Vinland Saga is a history-themed action-adventure drama anime series. The anime is a manga adaptation and inspired by the manga written by Makoto Yukimura. It was created by the famous Japanese studio Wit studio. Anime followers know well that Wit Studio is also the producer of the Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress and Seraph of the End. The historical anime Vinland Saga was originally aired on NHK General TV in Japan, and Amazon Video licenses it, and it is globally featured on Amazon Prime Videos. (It is also licensed by Netflix in Japan and Sentai.) Thanks to this licensing, anime has gained worldwide popularity. The reviews and ratings of the series, on the other hand, were excellent. The series bears the title of anime with the highest IMDb score in the last years. Fans are wondering now that if the series has been renewed for the second season? We watched the last episode of the series in the winter of 2019. Before moving on to the second season details and release date expectations, let’s remember the last season of the series and look at the short review.
What was the plot of the anime: Vinland Saga?
Vinland Saga, taking its story from real events, takes place in the 1010s. Thors is one of the leading soldiers of the Danish army. However, after a war at sea, he pretends to be dead and disappears and takes his wife and daughter to Iceland. According to Thors, “a true warrior is the one who doesn’t wield his sword” and adopts this principle, he begins to live a village life in a small village. Before long, he also had a son named Thorfinn. However, Thors’ past haunts and the Jomsvikings find their way. According to Floki, the leader of the Jimsvikings, King Sweyn intends to conquer England, and if Thors participates in this war, he will be forgiven for escaping.
Today, we see many productions that tell about Viking epics. Although it is a historical series, we encounter a lot of fictional elements due to the fact that action and adventure are at the forefront. The Vinland sagas are historical texts written in the 13th century. Anime continues this with beautiful fiction. Our series begins with the conquest of England by the Dan King Sveinn Tjúguskegg. In general, it doesn’t quite line up with the real story. Our series is presented to us by taking the basic structure of the epics and starting from them.
It all starts in the 11th century, in a small inking colony in England. The fall of the castle becomes very difficult for them because the Franks trying to encircle a castle make inadequate attacks one after another. Askeladd and his small company offer to help the Franks capture the castle for a booty share. After long and unsuccessful attempts, they accepted the offer considering the military skill of the Vikings. Our main character in the series, Thorfinn, is also part of this union. Askeladd surprises everyone and successfully captures the castle.
As the series progresses, our series, which becomes more beautiful with sections telling the characters’ past, is especially concentrated between Thorfinn and his father. The series is of great interest to Japan and worldwide.
Will there be a second season of Vinland Saga?
The fan’s wait has resulted in good news, and yes, the anime has been renewed for a second season. One of its production partners, Twin Engine, announced on July 7, 2021, that the anime will have a second season. The news, which was also confirmed from the anime’s official Twitter account, came with the trailer for the expected second season. At the end of our article, you can watch the new season trailer of Vinland Saga with English subtitles. For season 2, director Shūhei Yabuta and character designer Takahiko Abiru return. A second season with the quality of the first season is waiting for the fans.
Animes often use manga as source material. Vinland Saga is also a manga adaptation, as we mentioned earlier. The manga, written by Makoto Yukimura, began publishing in Shōnen Magazine on April 13, 2005. The last volume of the manga, which is still ongoing today, was published on July 21, 2021, and the manga consists of 25 volumes and 187 chapters in total with the chapters which are not yet in tankōbon format. 54 volumes were adapted into anime’s first season. You can see in detail which episode was adapted from which chapters below. The remaining chapters are pretty enough to create more than season 2.
