 * Your list is public by default. Alternative TitlesJapanese: ヴィンランド・サガMore titlesInformation Volumes: Unknown Chapters: Unknown Status: Publishing Published: Apr 13, 2005 to ? Demographic: Seinen Seinen StatisticsScore: 9.091 (scored by 144853144,853 users) Ranked: #622 based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.Popularity: #17 Members: 337,295 Favorites: 36,356Available AtResources |
Details Characters Stats Reviews Recommendations Interest Stacks News Forum Clubs Pictures More Info Ranked #6Popularity #17Members 337,295SynopsisThorfinn, son of one of the Vikings' greatest warriors, is among the finest fighters in the merry band of mercenaries run by the cunning Askeladd, an impressive feat for a person his age. However, Thorfinn is not part of the group for the plunder it entails—instead, for having caused his family great tragedy, the boy has vowed to kill Askeladd in a fair duel. Not yet skilled enough to defeat him, but unable to abandon his vengeance, Thorfinn spends his boyhood with the mercenary crew, honing his skills on the battlefield among the war-loving Danes, where killing is just another pleasure of life.One day, when Askeladd receives word that Danish prince Canute has been taken hostage, he hatches an ambitious plot—one that will decide the next King of England and drastically alter the lives of Thorfinn, Canute, and himself. Set in 11th-century Europe, Vinland Saga tells a bloody epic in an era where violence, madness, and injustice are inescapable, providing a paradise for the battle-crazed and utter hell for the rest who live in it.[Written by MAL Rewrite]Background_Vinland Saga_ won the Grand Prize in the Manga Division at 13th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2009. It also won the 36th Kodansha Manga Award in the General category in 2012, which mangaka Makoto Yukimura accepted in full viking gear.The series has been published in English by Kodansha Comics USA in 2-in-1 hardcover omnibuses since October 14, 2013. The release includes Makoto Yukimura's Sayonara ga Chikai no de (For Our Farewell Is Near) spread across the first five volumes. It is also published in French by Kurokawa since January 15, 2009; in Brazilian Portuguese by Panini Comics since February 2014; in Spanish by Planeta Cómic since October 21, 2014; and in Polish by Hanami since January 2017.An animated crossover between Vinland Saga and Ponkotsu Quest titled Ponkotsuland Saga was released on October 24, 2015.   Related Entries   MALxJapan -More than just anime- Characters Reviews  Jun 21, 2025 RecommendedPreliminary (219/? eps) (Now Vinland Saga is just about to end I thought making a review of the series I've been reading over the years. There would be spoilers in this review)Vinland saga is more than just a historical manga, it started as a brutal revenge tale about Thorfinn, a boy who loses his father to the mercenary Askeladd, slowly transforms into something much richer and profound.The story includes 4 major arcs: Prologue (War Arc)-It mostly revolves around Askeladd for the most part, he might be considered secondary MC here, where Thorfinn mainly feels as an edgy side character. The theme of false purpose is dominant here with... Thorfinn’s gole of revenge. This arc is heavily carried by Askeladd, his actions are driven by a secret, tragic purpose: to protect his mother’s homeland, Wales, from the ever expanding Norse threat.This duality mercenary for survival, but secretly a patriot makes him deeply human. His speeches about humanity’s stupidity, his calculated murders, and his cold manipulation of Thorfinn all hide the fact that he is fighting for a cause far bigger than himself. His relationship with main character is the emotional and thematic core of the Arc and leaves lasting scars that drive Thorfinn’s later transformation. Some people even say he acted as father figure for Thorfinn in some ways, which is not a wrong way to say considering Askeladd gave him food, shelter, direction, even if that direction was poisoned by revenge. In a way, Thorfinn depended on Askeladd to stay alive, and subconsciously, even to have a reason to keep going.Slave Arc-Perhaps the most powerful part of Vinland Saga, the Slave (Farm) Arc, deals head-on with the themes of atonement, redemption, and true strength. The change in tone of the story can filter out a lot of fans that started this because of action or revenge driven Viking story, it might feel like reading a new manga. The violence stops. Battles are replaced with quiet farming, labor, and small conversations. There are no grand wars or kings just broken people