(L) Vinland Saga

[Claes]

RAW is at ch 44, translation still stuck on 41

[MooMooFarm]

I can't believe mercenary pierre has begun getting translated and this is still stuck

[Kanon]

Chapter 42 to 45 are finally translated !

Spoiler:

Holy crap, Canute has balls of steel now. His change was bound to happen someday but I didn't think it'd be so sudden. He's now going for the throne, and plans to assassinate his father. It seems he's starting to go a little crazy, too.

Sad to see Bjorn die in chapter 45. He was the character I liked the most in Askeladd's group. Thorfinn and Askeladd are going to fight again and Thorfinn will probably get his ass kicked as always.

[Irenicus]

Canute is scary.

But I suppose the less human you are, the greater you'll be as King in the end. If you're gonna rule over monsters...

P.S. It's finally back~! I'm so happy.

[CygnusX]

Woohoo for the release of chapter 42 till 45!

I discovered Vinland Saga not a week ago so was disappointed the releases had been put on hold, but now I'm so glad somebody picked this manga up for translation.

I've seen Vinland Saga compared to Berserk a lot before and even though Berserk will stay the king of action manga's for me, I really like Vinland Saga because, unlike Berserk, it stays realistically, without monsters or ridiculous transformations. I've been searching for a nice action manga like this because many other ones all start well but digress into unreal situations or even do it from the beginning (Berserk, Hellsing, Naruto, Claymore, Bleach, Full Metal Alchemist, Gantz, DBZ ...). The only other ones I know that don't follow this pattern are Vagabond (which is at least as nice as vinland Saga imho) and Black Lagoon, for people who are looking for other not too unrealistic manga's.

About the recent chapters:

Spoiler:

It seems that Canute is the King Arthur figure that Askeladd what searching for. Askeladd has been awesome in the last phew chapters. He has done so many great things already, which makes him the most important character for this story:

- Insulting and then killing almost the complete group of mercenaries whom he fought with for a good portion of his life
- Laughing like a maniac and offering the prince to kill him, though I'm sure he knew what the outcome would be, since the prince loves everything
- He has been responsible for the change of Canute from a whimp to an almost Griffith (from Berserk) -like figure
- Killing Thors
- ...

What seems really important to me is the look of both Thors and Canute's eyes, which are the same according to Thorkell, meaning they both have achieved the "true warrior"-status, even if Canute has never killed a person. The different ways Thors and canute have achieved enlightenment is really interesting for me.

Loved the various looks of Floki's face and his reaction when he saw Thorkell and Askeladd siding with Canute and the change that had overcome him

Canute is growing nicely, especially in chapter 43, when he was talking about God. My respect for his is growing as well And thorfinn stays besides him looking like he doesn't give a fuck about what Canute's talking about

It's kinda obvious how the story will progress now, still I'm really curious what plot twists will happen in the future, especially the Askeladd - Thorfinn relation.

Also what I really would like to see is some development for the real main character Thorfinn. It would be nice to see him learn some stuff and after a phew years see him grow into a more manly figure like his father.

[MooMooFarm]

Red Eyes is realistic in a sci-fi way =] unless you think Mills godlike ability that rivals Kira Yamato is unreal lol.

>.> Askeladd is like the current manga generation's greatest side character in action manga. He did the taboo and took the spotlight from Thorfinn!

=] Black Lagoon should have done the same and gave Balalaika vs Chang more panels instead of one two pager. I hope the scene animated will be as awesome as when Chang/Revy took out the terrorists, cause it was one of the only nicely done fights in the series while the rest could be categorized as standard. It'd be nice if someone can pull a Advent Children-like quality overall for all the fights in a series, it'd be sick. Doesn't have to get all fancy every single time, since the series might be more realistic, but it has to maintain the intensity. After the first two episodes or so, there's nothing much to Black Lagoon and gunshots are just anime gunshots. Guess that's where manga has it easy, the imagination fills in.

Still, AC-like choreograph on Vagabond done over a anime would be like, hehe ^___________^ I bet you'd all love it.

[Irenicus]

I finally got through 43-45 today.

I repeat: Canute is scary. Although the way he denounces God ought to be described as nothing less than fucking epic. Take that, God! It's humanism five centuries early and you can't do anything about it!

Originally Posted by MooMooFarm

>.> Askeladd is like the current manga generation's greatest side character in action manga. He did the taboo and took the spotlight from Thorfinn!

