Vinland Saga – 8 [Beyond the Edge of the Sea]

I hope everyone had a better weekend than Thorfinn, because Vinland Saga was not kind to him. This week he gets his duel with Askeladd, a peek into Askeladd’s worldview and finally Thorkell makes his anime debut. Let’s dive in!

Starting off, let’s take a look at the major themes of Vinland Saga this week. Thors’ philosophy of nonviolence has permeated the series since he was first introduced. It is something Vinland will be revisiting time and again. This week though we see it contrasted with what Thorfinn has become and how conflicted he is because of it. Wishing to live up to his father’s ideals, but also his own desires. This of course ties in to another theme of the episode from Askeladd, IE Freedom. The idea that no man is truly free, that everyone is a slave to something. We will focus on this the specifics of this later. For now though, it’s important to note that Thorfinn is currently caught between two competing ideals, those mentioned prior. And this idea of peace and violence for personal satisfaction is something every character will explore in a different way.

Take for instance Askeladd. He mentioned during this episode of Vinland Saga that every man is a slave to something. Garm to money, Thorfinn to pride/revenge, etc etc. Of course that begs the question, what is Askeladd a slave to? Up to now he doesn’t seem particularly attached to money, giving it to Garm freely. He haggle sure, but he never seems a miser. Unlike many of the vikings we see Askeladd also doesn’t seem to fight for fightings sake. This is something we will see in our newest character Thorkell next episode. Unlike Thorfinn he also doesn’t seem particularly prideful, often using deceit and underhanded tactics to win the day. Of course I don’t want to spoil it, but like everyone else, Askeladd is indeed a slave to something. A set of ideals or desires, though they won’t get explored for awhile yet.

Before we leave Askeladd, I want to take the chance to talk about his duel with Thorfinn. I really liked this duel because it once again reinforced important aspects of both their characters. Such as Askeladd’s aforementioned cleverness or, more importantly, Thorfinn’s emotional issues. For all that our boy has become a talented Warrior he is still lacking. And there is no doubt, Thorfinn is skilled. Making good use of his height and range, jumping away to diffuse blows and going for Askeladd’s fingers. But living a life fueled by revenge and war does not leave one much room to emotionally develop. Of course his father is still a sore spot, especially from Askeladd of all people. As Thorfinn has been drowning out his rage and grief in combat for a decade. So in case you couldn’t guess, I really liked everything about how that fight went.

Moving on, this week also set the stage for the English Campaign, introducing a few new characters along with it. This campaign begins a bit of a timeskip for us as we jump right through Winter. Diving straight into the battle of London, which I will get to later. As far as the characters go however, two of the big ones are Canute son of Sweyn and Ragnar, his attendant. I am sure some see Ragnar as a kind of overbearing caretaker here. And to be fair, you wouldn’t be far off. As going by designs Canute is clearly the… least combat capable Viking we have met so far. However, I don’t want to spoil too much about his character or his coming trials. Suffice to say though that Sweyn, Ragnar and Canute will all become very important moving forward.

After them though there was one other important character introduced this week. A giant of a man, and widely proclaimed Best Boy of the series, Thorkell the Tall. Observant viewers might notice that this is not the first time we have seen him! His first appearance being way back at the start, in the introductory battle with Thors. For now, we will have to restrict ourselves to looking at these though. As we don’t get any big scenes with him until next week. From what Vinland has shown us though we can surmise a few things. For one, he is clearly an established warrior. Capable of Thors level feats, such as throwing an axe through multiple people at a distance. We also have to wonder a Viking is fighting for the English at London, and such a prominent one at that. Suffice to say, Thorkell has a lot going on.

So all in all, how was this week’s episode of Vinland? Like always, I enjoyed it. Wit is doing a great job adapting Yukimura’s work. Bringing in all of the important aspects of the series, while taking their own occasional liberty so it translates well to animation. Were I less of a fanboy I am sure I could find plenty of things to nitpick. Maybe the pacing wouldn’t work as well for me. Or perhaps the CGI would be less acceptable. Maybe even I would find the characters dull. But I don’t. I love every aspect of this show, thought perhaps the CGI less show. I know what is coming and every time a scene I remember fondly comes up, I get a little giddy. Maybe if nothing else I am just happy this isn’t ending up another Berserk 2016.