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The protagonist Thorfinn on the left and the antagonist Askeladd on the right

    Vinland Saga is a seinen (青年) anime (aimed at the demographic of men 18-30) that follows the story of Thorfinn as he seeks vengeance for the death of his father Thors. Thors was an unrivaled viking hero who deserted to settle down to start a family and care for a village in Iceland. Thors is brought back into the fray of war as one of his old comrades threatens to ransack the village if Thors does not fight against the English. All this was a plot to kill Thors for his desertion. The pirate for hire Askeladd and his crew are paid to kill Thors. Thorfinn stowed away on Thors's ship and watches as his father is slayed by Askeladd's archers after Askeladd disrespects the sanctity of his duel with Thors. Thorfinn then stows away on Askeladd's ship before joining the crew for the chance to earn a duel with Askeladd and take his life. 

  

    Thorfinn is a child hardened into a warrior by the overwhelming hatred within him. Thorfinn's story spans decades as he learns to live with the death of his father and his own life of killing. This story also has an interesting historical setting with the backdrop of the conflicts between the Danes and the English around 1000 A.D. in Europe. Like the last show I wrote about, this one is not for the feint of heart. Vikings are known for their heinous crimes and this show does not hold back in its depictions of them.

    Because much of the story of Vinland Saga is dialogue driven and the characters discuss complex territorial, political, and cultural conflict, much of the language used is rather complex. Its historic Scandinavian-European setting also makes it so there are not many Japanese cultural elements in the show. One scene in the show, however, contained easily understandable dialogue. As Thorfinn struggled to speak to a family in English, his dialogue was composed of simple Japanese sentences I could understand.