trying to survive. Thorfinn reflects on his sins and guilt. Einar and Thorfinn discuss life, freedom, and dreams. The questions change from "How do I kill?" to "What does it mean to live without hurting others?"Canute returns here transformed from the weak boy into a cold, calculating ruler who justifies tyranny to build a "utopia" by force. His arc is a dark reflection of Thorfinn. Canute believes that peace can only come through control and power, while Thorfinn believes in peace without violenceIt's here Thorfinn’s turn to complete pacifism, which can be uncomfortable for some readers. His decision to reject all forms of violence, feels extremely idealistic, even unrealistic in the brutal Viking world. And at times, this pure pacifism can indeed seem annoying or impractical. And yet... this extreme pacifism is exactly what shows how far Thorfinn has come.The Clash Between Idealism and Reality is shown many times in the manga. Yukimura does not pretend this is an easy path. Thorfinn's ideals are challenged constantly (especially in the Baltic Sea War Arc), Laughed at by warriors and kings alike, Proven dangerous when dealing with ruthless or pragmatic enemies.But this tension is what makes Thorfinn's story meaningful and inspiring. He knows this path may cost him everything, including his life, but he takes it anyway. Baltic Sea War Arc-This arc puts Thorfinn’s new ideals to the test. When he and Einar try to gather resources for their dream of Vinland, they get embroiled in politics and war between warring Viking leaders. it's about whether a man can truly break free from the cycle of violence. A lot of amazing characters also shown throughout this arc(Hild, Gudrid and Sigurd). Yukimura did amazing job in handling all of the side cast, specifically Hild, which is hands down one of the best redemptions arc I've seen in fiction.Final arc (Vinland arc)-This is the arc where Thorfinn’s dream finally becomes real, reaching Vinland (the Americas). But even here, peace is not simple. Conflicts arise with the native inhabitants, misunderstandings build, and it becomes clear that building a true utopia requires patience, empathy, and constant effort. This final phase of the story reinforces that redemption is a journey, not a destination. It’s not enough to simply reject violence, you must actively create understanding between cultures, risking failure, betrayal, and your own fears. It feels like a satisfying conclusion to the themes of growth and purpose that began so long ago.There is only a single chapter left now, and we’ll see how Yukimura brings closure to this 20-year journey, but from what I can tell, it seems very clear how it will end. Peace Reviewer’s Rating: 9 What did you think of this review? Nice 0 Love it 0 Funny 0 Confusing 0 Informative 0 Well-written 0 Creative 0Show all  Jun 17, 2023 Mixed FeelingsFunnyPreliminary (202/? eps) To people wanting to get into it would recommend but only the first part after the farmland arc there is a big dip in the story imo. Here are the reasonArt gets worse imo the dark and griddy vibe is gone entirely gone mc gets such a wierd face especially compared to other characters it's like a jojo character replaced him Immature topics sometimes characters used to be so multidimensional but it's like they are given one trait and that's the only thing that matters. Mc becomes increasingly naive it's so frustrating to me i can understand avoiding violence you can make a brilliant story... about that like ruroni kenshin (admittedly haven't finished it yet but it had a much more mature way of than violence is bad for being bad) and the male female division is so poorly done sadly even the women at that time were supporting when men used to go to war as it was a very important part of life to manhood and it was a quick and easy way to fame and fortune like today's YouTube. All in all mc becomes worse with time imo hild lowkey becomes the best character imo she is the best character in story rn. FL is trash is gudrid a character I knew I would hate from the start I touched on this earlier but the men women division is so stupid it's like every men is a war loving moron who does everything in the name of family instead of realising he's doing it for himself which is wrong as most families HAD to fight to survive.And the inequality factor of not having women hunter or sailors is simple they woulf not provide enough value. I think people forget that it is set in 1000' so the problem about stuff like period is way bigger than people realise since it makes you way more vulnerable to infection and that was one of the biggest causes of death back in that time. Second women are not as strong as men you can get more work done at a faster pace by replacing one women with men. THIRD pregnancy of a women is on board with several men a entanglement is bound to occur which can cause pregnancy and a child is one of the biggest problem on board and it's handles it so stupidly like men don't allow women cause man bad and women morally good.