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VINLAND SAGA S2 - DEFINITELY! ONE OF THE BEST ANIME OF ALL TIME (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!)
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 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.
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