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One of the greatest historical epic comics, the manga that inspired the hit anime, finally concludes.

FINAL VOLUME!

The Voyage Ends, and Begins Again

Despite all of Thorfinn’s efforts to create a new society free of the shackles and cycles of the past, a man with a sword has brought war to Vinland. Most of the Lnu favor mobilizing against the threat posed by Arnheid Village before it’s too late, but Miskwekepu’j understands that further contact will spread the mysterious disease that is wiping out his people. Unfortunately, one greedy and ruthless heart is enough to shatter the tense peace. Unbeknownst to all, a warrior named Ka’qaquj has attacked the Nords and seized the Ulfberht sword for himself. With the body count growing and his dream fading, will the dream of Vinland survive to see the dawn? Or will the village burn to embers, and the dark night grow ever darker?

304 pages, Hardcover

First published July 25, 2025

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Makoto Yukimura

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
Profile Image for Zahra.
289 reviews93 followers
July 27, 2026
وینلند ساگا برای من انگار چهار مانگای مختلفه که زیر یه اسم چاپ شدن.
آرک اسکلاد (پرولوگ) و آرک مزرعه بدون شک بهترین بخشهای کل اثرن و دو روی یه سکه محسوب میشن. دو آرکی که به نظرم نه فقط جزو بهترین های صنعت مانگا هستن، بلکه هم‌ رده‌ی مانگاهایی مثل برزرکن و میشه گفت بیشتر به ژانر سینن نزدیکن تا شونن. اولی یه تراژدی تلخ درباره نفرت، انتقام و جنگه و دومی درباره اینه که بعد از اون همه خشونت و ویرانی چطور میشه هنوز انسان موند. یکی از بزرگترین نقاط قوت دوتا آرک اول خصوصا آرک مزرعه اینه که جنگ رو فقط از زاویه دید برنده ها روایت نمیکنن بلکه داستان بازمانده‌ها رو هم نشون میدن. توی بیشتر داستان‌های وایکینگی، حمله و غارت یه جور ماجراجویی حماسیه. کشتی‌ها راه می‌افتن، روستاها رو آتیش میزنن، با دشمنشون میجنگن، غنیمت میگیرن و برمیگردن. اما وینلند مدام ازت میپرسه اون روستایی‌هایی که غارت شدن چی؟ اون زنها و بچه‌هایی که اسیر شدن چی؟ اون برده‌هایی که توی بازار فروخته شدن چی؟ سربازهای کشته شده چی؟ شخصیت‌هایی مثل اینار اصلاً قهرمان جنگ نیستن، اونا قربانی جنگن. برای همین وقتی تورفین از خشونت فاصله میگیره فقط به خاطر عذاب وجدان خودش نیست بلکه چون بالاخره داره آدم‌هایی رو میبینه که تمام عمرش براش خسارت جانبی بودن. حتی خود مزرعه هم یه جور یادگار جنگه. ثروت کتیل، برده‌ها، زمین‌ها و کل نظام اقتصادی‌ای که میبینیم تا حدی روی نتایج همون لشکرکشی‌ها و خشونت‌ها بنا شده. یوکیمورا خیلی خوب نشون میده که جنگ فقط میدان نبرد نیست؛ سایه‌اش سالها بعد روی زندگی آدم‌های عادی باقی میمونه. برای همین پرولوگ و آرک مزرعه اینقدر متفاوت و ماندگارن. چون فقط سؤالشون این نیست که چه کسی در جنگ پیروز شد؟ بلکه سؤال اصلیشون اینه که بعد از تموم شدن جنگ، چه بلایی سر آدم ها اومد؟
اما از بالتیک سی به بعد یه‌جورایی حس کردم دارم یه مانگای دیگه میخونم. داستان این آرک خیلی شونن‌تر میشه، شخصیت‌ها اغراق‌آمیزتر میشن، شوخی‌ها بیشتر میشن، و اون فضای سنگین و واقع‌گرای دوتا آرک اول کم‌ کم عقب میره. تو پرولوگ و آرک مزرعه، جنگ تقریباً همیشه زشت، کثیف و تراژیکه. ولی تو بالتیک سی جنگ بیشتر شبیه ماجراجویی اکشن و هیجان‌انگیزه تا فاجعه‌ای انسانی و فن سرویس زیاد داره. ولی خب سرعت آرکش زیاده و کوتاه ترین آرک مانگا هم هست و لزوماً من این تغییر لحن رو نکته منفی نمیدونم به خصوص بعد از فضای سنگین دوتا آرک قبلی.
و بعد میرسیم به آرک وینلند. آرکی که بیشترین شباهت رو با داستان تاریخی اصلی داره. احتمالا قبل از خوندن آرک آخر، اکثر خواننده ها انتظار داشتن که این آرک اثبات کنه که راه تورفین جواب می‌ده اما هرچی داستان جلوتر می‌ره بیشتر شبیه آزمونی می‌شه که مدام داره محدودیت‌های ایده‌ی تورفین رو نشون می‌ده. آرک آخر خیلی خوب تموم میشه ولی به نظرم زیاد از حد کش اومد و میتونست بیست تا چپتر کمتر باشه.
شاید بهترین خلاصه برای دنیای وینلند همون جمله معروف توسیدید باشه: «نیرومندان آنچه را میتوانند انجام میدهند و ضعیفان آنچه را ناگزیرند تحمل میکنند.»
وینلند ساگا در نهایت داستان تلاش تورفین برای فرار از همین قانونه.
اینکه این تلاش رو آرمانگرایانه بدونیم یا ساده‌لوحانه، احتمالاً به نگاه خودمون به انسان و تاریخ بستگی داره.
Profile Image for ⋆ ࣪˖ ִֶָ   sel  ་༘࿐.
1,200 reviews22 followers
July 27, 2025
"What sprouted were prayers for the future. We must not let them die out."

It’s not a grand farewell. It’s not a dramatic finale. It’s a gentle plea that is rooted in soil, in tenderness, in hope. Every act of kindness, every seed of peace planted, is a prayer we leave behind. Even if the dream doesn’t last forever, it matters that it was dreamed at all. Peace, however fragile, is worth the struggle.

I get that much, but I feel empty as hell. Einar, brother, may your soul and everyone else's rest in peace... I couldn't take his departure. But maybe this emptiness isn’t a void. Maybe it’s the stillness that follows a long, hard storm. The ache of letting go. This is proof that endings, even hopeful ones, can still break your heart. Let me lay down and contemplate. Thank you for this journey.

[Chapters 210 - 220]
Profile Image for Patrycja.
967 reviews113 followers
Review of advance copy
July 27, 2026
Żegnaj Thorfinn, może jeszcze kiedyś się spotkamy, jeśli nie w Winlandii to choćby na Islandii 🥹
Profile Image for Agnese Rosengren.
474 reviews4 followers
August 18, 2026
Siamo arrivati alla fine di questo incredibile viaggio e io non so più cosa ne sarà della mia vita d'ora in avanti.
Vinland Saga l'ho scoperto relativamente tardi, ma mi ha presa tantissimo, tanto che ora è uno dei miei manga preferiti.