Hahaha. He's smart, he's strong, he's brave, he's ruthless, and he's a very complex and intriguing individual. Of course the spotlight is his to take!

Thorfinn can get his time later, when the old man eventually dies -- and he will, there's no doubt about it, although it might be like 100 chapters later -- and/or the Canute plot resolves. I mean, it's Vinland Saga, so I'm sure our young plucky hero will sail westward to Vinland at some point.

[CygnusX]

Originally Posted by Irenicus

...
I repeat: Canute is scary. Although the way he denounces God ought to be described as nothing less than fucking epic. Take that, God! It's humanism five centuries early and you can't do anything about it!

...

Thorfinn can get his time later, when the old man eventually dies -- and he will, there's no doubt about it, although it might be like 100 chapters later -- and/or the Canute plot resolves. I mean, it's Vinland Saga, so I'm sure our young plucky hero will sail westward to Vinland at some point.

Didn't think of that much yet since the discovery of America hasn't really been the main focus of the story so far Thorfinn VS the indians hell yeah!
Or after Canutes rises to the throne and after Thorfinn's adventures in France, maybe he will be forced to flee later (when he meets a girl or someone to protect, like his father) and will try to get to the green lands in the west and befriend the indians. Then the Vikings will follow and Thorfinn + the indians will fight the vikings!
I got the story figured out woohoo!

[Irenicus]

Originally Posted by CygnusX

Or after Canutes rises to the throne and after Thorfinn's adventures in France, maybe he will be forced to flee later (when he meets a girl or someone to protect, like his father) and will try to get to the green lands in the west and befriend the indians. Then the Vikings will follow and Thorfinn + the indians will fight the vikings!
I got the story figured out woohoo!

lol.

Although I'd hedge bets on Thorfinn beating up the natives alongside his band of merry burly men rather than the other way around.

I'm really not sure how they'd conclude his tale though; the Vindland adventure is a given (otherwise, why the name?), but the historical fate of the Viking expedition isn't the most encouraging way to end a story. It's like, he raped England, he crushed other Vikings, he raided France, he fought all the way to Constantinople and Baghdad maybe, and then he died fighting natives in the New World...

[MooMooFarm]

Originally Posted by Irenicus

I finally got through 43-45 today.

I repeat: Canute is scary. Although the way he denounces God ought to be described as nothing less than fucking epic. Take that, God! It's humanism five centuries early and you can't do anything about it!


Hahaha. He's smart, he's strong, he's brave, he's ruthless, and he's a very complex and intriguing individual. Of course the spotlight is his to take!

Thorfinn can get his time later, when the old man eventually dies -- and he will, there's no doubt about it, although it might be like 100 chapters later -- and/or the Canute plot resolves. I mean, it's Vinland Saga, so I'm sure our young plucky hero will sail westward to Vinland at some point.

This might be an overstatement, but out of all the more extreme action mangas, I really can't name a character that you can just take and plug into other action mangas and be like "you'll work it out, you'll fit right in" other than Askeladd. His weaknesses are essentially all there to give his character more depth and excuses himself from being hated. An example is his feat of beating Thorrs. He didn't do it fair, but he still forced Thorrs to use a sword, something Thorkell could not. He's like an evolved Vegeta over the generations of media, and we all know 50-80% of kids back then including some of us always went "Yeah, Vegeta is totally cooler than Goku" even though Vegeta was the biggest stepping stone in the series. Askeladd makes being a stepping stone COOL. That is an accomplishment. And heck, he might not even get stepped on. he just might be some damn dirty boulder that while people COULD climb, no one ever DOES. Kay not sure if anyone got that >.> lol

I'm really not sure how they'd conclude his tale though; the Vindland adventure is a given (otherwise, why the name?), but the historical fate of the Viking expedition isn't the most encouraging way to end a story. It's like, he raped England, he crushed other Vikings, he raided France, he fought all the way to Constantinople and Baghdad maybe, and then he died fighting natives in the New World...

