Review of Vinland Saga Season 2
Pacing problems, pacing problems, pacing problems. This season should have been 15 episodes or so. In the pursuit of a 24 episode season they stretched the content to the point of breaking. If you were the list the sequence of events, it would be a very good story. It IS a good story; we have the manga right there as proof. But so many sequences were repetitive, establishing information we already had. It became exhausting. It’s definitely better to watch this season now that all the episodes have been released, since you can actually power through to the plot lines—simple arcs take 3 or moreepisodes to resolve through circuitous, repetitive story telling. Being able to go from one episode to the next helps some of the pacing issues. There is gold here, but you’re sifting for it.
The animation is gorgeous, fortunately. There is a slight stylistic change between the two seasons (even with their close relationship, WITS and MAPPA are different in style) which makes it somehow even grittier than the first season. Everyone has rough, scarred hands with chipped finger nails. Things are a little dirtier and muddier. But the light is more beautiful and the character design rides the line of realism and anime well.
There is definitely a portion of the audience that is dissatisfied with the pacifist turn of this anime from the first season. Thorfinn’s absolute domination in battle was a large part of the appeal of season one. To see a character like that completely avoid fighting can make you feel like Thorkell, begging for a fight—any fight!—but this is the character growth arc that fits Thorfinn on his journey to understanding what it means to be a “true warrior” and why his father lived the way he did.
If the action was the only thing that drew you to Vinland Saga, season 2 will definitely be a disappointment. If a third season is made, try coming back then: there is a bit more action and little less angst in the events that follow the end of this arc.
However, overall this was still an excellent season of anime. It was beautiful, dramatic, and cohesive. However, you will be forgiven for fast forwarding.
Minor note: I feel that some of the humor of the manga is turned down/removed in the interest of creating crisper drama. I hope that is an adaptational strategy they abandon if more seasons are made. It makes the world feel slightly emptier.