4 Star

A Life Full of Hate.

This historical anime comes from the manga of the same name, written and illustrated by Makoto Yukimura (Planetes). Here in the Uk we all know the events of 1066, but these events are the precursor to the changing face of Saxon Briton. Expect nonchalant violence and buckets of blood.

In a Viking sea battle at Hjörungavágr, the fierce warrior Thors Snorresson (Greg Chun, Batman: The Long Halloween, Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online) is tired of all the bloodshed as he leaps from ship to ship killing man after man, but when he is knocked overboard he sees his opportunity to get out and deserts his comrades.

Fifteen years later he lives in Iceland with his wife Helga (Ao Takahashi, A Certain Magical Index, Black Butler), his daughter Ylva (Hitomi Nabatame, A Certain Scientific Railgun T, High School DxD HERO) and his son Thorfinn (Aleks Le, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- The Prophecy of the Throne), suffering the hardships of the land of fire and ice. The famous adventurer Leif Erikson (Yoji Ueda, Steins;Gate 0, Tiger & Bunny) told him of a far off land where there is no war and the land is luscious. But that dream must be put on hold, as far away in England the Saxons have slaughtered his countrymen, and a band of Jomsvikings, led by the intimidating Floki (Atsushi Ono, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?) needs men to take the fight to the Englanders. Thors is obliged to follow Floki to save his villagers from the sword.

But Floki is setting a trap for the deserter Thors and anyone that follows him. He gets Askeladd (Naoya Uchida, Penguindrum, Black Lagoon), the leader of a band of a hundred Vikings, to ambush and kill Thors for his desertion.

The villagers and Thors depart the village, all the youngsters eager to get into the fight. What they don’t know is that Thorfinn has stowed away in a barrel, and once they are beyond the no return point he makes his presence known.

A trap is set by Floki and Askeladd at the Faroe island, where Thors will resupply. Thors senses something is wrong, but before they can turn the ship around, the trap is sprung. Askeladd and his band of cut-throats approach in their ships, sealing them in. Thors steps forward, ready to protect his wards.

Thorfinn sees all this, and when the signal is given, Thorfinn’s life changes forever with the death of his father in a treacherous way. Thorfinn swears that he will avenge his father and kill Askeladd. This is Thorfinn’s story. A life of killing lies ahead.

Vindland Saga is an epic tale of the Viking raids on England around 1013 and the story of a young boy who grows up wanting to kill to get to his goal. Excellent anime.

Vinland Saga is available on Blu-ray Collectors Edition.