Actually, such things can always be like oh he died of old age or something, or maybe you won't even see him dying before the story ends. I mean, is Thorfinn even acknowledged as a real person in history? Cause I can't see Thorrs as a real person in history. Not talking about his fighting ability, I mean that he chose to take his wife somewhere else. Sure, it can happen, but in real life, how many times does a guy who holds such power abandon it for some concept he had in his head? Not saying he's an idiot, just saying it's amazing if history had someone in such a position (unlike say, the Pope or Dali-Lama or any position where going OHHH I GOT IT would kinda be acceptable) that they'd just take off. =]

[Irenicus]

Originally Posted by MooMooFarm

<snip: first paragraph>

I think I get it. His role as both mentor and mortal enemy to Thorfinn makes him "Vegeta," but it's far from a guarantee that such characters would fall in the end of their own faults or from the Hero's blade.

They might just die a glorious battle death for example. While I don't think Askeladd particularly appreciates Valhalla -- he'd rather be going down the road to Avalon -- truth is, he's leading Vikings. In such a case a Viking's death is as good as any.

There are a lot of uber characters in manga and anime, though; what makes Askeladd unique is that he's also a complex and well-rounded character while at it. We know parts of him, so we're not being deliberately kept in the dark. But what do those fragments mean? Does he hate all Danes? Does he hate himself? What are his motivations? And if he's such a disillusioned old bastard, why is he even keeping Thorfinn alive? Why was he so nice to the traitor, and so honest to the prince? Is he really honest in the first place? What drove him to seek out a King Arthur of his own?

Questions abound. Interesting questions with interesting possible answers: a mark of a good character.

Actually, such things can always be like oh he died of old age or something, or maybe you won't even see him dying before the story ends. I mean, is Thorfinn even acknowledged as a real person in history? Cause I can't see Thorrs as a real person in history. Not talking about his fighting ability, I mean that he chose to take his wife somewhere else. Sure, it can happen, but in real life, how many times does a guy who holds such power abandon it for some concept he had in his head? Not saying he's an idiot, just saying it's amazing if history had someone in such a position (unlike say, the Pope or Dali-Lama or any position where going OHHH I GOT IT would kinda be acceptable) that they'd just take off. =]

Well, you'd be surprised in that many individuals in history abandon power for various reasons, including disillusionment.

I've never encountered a historical "Thors" in what little reading I've done of the period, so he's probably a creation of the author, nor is there an "Askeladd." There's a "Thorfinn," but the timeline is iffy. A "Thorkell" certainly exists though in the role he's just started playing in the story. And of course, Canute the Great is gloriously real much to the dismay of Anglo-Saxons everywhere. Interestingly enough, it took me quite some time before I eventually made the connection between the pretty little prince in the manga and the mighty historical figure. Coincidentally enough, right about the time when he leveled up big time and became enlightened in the ways of the world.

[Avisch]

I realized how much I must love this manga when I yelled "YESS!" as I saw that chapters 42-45 had been translated.

I really like how the story flows. I mean we are kind of led to believe that Thorfinn's goal is the main story. But in reality it only just as important as with Canute now leading the armies and all.

[Ultenth]

New chapter just came out, kind of an interesting one, I wonder if we'll start to see some real growth from Thorfinn soon now. But now of course we have to wait another month for it.

[signorRossi]

Resurrecting this thread just to make notice those who might have forget about Vinland Saga, but it is really getting interesting....

[gencbiba]

Are you serious? Crazy manga... One of the best. 53 is such a cliffhanger!!!

[Irenicus]

Holy. Fuck.

Madness? This. Is...

*collapses*

[Ultenth]

Indeed, too bad it doesn't seem like too much discussion here, very intense manga here, can't wait to see more development from Thorfinn at this point. Wish the manga was a weekly one, lol!

[OMG_Zerg_Rush]

Loved how at the end of the chapter it says "the prologue has reached its climax" that was one bloody long prologue.

[gencbiba]

Originally Posted by OMG_Zerg_Rush

Loved how at the end of the chapter it says "the prologue has reached its climax" that was one bloody long prologue.

Hell yea... I have a feeling the basic plot starts now. It's gonna be intense and we're going to get a lot more character development from Thorfinn.

Maybe he'll try to kill the king and then escape back home... That would be good; to see him reunite with his family.


If this was a weekly release manga though, it would probably be much much more popular. Of course I'd be happy as hell.

[signorRossi]

Originally Posted by gencbiba

Are you serious? Crazy manga... One of the best. 53 is such a cliffhanger!!!

Hey, I have read the last chapter 4 times now (yes, it is that good and I love shows where you can't predict what will happen next everytime), can't wait for the next one.