Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Foamii
Vinland Saga Season 2 follows Thorfinn as he begins to regret his actions from the previous season.
The first thing always said about this season is that its a complete tonal shift and if your looking for the same action and energy that season one had your in the wrong place, but i disagree. I think objectively it is alot slower paced than the first season, but whats inside of this season is alot more meaningful and important to Thorfinns character, i think this alone makes up for it being less exciting.
Past that, once there is conflict in this season it hits alot harder than anything from season one for me. Thorfinn chooses to put down his advantage over everyone else (his skill in combat) and decides to settle things through talking, at least when he can. This makes the later
part of…
Read at the sourceZestyAmber
Vinland Saga Season two is a complete shift from season one and I wish more people would be warned of that before going in. That is not to say that the tone shift is bad but going from a revenge saga story to therapy farm simulator the next season does take some getting used to.
For starters the characters have changed since we last saw them and thats to be expected from a time jump in this season. However as much as they've grown half of the run time is spent watching the seasons new main lead take the spotlight which sidelines the characters from last season. Characters that I personally would have wanted to spend more time with since we last saw them are now background characters in their own story.
The new characters themselves are not bad per say but I don't personally feel intrig…
Read at the sourceKarunya123
Season 2 was completely different from what I expected after Season 1, but honestly, that’s why I ended up liking it so much. Instead of focusing on battles and revenge, the story becomes much more about Thorfinn trying to figure out who he is after everything he has been through.
The farm setting might sound boring compared to the Viking battles of Season 1, and I did find the pacing slow at first. But once I got into it, I really started caring about the characters. Thorfinn isn’t suddenly turned into a perfect person either. He struggles with his past, guilt and the idea of what he wants his life to become, which made his development feel believable.
Einar was also a great addition. His anger, kindness and frustration made him feel like a real person, and I really liked watching his f…
Read at the sourcestickdaddy
Vinland Saga Season 2 feels like a bait-and-switch stretched across 24 episodes. The first season established a gripping historical drama built on danger, conflict, ambition, political maneuvering, and characters constantly being forced into difficult situations. Season 2 retains the same title and characters but abandons much of what made that experience compelling. In its place is an excessively slow, repetitive drama that seems convinced every quiet conversation becomes profound simply by lasting long enough. The problem is not that the season has less action. The problem is that what replaces that action is rarely interesting enough to justify the enormous amount of time devoted to it.
A slower and more introspective direction could have worked extremely well. The themes explored here…
Read at the sourceJoeMalone
After the magnificent first season, I genuinely wondered how Vinland Saga could possibly deliver again. Season 1 had Askeladd,one of my favorite anime characters of all time and I didn't think the series could ever reach those heights after his death. Yet somehow, it did.
Even though Askeladd is gone, seeing him appear in Thorfinn's visions was a beautiful touch. His presence still influences Thorfinn, reminding us that the past never truly leaves us.
The biggest strength of this season is Thorfinn himself. His journey of guilt, redemption, and pacifism is one of the best character arcs I've ever seen in anime. After spending years taking countless lives, he is forced to confront the weight of his sins and ask himself what kind of person he truly wants to become. Watching him reject viol…
Read at the sourcenonamevansh
# Vinland Saga Season 2
Might be one of the best pieces of fiction I have ever read. Season 2 is better than Season 1, even though it is slow-paced and has almost no fight scenes, which seem to be the biggest reason why Western young men even watch anime. So, I can understand why many people might not like Season 2 as much as Season 1 due to the lack of fighting scenes.
Another criticism I have seen is that the moral change in Thorfinn is too extreme and stupid, as it can put his life at risk, and that his “I have no enemies” rule only works because the plot saves him. I agree that this is true to some extent. But what I do know for sure is that, just as Thorfinn regrets his actions and the way he thought in Season 1, he may eventually come to regret his actions and ideology in Season 2…
Read at the sourcey8man
Just a heads up. I'm giving this season a score of 9 but with "Mixed Feelings" on it. As the site lays it out, "Some review readers will like this, but others will not enjoy it."
I'd say Vinland Saga Season 2 adapts a fundamentally different approach from the first season. It's a direct contrast from the bloodshed and grim darkness and evil that encompasses much of the first season (please note: evil does not mean necessarily mean writing about "bad people"; it's more on the context around the events). S2 turns instead to the effects of war and slavery to the hundreds and thousands of mundane lives lived by the ordinary person. It forces you to lean back and think; face the apprehension from the absurdity of the change in pace and perspective. How does purpose manifest in the hearts of di…
Read at the sourceLogiTheMoose
I would give my LEFT NUT to see this again for the first time.
