Vinland Saga: The Art Of Character Development

About three months ago, while scrolling through Instagram, I came across an anime that caught my attention. You know, there are some anime scenes we come across that immediately piques your interest and makes us want to watch the whole anime. I remember how I got interested in watching Chainsaw man just because I saw that single episode where Aki Hayakawa used “Kon.” I am in love with my Instagram Algorithm. Brick by brick, I have built my algorithm to show me the things I like; football, anime, and cars. Thanks to Instagram reels, I came across a gem—Vinland Saga. Vinland saga is one of the best anime series I have watched. While scrolling through Instagram, I came across a scene where Thorfin’s eyes were filled with rage and hatred, followed by a scene where the hatred had disappeared from his eyes. Immediately, I fell In love with the anime, and proceeded to watch it. I had lots of questions; why was he so angry? Who hurt him that badly? What changed him? What erased the hatred in his eyes.

Vinland Saga is the perfect definition of character development. I love it when I see anime that employ good character development. Thorfin grew up with his father, mother, and older sister. Apparently, his father got tired of the complexities of war. He got tired of killing people. He got tired of making people suffer, so he decided to desert his army and build a family of his own. Unfortunately, it was the rule that anyone who deserts war had committed treachery and would be killed. As the plot progresses, Thorfin’s father gets killed by Askeladd in his son’s presence. This is exactly what fills him with rage. He devotes his life to getting stronger so that one day he can kill his father’s killer.

Thorfin, who was once a calm and sweet little boy grows up to be a killer—a strong one at that. Season one of Vinland Saga focuses on how Thorfin vows to get stronger so he can kill Askeladd, the man who killed his father. Season 2 is where the real character development comes in. The character development ignites when Askeladd (the man who Throfin devotes his life to kill) was killed by another man. Thorfin had one purpose in life—to avenge his father’s death by killing the man who killed his father—Askeladd. Interestingly, this purpose got snatched from his hand when another man kills Askelad.

It's like saving to buy a car you love. Every month, you save a particular percentage of your salary. At the end of the month, you check if the car is still available, and if it is, you return home happily to continue saving. Then, on the big day, you break open your piggy bank, count the money, and see that it's enough to buy the car, only to find out upon arrival that the car was bought by another person that morning. This is similar to what happens to Thorfinn in Vinland Saga. Over time, the rage in his eyes and hatred in his heart disappear.

Vinland saga is a great anime and I recommend you see it at least once before you leave the world. Have you seen Vinland saga? What is your take on it?

Thumbnail generated using MetaAi. Other images are screenshots from my phone.

Thanks for reading.