History Manga / VinlandSaga

The series is licensed in English by Kodansha Comics USA, with 12 omnibus volumes released so far and a 13th on the way.

* CooldownHug [[spoiler:Canute does one to Bjorn in chapter 39. Naturally becomes an InterruptedCooldownHug.]]

* WeAllLiveInAmerica:
** Most characters are fairly Japanese in spirit. It's easy to equate Japanese samurai and Danish Vikings, as they are both warrior cultures, and there certainly are similarities, but there ''are'' differences between them.
** Olmar and Garm act like JapaneseDelinquents (including ridiculous hair which they must spend a lot of time on...) in medieval Europe. Chalk it up to RuleOfFunny.

A manga series created by Creator/MakotoYukimura. ''Vinland Saga'' began serialization in 2005 (starting out in ''Magazine/ShonenMagazine'', it later moved to the {{seinen}} publication ''Monthly Afternoon'' a few months into its run), and follows a series of adventures during the age of the Vikings.

A 24-episode anime series, covering the manga's first arc, was announced in 2018 and released on July 7th, 2019. It is animated by [[Creator/ProductionIG WIT Studio]] with supplemental animation by studio Creator/{{MAPPA}}. A second season, with animation fully taken over by MAPPA, is set for release in January 2023.

* VillainProtagonist: Thorfinn starts the story party to many horrible raids by the vikings he is with and shows zero remorse for the terrible things they do even if he doesn't commit the worst atrocities himself. Starting with the second arc though, he begins his transformation to a full on hero, which he is fully by the third arc.

* WarIsGlorious: The manga is set in 11th century Scandinavia at the apex of the Viking Age, so a ''lot'' of characters think this way. Notably, the main characters (and the narration itself) does not take this position and a lot of time is shown showing [[WarIsHell the opposite side of warfare and fighting]].

** Most characters are fairly Japanese in spirit. It's easy to equate Japanese samurai and Danish vikings, as they are both warrior cultures, and there certainly are similarities, but there ''are'' differences between them.

Taking place in the 11th century, the story chronicles the life of Thorfinn Thorsson, an Icelandic boy who becomes a warrior to avenge his father's death. He does so by fighting in a band led by his father's killer, Askeladd. But this is not some story of deception; Askeladd is aware that Thorfinn wants to kill him, and he [[ManipulativeBastard gleefully uses this information to manipulate the boy]] into doing his bidding in exchange for a one-on-one duel.

Taking place in the 11th century, the story chronicles the life of Thorfinn Thorsson, an Icelandic boy who becomes a warrior to avenge his father's death. He does so by dogging the heels of his father's killer, Askeladd, by fighting in Askeladd's band. But it's not some story of deception. Askeladd is aware that Thorfinn wants to kill him, and he [[ManipulativeBastard gleefully uses this information to manipulate the boy]] into doing his bidding in exchange for a one-on-one duel.

A manga series created by Makoto Yukimura, author of ''Manga/{{Planetes}}''. ''Vinland Saga'' began serialization in 2005 (starting out in ''Magazine/ShonenMagazine'', it later moved to the {{seinen}} publication ''Monthly Afternoon'' a few months into its run), and follows a series of adventures during the age of the Vikings.

* ArmorPiercingSlap:
** [[spoiler: After Ragnar's death,]] Canute flips out, not wanting to leave [[spoiler: without his body]]. Askeladd gives him one of these and he shuts right up.
** [[spoiler: Thorfinn had to do this, more like a Wake Up Punch, on Einar to stop him from taking revenge after Arnheid's death.]]

* VengeanceDenied: [[spoiler:Thorfinn never gets to avenge his father by killing Askeladd, as Askeladd assassinates King Sweyn and is swiftly killed by his bodyguards.]] The story's next arc focuses on where he goes after losing what had been his reason to live.

* WhamEpisode: Chapters 52, 53 and 54, wherein [[spoiler: Askeladd kills King Sweyn, and reveals he's the rightful heir to Britain, in the process saving ''both'' Wales and Canute, before being killed by '''''[[NonActionGuy Canute]]''''', leading to Thorfinn's HeroicBSOD. All this culminates in Canute [[AwesomeMomentOfCrowning taking the crown for himself.]]]] For reference, 54 is called "End of the Prologue".

The series is licensed in English by Kodansha Comics USA, with nine omnibus volumes being released and a tenth confirmed to be published later in summer 2018, bringing the series up-to-date with the Japanese release.

A 24-episode anime series, covering the manga's first arc, was announced in 2018 and released on July 7th, 2019. It is animated by [[Creator/ProductionIG WIT Studio]] with supplemental animation by studio Creator/{{MAPPA}}.

%%* AmazonianBeauty: After looking like a typical teenage girl in the prologue (albeit one who does homestead labor everyday), Ylva has bulked up considerably when she reappears after the TimeSkip, having had to support her family basically by herself for years. It could also be Thors's genes showing. Downplayed, as she doesn't fight except for roughhousing with Thorfinn. Around the time the anime started airing, she appears again with her bulk dialed back a little, but then she starts wearing full armor anticipating a feud and she looks like a legit Jomsviking.