🤦♂️It's forgot the virus plot line but it's still a bit new so I think it will take time to grow so I will allow that.All in all imo the first part is a 9-10/10 but the later part after farmland is like a 6 so disappointed with where it went and how it's going wish something big happen push the mc in a mature direction to make him understand not all violence is bad cause according to that logic even police are bad. Reviewer’s Rating: 7 What did you think of this review? Nice0 Love it0 Funny0 Confusing0 Informative0 Well-written0 Creative0Show all  Jun 18, 2025 Not RecommendedPreliminary (199/? eps) There are several lies echoed on social media about this series which I'm going to debunk in a few points more succinctly and why you shouldn't care about it, but go read real history instead:"This series is historically accurate"I'm not going to get very deep about this but you can make your research through some of these points I will make. For one, the Jomsvikings didn't care about Norse culture and instead they helped king Harald brutally christianize Scandinavia, for bribery and for making the population more docile with christian morals. Another one are duels. Duels weren't suppose to be always violent, but Norsemen were... required to use wit: for instance, it could be a poetry battle, and in the case it was a violent duel, you were not allowed to kill your opponent, the first one to bleed loses. The Norse, contrary to being the war-loving freaks with no culture that the story tries to depict, tried to stop the Viking Age (started by christian kings who mass murdered Pagan Saxons) and settle farmlands by attempting to make peace with the christians (a point which the series ironically shows at the very beginning and then abandons because it must be "muh violence bad").Those things and other debunk the entire narrative of this story as you will see further.***"Ideals like pacifism are 'good', every other anime with battles is violent and bad"The author's point is how you can reach "peace", as he lied about history to distort some points and make his own ideology work, which can be summarized to one point - The ideal man one has to become is a modern Japanese man:pacifist, timid, emasculated, domesticated, completely dependent on civilization to survive. If one reaches this level and becomes completely unwilling to use a "sword" (violence) and relinquishes on the power of tongue instead (politics) then we would have an ideal pacifist society, which is a self-debunking assertion looking a the self-destructive Japanese society, and the types of weak morons who wouldn't lift a sword but created the bloodiest wars in history:"Hard times create strong men (Thorfinn).Strong men create easy times (pacifist civilization were one doesn't use a sword).Easy times create weak men (Canute, being raised like a prince, or a "civilized" man who hates violence like the MC).Weak men create hard times (even more wars)."***"It has awesome character development"I won't even get started on this travesty of an affirmation which is an insult against all character development.The main character goes from a mass murderer to Gandhi after his traumatic experiences being a war criminal then a slave, which ironically proves the inverse point that the author intended: a man can only become decent through experiencing violence, and forced labor is a good thing that can correct a person's behavior. (Japanese overwork ethics? WTF Japan!?)Another one is Prince Canute who does a 180º turn on the other direction - from a pacifist cuck to a "chad", he becomes so chad that he gains the ability to mind control a drug-frenzied Berserker and make them docile. I wish that was a joke. (This was the one point I should have dropped the series, actually).There is a character who after doing hallucinogens, they can literally predict the future, such as the invention of firearms and nuclear weapons - that is, right after the manga debunks religious dogmas like heaven and end times prophecy. (Pretty sure this was the boiling point that made me drop the series). Reviewer’s Rating: 1 What did you think of this review? 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