The longing for adventure is rooted deep in our hearts. Most of us would like nothing more than to leave behind our dull lives and embark on an epic journey, crossing the vast oceans and traversing through undiscovered lands. It is our soul calling even if our path may be fraught with danger. Adventure flirts with danger as she is his mistress. There cannot be one without the other. The Vinland Saga anime makes a way for us to satiate this bone-deep craving.
Makoto Yukimura wrote and illustrated the manga. The manga is published by Kodansha and at first, targeted a young boy audience. Hence it was published in Weekly Shonen Magazine. Later the manga targeted an audience of young adult men and was published in Monthly Afternoon magazine. The are 26 volumes of the manga.
The manga has an anime adaptation that consists of 26 episodes. A second season will premiere on January 10th, 2023. The Vinland Saga is set in the 11 century in England which is invaded by Vikings. It follows the life of Thorfinn, who is a historical explorer and the son of an ex-warrior. Thorfinn’s father was murdered by a Viking, and Thorfinn sets out to seek revenge for his late father.
The first season of Vinland Saga is produced by Twin Engine, Kodansha, and Production I.G. while it is animated by Wit Studio, while the second season is done by MAPPA. The Vinland Saga manga has won several accolades and the anime has received many praises and is considered to be among the best anime of 2019.
Some of the awards Vinland Saga won include the Manga Taisho award, the Grand Prize at the Japanese Media Arts Festival, and also the Kodansha Manga Award. The anime won Anime of the Year at the 6th Anime Trending Awards and was nominated for Anime of the Year at the 2020 Crunchyroll Anime Awards.
The plot of Vinland Saga
A few years ago, Thorfinn’s father is killed by Askeladd but now Thorfin works under him though he hopes for an opportunity to kill him as revenge for the death of his father. Thorfinn’s uncle, Thorkell the Tall holds the son of the Danish king Sweyn as a captive but Askeladd captures Prince Canute planning to sell him to either Thorkell or King Sweyn for profit. But then Askeladd changes his plans and decides to use the capture to protect his homeland Wales from being invaded.
However, Askeladd soon realizes that King Sweyn wanted Prince Canute to die all along so that his elder son, Harald, would become king which would avoid a split between the Vikings. King Sweyn announces that he is going to invade Wales, so Askeladd kills him and he sacrifices himself with Prince Canute ending his life so that the Price can take over the throne of England without any hindrance.
A year has passed since Askeladd’s demise, and Thorfinn is working as a slave to a rich farmer named Ketil. Thorfinn makes friends with other slaves like Einar and with their help, he decides to leave his violent, troubled past and pursue a peaceful life. Canute, who is now the king of both England and Denmark, sets his aim on Ketil’s farm to seize it. During the fight that followed, Ketil’s men were easily defeated by King Canute’s army of Jomsvikings.
Thorfinn asks Prince Canute to spare the farmers, and their land and Canute agrees after seeing how much Thorfinn has changed. Thorfinn is set free from a life of enslavement and decides to go back to his home in Iceland with his father’s friend Leif. Thorfinn decides to live a life of peace in Vinland but they need money for this plan. Thorfinn puts together a crew consisting of Leif, Einar, and Leif’s adopted son.
They plan to travel to Greece and earn money for funds by selling Narwhal horns. Thorfinn’s crew becomes bigger as other people join it and as they are traveling, are captured by Jomsvikings and come under Thorkell. Thorfinn distracts the assassins while the captured crew escapes. But little did they know that they had spies among them The spies take them to Captain Vagn who is the leader of the group of Jomsvikings who want to take power away from Floki.
War ensues between Thorkell’s forces and Floki’s army. Thorkell defeats Floki and captures him and his grandson Baldr. Baldr is Thorfinn’s cousin. Now, Thorfinn is made the leader of the Jomsvikings and, with Thorkell’s help prevents the execution of Floki and Baldr. Thorfinn and his crew continue their journey to Greece.