La conclusione è assolutamente coerente con quanto ci è stato narrato nel corso della serie: la guerra è il male assoluto, e una persona come Thorfinn, che l'ha vissuta sulla sua stessa pelle (sperimentando anche emozioni intense quali l'odio, la cattiveria e la violenza), lo sa fin troppo bene.
Vivere nella propria ignoranza senza voler conoscere il prossimo, bensì puntandogli il dito contro senza invece cercare un confronto pacifico, è ciò che causa questo tipo di male.
Ma per questo bisogna smettere di essere gentili? Assolutamente no.
E Thorfinn lo ha dimostrato.

L'evoluzione di questo personaggio è stata spettacolare e penso che sia una tra le più belle nell'intero universo anime/manga.
Il modo in cui si stacca da ciò che è stato in passato senza però dimenticare ciò che ha fatto, bensì cercando di porre rimedio facendo del bene, è stato intenso e commovente.

In tutto questo, però, la mia valutazione non è di cinque stelle piene a causa di tre motivi principali.
Il primo è legato al fatto che non sappiamo che fine hanno fatto tutti gli altri personaggi che non hanno fatto parte dell'ultimo arco narrativo.
Per carità, erano ormai personaggi di sfondo, ma ammetto che mi sarebbe piaciuto rivedere Canuto prima della fine effettiva.
Lo vediamo a un certo punto in qualche tavola nel penultimo volume, okay, ma non ha avuto una vera e propria risoluzione, secondo me.
È rimasto tutto molto in sospeso, ecco.

Il secondo punto è legato a ciò che succede con Einar.
Forse sarà solo una mia impressione, ma l'ho trovato così veloce che non ho nemmeno avuto il tempo di elaborare quanto accaduto, e considerando che si tratta di qualcosa di importante, speravo in un maggiore approfondimento.

Il terzo punto è legato più a una considerazione personale che avevo già fatto in precedenza, ovvero che l'unico personaggio femminile degno di nota è Hild, cosa che in parte mi fa piacere perché almeno la sua caratterizzazione non si è persa per strada durante lo svolgersi della serie, dall'altro invece mi dispiace perché, insomma, c'erano anche altri personaggi femminili che secondo me meritavano di spiccare di più, Cordelia in primis.

Detto ciò, a parte le mie considerazioni finali, non posso negare che quest'opera sia mastodontica, un vero e proprio gioiello sotto innumerevoli punti di vista.
La rileggerò con piacere, più avanti.
Profile Image for Isbat Bin Hossain.
185 reviews5 followers
September 3, 2025
Vinland Saga is one of the greatest stories I’ve ever experienced. While the final chapters felt slightly underwhelming compared to the incredibly high standard Yukimura-sensei had set throughout the series, the conclusion was still deeply satisfying. The ending wasn’t perfect, but it was meaningful, fitting, and stayed true to the heart of the story.

All in all, I feel honored to have been part of this voyage. Vinland Saga is a masterpiece that will stay with me, and I know it will remain one of the best manga I’ve ever read for the rest of my life. It also gives me hope in these dark times—that peace is attainable. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday we will reach it. We are still on the "Thousand-year Voyage" that Thorfinn started.
Profile Image for ياسمين .
112 reviews13 followers
July 26, 2025
إلى اللقاء من أفضل الأعمال التي قرأتها واستمتعت بها سواء مانجا أو أنمي
شكرااااا للكاتب بجد على الرحلة الممتعة دي ومبسوطة إن فيه مكان ممكن أوصل شكري للكاتب منه 😭🤍🤍
النهاية المثالية لمعضلة ثوروفين والتي تثبت صدق ثوروفين في طلبه للسلام 🌼

"هل أنت جاد فيما تقول؟!
هل تقول أن التضحية بحياة اللنو تستحق لكي تأخذ هذه الجزيرة؟! " - ثوروفين

على الجانب الآخر في الحياة الواقعية فيه كائنات -لا يمكن تسميتهم بشرا- عادي تستحل دم الآخرين عشان تاخد الأرض وتستحل إبادة جماعية وتجويع 💔🇵🇸

وداعا ثورفين 🤍
وداعا إينار 🤍
وكل الشخصيات التي رافقتني 🤍
🌸🤍ありがとうございます🤍🌸
Profile Image for Loay Mohammed.
203 reviews12 followers
October 20, 2026
This has been one of the best experiences I have ever had with a fictional work in my life. It has been quite a journey since I started reading the manga back in 2019–2020, if my memory serves me correctly.

Vinland Saga is one of those experiences where you enter its world with a certain vision and expectations, but the writer takes you through a different path and shows you a different perspective that you never expected from him.

The characters, their journeys, and the way their emotions and struggles are explored were beautifully written and illustrated. Yukimura has an incredible talent for drawing clear and compelling art that gets to you immediately. His ability to express emotions through his illustrations is something I have always admired throughout the manga.

Now, to talk about the Final Volume, the Ending & the Story Overall.

I find the ending very fitting and beautifully written. I genuinely don’t think it could have been better. Yukimura has said everything he wanted to say, discussed all the themes he wanted to explore, and conveyed all the messages he wanted to deliver throughout the story.

The ending had a very poetic and emotional impact. Ever since the second arc of the manga, you can sense the philosophical aspect and poetic nature of the story becoming more prominent. What started as a story about revenge and violence slowly became something much deeper, and with everything leading up to this final saga, it becomes clear that no other ending would have been more fitting for what the story was trying to tell us.

If I had my nitpicks with the ending, it would be that it concludes the philosophical aspect of the story, but not necessarily the characters themselves.

Characters like King Canute and his journey were never really given a proper conclusion. I know that his story didn’t matter as much at that point, especially with what Yukimura wanted to focus on in the final saga, but still, you have shown us all these complications, struggles, and developments surrounding his character only to end the story without knowing where everything eventually leads.

And I think this applies to some of the other characters as well. I would have loved to see a little more of them and where their journeys eventually took them. Not necessarily because every character needs a complete conclusion, but because we have spent so much time with them, and their journeys were an important part of what made this manga special.

However, I don’t think this takes away much from the ending itself. The philosophical & poetic conclusion was always going to be more important than giving every character a proper farewell, and I think Yukimura understood that very well.

One of the things I appreciate the most about Vinland Saga is that it doesn’t necessarily give you the answers you want. Instead, it challenges the way you view certain things and makes you question ideas that you might have taken for granted. The way it explores violence, peace, humanity, and the struggle of trying to live according to your ideals is something I find incredibly beautiful.

And I think that is what makes the ending work so well. It doesn’t betray what the story has been building towards, nor does it try to give us an ending that would simply satisfy everyone. It stays true to its themes and the message Yukimura has been trying to convey since the beginning.

Overall, Vinland Saga has been a beautiful journey. It is one of those rare fictional works that I believe will stay with me for a very long time. The characters, the writing, the art, and especially the philosophical aspect of the story have made this an experience I will always appreciate.

