Vinland Saga – Worth Watching?

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Vinland Saga airs every Sunday at 4:15 PM for 25 minutes.

Vinland Saga has been on my to read list for a long time. As a huge fan of Berserk, Vinland Saga is the natural place to go. I was surprised and delighted to see an anime adaptation coming this season, and plan to read the manga once it’s over.

The first episode of Vinland Saga was great. It eases you into the anime, introducing you to the new characters, as well as introducing the protagonist – it gets a lot done in the first episode. We see a flash forward of a rather dramatic fight scene before the intro, and then it flashes back to presumably the childhood of the man we just saw fighting. Here, we learn about his family, and about the situation of the villagers he lives with. We also see a few events, that help show the personality of his father, and his mother and sister.

Characters in Vinland Saga are well developed. The fathers personality is set out clearly early on – despite being a large and intimidating man, he is in fact caring underneath. The daughter is bold and outright, saying what is on their mind, and the mother is quiet – she doesn’t really play a large part in this episode of the anime. Our main character, Thorfinn, is your typical rash youngster. He is desperate to go on an adventure on the Viking boats, and loves hearing the various stories the elders tell.

Animation and art does take a little getting used to – something feels a little off about it when starting off, but you quickly get used to it, and start enjoying it. Art is done well – background scenes are given detail, and animation is crisp, sharp, and no strange bobbing takes place.

Vinland Saga is an excellent anime – for those who were disappointed by the Berserk 2016 season, it’s a brilliant substitute. For people liking action animes with deep storylines, and great character development, Vinland Saga is an excellent choice. It’s a very enjoyable watch, and each episode ends with a good cliffhanger.