* GenreDeconstruction: To anyone who's actually read them, it's easy to see how ''Vinland Saga'' series deconstructs the classical [[Literature/TheIcelandicSagas Icelandic Sagas]] by looking at the values of the time through a modern lens. Things that would be described as laudable or commonplace in the sagas are here seen as moral evils. Pacifism, humility, humanism and the ability to break a CycleOfRevenge are decried by the setting's society even though it's shown as the "right" thing to do, people aren't always [[GenerationXerox fated to follow in their parents' footsteps]] and that's a good thing, and people who act like the stereotypical saga hero are usually seen as villainous or highly destructive. Though given most Icelandic sagas [[EverybodyDiesEnding end with most of the principal cast dead]] (including the protagonist), ''Vinland Saga'' isn't threading new ground on the latter part.

* GenreDeconstruction: To anyone who's actually read them, it's easy to see how ''Vinland Saga'' series deconstructs the classical [[Literature/TheIcelandicSagas Icelandic Sagas]] by looking at the values of the time through a modern lens. Things that would be described as laudable or commonplace in the sagas are here seen as moral evils. Pacifism, humility, humanism and the ability to break a CycleOfRevenge are decried by the setting's society even though it's shown as the "right" thing to do, people aren't always [[GenerationXerox fated to follow in their parents' footsteps]] and that's a good thing, and people who act like the stereotypical saga hero are usually seen as villainous or highly destructive. Though given EverybodyDiesEnding of most sagas (which usually includes the hero), ''Vinland Saga'' isn't threading new ground on the latter part.

* GenreDeconstruction: To anyone who's actually read them, it's easy to see how ''Vinland Saga'' series deconstructs the classical [[Literature/TheIcelandicSagas Icelandic Sagas]] by looking at the values of the time through a modern lens. Things that would be described as laudable or commonplace in the sagas are here seen as moral evils. Pacifism, humility, humanism and the ability to break a CycleOfRevenge are decried by the setting's society even though it's shown as the "right" thing to do, people aren't always [[GenerationXerox fated to follow in their parents' footsteps]] and that's a good thing, and people who act like the stereotypical saga hero are usually seen as villainous or highly destructive. Though given the fate of your average saga hero, ''Vinland Saga'' isn't threading new ground on the latter part.

* TheGhost: Sigvaldi, the longtime commander of Jomsvikings and Thorkell's brother, is referred to a number of times, especially in early episodes/chapters, but is never seen. Eventually he dies offscreen, with his death kicking off the SuccessionCrisis at the heart of the Baltic Sea War arc.

* GenreDeconstruction: To anyone who's actually read them, it's easy to see how ''Vinland Saga'' series deconstructs the classical [[Literature/TheIcelandicSagas Icelandic Sagas]] by looking at the values of the time through a modern lens. Things that would be described as laudable or commonplace in the sagas are here seen as moral evils. Pacifism, humility, humanism and the ability to break a CycleOfRevenge are decried by the setting's society even though it's shown as the "right" thing to do, people aren't always [[GenerationXerox fated to follow in their parents' footsteps]] and that's a good thing, and people who act like the stereotypical saga hero are usually seen as villainous or highly destructive. Though given the [[KillEmAll fate of your average saga hero]], ''Vinland Saga'' isn't threading new ground on the latter part.

* {{Gonk}}: The Frankish King at the start and the tracker Ears later on.

* AmazonianBeauty: After looking like a typical teenage girl in the prologue (albeit one who does homestead labor everyday), Ylva has bulked up considerably when she reappears after the TimeSkip, having had to support her family basically by herself for years. It could also be Thors's genes showing. Downplayed, as she doesn't fight except for roughhousing with Thorfinn. Around the time the anime started airing, she appears again with her bulk dialed back a little, but then she starts wearing full armor anticipating a feud and she looks like a legit Jomsviking.

** The character Snake looks awfully familiar to [[Franchise/MetalGear a certain other "Snake"]], if not David Hayter himself.

** Hild, courtesy of Thorfinn when both were teens. When they meet again after several years, she tags along with him on his journeys to see if he's really trying to be TheAtoner and regularly threatens to kill him if he strays from that path, and it takes her several years more to forgive him.

* YouKilledMyFather: Essentially Thorfinn's motivation for everything he does. Despite being the main character, his desire for revenge makes him something below one-dimensional in personality, and it's literally all he can think of. He's repeatedly given [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech The Reason You Suck Speeches]] by Askeladd over it, and [[spoiler:when Canute gets to kill Askeladd instead of him]], he snaps and is reduced to a hollowed-out shell, completely burnt out.

* ShownTheirWork: Yukimura has often noted the pains he took to be as accurate as possible, such as the journey he took to Iceland at the beginning of his work on the story, and how he used a variety of historical and apocryphal stories to base his characters on. The weapons, armor, and outfits are accurate. You won't find vikings in horned hats duking it out with knights in plate armor here.