About “Vinland Saga” in a few words:

Vinland Saga is an anime series that takes place during the Viking Age in Northern Europe. It follows the story of Thorfinn, a young warrior seeking revenge against Askeladd, the man who killed his father. Along the way, Thorfinn joins Askeladd’s band of mercenaries and becomes embroiled in a war for power and territory. The series explores themes such as loyalty, revenge, and the consequences of violence. It features intense action sequences and complex characters with intricate relationships.

Meet the characters from Vinland Saga

Askeladd

Askeladd is the kind of genius scoundrel you want to both punch and crown king of your heart — cunning, sardonic, always three steps ahead but somehow emotionally messy underneath. He runs schemes like a chess master who also secretly hums lullabies at night (yes, really), and he can be painfully sentimental about things he insists he hates. He treats people like instruments and like children in the space of a sentence, which is infuriating and oddly endearing. Also, he claims not to care about loyalty but will throw himself in front of trouble without blinking — and he totally has a weird little fondness for onions or dogs or both, I can’t remember.

Canute

Canute starts off shy and awkward and then — plot twist — becomes this chillingly precise visionary who actually believes in remaking the world, which is terrifying and magnetic. He oscillates between a soft, almost childlike curiosity and a cold, unshakeable conviction, like someone who cups a seashell and then drafts laws with the same hand. He’s contemplative, very into destiny and meaning (sometimes to an extreme), but will also fidget with small things like the ribbon on his sleeve when things get intense. Somehow he can be both quietly compassionate and ruthlessly efficient, and yes he probably collects tiny objects for reasons only he understands.

Thorfinn

Thorfinn is all fists and silence at first — furious, scowling, single-minded about revenge — and then slowly, painfully, he becomes this quieter, searching person who just might want peace instead of another fight. He’s surprisingly tender in weird tiny moments (will absolutely carry a found kitten and swear he’s not soft), and he gets lost in his own head a lot — chewing, staring at the sea, memorizing scars. He’s stubborn to a fault, impossible to bargain with when something matters, but he also learns to listen, which is the whole heartbreaking part. Also, he swears he hates talking but will rant for hours about one obscure thing if you pry him open (don’t pry unless you want a dissertation on sword grooves).

Thorkell

Thorkell is chaos in a helmet and the most joyfully terrifying warrior you’ll ever meet — loves a good fight like some people love cake, and he laughs the whole time, honestly. He’s enormous, stupidly strong, but also oddly jovial and makes battle feel like a bad, loud party; he collects trophies and grins a lot, and yet he’ll pour tea for you like a surprisingly polite giant. He claims he lives only for battle but has weird little domestic habits (I’m telling you, he probably knits? or keeps a pet pigeon—both are true in my head). He gets dramatic about a stubbed toe but charges headlong at doom, which is both ridiculous and endearing.

Einar

Einar is the quietly heroic guy who grounds the story — steady, decent, endlessly patient, and shockingly sincere, like someone who survived a lot and refuses to become bitter. He’s practical and moral in a way that cramps the swagger of the braver men, but he also has a surprisingly dry sense of humor and will sing work songs even when the mood is bleak. He can be stubbornly simple-minded about some things (won’t lie, he doesn’t always get fancy talk), yet he’s capable of deep, unexpected tenderness — cries at sunsets, probably, and burns breakfast eggs on purpose sometimes. Also he tells surprisingly good jokes in awful moments and has a weird habit of polishing a spoon when thinking, which is now my favorite image of him.