Otakuism

Historical manga are a hard genre of manga to find, good historical manga even more so. Amazingly, Vinland Saga is historical, awesomely badass, and one of the best manga I’m following right now. The story takes place in 1013 A.D. and follows a band of viking warriors led by the cunning and merciless Askeladd. The youngest member of Askeladd’s group is Thorfinn, a skilled knife fighter and unstoppable in battle. Unlike all his fellow warriors, though, Thorfinn isn’t in the group just for plunder. His one goal is to kill Askeladd, the man who killed his father, and he’ll do whatever he has to to get a chance to fight Askeladd. The current arc has the group fighting in the Danish invasion of England, guarding a very feminine Danish Prince while fighting through hostile countryside.

For any action fan Vinland Saga is a must read. The many brutal battle between the viking warriors are all great, bloody fun. There’s even a few epic battles thrown in between hundreds of warriors. All the characters are great. Thorfinn is nothing like your typical teenage protagonist. He’s brooding, angry, and bloodthirsty, and has good reason to be so. The story of his father’s death is one of the saddest moments in any manga I’ve read. Askeladd is a awesomely complex character, constantly full of secrets and on guard, but also a good leader to his men and a master tactition. The various vikings of his band are all fleshed out in their own way through little, often humorous, dailogues. The manga does not present a rosy picture of the vikings at all. These are greedy warriors who will kill and take whatever they want, and you can’t help but root for them.

Vinland Saga may feature a few out of this world characters and obvious plot departures, but at its root it’s a very historical manga. All the battles and events that take place are real events and it doesn’t shy away from presenting the harsh world view of the era. The various philosophical discussions thrown in - about the Christian conversion of the Norse, the prophesied end of the world, and the barbarian nature of the vikings - all add a realistic touch to the story. It’s nice to see a deeper meaning behind all the fighting. For anyone looking for a different kind of manga or another good seinen to read, I can’t recommend Vinland Saga enough. It’s characters, action, and plot are all perfect, and every chapter just leaves me wanting more.