The first season was epic and glorious, but oh my gosh the second season kicks butt. Thorfinn is one of the greatest characters I’ve had the pleasure of seeing develop. There are also so many great side characters, each with a substantial backstories for only 24 episodes. The art is good and very pretty, but not this show’s primary success. The story is one of brutal cruelty and agonizing violence, but it taught me, man.
At the risk of being corny or cliche, I really don’t have any enemies. No one deserves to be hurt, even those who wrong me. To be a truly strong man is to realize that there is so much fulfillment in staying calm and putting others first whenever possible. Perhaps the greatest thing I can do is lead by that…
Read at the sourceAlexaroo
This feels closer to a “what-if” than a continuation, and the tonal whiplash of S2 compared to S1 will confuse many viewers. The audience is introduced to an entirely new cast for the whole first episode, as well as a Thorfinn who became a slave, somehow, offscreen. We are not told or shown the direct fallout of the end of S1 throughout the season, and Thorfinn himself behaves as if he has amnesia.
Plot: 6/10. Thorfinn confronts his emotions and nature after losing the vengeance that kept him alive and Canute furthers his ascent to King. Thorfinn starts the season as an empty husk who became a slave unbeknownst to us, slowly becoming more empathetic, peaceful/pacifistic, and lively, while Canute grows into a king willing to use violence to establish peace and order.
Pacing: 6/10. There…
Read at the sourcekeyysian
I almost dropped it. I'm so glad I didn't.
I was one of those people. After finishing Season 1, I expected more battles, more Askeladd, more of the angry, reckless Thorfinn I had followed since he was a child. Instead, Season 2 gave me farming, silence, and a protagonist who barely seemed like himself.
I won't lie, I struggled. Around the first half of the season, I genuinely considered dropping it. I even looked up reviews and discussions trying to convince myself that maybe it wasn't worth continuing. I missed the old energy. I missed the excitement. I missed Askeladd. But I kept watching.
And somewhere along the way, I realized something important: the reason the beginning felt so empty was because Thorfinn himself was empty. The boy who had lived only for revenge was gone, but the m…
Read at the sourceRyanSpring
Though undeniably flawed, I most certainly enjoyed the first season of Vinland Saga and was expecting more of the same. While whatever this is is certainly still Vinland Saga, there's a few very noticeable differences that definitely made me enjoy this season markedly less than its predecessor. I particularly enjoyed season one's pacing, willingness to go to very dark and graphic places and the sheer quantity of action and battle scenes. Season two, while still dark, is much, much slower and feels significantly more tame until much deeper in. Some call it character development, which it is, but others call it slow and boring, which it definitely was at times for me. Almost all the action is in the final handful of episodes, which felt very lopsided, and there were very long, slow stretches…
Read at the sourceeliasmarcelin0
ARE YOU EVEN WATCHING? WHY ARE YOUR EYES CLOSED? YOUR EARS COVERED? YOUR HEART SEALED OFF?
YOU’RE A TERRIBLE PERSON IF YOU LIKE SEASON 1 MORE THAN THE OVERALL STORY.
BECAUSE WHO IS YOUR ENEMY?
s1 after rewatching was colonization. children, mothers, families, lives were lost to set the stage for s2. King Canute, the Vikings, the history we see from this show is REAL HISTORY with a fictional focus on Thorfinn — a character who is representing the children that were born from these wars, this era, and how history is being repeated, how children are being indoctrinated as we speak, HOW YOU ARE.
s2 made me realize enemies are made by the governments to Divide and Conquer. Pirates, mobs, gangs, Vikings, they are not the enemies of the world but cultured into a world of war and slavery. the go…
Read at the sourceBiGod
Vinland Saga Season 2 is truly one of the most impactful pieces of media I've ever witnessed and it legit changed my perspective of life.
But first things first: this season is basically Thorfinn's redemption arc, where he finds himself at his lowest point of his life and he realizes the sins he committed during his teammup with Askeladd's forces, leading to one of the best character developments in fiction imo.
