Vinland Saga Author Explains Why Leif’s Reunion With Thorfinn Wasn’t Depicted
They do have a brief moment of wholesome exchanges later on.
Vinland Saga Season 2 Episode 18 was the talk of the town for anime fans for a couple of reasons. Ketil beating the crap out of Arnheid is definitely is one of them, for being one of the most disturbing and brutally violent scenes in the series, maybe even rivalling Videl getting crushed by Spopovich in Dragon Ball Z.
Author Makoto Yukimura shares the same sentiment on Twitter by saying that he added this scene to showcase how terrible and ugly violent behavior can get.
“Violence is ugly. It is disgusting to see someone beating someone weaker than themselves.
People who commit violence usually make up a theory in their heads that they have a right or duty to be violent, but against slaves, they don’t even need that. Ketil must have been going through a lot, but all his depression went to the weak slaves. That’s terrible.”
Having sympathizing with the female slave, fans were still concerned with a problem.
“Why didn’t they depict the emotional reunion moment between Leif and Thorfinn?” fans questioned.
Being a close friend of Thors, Leif Erikson travelled far and wide looking for Thorfinn for years. The old man practically hasn’t seen him since the time Askeladd was killed and the young lad left the scene without a word.
Since then Thorfinn had some major character development and a lot of fans really expected a touching reunion between him and Leif, but were left disappointed.
the thing that i didn’t liked about this episode was that thorfinn and leif’s reunion was in the sidelines. they’ve been building up to this specific moment for it not to be memorable #VINLAND_SAGA pic.twitter.com/D0ysjMsiZQ
— king (@__fireforce) May 8, 2023
All that build up for Thorfinn and Leif to meet up….offscreened?! 😭
— AJ (@FireFistNeos) May 8, 2023
Hmmm they opted to end on the reaction to Arnheid getting beaten instead of Thorfinn’s long awaited reunion with Leif…not sure if that was the best decision. Very weak choice imo. #VinlandSaga pic.twitter.com/4hcVaOFjJP
— gossipgay™ (@gossipgayyyy) May 9, 2023
Makoto Yukimura decided to address the concern on Twitter by saying that even though he did want to draw it, he couldn’t at that time because both Thorfinn and Leif weren’t happy with the abuse of Arnheid. But in the manga, they do have a brief moment of wholesome exchanges later on. The author reassures fans they were very happy seeing each other after years.
(Vinland Saga Chapter 89)
Yukimura’s exact words were as follows:
“I wanted to depict that, too. But a terrible incident (the abuse of Arnheid) happened just before the reunion, and they couldn’t be happy to see each other again.
Inevitably, the order in which events happened happened. The abuse incident before the reunion. I couldn’t paint the view of Thorfinn and Leif hugging and rejoicing while Arnheid is in a terrible state.
But they are happy, both of them. They’re very happy. It’s all right.”
Vinland Saga is a Japanese historical manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Yukimura.
The series is published by Kodansha and was first serialized in the youth-targeted Weekly Shōnen Magazine before moving to the monthly manga magazine Monthly Afternoon, aimed at young adult men.
As of July 2021, the series has been compiled into twenty-five bound volumes. Vinland Saga has also been licensed for English-language publication by Kodansha USA.
MAL describes the plot as:
Young Thorfinn grew up listening to the stories of old sailors that had traveled the ocean and reached the place of legend, Vinland. It’s said to be warm and fertile, a place where there would be no need for fighting—not at all like the frozen village in Iceland where he was born, and certainly not like his current life as a mercenary. War is his home now. Though his father once told him, “You have no enemies, nobody does. There is nobody who it’s okay to hurt,” as he grew, Thorfinn knew that nothing was further from the truth.
The war between England and the Danes grows worse with each passing year. Death has become commonplace, and the viking mercenaries are loving every moment of it. Allying with either side will cause a massive swing in the balance of power, and the vikings are happy to make names for themselves and take any spoils they earn along the way. Among the chaos, Thorfinn must take his revenge and kill Askeladd, the man who murdered his father. The only paradise for the vikings, it seems, is the era of war and death that rages on.
Source: Makoto Yukimura’s Official Twitter
