Makoto Yukimura’s Vinland Saga is an epic tale of revenge set in 11th-century England, reimagining historical events like King Cnut’s rise to the throne, and the life of an Icelandic explorer named Thorfinn, another real-life figure and the protagonist of this series. Vinland Saga has conquered a loyal audience since April 2005 — when its manga began serialization — receiving critical acclaim for its action sequences, art, and attention to detail.
At the time of writing, 200 manga chapters have been released in Japan, and out of those, 191 have been collected in 26 volumes. Despite the number of chapters, this series has only four arcs, which is uncommon for a manga of this length but speaks to the level of detail and intricacy of its story. In fairness, they’re all pretty great, so there’s nothing to complain about.
During the almost 20 years since its debut, Vinland Saga has gone on to become a classic for those who enjoy historical adventure series, with its success leading to a much-awaited anime adaptation in 2019. Its first season was animated by Wit Studio, while the second fell into the hands of the already overworked MAPPA staff. Nevertheless, the show is often considered among some of the best seinen anime, as well as the best medieval anime of all time, among other popular choices like Berserk and Inuyasha.
With season two currently airing, more people have recently been introduced to Vinland Saga, quickly becoming fascinated by the story and its characters. While the anime does an amazing job of adapting the manga, fans can’t help but be curious about the source material, which is definitely worth a read even for those already familiar with the story on screen.
Where to read Vinland Saga online
As is the case with pretty much every piece of media on the planet, the Vinland Saga manga can be found online to read free of charge. However, the websites that provide this option are often not legal, and their translations can be inaccurate, sometimes made by fans of the series, instead of professional translators. For these reasons, it’s best for readers to acquire Vinland Saga via legitimate sources.
The Vinland Saga manga is officially translated and published in English by Kodansha USA, a subsidiary of the Japanese Kodansha. The manga is available for purchase on the publisher’s website in both print and digital versions, but unfortunately, only 13 volumes have been released in English until now. This is obviously far behind the Japanese releases, but more is promised to come in the future.
Overall, Vinland Saga is a riveting tale that very few folks will regret diving into.
