Vinland Saga, Book 1

I really enjoyed the Vinland Saga. So much so that I went out and purchased some of the volumes I was missing. Volume 1 starts the entire epic action story.The story starts in the Frankish Kingdoms. We run into Askeladd, Thorfinn and many of the other major characters participating in an attack on a Frankish fortification. After helping themselves to the booty the Norsemen leave the fray to disappear.Later in Denmark we find that Askeladd's band celebrating-but all is not well. The superb young [...]

*This review is spoiler free*So…It…SighThis series… I just…wow. This is one case of judging a book by its (beautiful hard)cover gone completely right. It just happened to catch my eye when I was cruising my local library seinen (older male) manga shelves, and I picked it up without even glancing at the premise. I’ve been sitting here trying to sum this series up into a coherent review but, nope, I just can’t right now. The ART. Ugghhh, I feel…like…sighNoooo *metal slap*, I need t [...]

I read this 2 years ago and thought was okay. Now re-reading it I still wouldn't go with "great" but I'll go with good now for sure. So the story is really two volumes in one. So the fist one is a high speed, bloody, adventure of vikings doing what they do best. Kill and take over places. That's their life. You follow the story of a young warrior named Thorfinn. You can tell right away he works with the vikings, he's strong, and extremely fast but he does not like them or their leader. Why does [...]

I liked this first volume very much. VERY VERY MUCH!!!! Hardcover containing 500 pages of superior manga at $20!

I was really excited to read this. I really enjoyed Planetes (which is sadly out of print) by the same author, and even tried to get Vinland Saga in French, thinking it'd never make its way over to the English market. Thankfully it did, and I wasn't disappointed. Most of this volume (which is actually volumes 1 & 2, so extra value) is in flashback to the childhood of Thorfinn, and the knowledge of what happens in that flashback hangs over the entire book. The art is gorgeous, a combination o [...]

The book is a action packed manga series that will make you crave for more after you finish the first book. I would recommend this book to you if you like medieval times.

Wow ! This is gorgeous. I get the hype, I really do. The art in this manga is gorgeous, and they really know how to do battle/fight scenes, the choreography is stunning. I also love how it wasn't afraid to do a more comedy artstyle during light hearted moments. I was worried going in that this could be just a drudge of angst however that was shortly rectified when the volume showed the lighter sides of the characters (including Askeladd who may or may no be one of my favourite characters of the [...]

Listen to the Vikings tv show soundtrack while reading.

Short Review: This was recommended to me by a number of people. I found it via interlibrary loan because it is expensive. It was well worth reading, but this first volume is only the first of 9 volumes released to date (all over 400 pages). So there is a real investment if you are going to pick up the whole thing.The story is about early vikings. The violence and raiding of the culture are front and center. This is a very violent novel. But it presents itself as a book that is in the long run ag [...]

This series is taking the Manga Youtube community by storm. Along with Monster by Naoki Urasawa, Vinland Saga is catching a lot of attention. I absolutely adored Monster, so if people are crazy about this too, I will gladly give this a go. Now I just have to wait for my copy to arrive lol

a nice and steadily paced story. good art. kinda glorifying the viking lifestyle but that's what shonen manga does, right? not sure whether or not i care about continuing to pick up the books though as i've too much to read to start a long series ATM.

One of my new favorite mangas, I desperately hope this does well so Kodansha can bring more volumes to the US. They give it a great treatment and you get a good bit of story for your money.

Thors is the man.

I really enjoyed reading this manga. It contains a lot of action and adventure throughout the whole book. There were serious points in the story, however, Makoto Yukimura manages to carefully balances things added humour to the story, without being too cartoonish. The story is about a young man, Thorfinn, who seeks to kill the Viking band leader, Askeladd, who killed he’s father. After his father was killed, he was captured and raised in said Viking band and awaits the opportunity to duel with [...]

(I rated this volume 5 stars).An amazing, basically flawless introduction. I love stories of revenge so this hooked me right off the bat (although it's definitely more than just a revenge story). The characters are great, the art is AMAZING and you can easily tell characters apart, even the females. That's really impressive when it comes to manga nowadays.Not necessarily pertaining to the story itself, but these hardcover 2-in-1 omnibus releases by Kodansha are just really beautiful and sturdy. [...]

(Rating all the manga up to chapter 145)Manga about Vikings and their conquering of England on the outside, and a character drama about changing your past self and futility of war in the inside.A bit slow at the beginning, but once the origin story is done and we meet prince Canute, it's all uphill from there. Would rate 4 stars, but the latest Baltic War arc is especially great, so fudge it - 5 stars!

What could be a great TV series. On par with Vikings, Black Sails, or The Last Kingdom.Best part was even though the majority of the story was a flashback, it still surprised me in what actually happened. Fantastic work and I look forward to reading the rest.

10/10

Amazing story.So much conflict.

All the hype is real.

Great story, the artwork jumped about from really good to cartoony. i have read that the art gets much better as the series goes on. So i will be sticking with this. Recommended

It's interesting to read this after watching Vikings on television. Some parallels, but also just a good basis in what's going on. Can't wait for the second volume to come in at the library.

4.5

Good volume. Heard about this series.

Makoto's Yukimura's Viking saga is interesting in how developed the characters are and how much research Makoto Yukimura put into building the saga is admirable. The art is good for anime art, but still has a lot of the hallmarks of the genre in ways that can render elements of the story cartoonish at points. However, the art is highly detailed, the action very well-rendered, and the characters are very expressive. The violence is heavy, but it is not nearly as graphic as a comic like Berserk or [...]

WHERE HAS THIS MANGA BEEN IN ALL MY LIFE?! This has to be one of the best series I have ever read. Hands down. I know I am probably over hyping this manga, but it is legitimately amazing. It probably is due to the fact that I am getting older for shounen and tired of its typical usual cliches and now should move onto seinen instead. For a while now, I have been stuck in a rut with my manga reading. There seemed to be nothing really interesting or if there was, it was either too weird or cliche f [...]

Thorfinn is a young man hell bent on revenge. His target? The leader of a group of Nordic pirates. Why? If I told you, I'd spoil the story. Set in the height of the Viking era, this historical drama is captivating and educational, complete with well known figures like Leif Ericsson and the Jomsborg Vikings. About half way through the first volume, the tale leads into Thorfinn's backstory, showing how the Vikings of Iceland went about their lives.But as you begin the second volume, the story take [...]

I have a friend who loves Planetes. Later, he recommended Vinland Saga to me, which is by the same author. Hearing the word "vikings" was all it took for me to look for it online. Many action manga in medieval or medieval-fantasy settings get compared to Berserk, and I've found these types of comments (or annoyance derived from them) on Vinland Saga. I will agree that the art in Vinland Saga is as high quality as some of the later volumes of Berserk and the action is similarly exciting. But this [...]

I’ve developed a resurgence in my Viking interest for the first time since college. I wasn’t sure why then it hit me. Oh. Thor and Loki movies. So the ovaries are to blame. And that led me to this omnibus. I’ve seen ads for it and was thrilled to see it in the library. I will say this, the art looked atypical for manga but it’s good and detailed. The mangaka has done his research on the Vikings and berserkers. Kudos for him using Amanita muscaria which some believe were used by the Berse [...]

Vinland Saga is one of those manga series that a few dedicated fans have been clamoring to have licensed for a while. After reading volume 1 of the Kodansha USA release, I fully understand their desire to have this in English. From the setting to the characters and plot, this has the making of a powerful epic, one that might draw even those without much of an interest in historical fiction involving Vikings (myself included in this group). The first omnibus ranks high on my list of best manga th [...]