Thank you, Yukimura, for this beautiful journey.
Profile Image for R..
607 reviews5 followers
July 26, 2025
به پایان آمد این دفتر حکایت همچنان باقی
به صد دفتر نشاید گفت حسب‌الحال مشتاقی


خب این هم از پایان حماسه وینلاند
یک پایان لایت و گسل باز
یعنی دیگه انگار حوصله نداشت بنویسه، البته شاید برای تورفین داستان تا همین اندازه بود
ولی ما دوست داشتیم راجع به تورکل و عاقبتش بیشتر بخونیم. مثلا آخراش رو جوری نشون میداد که تورکل هنوز تشنه جنگ و دعواست
دوست داشتیم اون جنگجویی که با تورکل مبارزه کرد رو هم بدونیم کجاست چی شد
دوست داشتیم داستانی راجع به هیلد بدونیم، بالاخره کی دل هیلد رو می بره
حتی دوست داشتم ببینم مثلا چند سال میگذره و اون بومی که تورفین بهش گفت شمشیرتو بنداز توی دریا به دردت نمیخوره با اون شمشیر چیکار کرد
و کونوت..
و خیلی دیگه از این موارد..
از همین جهت ها هست که این پایان رو پایان جالبی برای داستان در نظر نمیگیرم
حیف شد
شاید یک روز ساید استوری هایی نوشته بشه ازش..
شاید..
اما هر چی باشه از پایان اتک که بهتر بود 😂😂😂😂✌
Profile Image for Andrei Stoian.
Author 3 books55 followers
August 7, 2025


Romanian review: „Vinland Saga” a ajuns la final și pot spune că este una dintre cele mai bune serii manga scrise vreodată.
Întregul arc narativ se concentrează pe întemeierea coloniei Vinland și pe interacțiunile cu nativii americani, nordicii încercând să comunice cu aceștia, să conviețuiască și să stabilească relații comerciale. Din păcate, diferențele culturale și, mai ales, apariția unor boli aduse de europeni, care decimează populația nativă, duc inevitabil la conflicte.
În ultimii ani s-a discutat foarte mult despre modul în care Makoto Yukimura va alege să încheie povestea — dacă va opta pentru un final fidel adevărului istoric sau pentru unul optimist. În realitate, colonia întemeiată de Thorfinn în America nu a rezistat. Personal, mi-a plăcut soluția aleasă de Yukimura, care a oferit o concluzie satisfăcătoare pentru poveste: .
Unul dintre cele mai memorabile momente ale acestui arc este cel în care șamanul tribului de nativi americani are o viziune. El vede cum vor evolua pământurile lor odată cu apariția omului alb, punctul culminant fiind scena în care asistă la testele nucleare de la Alamogordo. Pentru mine, acel moment a fost fascinant.
Mi-ar fi plăcut ca Yukimura să ne ofere câteva informații despre anumite personaje din arcurile narative anterioare; din păcate, pe multe dintre ele nu le mai revedem. Este adevărat că poveștile lor erau, într-o anumită măsură, încheiate, dar câteva cadre în numărul final ar fi fost binevenite pentru a ne lua rămas bun de la ele.
Transformarea lui Thorfinn dintr-un tânăr însetat de răzbunare într-un pacifist convins, care își trăiește viața după dictonul „nu am niciun dușman”, va rămâne memorabilă. Mă bucur că popularitatea seriei a răspândit, măcar puțin, filozofia păcii și iertării printre tinerii pasionați de anime și manga.
În final, deși este evident că adevăratul Thorfinn nu putea avea principii morale atât de apropiate de cele din prezent, faptul că a ales să navigheze spre America, într-o epocă în care vikingii își câștigau gloria prin jafuri în Europa, sugerează că poate a visat și el la o lume mai bună. Poate că există un strop de adevăr în această poveste spusă la peste un mileniu de la moartea personajului istoric. Cu această idee și-a încheiat Yukimura seria, așa că mi-am dorit să-mi închei și eu recenzia tot cu ea.



English review: "Vinland Saga" has come to an end, and I can say it is one of the best manga series ever written.
The final story arc focuses on the founding of the Vinland colony and on the interactions with Native Americans — the Norse attempting to communicate with them, live together, and establish trade relations. Unfortunately, cultural differences and, most of all, the outbreak of diseases brought by Europeans, which decimate the native population, inevitably lead to conflict.
In recent years, there has been much discussion about how Makoto Yukimura would choose to end the story — whether he would opt for a historically accurate conclusion or a more optimistic one. In reality, the colony founded by Thorfinn in America did not survive. Personally, I liked the solution Yukimura chose, which brought a satisfying close to the narrative: .
One of the most memorable moments in this arc is when the shaman of the Native American tribe has a vision. He is shown how their lands will change with the arrival of the white man, the climax being the vision of the nuclear tests at Alamogordo. For me, that scene was fascinating.
I would have liked Yukimura to give us some updates on certain characters from previous arcs; unfortunately, many of them never reappear. True, their stories were, to some extent, concluded, but a few panels in the final chapter would have been a welcome farewell.
Thorfinn’s transformation from a revenge-driven youth into a committed pacifist who lives by the motto “I have no enemies” will remain unforgettable. I’m glad the series’ popularity has helped spread, even a little, the philosophy of peace and forgiveness among young anime and manga fans.
In the end, although it is clear that the real Thorfinn could not have held moral principles so close to modern ideals, the fact that he chose to sail to America — in an era when Vikings earned their glory by raiding across Europe — suggests that perhaps he, too, dreamed of a better world. Maybe there is a grain of truth in this story told more than a millennium after the historical figure’s death. With this thought, Yukimura closed his series, so I wanted to end my review the same way.

Profile Image for Sacha.
129 reviews18 followers
July 4, 2026
Semplicemente uno dei manga più importanti degli ultimi vent'anni. Una persona con più energie di me traccerebbe dei confronti con Attack on Titan, ma io che sono pigro lascerò elaborare al mio subconscio. Sperando di trarne qualche lezione su questa spirale di odio, violenza, cupidigia, egoismo, intolleranza che sembrano far parte del dna umano.

E dato che siamo impermeabili alle lezioni del passato, miopi di fronte al presente e ciechi verso i tempi futuri (che si prospettano tutt'altro che rosei, più vicini alla nuvoletta del fungo atomico), forse la più grande qualità di queste opere di finzione è di saper rendere più vividi e reali questo genere di orrori, e gli effetti che ne conseguono, di quanto non siano in grado di trasmettere i testi scolastici con la loro natura accademica (e forse per questo meno umana).
La finzione percepita più reale del reale.

Ma noi siamo una società elitaria, e i fumetti sono ancora visti come intrattenimento popolare di bassa lega. Quanta pazienza...
Profile Image for Álvaro .
96 reviews6 followers
July 25, 2025
Vivimos en un mundo en el que hay violencia, guerras y esclavitud y 'Vinland Saga' es un alegato a favor de la paz, la no violencia y las relaciones de igual a igual.

Desconocía esta obra y empecé a ver la 1 Temporada del anime hace un par de años pensando que sería un anime sobre peleas de vikingos pero la 2 Temporada cambió por completo mi visión sobre ella. Empecé el manga y avancé más allá de la 2 Temporada del anime y esta obra me terminó de enamorar por completo.

