comparisons it to Vikings. Motamayor commended the character development shown in its first three episodes and ultimately called it an epic story that shows "the horrors of being a Viking at the turn of the 11th century, while also serving as a coming-of-age tale set against the background of a bloody and thrilling war". Gerald Rathkolb of Otaku USA called Vinland Saga enjoyed the handling of the revenger's narrative and named it one of the best anime series of 2019. Rathkolb wrote: "[It] is one of those rare anime that could have appeal outside of the anime sphere due to its setting and focus on complex characters and the excellent political intrigue ever-present in the show." On a more negative side, writing for Decider, Brittany Vincent found Thorfinn's quest sad but considered that it still makes the series entertaining to watch, comparing the violent and fight sequences to other series like Berserk or Bastard!!. Nick Creamer from Anime News Network placed it among the year's best anime and praised the themes, action scenes and characters, calling it "a story suffused with a thematic ambition and sharpness of perspective that raises it high above its genre peers. ... [It] Succeeds effortlessly as a propulsive action vehicle, while also offering sharp commentary on human nature, remarkable characters, and a harsh yet beautifully realized world." Elizabeth Rayne of Den of Geek found the antagonistic Askeladd to be the actual hero of the story arc due to how he oversees both Thorfinn and Canute. Hajime Isayama, the creator of Attack on Titan, was surprised by Askeladd's death, most specifically by how Wit Studio animated it in the season finale. Kate O'Neil of The Fandom Post found the relationship between Thorkell and Thorfinn interesting but lamented how the latter is not changed by the fact that both know Thors or are related by blood.

The second season's premiere earned praise by several writers from Anime News Network for focusing on the violence in Einar's backstory, fitting in with the elements of violence from the first season. According to The Escapist, Einar adds to the thematic cycle of violence and revenge the series portrays, which was expanded by showing the downfall of his family and his resultant hatred for warriors. Setting aside his anger toward Thorfinn marks a departure of the theme in the series and in Thorfinn. Both Anime News Network and The Fandom Post praised the episode where Thorfinn realizes mistakes of his life as a Viking and makes an oath of pacifism. The Daily Star agreed and found that Thorfinn's mundane life as a slave brings intriguing stories about "redemption and self-discovery" even if it was imperfect. The climax was praised for the handling of Thorfinn and Canute. Polygon compared Thorfinn's interactions with Canute with anime characters Shigeo Kageyama and Naruto Uzumaki and their methods of non-violent conflict resolution; the website particularly felt Thorfinn's resolution in the declaration "I have no enemies" as the biggest highlight of the anime. As a result of Thorfinn's changes, James Beckett from Anime News Network listed him as the best character from 2023. In another article, Beckett listed the scene where Thorfinn confronts Canute's soldiers as the best from 2023 due to how he finally understood his father's lesson about being a warrior.