| Anime | Manga |
| Episode#1 | 2 (pages 40-42), 3, 4 |
| Episode#2 | 5, 6, 7, 9 (pages 1-8) |
| Episode#3 | 8, 9 (pages 9-20), 10, 11 |
| Episode#4 | 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 |
| Episode#5 | Original + Ylva Gaiden |
| Episode#6 | Original (first half) + 17 |
| Episode#7 | 1 |
| Episode#8 | 2 (pages 1-39) |
| Episode#9 | 18, 19 |
| Episode#10 | 20 |
| Episode#11 | 21, 22 |
| Episode#12 | 23, 24 |
| Episode#13 | 25, 26 |
| Episode#14 | 27, 28 |
| Episode#15 | 29, 30 |
| Episode#16 | 31, 32, 33 (pages 1-6) |
| Episode#17 | 33 (pages 7-32), 34, 35 |
| Episode#18 | 36, 37, 38, 39 (pages 1-18) |
| Episode#19 | 39 (pages 19-32), 40, 41, 42 |
| Episode#20 | 43, 44, 45 (pages 1-27) |
| Episode#21 | 48, 49, 43 (pages 8-12), 50, 45 (pages 28-42) |
| Episode#22 | 46, 47 |
| Episode#23 | Original (everything about Thorfinn) + 51 |
| Episode#24 | 52, 53, 54 |
Popularity of the anime
Vinland Saga is one of the most followed anime of recent years. So much so that there is a strong search volume on Google. New-season news is more searched after than other popular anime like Re:Zero or Fire Force. Anime is currently ranked as the 112th most popular anime on Myanimelist, which is not bad. 43k people currently follow anime’s official Twitter page. Although this number of followers is low, it is undeniable worldwide popularity thanks to Amazon Prime. Therefore, it would not be correct to evaluate the popularity only in Japan. If all goes well, the anime has an audience that can easily get approval for a third season as well.
When is the release date of the second season?
The first season of the anime aired in the last half of 2019 as 24 episodes. Although the disc sales were not good enough, the second season is confirmed thanks to viewership and the good reviews. We expect it to consist of 24 episodes like the first season. However, as of January 5, 2022, a release date for the new season of Vinland Saga has still not been shared yet. This information will be officially shared in the coming months, but the series is currently in production, and summer 2022 seems to be the best guess for the new season’s release date.
What will be the plotline of Season 2? (Spoilers)
In the first period of the Vinland Saga anime, it is developed from the childhood of Torfinn to the coronation of Knut and the death of his father, Askeladd. In the original content after that, the figure of Torfin, who lost the meaning of living, was drawn. If you compare this part with the original content, it will be referer volume 9. Now, let’s take a look at the synopsis after the 9th volume of the manga.
In manga’s volume 9, the main character, Torfinn, has lived to take revenge on his father, Askleadd. Nevertheless, Askeladd is murdered. Torfinn was banished from the Danish army because he did not accept the fact and was confused. In addition, Torfin became a slave to a man named Ketil. As a slave, he was involved in clearing the Jutland Peninsula forests in Denmark, where he met a slave, Einar, who had the same status as himself.
In volume 10: As he lived as a slave, Torfinn gradually regained his energy. One day, a servant comes to vandalize the fields cultivated by Torfin and Einar. When Torfinn saw it, he was angry and hit him, but he was beaten by multiple people and fainted.
In a fainted consciousness, Torfinn saw Askeladd. Askeladd says, “Fight a real battle! Become a real warrior!”. And Torfinn, who regained consciousness, decided that “I will never hurt people again.” He understood the meaning of the words his father Thor said.
Within volume 11, finally, Torfinn and Einar are released from slavery. He will continue his way as a true warrior. You can read the manga to find out what will happen in the future or wait for a new season.
Who are the main characters of Vinland Saga?
We do not expect a radical character change in the second season of the series. There will be new characters joining, but the main cast will remain the same.
Thorfinn ► Voiced by: Yūto Uemura, Shizuka Ishigami (childhood)
Askeladd ► Voiced by: Naoya Uchida
Bjorn ► Voiced by: Hiroki Yasumoto
Thors ► Voiced by: Kenichiro Matsuda
Thorkell ► Voiced by: Akio Ōtsuka
Canute ► Voiced by: Kenshō Ono
Leif ► Voiced by: Yōji Ueda