El odio o la venganza son sentimientos que contaminan nuestros corazones y la bondad o la empatía son sentimientos que hacen florecer nuestro corazón, Thorfinn a lo largo de la obra nos lo demuestra. 'Vinland Saga' también nos habla sobre lo importante qué es tener a personas a nuestro alrededor que nos quieran (familia, amigos o pareja) y hay personas como Einar que son muy necesarias cuando estamos en un pozo y esas personas nos sacan de él. También nos habla del perdón, Hild es un ejemplo de ello.

Sueño con un mundo dónde las guerras o la esclavitud desaparezcan al igual que Thorfinn y todos/as tenemos que esforzanos para que exista un mundo así. Gracias Makoto Yukimura por haber hecho esta obra.
Profile Image for eot_brianwalker.
44 reviews1 follower
March 8, 2026
What a journey. I have no enemies. Thank you Makoto Yukimura for this masterpiece. Thorfinn’s character arc is truly unforgettable. Vinland Saga will never be forgotten ❤️😭♥️
Profile Image for Ej Szwagier.
29 reviews4 followers
October 31, 2025
Cudowny, dojrzały finał. Mądry, pozbawiony patosu. Sago Winlandzka, kocham Cię.
Profile Image for dembouzinho.
33 reviews
November 10, 2025
I’m litteraly in tears wtf…

Thank you for everything, Vinland, you will never be forgotten.

𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 ❤️
Profile Image for Pip (Bookish_Pip).
107 reviews24 followers
October 31, 2026
The end of a saga indeed!

Vinland Saga has cemented itself alongside the masterworks of Berserk and Vagabond and has since gone on to influence newer series like Bugle Call and Centuria. I think there was an expectation that Vinland Saga would end with a bang, especially as the war between the people of Arnheid Village and the Lnu was picking up. Would Thorfinn return to his routes and fight for his ideal new world; would the Vikings take charge and fight in his stead or would we see the Lnu triumph over the colonisers in their land? However, Vinland Saga ended rather quietly under a veil of tragedy and looming doom which felt right for a story like this.

I love this series for its thorough deep dive into cycles of violence (as well as its ‘father and son’, ‘dad stuff’ themes) and seeing that culminate and reach its peak with Einar killing another man and his eventual death was fantastic, despite it being so incredibly painful to read through! The quote ‘The allure of war is a powerful force indeed… if it can make a man who hates fighting as much as you pick up a weapon.’ is such a great summary line for everything Vinland Saga has been about, I don’t think I’ll ever get over it. Einar was one of my favourite characters from the series and I’m pleased (in a certain way) his character held so much meaning for the series ending and felt so poignant too.

This is a bit of an aside but, over the years of reading Vinland Saga, it has changed my response to revenge narratives and how I view them. In short, it’s ruined them and I can’t read them anymore! 😂 But despite me not enjoying stories like that now, I think that says something to the impact this work has had on me and many others. ‘I have no enemies’ is a line I’m certain will stay with Vinland Saga’s readership as it’s an incredibly valuable idea, especially in today’s day and age. I did quite like how Thorfinn made amends Miskwekepu'j in this final volume, despite them being so at odds at the start of this arc. My interpretation is that they probably didn’t see exactly eye to eye but they at least conceded to each other which, at times, is better than nothing.

The final shot of Ka’qaquj laughing and holding up the sword that started Arnheid Village’s downfall, despite Thorfinn’s warning to him was quite chilling but, again, felt right. I’m pleased Yukimura didn’t give us a tidy or moralistic ending or present a solution that would ‘solve all war’ at the end of his series. This was perhaps the indicator of a new cycle which would begin within the tribe or within the country (a la Miskwekepu'j vision / the future of America as we know it) but I’m glad we got a pretty definitive end for the cycle of violence Thorfinn was trapped in over this ‘new world’ arc.

There are a moments which bug me a little about this ending though, despite really liking it! There’s the idea that you can’t return home, especially in stories that feel the influence of the Odyssey. Yet Thorfinn does and everyone is happy to have him and the others back which left me feeling a little deflated. What should an idealistic dreamer who wants to change the world and people’s behaviours do? In a way, it doesn’t seem right for a character like Thorfinn to just give up and go home with a ‘well, I tried.’ I expected him to maybe deliver his new family back home and continue to try and find a place free from war - I can’t picture him giving up on that dream so readily. (I think this is where I’m a bit at odds with this being a historical manga - a very well researched historical manga at that! I get that, for historical reasons, Thorfinn’s team would just go home and no where else but I think having that bit of fantasy and seeing Thorfinn try again would have been a great ending for the Viking’s too?!)

Speaking of family, what about Karli?! As previously stated, this is the ‘cycles of violence’ manga and to not get a chapter focusing on what Karli will do in the future or opinions greater than ‘why doesn’t everyone just listen to dad?’, ‘I want to try in Vinland again!’ It feels like we’ve been short changed! I think we can guess Karli will have a happy ending but I would have loved an epilogue featuring just him, as a child (like Thorfinn at the start of the series) running around his village and getting into his mind for a little while.

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The ending sequence of seeing Plmk planting the wheat seeds Thorfinn gave him was beautiful. The idea of planting and cultivating seeds for a better, more harmonious future sits so right with a story like this which focuses so intently on war and what war or violence can do to people who become caught up in it. Yukimura’s vision on breaking free of these cycles and building your own hopeful future for those willing to work for them ring out so clearly within this series are put on show within these panels and sum up the series as a whole.

I highly recommend Vinland Saga and I’m so glad I decided to buy into the hype it was getting as it has been clearly deserved. I hope Yukimura will get to have a lovely long rest before starting on his next work but I’ll be right there to pick it up when it does release. I better start farming, I suppose! 🧑‍🌾
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Rory Wilding.
844 reviews32 followers
October 15, 2026
SPOILERS

In the final volume of Makoto Yukimura's Vinland Saga, we pick up where the previous volume left off, in which tensions rise between the natives and the Norse, in which some of the former steal the latter's weapons and prepare to fight back. Meanwhile, Thorfinn manages to escape from the natives with the help of Hild but becomes a victim of multiple arrow wounds as his health deteriorates.

Without their leader, the Norse are determined to fight for the land they have called home for over a year, including Thorfins's brother Einar. Most of the volume is about the war between the two peoples as the Norse build a tall log wall to fend themselves from the archers of the natives. This is where Yukimura shines as an artist with these beautifully detailed environments being ravaged by war with both sides being cleaved.

These sequences get across the recurring theme of Yukimura's series in the pointlessness of violence and just when Thorfinn thinks he has failed in creating a land without war, his dreams featuring figures of his past remind him that his journey is far from over, being declared a thousand-year voyage. When he wakes up, Thorfinn is still recovering from his injuries, but reminds everyone that his pacificism is his greatest strength.

During this final arc, Ivar and Miskwekepu'j have served as the two main antagonists as both believe there can never be a co-existence between the Norse and the Indigenous. While Ivar dies in the heat of the battle, which for him is what a true warrior is, Thorfinn has a sit-down with Miskwekepu'j, who believes that cultures can't co-exist alongside each other due to a difference of beliefs. As much as Miskwekepu'j sees him as the enemy, Thorfinn has always stated that he has no enemies, which causes Miskwekepu'j to have an epiphany. This series has explored the various cultures throughout the world and while most of the story has been Viking-centric, it asks the question that is especially relevant today, which is why we all can't get along.

