(L) Vinland Saga

[Moonbase]

Searched and did not find a thread dedicated to this, much to my dismay.

In short, it's about Vikings during the height of the their power.

The long answer is that this manga has a suspenseful plot with many twists, characters that have unknown and often shocking motivations, beautiful art and historical accuracy for the most part. It's definitely aimed at a slightly older audience with it's use of brutal close combat fighting and the fact that it has a somewhat convoluted plot. The characters aren't see-through by any means and the main character is really the only one who seems predictable. Anyhow, give it a shot.

[*SNIP*]

[Irenicus]

Thanks for creating the thread!

This manga was recommended to me not long ago by a kind person here; since then, I've been a dedicated fan. And it's only getting better and better. Despite the constant action, it has this deliberate, confident pace that the best epic historical fictions have. I could see this one going as long as Berserk and keeping just as much momentum going. In many ways, the art are kind of similar anyway.

So, to start the discussion:

Spoiler for latest chapters:

What does everyone think about the Princess's transformation that's been going on lately? I thought it was really cool that they decided to introduce the Prince as a weak-hearted kid and let him transform in the story itself. I'm totally looking forward to how the King and his eldest son will look when Canute returns a mighty "monarch." I am only guessing at this point.

There's one thing very intriguing about the manga and especially his character though: the portrayal of that type of Medieval Christian attitude is incredibly convincing. It's not your usual Love, Peace, and Biblical Bullshit. It's not framed in some typical Church intrigue. It's relevant and serious, something that *I* could believe formed the cornerstones of their lives in those wretched times.

And how do you think the duel will end?

Oh, and I think I have to say that my favorite character has to be Askeladd. Such a complex man; his motivations, despite all the attention the manga paid to it, continues to be too complex to summarize. Is he looking for his own King Arthur still? Will he accept a Danish King? How much does he hate Danes exactly? Will he actually die by Thorfinn's hands these days or not (I suspect not, for some reason )? What a guy.

[MooMooFarm]

Chapter 40 pretty much showed us Askeladd might be stronger than Thorkell in combat. Though Thorkell's strength is probably only surpassed by Thors if at all, we now know that it is possible Askeladd was the only person ever to force Thors to use a sword once he achieved true warrior mode.

And I agree, Askeladd is a huge part, if not the heart of the series. He has taken many lovable qualities from different sterotypes and mixed them all in, and even his character background suggests this being a mix.

Askeladd is like, the Char Aznable of Vinland, only much more grittier and has qualities Char doesn't have (To be fair, Char can't really grow so =P)

The prince perhaps might have achieved the enlightenment Thors did, or perhaps partially. I predict the main players of this story at this point onward to be Prince/Thorfinn/Askeladd with the Friar/Bjorn being back up. Thorkell will either die, or might even join the Prince's legion or back off, who knows? But it seems that this series is like, a more realistic Berserk (drawing style is very similar! gore gore gore and medieval western!) that has much deeper characters, mainly Askeladd lol. T_T this months Berserk is good but so like....bridge building with no meat. For waiting 2 months, you'd think they'd at least do a 2 chapter deal or something (Ok to be fair Berserk has much more detail than Vinland, but the drawing style is pretty similar).

=D It'd be pretty awesome to see this as an anime, and perhaps can be a GOOD DUB IF YOU HAVE THE RIGHT VAs due to it's western nature. Of course, can't butcher it like Berserk anime, but if you can find the right people for it, this would be a good bridge between dubs and the anime community.

The only continuity broken here is how Leif didn't overhear Askeladd/Thors talking about how it was Floki who pretty much wanted Thors dead. If Leif told Sigvaldi, Floki wouldn't even be alive.

[Cadorna]

the realease are monthly??

[Nightengale]

Historically, Thorkell lived to see Canute's ascension to being the king.

Vinland Saga takes creative liberties with the story such as Askeladd/Thors/etc, but I highly doubt it's going to stray that far off from history.

[MooMooFarm]

Originally Posted by Nightengale

Historically, Thorkell lived to see Canute's ascension to being the king.

Vinland Saga takes creative liberties with the story such as Askeladd/Thors/etc, but I highly doubt it's going to stray that far off from history.

I knew this was realistic, but I really didn't realize they went all Three Kingdoms on this. Wow, =X history is always surprising me.

[Moonbase]

Originally Posted by MooMooFarm

Chapter 40 pretty much showed us Askeladd might be stronger than Thorkell in combat. Though Thorkell's strength is probably only surpassed by Thors if at all, we now know that it is possible Askeladd was the only person ever to force Thors to use a sword once he achieved true warrior mode.