Thorfinn and his crew return to Iceland after a couple of years. They have made enough money by selling Narwhal horns in Greece, and Thorfinn gets married to Gudrid who had romantic feelings for him. Thorfinn then begins to get together people so that they can colonize Vinland. He wants to create a safe and peaceful land where no weapons are required but there are challenges he faces to acquire his dreams.
Vinland Saga season 2 release date
The news is out that Vinland Saga season 2 is all set to release. The release date of Vinland Saga season 2 is on the 10th of January, 2023.
How To Watch Vinland Saga Season 2 Episodes
If you want to know how to watch Vinland Saga season 2 episodes here is a guide for you. In Japan, the show will premiere on Tokyo MX, BS11, and GBS. Netflix will be hosting the second season of Vinland Saga globally except in China and it will be available to stream on Crunchyroll in all regions except Asia. HiDive will also stream the show in certain territories. KT Olleh is a Korean streaming site that streamed the first season of Vinland Saga and we can assume that the second season may stream here as well.
The release timings may differ for international time zones. Here are the release timings for various time zones:
- Pacific Standard Time: 7.30 am (Monday, January 9, 2023)
- Central Standard Time: 9.30 am (Monday, January 9, 2023)
- Eastern Standard Time: 10.30 am (Monday, January 9, 2023)
- British Standard Time: 3.30 pm (Monday, January 9, 2023)
- Central European Time: 4.30 pm (Monday, January 9, 2023)
- Indian Standard Time: 9 pm (Monday, January 9, 2023)
- Philippine Standard Time: 11.30 pm (Monday, January 9, 2023)
- Australia Central Standard Time: 1 am (Tuesday, January 10, 2023)
Vinland Saga season 2 episode schedule
- Episode 1 – Tuesday, January 10th, 2023
- Episode 2 -Tuesday, January 17th, 2023
- Episode 3 -Tuesday, January 24, 2023
- Episode 4 -Tuesday, January 31st, 2023
- Episode 5 -Tuesday, February 7th, 2023
- Episode 6 -Tuesday, February 14th, 2023
- Episode 7 -Tuesday, February 21st, 2023
- Episode 8 -Tuesday, February 28th, 2023
- Episode 9 -Tuesday, March 7th, 2023
- Episode 10 -Tuesday, March 14th, 2023
- Episode 11 -Tuesday, March 21st, 2023
- Episode 12 -Tuesday, March 28th, 2023
Main Characters in Vinland Saga
Here’s some info on the main characters of the Vinland Saga.
Thorfinn – Thorfinn is the main protagonist of Vinland Saga. He has blonde hair and brown eyes and a short stature. His body is marred with scars. Early in his childhood, Thorfinn was an innocent and happy boy with love for adventure. He worshipped his father and was close to him. But after his father’s death, he became closed and had a cold-hearted personality. He refused to have fun with others and was mostly alone. He was dead set on seeking revenge for his late father.
Askeladd – Askeladd is an antagonist of the series. He was a Viking with Danish-Welsh origins. He has blonde hair and blue eyes. He is the Viking who murdered Thorfinn’s father. Askeladd had a cunning and calculative personality. He is also known to be extremely intelligent and had a certain charm to his nature. He is also a good strategist and knows how to accurately assess the worth of anyone he meets. He is looked up to by members of his crew and he does not get angry easily.
Canute – Canute is the King of England and Denmark. He has blue eyes and blonde hair. He has a rather beautiful face like that of a female and was often mistaken for a girl. Though after becoming king, he takes up a more manly appearance by cutting his hair and growing a beard. In his youth, Canute was a timid and weak boy. But later on, he becomes clever and calculating. He wants to take revenge on his father for wanting him dead. Canute develops a commanding personality which fits his title as king.
Thorkell – Thorkell is Thorfinn’s uncle. He is also called Thorkell the Tall. he has blonde hair and brown eyes. Staying true to his name, Thorkell has an extremely tall stature. He has well-developed muscles and his body is covered in scars. Thorkell loves to fight and is always full of laughter and smiles. He is someone who can’t go long without a fight or a war. He never targets or fights people who are weaker than him. His opponents are mainly people who match his strength and can defend themselves well. So he does not have a cruel streak in his personality.