Out of this turmoil comes tragedy and not just from the many deaths from both sides. For some characters like Styrk and Cordelia, no matter how good or bad their intentions are, they believe there is no other choice than violence. Even Einar falls into that sentiment, which leads to two heartbreaking scenes from this volume. Another character to come out of this conflict is Ka'qaquj, a native Lnu warrior who is the latest of the men that Thorfinn has encountered throughout his life, those who enjoy warfare and killing and are oblivious to the suffering of others. These tend to be the most interesting characters in the series as they have qualities that are irredeemable and yet their fates remain ambiguous.

Following the tragedy and bloodshed, a truce takes place and thus Thorfinn and his crew leave Vinland, but with the hope that peace and co-existence could still happen. This brings us onto the ending, which is not quite the spectacular conclusion I'm sure fans hoped for. As Yukimura has written this saga for twenty years, it is the challenge of any storyteller on how to end such an epic story. Although it is obvious that the Vinland Arc was going to be the final arc, the way Yukimura chose to end is similar to how Akira Toriyama concluded the original Dragon Ball manga, which is to end on a light note, which weirdly is a happy ending for Bug-Eyes and Niskawaji'j.

I'm sure fans are disappointed as we don't see Canute or any other characters outside of Thorfinn's group. Even with the closing captions that explain multiple voyages have been attempted to Vinland, including another by Thorfinn himself, it felt Yukimura wanted to be done with the story he has told for so long. Personally, Vinland Saga's perfect ending happened at the end of the thirteenth volume with an act of forgiveness from Hild to Thorfinn. Whatever reservations there are, they are minor as I will forever thank Makoto Yukimura for giving us one of the best stories in manga form.
Profile Image for Lia Carstairs.
610 reviews2,894 followers
October 26, 2026
This series quite literally has the most beautiful and gut-wrenching messages I've ever read in my life. Throughout the series the theme of "choices" and what it means when we say "I had no choice" vs "It couldn't be helped"... especially in this last arc you see just how prominent this theme is and oh man the last 3 chapters especially will forever stick with me the most for the rest of my life. Devastating but the messages behind it all.

The cast of characters were really written so beautifully. Even the ones you think to be insignifcant end up having such an impact on the storyline--both positive and unfortunately negative. Thorfinn is definitely my favourite but that's probably not a surprise considering is character😭 But Gudrid and Hild!!!! Genuinely these queens I love them so so so much. And Einar!! The development they all went through since we first met them is just crazy, I can't believe it. I do wish Gudrid got more page time this arc but it makes sense she didnt since the Baltic Sea War arc was mostly for her. We got more Karli though!! SO MANY GREAT KARLI MOMENTS!!! I love him so much🥹 And Cordelia!! Such an unexpected addition but I loved that. Some introduced characters I would've wished to never have seen but alas. The only thing that brings me small comfort is that they're dead.

Thorfinn really stuck with his ideals in the end as a pacifist and I adore that so much. Yukimura created such an amazing protagonist and cast of characters and world, I will never stop thinking about this series. Vinland Saga has most assuredly become one of my favourite mangas/animes ever and I will definitely be rereading and watching s3 & s4 when they eventually come out in the future.
Profile Image for Deniz.
21 reviews
January 20, 2026
Tüm seriyi bitirdiğimde içimde sessizce yer değiştirmiş düşünceler, sorgulamaya başlamış öfkeler ve adını koyamadığım bir ağırlık vardı. Bu seri bana bir hikaye anlatmadı sadece; beni kendimle yüzleştirdi.
Başlangıçta Vinland Saga, kanla yazılmış bir intikam destanı gibi görünüyordu(eş zamanlı olarak diziyi de izleme fırsatım oldu ve birebir aynı olduğunu söyleyebilirim, tabi tamamen diziye çevrilmiş durumda değil seri). Kılıçların konuştuğu, onurun güçle ölçüldüğü, hayatta kalmanın başlı başına bir erdem sayıldığı bir dünyaya adım attım. Thorfinn’in öfkesi bana oldukça tanıdık geldi çünkü sanırım hepimiz bir noktada acımızı öfkeyle karıştırmışızdır. Ancak seri ilerledikçe Vinland Saga’nın asıl meselesi savaş değil, savaşın insanda açtığı boşluk olduğu ortaya çıktı.

Seri boyunca şiddet yüceltilmek yerine sabırla soyuldu ve geriye ne kaldığını gösterdi bana. Her kayıp, her ölüm, her boş bakış şunu fısıldadı: “Bunun kazananı yok.” Thorfinn’in yolculuğu bir savaşçının değil, bir insanın yeniden doğma çabasıydı ve güçlü olmaktan vazgeçip iyi olmaya çalışmanın ne kadar zor olduğunu anlattı bana.

Serinin en çarpıcı yanı, affetmenin bir zayıflık değil, belki de ulaşılabilecek en büyük cesaret olduğuna dair ısrarı olduğunu düşünüyorum. “Gerçek bir savaşçı kılıca ihtiyaç duymaz” cümlesi zihnime kazındı çünkü bu söz, yalnızca Vikingler için değil, bizim için de söylenmiştir. Günlük hayatımızda sürdürdüğümüz küçük savaşlar, içimizde büyüttüğümüz kinler, haklı çıkma arzusu… Vinland Saga, tüm bunları sorgulattı işte.

Bu seri bende bir şeyleri değiştirdi çünkü bana şunları sordu:
“Acın seni neye dönüştürüyor?”
“Eğer intikamdan vazgeçersen, geriye sen kalıyor musun?”

Vinland Saga, umutlu bir hikaye değildi asla ama dürüst bir hikayeydi. İnsan olmanın ağırlığını romantize etmeden, ama umutsuzluğa da tamamen teslim etmeden anlattı. Barışın bir ülke değil, bir mücadele olduğunu gösterdi ve aslında Vinland’ın da bir yer değil, bir ideal olduğunu, zor ama aranmaya değer olduğunu anlattı.

Bu mangayı bitirdiğimde daha sakin, daha yavaş düşünen biri olduğumu fark ettim. Bazı öfkelerim anlamını yitirdi. Bazı suskunluklarım değer kazandı. Vinland Saga bana şunu öğretti: Değişmek mümkündür, ama bunun bedeliyle yüzleşmeyi göze alırsan. Ve belki de en önemlisi gerçek savaş, başkasına karşı değil, insanın kendi içindeki karanlığa karşı verdiği savaştır.
Profile Image for Devero.
5,276 reviews
May 24, 2026
Con questo albo termina quella che è una gran bella saga.
Yukimura sensei ha mantenuto per anni un piglio preciso nella narrazione, affiancando a scontri più o meno realistici le riflessioni sulla natura umana.

Certo, gli scontri a volte sono stati spettacolari, mentre la realtà deglle battaglie in quegli anni è decisamente più pragmatica e semplice. Il vero punto di forza della serie rimane il pensiero, le riflessioni sul modo di condurre la vita. Il sogno di Thorfinn di una società pacifista e pacifica termina qui, con un sanguinario scontro e la ritirata dei norreni, con una sconfitta, verrebbe da dire.

