Vinland Saga may not be the most historically accurate retelling of the war between England and the Danes, with protagonists lifting up entire trees during their bloody sword fights, but it still has managed to find a big audience as one of the new anime of 2019. The story, which revolves around the young warrior Thorfinn looking to get revenge for the death of his father, isn’t afraid to share copious amounts of blood and gore in recreating these medieval battle scenes. With the anime heading toward its first season finale with a total of twenty four episodes, it seems as though the animated series will start diverting from the manga it was adapted from!
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Shuhei Yabuta, the director currently for Vinland Saga, shared the news via his Official Twitter Account that the anime would begin creating new stories outside of the manga material, which anime fans usually call “filler” when it comes to some of their most beloved franchises:
Thank you for watching ep19!
All guys are here now!
There will be some adjustments from the manga, in future episodes. Cause we thought it is necessary to enjoy this series as an independent content. I hope you enjoy our attemption!
Next…They meet the king.#VINLAND_SAGA https://t.co/p5ik8TYkzY
— やぶた (@yabshu55) November 25, 2019
The most recent episode saw Askeladd, Thorfinn, and the other Danes in their company being set upon by Thorkell, a fellow Danish warrior that joins the opposing side to fight in as many battles as possible. With Thorfinn continuing to attempt to gain a one on one fight against Askeladd, the man who killed his father, Thorkell is standing in his way, harkening in one of the best fights of the season to date.
What do you think of the Vinland Saga anime telling their own unique stories separate from the manga? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and Vinland Saga!
Originally created by Makoto Yukimura for Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine, before being moved to Afternoon, in 2005, Vinland Saga has been collected into 21 volumes and has more than five million copies in print as of 2018. The series features a dramatization of King Cnut the Great’s rise to power in English at the start of the 11th century. Kondansha USA Comics has licensed the series for an English language release, and describes Vinland Saga as such:
“Thorfinn is son to one of the Vikings’ greatest warriors, but when his father is killed in battle by the mercenary leader Askeladd, he swears to have his revenge. Thorfinn joins Askeladd’s band in order to challenge him to a duel, and ends up caught in the middle of a war for the crown of England. From the creator of the classic Planetes manga, comes this epic, highly-anticipated tale.”
