coldspaghetti

Vinland Saga. You have probably heard this name before if you are into historical manga. Said to sit next to up next to award winning and critic gushing Vagabond, Vinland Saga is nothing less than impressive. While still ongoing this manga is exceptionally crafted with fleshed out characters, stunning character development, thrilling action, and inspiring themes. One of Vinland saga's most stand out feature is it's exceptional protrayal of moral ambiguity, character flaws, and the shades of grey that define good and bad. There is no simple villain or hero. They are all humans, and humans do bad things sometimes. There were only nuances that could separate the “antagonist” and “protagonist”. That’s what made it brilliant. It was raw, it didn’t coddle the crimes that were done under Askeladd’s command or Thorfinn’s daggers. It was an accurate depiction of humans in desperate life situations and under persuasions of power, pleasure, and most of all revenge. Each character has their own motives, background, and influences that dictate their actions which make each character unique as well as interesting. Throughout the story we see Thorfinn interact with these characters all testing his stength, psyche, and his views on what he has done and what he will do. Thorfinn's character development throughout the chapters is extremely fleshed out and the pacing is quite honestly perfect. We see the drastic change of a man that was once a ball of revenge, hatred, and fury to a guilty pacifist trying to fix his wrongs starting with the people around him. With the amazing characters and their individuality as well as carefully crafted development the action in Vinland Saga holds great weight and can't be overlooked. The slaughter that happens in the manga is polished throughout the story, each bloodshed is done right and isn't in bad taste unlike very many gory action manga. The butchery has a purpose rather than being thrown around as eye candy. The fight scenes are elaborately drawn as well as exciting and easy to follow. They are also tests of Throfinn's skills and character so seeing him go up against crazy war obessed people (im talking to you Thorkell and Garm) or simply just refusing to fight them was so entertaining. The background pieces are well drawn with painstakingly attention to detail; each leaf, each wave, each expression, each strand of hair. and each tree were delicately drawn. This gives way for a immersion of vast foresty landscapes and boundless seas. Makoto Yukimura doesn't half ass it. He doesn't half ass anything in this manga. Plus Makoto’s art is beautiful. Beware the second arc is very long and has a switch of pace compared from the first one but it is important that you finsih and read it to see Thorfinn's metamorphisis as a person and how it connects to the next arc after that one. Thorfinn's evolution as a person is extermely satisfying to see and it is crafted exceptionally. The characters that are brought in, in each arc are diverse and unique and leave a lasting imprint on how Thorfinn directs himself within this world. Makoto made a marvelous historical sienen I extremely recomend.