Canute - Blog Posts

today is the 20 year anniversary of vinland saga. this story is incredible. following thorfinn’s journey of revenge as a 16 year old, to a slave learning the beauty of farming, who would later understand the true meaning of “you have no enemies”. thorfinn’s character is so beautiful and so amazing. he devotes himself to a life of peace & to becoming the best man he can be. his strength and courage to be kind is inspiring. yukimura is an amazing storyteller and i am so grateful he took the time to create the perfection that is vinland saga.

i just finished vinland saga s2. i actually have no words. this season was one of the best pieces of media i have ever consumed. thorfinn’s arc was so beautifully done, and the characters this season were amazing. thorfinn going from being an empty, defeated man to now taking on the mission to create a haven for those suffering. from being a warrior on the battlefield to a slave to a man working towards peace, was such an amazing journey to watch. thorfinn slowly coming back to life through farming made me so emotional. the animation and writing this season was incredible! i've quickly grown to love thorfinn and i already feel he'll be one of my favorite characters for life.

i just finished watching vinland saga s1 and all i can say is WOW. for starters, this season was so well done; i was hooked from the first episode. the overall theme of war and violence was so well written. as it was stated by askeladd, before it was the danes causing destruction, it was the saxons and others before them. violence is a vicious cycle that, unfortunately, causes its victims, thorfinn in this case, to become just as violent or even more so than their perpetrators.

askeladd's last words perfectly emphasize how lost in revenge thorfinn was. while all the characters in the story move forward to achieve their goals (canute, askeladd, and thorkell), thorfinn is always stuck in his revenge plan. he goes along with whatever askeladd says to have the chance to duel and kill him, but that's all there is. thorfinn has been fixated on revenge for 10 years. everything he has done has been for the sake of killing askeladd. compared to canute who was much like the 6 year old naive, innocent thorfinn, he didn't stay in one place emotionally. after ragnar died, it didn't take long for canute to grow from his loss and search for a purpose in his life. however, thorfinn can not seem to let go. so when canute kills askeladd, all thorfinn can do is scream, beg, cry, and yell. his entire life's purpose is dying in front of him, and there's nothing he can do about it.

the look of despair on his face makes my heart break. despite his hatred for askeladd, the two had a genuine fondness. after all, throughout these 10 years, thorfinn had decided to stick beside askeladd in hopes of completing his revenge. thorfinn's one reason for living, his reason for never going back home, was to kill the man that murdered his father. now he's lost his one true purpose. thorfinn never thought beyond his revenge, almost like he had planned to live that way to the end. who could blame him? he was a child when he started seeking vengeance, and he's still a child now. being able to kill people doesn't change that fact. everything thorfinn has known for the past decade is now gone in the blink of an eye. what else does thorfinn have to live for?

"be a true warrior…son of thors”

this line, in particular, made me so emotional. out of all the last words to have for thorfinn, he chose these ones in particular. it shows the amount of respect he has for thors as a warrior and how he believes in thorfinn's capabilities. under different circumstances, i'm positive that thorfinn could have looked up to askeladd and developed a proper bond.

there's so much room for thorfinn's character to grow. with no sense of direction or purpose, it leaves room for many opportunities to develop his character so much more. although i'm sure there will be many challenges for him, i'm very excited to see where he ends up at the end of next season.

Currently rewatching Vinland Saga and recalled how in the middle of this very serious and hard-hitting episode, there's this random villager who looks way too good and he appears for like 1 second and never again, like??? The hell? Idk if this was the choice of the animators or if Makoto Yukimura himself drew him but like why? Why make him so hot if [SPOILERS] you wanna kill him off within the next minute??

ah yes, my favourite manga,

memeland saga