Certo, lo sciovinismo ed il razzismo hanno avuto il loro peso. Nella narrazione della storia, un peso anche maggiore lo ha avuto la pestilenza. In questo caso la ricostruzione storica dell'autore spazia molto nella fantasia, perché la peste arriverà un paio di secoli più tardi in Europa (e forse in Groenlandia, ma si pensa di no) e gli studi condotti negli ultimi 40 anni portano a credere che il ratto grigio norvegese sia in realtà meno suscettibile a portare queste pestilenze; i dati indicano che con la sua diffusione in Europa nel 1600 gradualmente si assiste al diminuire ed alla scomparsa delle epidemie.

Nella lunga saga, di circa 7500 tavole, abbiamo seguito lo sviluppo del pensiero del giovanissimo Thorfinn dalla sua militanza con i soldati di ventura di Askeladd fino alla schiavitù. Da un pensiero quasi monolitico dedicato alla vendetta sino ad una atarassia, seguita da una riflessione, guidata anche dal suo amico fraternon Einar. Una riflessione che lo porta verso il sogno di una utopia di pace.
Thorfinn proseguirà la ricerca di questa utopia in un altro luogo, dove non lo sappiamo e forse non lo sa nemmeno Yukimura sensei visto che ha deciso di terminare così la sua storia.

A me piace pensare che, rimessesi in mare le navi di Thorfinn, magari dopo aver passato l'inverno ancora nel Vinland, siano stati spinti da venti avversi nell'Atlantico ed abbiano raggiunto le Azzorre.
Isole disabitate, dove ci sono indizi di una fase medievale di abitazione da parte di umani, ma non sappiamo da dove venissero (e nemmeno se davvero fosse così) ed allora perché non sognare che fossero loro?

5 stelle
Profile Image for Matt Henningsen.
37 reviews
November 7, 2026
I’m really happy I got to experience Vinland Saga. As my first manga series, it was a bit of a different reading experience for me, and while I don’t know that manga will become my preferred storytelling medium, I can absolutely appreciate its allure. This was a really good one.

What stood out most was Yukimura’s exploration of war, violence, and the culture that surrounds them. In this historical setting, violence is almost worshipped. War is a source of glory, strength, honor, and purpose. Against that backdrop, the story’s persistent contrast between that worldview and the pursuit of peace makes for some incredibly compelling commentary. Thorfinn’s journey, in particular, gives the story so much weight.

I also really appreciated the Christian ideals woven throughout the narrative. Themes of forgiveness, loving your enemies, rejecting hatred, self-sacrifice, and the inherent value of human life are explored in a setting that often seems fundamentally opposed to those principles. It’s a fascinating juxtaposition and, in my opinion, one of the series’ greatest strengths.

Ultimately, Vinland Saga is much more than a Viking story. It’s a story about what it means to be human, the destructive nature of hatred, and the courage it takes to choose peace in a world built around violence. I’m glad I read it.
Profile Image for Özgür Atik.
47 reviews1 follower
January 11, 2026
Bazı eserler size sadece bir hikaye anlatır, bazıları ise sizi yeniden inşa eder. Vinland Saga benim için kesinlikle ikincisini yaptı. Özellikle "Kölelik Arkı"(Farmland Arc), sadece Thorfinn'in değil, benim de zihnimdeki birçok putu yıktığı bir dönüm noktası oldu.

Thorfinn kılıcını bırakıp toprağı tırnaklarıyla kazırken, aslında ben de kendi önyargılarımı, hayata karşı duyduğum o anlamsız öfkeyi, kazanmak ve ağzımızdan düşmeyen başarmak hakkındaki sığ fikirlerimi ehlileştirdim. O yavaş, sancılı ama bir o kadar da vakur değişim süreci, bana gerçek gücün yıkmakta değil, hayatta tutmakta ve inşa etmekte olduğunu gösterdi.

Serinin sonunda Thorfinn'in geldiği nokta ile benim hayata bakış açım eşzamanlı olarak evrildi. İnsani ilişkilere, şiddetin doğasına ve affetmenin ağırlığına dair öyle pencereler açıldı ki, bu seriyi okumadan önceki halime geri dönebilmem, benim için artık çok zor.

Sadece Thorfinn değişmedi, onunla birlikte ben de değiştim.
Profile Image for Danilo Otte.
52 reviews
October 17, 2026
Een ijzersterk einde van de enige manga die ik heb gelezen die ook daadwerkelijk een einde heeft. Vinland Saga is een serie die me enorm heeft geraakt. De reis die je met de personages maakt, de thema’s die worden aangesneden (zoals vergiffenis en verlossing) en de manier waarop alles uiteindelijk samenkomt, maken dit voor mij een bijzonder mooie leeservaring.

Ik vind het oprecht een fantastische verzameling om in de kast te hebben staan. Een verhaal dat me nog lang zal bijblijven en waarvan ik ontzettend blij ben dat ik het heb mogen lezen. Een meer dan waardige afsluiting van een geweldig verhaal.
Profile Image for Camilla.
14 reviews
Review of advance copy
February 23, 2026
one of the best written manga I've ever read.

I think the ending, although bitter and quite abrupt, was the best one the author could have chosen, as it teaches us that even with the ideals and virtues it's not always possible to reach our goals unless everyone shared the same thinking.


I also appreciate the parallelism between Thorfinn and Canute, who shared the same purpose but ended up using different means, both valid.
Profile Image for Rose Alexander.
177 reviews
January 20, 2026
Randomly read the end of Vinland Saga today because I remembered it finished recently! Reread from around chapter 190 not even sure what chapters this volume has but just wanted to mark that I finished it. One of my favorite manga ever.
Profile Image for ❀ Chiara ❀.
22 reviews4 followers
September 19, 2026
Pensare che ho finalmente concluso questo viaggio a fianco di Thorfinn, quasi non mi sembra vero: mi mancherà ❤️‍🩹
Profile Image for Zhao.
65 reviews1 follower
August 14, 2026
A MASTER CLASS ON FORGIVENESS: VINLAND SAGA

Yukimura started a manga that drew in an audience that was the target to critique. He drew in an audience that cheered for the conquest of revenge and violence. He took that audience and forcefully opened their eyes to make them forgive. Thors realized how stupid and pointless war and killing was. As he states, “A true warrior needs no swords.” Despite Thorfinn not growing up with his father for most of his life since he was killed, Thors foreshadows the future that his son might be the same as him.

Thorfinn from the start never killed for the sake of killing. He was only focused on getting revenge for his father by killing Askeladd in a fair duel. During Thorfinn’s time with the Vikings, he got messed up in a lot of political affairs, including taking care of Prince Canute. Prince Canute introduces many new ideas into Vinland, such as the internal conflict people have when they have been assigned a role at birth, but they feel like they do not want to do it. Prince Canute encounters the violence that the Vikings cause. He has a conversation with a priest who was also with the band. The priest describes man as best being dead. He states that love is death because death is what completes the life of a man and forbids him from laying any more harm onto the human world. Canute has this revelation that oftentimes we do not feel love for people, rather a discriminatory affection because we see the benefit they can hold in our life. Love holds no discrimination; if you truly love humanity you love them because they are human and they breathe. Would you love a human even if they are at their worst Canute realizes that all this war and bloodshed is horrible, and he does not understand why God would allow this to happen. He takes an atheistic approach to life and in his creation of what he will call paradise. They both want to create a paradise where people are not suffering, but Canute does not hesitate to use the force of a King in the future.

