(CR) Vinland Saga Season 2 [Netflix]

[Master_Yoma]

Well starting off with the cruelty right off the bat poor Einar should of just ran with his sister

Thorfinn looks really old now

[serenade_beta]

Spoiler for ep1:

It was pretty good as usual, but I don't really remember too much of the first season. No idea why the previous protagonist is working on a farm and not sure what this new guy is for.
That said, I do question the need for the first half of the episode, since it was so obvious what was gonna happen to the two girls the moment they appeared on screen and I've seen that before. Maybe that's the point, but that doesn't make it more interesting.

[Mad Pierrot]

Dayumn. They actually added more content about Einar not present in the manga, making him a more solid character. The boat scene reminded me of the Northman but probably even more messed up. Thorfinn didn't get a single line but he sure looks like a zombie. Still, the ending vid already gives hints about what exactly is going on around his head. Looking forward to seeing more.

[Wandering Soul]

I hope the slow paced nature of this arc doesn't turn off too many anime only viewers.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

Spoiler for ep1:

It was pretty good as usual, but I don't really remember too much of the first season. No idea why the previous protagonist is working on a farm and not sure what this new guy is for.
That said, I do question the need for the first half of the episode, since it was so obvious what was gonna happen to the two girls the moment they appeared on screen and I've seen that before. Maybe that's the point, but that doesn't make it more interesting.

The first season ended with Askeladd killing the King, then letting himself be killed by Canute (the Prince) as retribution, and finally Thorfinn flying into a blind rage realizing his revenge was denied to him and attempting to attack Canute. Thorfinn was stopped and dragged away. We don't know what happened afterward. Given that Leif is searching for him among slaves, he was most likely sold into slavery and that's how he ended up on the farm.

[Mad Pierrot]

If I recall in that finale Thorfinn was gonna be executed for attacking Canute who decided to pick another punishment since he kinda understood his relationship with Askeladd.

[Amarantine]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

Spoiler for ep1:

It was pretty good as usual, but I don't really remember too much of the first season. No idea why the previous protagonist is working on a farm and not sure what this new guy is for.
That said, I do question the need for the first half of the episode, since it was so obvious what was gonna happen to the two girls the moment they appeared on screen and I've seen that before. Maybe that's the point, but that doesn't make it more interesting.

Your impression is interesting considering the first half was anime original material. In the manga this arc started with the scene on the boat at the beginning of the second half of the episode.

I agree the first half felt somewhat unnecessary. I feel like they really wanted to end the episode with Einar meeting Thorfinn, so they added all that original material with the former's family. But the execution could have been better IMO, as the events lacked verisimilitude at certain points. Why did the vikings only fire a single arrow at them (they seemed to be too far from the fight for it to be a random stray) and then took ages to get to them? Why didn't Einar pick up his wounded mother and carry her so they could proceed with their escape? He was even described as being big and strong in this same episode, and she's a compartively small middle-aged woman. Just pick up your mother and keep running, dude. Instead he just told her to stand up herself. Come on now.

Well, at least the second half of the episode was pretty well adapted. It made clear that this arc is more about slavery than war, which is another interesting facet of this brutal society to explore.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Amarantine

Your impression is interesting considering the first half was anime original material. In the manga this arc started with the scene on the boat at the beginning of the second half of the episode.

I agree the first half felt somewhat unnecessary. I feel like they really wanted to end the episode with Einar meeting Thorfinn, so they added all that original material with the former's family. But the execution could have been better IMO, as the events lacked verisimilitude at certain points. Why did the vikings only fire a single arrow at them (they seemed to be too far from the fight for it to be a random stray) and then took ages to get to them? Why didn't Einar pick up his wounded mother and carry her so they could proceed with their escape? He was even described as being big and strong in this same episode, and she's a compartively small middle-aged woman. Just pick up your mother and keep running, dude. Instead he just told her to stand up herself. Come on now.

Well, at least the second half of the episode was pretty well adapted. It made clear that this arc is more about slavery than war, which is another interesting facet of this brutal society to explore.