I don't know about that. Askeladd certainly has the brains to beat Thorkell but I doubt he could overcome the brute. I think Thorfinn has only lasted this long because he is unnaturally fast, a type of fighter that Thorkell hasn't had to fight a lot (i.e. he got bored of the lack of war/challenge, so I can only guess that his delight in fighting Thorfinn is because the child is a new challenge). I saw Askeladd cleave a man in twain, but Thorkell's raw strength is unmatched. Paired with the fact that Askeladd himself said he's getting old, I think Thorkell would kill him in a duel.

I also agree with the people who like the prince. I'm still on the fence about how he'll turn out, but I think the character has a lot of promise to make the plot even more convoluted.

[Irenicus]

Originally Posted by Nightengale

Historically, Thorkell lived to see Canute's ascension to being the king.

Oh, sweet! I didn't know it was that well-based on history. I recognized the Danelaw massacre, the Danish "counter-attack," Canute, his dad Sweyn, Jomsviking legends, and Leif Ericsson. I didn't recognize that the other stuff have bases in history.

Now I wonder which Thorfinn this Thorfinn was supposed to be based on.

[Valerian Mengsk]

Yeah, it seems that reading this manga is tantamount to reading something like Gods and Generals (do you guys recognize that movie?) to find out about the Civil War. The historical events are there, the notable people who were there, do appear in the story, the author though can take liberties on everything they think and do in between the major events.

I hope Thorfinn is eventually convinced to give up on his sad crusade and move on. Plus we need to see what happened to Helga and Ylfa back in Iceland.

I like the new Canute, and hopefully he will teach Thorfinn some lessons about how stupid his quest of vengeance is.

As for the duel, I think Canute may step in and end it before we know the true verdict.
BTW, does anyone think that because Thorfinn is essentially the son of nobility that he will end up saddled with his own command, forcing him to grow in order to become a better leader and warrior?

[Moonbase]

Originally Posted by Valerian Mengsk

Yeah, it seems that reading this manga is tantamount to reading something like Gods and Generals (do you guys recognize that movie?) to find out about the Civil War. The historical events are there, the notable people who were there, do appear in the story, the author though can take liberties on everything they think and do in between the major events.

I hope Thorfinn is eventually convinced to give up on his sad crusade and move on. Plus we need to see what happened to Helga and Ylfa back in Iceland.

I like the new Canute, and hopefully he will teach Thorfinn some lessons about how stupid his quest of vengeance is.

As for the duel, I think Canute may step in and end it before we know the true verdict.
BTW, does anyone think that because Thorfinn is essentially the son of nobility that he will end up saddled with his own command, forcing him to grow in order to become a better leader and warrior?

While I agree everyone and everything around him is telling him that his current motivation is fruitless, I hope Thorfinn doesn't "grow up" by being forced into service. I can see your hypothesis coming to pass but that seems tired and dull in terms of plot, something Vinland Saga hasn't been (at least to me).

[Valerian Mengsk]

good point....

[MooMooFarm]

Originally Posted by Moonbase

I don't know about that. Askeladd certainly has the brains to beat Thorkell but I doubt he could overcome the brute. I think Thorfinn has only lasted this long because he is unnaturally fast, a type of fighter that Thorkell hasn't had to fight a lot (i.e. he got bored of the lack of war/challenge, so I can only guess that his delight in fighting Thorfinn is because the child is a new challenge). I saw Askeladd cleave a man in twain, but Thorkell's raw strength is unmatched. Paired with the fact that Askeladd himself said he's getting old, I think Thorkell would kill him in a duel.

I also agree with the people who like the prince. I'm still on the fence about how he'll turn out, but I think the character has a lot of promise to make the plot even more convoluted.

While I won't disagree, the blow he unleashed cleaving the guy in half was his true strength, he even said it himself. The reason he didn't fight with strength, but rather skill, was to not scare the masses into resorting to bows and ranged attacks, which he cannot possibly escape from in the open snow field. By looking like he was killable, his men would go for the kill instead of something as cowardly as bows until it was too late and Thorkell reached them. The guy might not be stronger, but he's smaller in stature, therefore harder to hit, and he's definitely smarter. Thorkell is more resilient, but there's nothing age doesn't affect. I'm very sure Thorkell was stronger back then than he is now too, but his strength is probably only surpassed by perhaps Thors. (GOD MODE WARRIOR) Perhaps not raw strength, but it seems that his technique is weak in comparison, and he's just barbarian stylin' it. But Thorkell's resilience in this chapter is amazing, all those battle scars these recent chapters, and the man can't even cry.