Now, this entire time I have not gone into Askeladd’s relevance. Despite Askeladd being introduced as Thorfinn’s enemy and the killer of his dad, Askeladd in a way is also a father to Thorfinn. Askeladd strikes me as this trope of someone who knows what they do is immoral, but they are “too far in” to back out. However, they still want to inspire younger generations to do better, in a way of almost not repeating the same mistakes he did. Askeladd is a murderer, yes, but he could have killed Thorfinn; instead, he let him follow his band and feed off his resources. I think deep inside, Askeladd wanted Thorfinn to transcend as his father did, or maybe he felt guilty for taking Thors away from Thorfinn; therefore, he felt he did not deserve to kill Thorfinn as well. Now, in the Vinland Saga plot, it is revealed that Askeladd is of royal blood. In order to make Canute King, he fakes that he has gone mad and killed Canute’s father; then he gets himself killed by Canute in order to make it look like he is the hero and give him a valid right to the throne. Are we seeing the issue with this? This entire time, Thorfinn has been after killing Askeladd, and at the end he gets himself killed by Canute. Thorfinn is absolutely broken. He realizes that after all this time he also did like Askeladd quite a bit, and that his entire life goal is now gone before him. Askeladd utters one of the most important lines while he is dying: "Haven't given a thought to what you're going to live for after I'm dead, Thorfinn?” Thorfinn's entire life shatters, and so does the plot of this manga. Up till this point, we were made to believe that Vinland Saga would be a journey of Thorfinn taking revenge for his father, but no. Askeladd dies prematurely around 50 chapters in, and we are left with a Thorfinn who has no direction in his life, and so does the manga. Thorfinn, in his rage, tries to kill Canute, and he is then sentenced to be a slave.

Thorfinn has now been stripped of everything he is. He is no longer considered a warrior; no one cares for what he is, and most importantly, he does not know how to live as a mundane human. He doesn't know how to fill the emptiness inside him that appeared after Askeladd passed. Thorfinn starts to even question if he deserves to live and what he would live for. What reason exists in this world that would make a killer want to live? What in the world would fix that balance? Clearly, this is a massive question to ask if you are in the same standing as Thorfinn. This introduces one of my favorite scenes in the manga. The old man, who was the father of the current master of the farm that Thorfinn was a slave on, says to take it little by little. When being reborn, no one is expected to know everything correctly right off the bat. He also tells him that if you are empty, it means you can fill yourself up again. Breaking yourself down to nothing is the first step to being something greater. Important to the main story as well, another slave who became Thorfinn's friend called Einar, taught Thorfinn the normalcy of life. He taught him about farming and the simple joys of life that humans had at the time. He was the first person who accepted the “new” version of Thorfinn while still seeing the past that was dragging him. He believed he could change, and so he started changing. For me, this is where Vinland Saga started to change the way I think. People who have been immoral in the past or wronged others can never prove themselves to be better or move past that if others don't do the same for them. Maybe we should be more accepting of the fact that people can change; as long as the effort of change is being made, they are being reborn anew.

Thorfinn starts to slowly change his ways; he starts to see that violence oftentimes can be avoided if people just communicate or talk. Fighting happens over small things being escalated to big misunderstandings. Despite this growth, Thorfinn still doesn't know what to live for. He does not know how to atone for what he has done. One of my favorite scenes in the manga as well is when Thorfinn’s nightmares are explored and how that affects him as a person. Every night Thorfinn has nightmares about the people he killed, to the point that he starts yelling in his sleep. Einar always wakes him up, almost as a way of saving him from the nightmares. We get this scene where Thorfinn is trying to climb up, representing this rock-bottom state. Then, he is clinging to a stone, and he looks at what is around him. Askeladd is next to him in this dream as well, and he sees the souls of everyone he has killed and warriors fighting. Thorfinn realizes there is no glory for fighting in the afterlife, which, for Norse culture, is a huge revelation. There is no glory or mighty war you get to fight with the gods (Ragnarok); there is only despair. Askeladd tells Thorfinn he must continue living, and he must find a way to carry the souls of those he killed. The real fight is not with anyone now; he has no enemies. The last great battle, the real ragnarok everyone must go through, is a battle with yourself. A battle with all what you could call “your sins.” Thorfinn must endure his rage and tendencies to resort to violence for a greater life and lead all the souls he damned to atonement with himself.

Canute and Thorfinn are all grown up, and a fight starts to break out over the land of the farm. Thorfinn decides to resolve this issue; he will not fight, and he will simply ask King Canute to stop. However, when he goes to the royal armies and guards, they do not believe that he has any honor or relation to Canute since he appears to be a slave. Thorfinn then says he will not leave, and he will endure 100 punches to prove that he is a warrior. Here we see the idea of a warrior of endurance versus strength being introduced. Sometimes, the fact that you can withstand it is more powerful than fear-mongering with your power and strength. Thorfinn also states that the royal army is not his enemy; he has never met the men 1 on 1, and he does not know who they are personally. This scene is so impactful because it really highlights how humanity often gets carried away with group politics versus the individual stance of a person. After enduring 100 punches, Thorfinn is allowed to speak to King Canute. He tells him to stop, and Canute asks something along the lines of, “What if I don't?" How will a man who has become a slave counter the mightiest man in the land? And Thorfinn says something beautiful…he will run. And after this, Cantue breaks down laughing at Thorfinn. There is something so beautiful about how this scene goes from Thorfinn having an emotional beatdown over a serious topic, and then the perpetrator of the fighting being humored by Thorfinn’s actions. It goes to show that the first resort of talking might be the way to go? Canute is so moved by Thorfinn's beauty that he is defying the traditional honor codes of the Vikings and moving throughout the world as he sees fit. In a way, it relates to Canute’s ideology of him defying the rules of God to create his own paradise. Thorfinn is defying the way he has lived to create paradise. Canute calls Thorfinn a fool…and this scene honestly made me think of when Fujitara called Luffy a fool in One Piece. He's a fool, but a good one, and a kind-hearted one. Cantue actually agrees to leave the farm alone, and he leaves with happiness in his heart. Thorfinn marked a change in culture, and the world was much more precious than owning land in his eyes.