The Vikings didn't seem to be taking it too seriously knowing they had wounded prey and probably hadn't really seen anything in the village worth worrying about. I think Einar was too in shock, especially when Lotta showed up.

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Frontier

The Vikings didn't seem to be taking it too seriously knowing they had wounded prey and probably hadn't really seen anything in the village worth worrying about. I think Einar was too in shock, especially when Lotta showed up.

Walk a mile in Einar’s shoes before you criticize – that’s the point. The Vikings banked on this – they were seasoned warriors who thrived by avoiding fights with armies and instead taking on farmers and bakers.

In Einar’s case I also think Takeuchi Shuunsuke is proving to be a fantastic young seiyuu. Look at the work he did in My Sempai is Annoying – he has tremendous range.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

Walk a mile in Einar’s shoes before you criticize – that’s the point. The Vikings banked on this – they were seasoned warriors who thrived by avoiding fights with armies and instead taking on farmers and bakers.

In Einar’s case I also think Takeuchi Shuunsuke is proving to be a fantastic young seiyuu. Look at the work he did in My Sempai is Annoying – he has tremendous range.

Oh, I wasn't judging him at all, that was just my read on the scene.

Also it just amused the heck out of me that they got Nao Toyama to play his younger sister only to almost immediately kill her off. Girl has like no luck .

[Amarantine]

Originally Posted by Frontier

The Vikings didn't seem to be taking it too seriously knowing they had wounded prey and probably hadn't really seen anything in the village worth worrying about. I think Einar was too in shock, especially when Lotta showed up.

I contemplated that line of reasoning myself, but in the end it still felt to me like a somewhat contrived scene to facilitate drama. The random solitary arrow, the eternity it took the vikings to walk over, the good guys not using a second of that eternity to at least try and get away from them, etc. Humans have strong self-preservation instincts, and when faced with danger we tend to have a fight or flight response, and with murderers approaching them, I personally think Einar picking up his mother and running would have been the more natural reaction and behavior (certainly more than him telling a middle-aged woman who just got hit with an arrow to stand up on her own).

But of course, if they had continued to run instead of having a dramatic exchange of last words, one of them might have actually escaped (even if the mother was going to die regardless) and that's not what was supposed to happen, so it didn't. That's how I felt about the scene, anyway. Anyone is welcome to feel differently.

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

Walk a mile in Einar’s shoes before you criticize – that’s the point. The Vikings banked on this – they were seasoned warriors who thrived by avoiding fights with armies and instead taking on farmers and bakers.

You didn't quote me, but it's clear I was the one you were really addressing, so: I haven't been in a situation comparable to Einar's, but I have feared for my safety before, and my instinct has always been to run. But however one feels about it, I don't think it's fair to tell someone they can't comment on and criticize the verisimilitude of a fictional scene unless they've been in the exact same situation as the characters involved. Most viewers will not have been in extreme life or death situations, but they can still have an opinion on whether the way the author wrote the characters' behavior was more or less believable (as you clearly do yourself, just a different one from mine).

[Guardian Enzo]

It's an expression, you know.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Amarantine

I contemplated that line of reasoning myself, but in the end it still felt to me like a somewhat contrived scene to facilitate drama. The random solitary arrow, the eternity it took the vikings to walk over, the good guys not using a second of that eternity to at least try and get away from them, etc. Humans have strong self-preservation instincts, and when faced with danger we tend to have a fight or flight response, and with murderers approaching them, I personally think Einar picking up his mother and running would have been the more natural reaction and behavior (certainly more than him telling a middle-aged woman who just got hit with an arrow to stand up on her own).

But of course, if they had continued to run instead of having a dramatic exchange of last words, one of them might have actually escaped (even if the mother was going to die regardless) and that's not what was supposed to happen, so it didn't. That's how I felt about the scene, anyway. Anyone is welcome to feel differently.