While I agree everyone and everything around him is telling him that his current motivation is fruitless, I hope Thorfinn doesn't "grow up" by being forced into service. I can see your hypothesis coming to pass but that seems tired and dull in terms of plot, something Vinland Saga hasn't been (at least to me).

=X You expect him to pull a Gatts and just train super hard living for his weapon? Doubt it. There's few ways to walk the road of "true warrior" most likely, and it's generally cliche.

Overall, I just hope for more epic battles. I'd like in-depth battles that involved more than just 1v1. Maybe handicap fights, or 2v2/2v3/3v3/etc. It's never really been pushed in a manga, and of course it's very hard to depict with a chapters worth of pages, but I found that many mangas have special qualities in describing a fight, yet very few take what others are good at and blend it in their own. =X I'm a fighting nut maybe, but wouldn't anyone want to see a manga that truly pushes the limit to technical detailed fights? (Think Air Gear + Ippo + Berserk + Early Naruto + Kenichi + Gundam 00/Other Gundam series + etc) Then again, it's probably not profitable ^____^ but if done right, can set a benchmark beyond all standards, like the new Matrix. Then you animate it!

Story wise, I'm not educated or have a knack for it to see how you can turn it up a notch. Manga are not like books, so you can't pull a Harry Potter and somehow achieve something that appeals to everyone while still keeping the core intact for your genre.

=X the only interesting guy left in the shadows is that "strong Briton commander" and Prince Edmund, who might just be the same damn person. Hopefully they show some more interesting characters! This series is one of my tops atm ^_____^ but it seems most series lose their luster after awhile (Berserk/Gantz/Naruto/Bleach) and the only one semi-decent is Detective Conan, which is kinda repetitive but tolerable (=X I bet there's less than 2 people on animesuki forums who guessed how the murderers pull it off on their first try).

I also think no one wants to see this series end in a Prince of Tennis way. Wow...a SONG? In a MANGA? And ending it at a high school level (which is apparently better than the world though kinda understandable) and not even fighting his Dad? T_T

Going off on a tangent!

T_T I feel sorry for Thorkell though. He's genuinely the nicest guy so far, and he's the one who has to suffer life changing injuries. Even his face looks so...friendly lol. Is there anyone who hates the guy? I mean, he isn't cool looking, nor is he good looking, but it's something about that long tall head of his (lol and they made it his weakness hahaha) and his facial features that makes him look like a nice guy along with his silly hair. It's like, the first time I saw him, I'm like . Hippie commander? I honestly couldn't imagine him being the beast he is before he fought.

Oh and lastly, is this thing a monthly or weekly. Cause it came out the last two weeks so far...I'm hoping weekly :< cause the drawing detail is godlike for a weekly manga, shelfs up with greats like Air Gear (on good days) and stuff.

[Westlo]

Just finished reading the first chapter, I've started a lot of manga in the last month (60+) and out of all of them that was probably the most impressive first chapter.

[Moonbase]

Originally Posted by Westlo

Just finished reading the first chapter, I've started a lot of manga in the last month (60+) and out of all of them that was probably the most impressive first chapter.

Seriously.

Spoiler:

Whaddaya mean there are BOATS coming down the MOUNTAIN?

[Claes]

Just finish this up to ch 40 (i somehow cannot access ch 41 link)
Great stuff
I also eager to see what Canute action on Thorkell and whether he accept Askeladd as his advisor

[fanty]

Thanks for creating this thread, Moonbase. I clicked it because I liked the title of the manga, even though most of my lurking time I ignore the manga subforum. Then clicked the link to onemanga, started reading and didn't stop till early in the morning >_>'''

That was yesterday. Today I cached up to the latest scanlated chapter and I must say that it's really great so far (really reminds me of the flashback arc of Berserk), though I'd like it more if it would stick to realism more...

[TrueKnight]

Askeladd is one of those anti-hero / strategist that you're yearning to see more. Thorkell is a jack-of-all-trade because he punched and sent a horse flying. Thorfinn is well.....Thorfinn, quick-tempered and stupid, but badass nevertheless. Can't wait to see Canute leading his army in a conquest for England, with Askeladd, Thorkell and Thorfinn under his command that is.

[Blaat]

w00t more Vinland saga chapters, I've been reading this manga since the beginning its getting better and better.

[Claes]

I need to bump this..
OK, its been past a month since ch 42 raw is out, and no translation made till now
/rant

[Jhono1]

Searched and found this thread buried and forsaken.

Has anyone got any news about Vinland Saga? I havent seen an update in months...