After this, Thorfinn and Einar both buy their freedom after working so hard on the farm. Thorfinn goes back to his home country. He reunites with his family, and he tells them everything he has endured. He realizes that his dream is to create a paradise; he wants to create a place with no slavery and war. He wants a place…"Far west, across the sea, there is a land called Vinland. It's warm. And fertile. A faraway land, where neither slave traders nor the flames of war reach.” Therefore, he needs to collect a force of men women and children from Iceland that will be willing to live this lifestyle. Here, we are introduced to a woman named Gudrid (who will become Thorfinn’s future wife). Her passion since she was a little kid was to explore the world and sail the seas. However, since she is a woman she was never granted this opportunity. Here we see another example in Vinland where people are forced to live in a specific way because of the way they were born. Men are put in a box of honor and strength being their only language, while women must protect the house and bare children. Thorfinn is trying to break this very thing, he wants people to be individuals themselves and not fall for this “groupthink” mentality in a way. There's this scene that involves Gudrid and Thorfinn that honestly really changed my perspective on how I view others making mistakes. Gudrid apologizes to Thorfinn for making so much commotion for wanting to sail with them, but Thorfinn says to not worry as he has done worse things in the past and he is still a free man talking about the world. This really shifted my perspective to judge people less when they make a mistake or cause a disturbance because most likely you have done something worse in your life, or you have been there before.

What would happen if Thorfinn’s past caught up to him when he was already a changed man? Thorfinn and his group encounter a woman named Hild while trying to get enough money to start up their settlement of Vinland. She is an orphan, who lost her parents due to Thorfinn. Hild has a mission of revenge, however Hild is slightly moved by the fact that Einar, and the rest of the crew were putting their life on the line to protect Thorfinn. She must have thought, if these people love Thorfinn so much like I loved my parents, surely there is something important within Thorfinn? Hild was especially moved by the fact that there was an orphan baby in the group being fostered by Thorfinn and Gudrid; she must have seen a bit of herself within that child and could not take away his parents like Thorfinn once did to her. Hild decides that she will watch Thorfinn on his mission to start up Vinland, and that she will not let anyone kill Thorfinn but herself. She would also kill Thorfinn on the spot if he seemed to try and kill anyone else. Thorfinn agreed as he wanted to prove his atonement. How do we live with ourselves after we have wronged others? Do we deserve to have a good life when he has made others miserable? The answer is simply yes. You cannot stop living properly or without joy just because you have wronged others, but it is important to carry that wrongness throughout your life.

What happens when the rage that you have been suppressing comes back? Throughout the plot, we find out that Askeladd did not kill Thors just because he wanted to, he killed him because he was paid off by Floki to do so. Thorfinn finds out and he surges with an uncontrollable amount of rage within him. He encounters Floki and almost loses it, but Hild’s presence reminds him even in the face of the man that caused his fathers death, he must atone. Even when you feel like you are standing right in front of the devil himself, you must remember you have a mission beyond that. The gaze you hold must go beyond the rage and material actions of the world. After Thorfinn almost loses it, he goes outside for a breath of fresh air. This sets up one of, or arguably the most iconic scene in Vinland Saga, and one of the most famous manga panels we have to date. Thorfinn sitting down on a stone says “I want to be a kinder and gentler person. I want to be a stronger person.” This scene for me personally also just broke me down. After Thorfinn made an error in his behavior, he is almost reprimanding himself and reminding him of his own goals that he almost lost sight of. But the most key thing here is that this dialogue is trying to show us that being kinder and gentler everyday is strength. He has no sword, he has no enemies, because his strength is kindness.

They realize that they must also find a way to coexist with the natives. Thorfinn was big on carrying no weapons over to Vinland. There were some people fearful of this idea, as where was the line between war and protection? This question is something contemporary times still battle with. Thorfinn emphasizes that you must always use the first restore. Communication goes a longer way that what we assume. And if talking does not work, the solution is not to draw your swords afterward.


There is a growth that happens with Hild that genuinely for me changed my life. Hild was tasked with killing a bear, but she decided not to kill it because she realized that they were in the bear's home. Despite the bear being aggressive and a threat, she started to understand what seemed to be her own enemy and emphasized her enemies', this scene is a metaphor for how she started to slowly view Thorfinn throughout the years. The more she watched him grow and live, she realized that her vengeance was an invasion to his growth, and that she understands the circumstances he went through even if they are “enemies.” This builds up to one of the most emotional scenes in Vinland, Hild forgiving Thorfinn. After Gudrid announces that she is pregnant with Thorfinn and her child, and he celebrates, Hild realizes that Thorfinn is true to his world. Thorfinn, after being forgiven, is shocked. It seems that Thorfinn was prepared to never be forgiven by Hild. He is so shocked that for one of the rare times, we see Thorfinn break down crying uncontrollably. This is why I think Vinland is a master class on forgiveness. This changed how I viewed forgiveness. Forgiving someone or yourself is not forgetting what happened or what you did. The best way I can put it is, imagine that your errors are a big yarn ball under your skin with a lot of tension. Forgiveness is unraveling that yarn ball and letting the string sit around inside your skin comfortably, and making sure your body never forgets its there nor does it reject the yarn. The true fight is not with the outside, but the inside. I hope one day I am strong enough to forgive even the devil in front of my face if I have to, as long as someone is trying to improve who they are. Who am I to judge when we all have yarn balls inside our skin, we all unravel them differently.

Now, here we get to the end of Vinland. This is where I am going to close it off. For the longest time I wondered why Vinland was called Vinland Saga. The word saga has Norse origin, which means something along the lines of long story. However, in the modern day sense of the word, it means a continuation of installments of some sort of story. I like the use of the word saga here. It shows that the original sense of the word was for a story, however the future uses the word to describe a continuation of a much longer story. This is what Vinland is trying to tell us. It is a singular story for its time that the events are happening in the manga, but it inspires what we refer to as a modern day saga, Yukimura connects the story brilliantly by showing us that the readers of the story now are the future people that Thorfinn imagined to try over and over again to maintain the peace he strived for. This connection clicked for me in the last 2 chapters of the manga. The natives and the norse settlers broke out into a fight. Einar at war ends up killing a man for the first time. He then understands what Thorfinn has been going through. Einar ends up being killed by a native, and Thorfinn his heart broken, as his first and true brother who accepted him while he was at rock bottom now suffered from the same guilt that Thorfinn preached to avoid. He realizes that war is a disease, it infects even the best of men, it can reach you whenever. The moment I realized this story was about continuing Thorfinn’s philosophy for years to come onto the new generations was when Thorfinn was standing in front of Einar’s grave, and Thorfinn’s 1st son was speaking over the scene. He says, “We’ll do it again and again. Until the land of peace is created. Until everyone understands daddy. As long as it takes.” WE the modern day people are the saga of Vinland. Kindness as strength is not just a one day commitment, it is a generational culture shift that we need to strive for, and it starts by remodeling yourself and then planting the seed for the youth that comes.

Live happy, communicate, prioritize the first resort, forgive and never forget, and remember your actions are a saga planted from those who come before you!




This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Javier.
29 reviews
May 2, 2026
Es una obra magnífica, un alegato a la lucha por lo que realmente vale en la vida a través de la historia y los periplos de un verdadero guerrero: Thorfinn Karlsefni.
Profile Image for Daniel.
99 reviews
October 8, 2026
Damit endet eine weitere großartige und sehr gute Mangareihe.
Ich bin tatsächlich etwas betrübt gewesen, weil es am Ende dann doch sehr tragisch war - was natürlich beim Setting zu erwarten war.
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