Despite some viewers' complaints about the lack of action in this season comparing with the previous one, this season does something that most animes and other works of fiction don't, it teaches you (a lot, actually). It teaches that no matter how hard you fall, how deep your sins actually are, it's never too late to start over and to be a good person, it also teaches to forgive…
Read at the sourceiwatchanime_223
This anime is the face of what i call a MASTERPIECE. Vinland saga is the BEST ANIME IN HUMANKIND with the sole exception of Attack on Titan of course. The main story is just a child trying to avenge his father. Nothing special. But the way they showed it and Excecution is just EXCELLENT. Many people dislike the 2nd season for less action but i personally think that 2nd season is BETTER that the 1st season. You know what i won't even call the story not special. Because i haven't seen any other piece of action represent this kind of story this smoothly. I am no any kind of Vinland saga glazer. It is Transcended piece of fiction. The art style is just fine. The character are just really good. I think this anime has the best character devlopment of all time. characters like Thorfinn and Prince…
Read at the sourceHamados
THIS IS MY FAVORITE ANIME OF ALL TIME!
Before I start yapping, there are a couple of biased reasons why anime watchers look down on this season specifically - "Lack of fight scenes", "Farming simulator", etc. It's hard to convince these types of people with this mindset but I want to at least let people give it a second chance. There are many times where I felt sad for Thorfinn and his past, I relate to him a lot, not in the perspective of him actually committing the vigorous crimes he did, but the emotions he goes through at a daily basis. This anime tells a GREAT story of how ANYONE can improve regardless of what they did. It's no surprise there is nothing we can do to cleanse the sins we committed, but it's a matter of how we move on as people.
I have harmed people in the past, not ph…
Read at the sourceTazOlson
I really loved season 1 and thought it was incredible but season 2.... it still had moments but was really underwhelming. It took a great action packed story with great characters, changed a lot about several of them and cut out a lot of the action. The first several episodes barely even have anything happen, it barely feels like the same show and every time it feels like things are about to get interesting it cuts that off. I'm not mad I just... I just felt confused and disappointed wondering what happened to the amazing show that season 1 had. Honestly it's got slower pacing than some of the slowest arcs in One Piece
Read at the sourceSpeed3108
Not enough words can describe just how goated this show is, If I were to break it down in a more of a structured format for this review to make sense, I would definitely start of with the core message, something which we all need to hear in the modern day and age, given what the modern age is bringing forth for us and what we are experiencing as of these years, I shall not outright say what it is rn since if you’re reading this review you already have heard of it, but do know that the premise of why that becomes the conclusion is explored beautifully in this journey, coming to the expression, it’s almost perfect, from start to end, the show does a wonderful job of exploring the sheer ugliness and deplorable nature of warfare, of it’s negative consequences, of it’s marks on the society and…
Read at the sourceYungSav
Honestly dont get what all the hype was about. Was recommended this anime as a masterpiece. This anime failed to deliver in any of categories I look out for, for a good anime.
The first 16 episodes felt like I was watching farming simulator, with the plot barely progressing forward.
After that slow fest of the first 16 episodes it fails to deliver on any of action sequence scenes even close to season 1. Thorfin was the only slightly interesting character throughout the entire season 2. However, even Thorfinns story wasn't that compelling in season 2.
Major disappointment, would not recommend to my worst enemy.
Read at the sourcejosukesdiamond
absolute cinema, the embodiment of growth, the pacing is great, every major character has their own unique depth to them while all tieing down the general them of redicovery, purpose and rebirth. the animation was great, the datails to scenary was great. it honestly-to some extent- tells me a little about a person when they cant comprehend this show, especially the trasition between seaon 1 and two.
like damn we came from having two of the strongest (physically) characters fighting as the climax in season one to having a negotiaion between two people as the climax, both holding the same weight.
chararter bulidng was perfect. shii i felt as though i was changing with thorfin,
Read at the sourceundeadk1ng
What a masterpiece. I remember watching the first season when it came out, enjoying the violence and action packed episodes with the mindless revenge theme. Now, being much older, I just watched the second season and it truly exceeded my expectations. Thorfinn goes from being the embodiment of rage and anger, honing his skills and perfecting violence in the name of vengeance. Now, at the start of the second season, his source of anger is gone. He becomes empty. This season's journey of discovering how to fill that hole, how to appreciate life, and how to overcome violence in a world of strife and death is marvelous. He morphs into a pacifist, having understood the consequence of murder, the mc tries to find purpose. Yes, the pacing can be slow but unlike heart-racing violence, character de…
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