Vinland Saga Deluxe 6

Vinland Saga Deluxe #6

by Makoto Yukimura

She yearns for the excitement of the open sea. But all the men in her life have always told her that women can’t be sailors. Can Gudrid find a way to freedom? Or will she waste away like a bird in chains?

Since she was a child, Gudrid has been entranced by the wide world beyond the sea, stowing away on Leif Ericson’s ship every chance she got…only to be dragged back home and told that a good Norse girl must protect the home and raise a family. Now a widow at 19, she is all of an hour into her second marriage when she absentmindedly stabs her new husband in the leg in their wedding bed. Gudrid flees to Thorfinn and Leif’s ship, but they have a risky voyage ahead to fund their ambitions in Vinland. With success (and even survival) uncertain, is there room on the ship for an inexperienced girl, just married to the son of a ruthless landlord?

Genres: Manga

640 pages, Hardcover

Published February 4, 2025

About the author

幸村誠

Reviews

[Nicole Karlsefni · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Even wearing sheepskin, the wolf cannot live among the herd of sheep forever.” 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars

This has to be my favorite book out of the series so far!!!!!!
All of it was just CHEF’S KISS from beginning to end.
The only sin is that it ends.

(The rest is just me gushing over the book)


Spoilers:

Gudrid stabbing her husband in the beginning and joining Thorfinn?? Thorfinn being the first to defend her when she wants to leave?? Gudrid being the first to defend him against Hild?? (Besides Einar, of course)
Plus her given nickname being“Gudri”?? Wonderful. They’re so made for each other.

AND she definitely has a crush on him. (That blush when she was talking to Einar about him? Priceless.)

Come on, who wouldn’t find Thorfinn appealing?

He’s kind, adorable, a protector, AND a great father to the gang’s adopted child. (Staying up, changing diapers, rocking him to sleep, plus holding him on his back?? Adorableee)

Yeah, I don’t blame her.

I haven’t read the next books but they’re married. They have to be.

NEXT UP: PARALLELS!!!!

I LOVEEEEE parallels, and this book has a lot of them.
First of all, it’s clear Thorfinn is a mix between Thors (ideology, looks) and Askeladd (his past, his strategic thinking, plus combat skills)..

First of all.. that flashback??? ASKELADD APPEARS?! Any more Askeladd content is such a win.

Next..

Thorfinn killing Hild’s father? Heartbreaking.
Hild almost killing Thorfinn in the name of *revenge*? Also heartbreaking.
The kicker here though is Thorfinn was in on a job to kill Hild’s father.
Askeladd was also in on a job to kill Thorfinn’s father.
Then, when Hild meets Thorfinn in the future, she JOINS him so SHE can kill him if he’s ever out of line.
She defends him in battle so he can’t die before she can shoot an arrow through him.

Sound familiar? Of course it does!

Thorfinn has taken Askeladd’s role and it’s KILLLING MEEE!!

Next.. more THORS content?? In book 6??? Ohhh they’re feeding us todayyy.
Floki having hated that “look” Thors gave him, only for Thorfinn to have that exact same look in his eyes? Not to mention the fact that Floki was the one who hired Askeladd to kill Thors, which Thorfinn still doesn’t know.

I wonder what his reaction would be? Especially after knowing Askeladd killed his father as a job (as he did in the past) and Floki was the real man behind it all.

The Jomsvikings fight mirrored Thors’ fight in the beginning so well. No sword, just fists, but defeating them anyway? Amazing.

I do hope to see Thorfinn becoming a Jomsviking maybe to spread his belief of “the first resort” as well as violence only being a final option, instead of the first. (Though that would be much easier to say than do.)
He’s already a leader, and with traits from both Thors and Askeladd? He would be unstoppable.

Amazing book and I’m excited to read the 7th!!

[Austin St. Pierre · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve enjoyed seeing the next step in Thorfinn’s journey. Introducing some new and compelling characters to change up the dynamics, and further challenge Thorfinn’s resolve and convictions. I’m looking forward to seeing the arc continue!

[Zachary Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll never stop singing the praises of this series. I think everyone should read this series.

[Kelsey Doll · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve now read beyond what the anime has adapted thus far, and I gotta say, oh my god.

There is distinct tone shift in this new chapter of thorfinn’s story. Thorfinn and his crew are traveling from Iceland to Greece, and their quest brings a lightheartedness to the story that we haven’t seen before. Big Eyes and Gudrid provide great comic relief—their bantering reminds me of the bantering from One Piece.

