Vinland Saga is the most beautiful and epic journey of 2019.
Vinland Saga is a Japanese history manga that was drawn and written by Makoto Yukimura, who is also the creator of Planetes. Vinland Saga received an anime adaptation in 2019, the final 24th episode aired on December, 29th.
Thorfinn is the son of one of the Viking's greatest warriors, Thors. However, his father is killed by the mercenary leader Askeladd, who is not as powerful as Thorfinn's father, but cruel and smart. Thorfinn joins Askeladd's mercenaries to sharpen his warrior skills and to challenge Askeladd to a man-to-man duel. While trying to retaliate for a wrongdone to his father, Thorfinn becomes involved in Askeladd's plot to influence the coronation of the next King of England.
It is an open secret that this anime is one of the season's most anticipated new series that everyone has been waiting for so long. Manga readers might have been more prepared for this than anime watchers. Anyways, maybe it might be true for you that you just like me thought that Japan would never manage to depict the Vikings; the cultures and the people are just so different. Yet, to my big surprise, and, I must say, it was one hell of a surprise, since I am not the manga reader, to discover this absolute diamond, called Vinland Saga. I, as a person that spent more than 10 years in Iceland, and as a person, who has been trying to dive into the history of the Vikings for 15 years now, must tell you that the creator of this series did his job perfectly well. Also, the Vikings and the samurai do have one big similarity, maybe you will find even more than one, but one is just obvious. If not Vinland Saga, I would have never given that a thought. With that being said, there is nothing for me to criticize story-wise.
Art-wise, it is worth saying that Vinland is a story of beautiful far lands; it is also a story of survival, a story of revenge, where animation is important to help create the atmosphere for the viewer. And I must say that the only thing for me to criticize here is that sometimes during the fights CGi looked just horribly bad. Good thing it happened quite never, so nothing to worry about. Animation-wise, Vinland Saga did manage to show the beauty of Iceland and England, it managed to show how people looked like back then, how they behaved. I bet that the creator of Vinland spent a great deal of time doing his research; it is amazing how he paid attention to every small needed detail. Bravo.
Sound wise, it is amazing. Not only the OST, but also the amazing voice acting also made a great contribution to the epicness of the series. However, the only problem I had with it is that I would love to see more music pieces for the OST of the series, but this is not something I can really complain of. So, all in all, pretty enjoyable sound-wise.
Character-wise, nothing to comment on. It is flawless. Rare do I see supporting characters that are actually interesting to follow. The reason for that is the fact that all characters are very different: for example Throfinn, who only relies on power and thinks that those who are powerful enough, can do whatever they want to, they can live for themselves. He always rushes into fights, without having any strategic thinking. Askeladd, however, is somewhat similar to Throfinn, yet he is more a thinking type, but also a good warrior. Also, another person worth mentioning is the Danish prince, who undergoes some real character development.
All in all, enjoyment-wise, this is the real gem you should see. I cannot think of even a single reason for any person to avoid this masterpiece. Indeed, not all will see it as a gem, but even so, it will be something you will enjoy a lot. Do give it a shot, it might be somewhat slow, but then the epicenes just keeps going. Vinland Saga is the most beautiful and epic journey of 2019.