# Vinland Saga (2019)

> A young Viking seeking revenge against his father's killer learns the cost of violence on a brutal path through a war-torn eleventh-century world.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/75376

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 48
- Episode runtime: 25 min
- Status: Returning Series
- Genres: animation, action, drama, history
- Network: NHK G, TOKYO MX, BS11, GBS
- Cast: Yuto Uemura, Naoya Uchida, Shunsuke Takeuchi, Kensho Ono, Hiroki Yasumoto, Akio Otsuka, Yoji Ueda, Shizuka Ishigami
- TMDB rating: 8.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10233448/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: graphic
- Tone: brutal, reflective, melancholic, intense

## What critics say

Critics broadly acclaim the series as a gripping, brutally honest Viking epic whose protagonist's arc turns from revenge toward pacifism.

## Synopsis

Vinland Saga (2019-present) is a Japanese animated historical drama series based on the manga by Makoto Yukimura, produced by WIT STUDIO and MAPPA and broadcast on NHK G. Thorfinn (Yuto Uemura), the son of a renowned Viking warrior, is raised amid battlefields and seeks vengeance against Askeladd (Naoya Uchida), the mercenary leader who murdered his father. Shadowing Askeladd's raiding band across a turbulent eleventh-century world, Thorfinn trains, fights, and schemes while navigating a shifting cast of rivals and companions including Einar (Shunsuke Takeuchi) and Canute (Kensho Ono). Each stretch of the story is built from brutal skirmishes, shifting alliances, and the grinding logistics of mercenary life, with the narrative slowly reshaping the quest for revenge into a meditation on violence and whether a warrior can ever lay down his weapons. The tone is harsh and bloodied yet quietly reflective, with epic battle sequences giving way to contemplative pauses. Fans of Berserk, The Last Kingdom and Kingdom will find resonance in its grounded historical brutality and serialized coming-of-age arc.

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