Even though there are more jokes doesn’t mean the topics aren’t has heavy. One of the antagonists, Sigurd, is a slaver in pursuit of his runaway bride, Gudrid. Thorfinn and his crew take in the infant Karli—whose family was slaughtered during a Vikings raid— and raise the boy on the open sea. And then there is the climax, where Thorfinn is recognized in Jelling by some Jomsvimings and is offered a chance to rejoin the fray.

I’m very impressed with the female characters in this story. Gudrid and Hild both reject the gender norms of their time, but they do it in completely different ways. Gudrid flees her marriage for a change to sail the seas. To be a sailor—and adventurer, like Leif—is her deepest desire. She is a dreamer at the core of her character. And then there’s Hild, who trades a lady’s life for a life as a hunter; all so that she learned the proper skills to enact revenge on the man who killed her father.

Hild is introduced in the story as a lonely huntress. She slowly reveals her true desires, as well as her connection to Thorfinn. It was done so casually and easily (the storytelling). The frame of Thorfinn with sweat rolling down his face the moment he realizes Hild wants to kill him is going to be such a fantastic moment in the anime (whenever it airs). Hild joins the crew, only to observe Thorfinn, pass judgement, and guarantee that she be the one to kill him in the end. I love it when long stories call back to earlier parts. But this does more. It repeats the past and reverses the roles, making Askellad’s influence on Thorfinn come full circle. Thorfinn has become the “Askellad” of someone else’s story. His past refuses to lay buried, and he must continue to answer for his past sins.

Can’t wait for the next one! 💜

[Rob Marney · Rating 4 out of 5]

These arcs have great overall plots and themes. Hild mirrors the Thorfinn experience in an interesting way, and provides a different and thus exciting fight scene, and structurally having a second combat themed party member allows more interesting future plots. Her backstory is the best part of the book. I also appreciate the increasing humor and lighter tone, with jokes and quips generally replacing moody landscapes and city views, as the young cast learns from our hero. These are story beats a lot of manga do well and Vinland Saga is no exception.

That being said, Yukimura is way too invested in his sweet crossbow design, which is basically a main character in the first arc. I found it jarring to have Iron Man join Captain America in our "realistic except for super strength" manga, simply because it wasn't set up properly. The War in the Baltic story also has some very silly sections where everyone wants our hero for no good reason and he can craft detailed escape plans but didn't remember about horses. I'm getting the sense that the character beats are set up ahead of time but the action of the plot is mostly whatever he felt like writing, which is dangerous in a story as slow as this one. I'm down with Chris Claremont doing 44 pages of some dumb storyline for the sake of character beats, but if it's going to be an 8 part epic, I would appreciate more of an organic way to get the characters together.

[Jesus Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

Y empieza el viaje a Grecia, pero pues se van a complicar las cosas por apasajeros que se van agregando en el viaje, y situaciones del pasado de Thorfinn que le alcanzan en el presente.

Emocion y dibujo maravilloso en estos volumenes

5 stars


SPOILERS

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SPOILERS


Y se escapo en plena noche de boda, que pues ahí van a traer al esposo siguiendolos.

Lo que si complica las cosas es lo del perro y el bebé.

Lo de la chica cazadora de osos, esa parte muy intensa, buena adicción al equipo.

Parece que el viaje a Grecia se va a demorar aun mas con lo de el subplot de los Jomssviking, que suena que también será muy intenso

[Davie Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

It starts with Thorfinn genuinely trying to find peace and build a new life instead of letting violence keep defining him. I wasn’t as into the girl-escape storyline at first, but it was still entertaining and gave the volume enough movement while the bigger tension slowly crept back in. What really worked for me was the ending, where Thorfinn’s past finally starts catching up to him and Floki’s threat brings that old Viking chaos right back to the door. I really enjoyed this one! It has the quiet “please let this man heal” energy, but also the reminder that peace is apparently very hard when everyone around you keeps choosing violence like it’s a subscription service.

[Kyle Stabile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good. The Hunter and the Hunted works well as a short story and also sets up some further plot threads. I was wondering where the War in the Baltic was going until the last chapter. With the set up complete I'm pretty excited to read more.

[Chris Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my top 3 manga of all time!

[Michael Roberti · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's amazing how this story can keep pivoting and still find such nuance and meaning. Incredible.

[untitled lullaby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still going strong! Love the new character!

[Jared Kessler · Rating 5 out of 5]

6/5. This manga just gets better and better, so, so emotional.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really progresses the story. A little slow at first but picks up about half way through. Very good and excited for the next

[Nunya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Go do some war, Thorfinn. Maybe you'll like it this time?

[Thimo van Linn · Rating 5 out of 5]

6 sterren

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe my favorite volume yet.

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my favorite so far…