I guess I can see why execution wise it could feel a little contrived yet I think it was very effective in setting up Einar's story, the parallels with Thorfinn, and how much he lost and how that informed his worldview before meeting Thorfinn .

And you know what I just realized both Einar and Thorfinn's sisters were in Nisekoi. I don't know why, that just amuses me .

[Alchemist007]

I was half wondering if the twist was the mother would be the only survivor.

[Mad Pierrot]

Originally Posted by Alchemist007

I was half wondering if the twist was the mother would be the only survivor.

Now that you say it there might be a hidden twist. In the manga we never got to hear the name of Einar's family but anime added a namje which might get said again in the 3rd arc.

[Frontier]

'Tis the anime season for farming as we return to Farmland Saga! And a new Thorfinn, one who is much more passive, dutiful, and actually defuses and avoids conflict rather than frothing at the mouth around everyone and yelling about killing Askeladd. Even Yuto Uemura's performance makes him sound like a much different man than the Thorfinn we knew in his youth .

Well, on the surface seems like the slaves on Ketil's farm have it pretty reasonable. Work hard, get a good harvest going, and pay back your rent and your price as a slave and you can be free. But it's also hard labor that will probably take you a while to reap any reward from and you end up getting scraps from the retainers, so it's not the most ideal working conditions. But it's probably not as bad as it could've been .

Einar and Thorfinn make an interesting contrast. We see how Thorfinn is like now and how he doesn't want any trouble or won't go out of his way, but Einar still has a fire in his eyes and drive, however pointless it is. Of course, the best way to satiate the anger of any man is the sight of a beautiful woman .

Very respectable of Ketil to actually put in the work at his own farm! And it seems like the farm generally has a pretty pleasant, comfy, vibe. Of course the same can't be said for his arrogant and fool of a son, Olmar, who rather than inherit the farm wants to be a warrior...even though he doesn't seem to have the aptitude for either. I foresee this ending well .

King Harald? Oh, I see where this is going .

Dang, those parents were really pimping out their daughter to Olmar to secure their status on the farm! Even listening in on them having sex. Although Olmar wasn't stupid enough to completely fall for it. I feel a little bad for the girl though, she looked so ashamed .

Hmm...well, at least Olmar recognized they were stomping on the wheat .

Smol!Einar and Smol!Lotta! It would be cute if we didn't see the anger and fear in their eyes watching their village get burned by the English .

You know the moment Thorfinn opened his eyes when Einar brought up the Danish that he was thinking of his own experience with the savagery of the vikings and how he was a part of it...and we even see what he witnessed as a child back in season 1. A reflective Thorfinn? Wow .

[Blaat]

Well we're now in ful farmland mode, I hope you enjoy seeing men toil the fields and chop down woods because you'll be seeing that a lot.

Also some of the distance characters shots with featureless faces kind of freaked me out.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Blaat

Well we're now in ful farmland mode, I hope you enjoy seeing men toil the fields and chop down woods because you'll be seeing that a lot.

Also some of the distance characters shots with featureless faces kind of freaked me out.

I was pretty amused when Einar was moving his arm and talking despite having no face .

[Wandering Soul]

While being a slave is a clearly a terrible position to be in, Thorfinn and Einar could have done far worse as far as masters go.

[Kanon]

Yeah, Ketil's a pretty cool dude for the time period. He treats his slaves well and even allows them to buy their freedom once they've accomplished enough work. I guess he could keep a closer eye on his retainers but he can't be everywhere.

That said... there's no fucking way Thorfinn and Einar would be able to survive on a tiny loaf of bread a day for the both of them. Should have had Einar actually tell on them or Thorfinn showing he has an alternate way of procuring food.

Oh, and something interesting: I re-read the relevant chapter a few minutes ago and noticed that in Einar's very short two panel flashback when he tells Thorfinn his story, his sister (though we had no way of knowing she was his sister in the manga, could have been his girlfriend) was actually taken away alive by the Vikings. In a way, the anime was kinder to her by killing her off before truly horrible things could happen to her...