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Vinland Saga vol. 5-7 (Ketil's Farm Arc)
"Orly you could talk about the first arc of Vinland Saga before going on about the second." And I will, at some point when I'm capable of long coherent thoughts about the anime adaptation of it without dissolving into waving around a screencap from episode 5 and yelling that it hurts on at least three levels and thereby proves the extent to which the anime staff Gets It.
But I finished reading the farm arc a while back now, and I have feelings about the farm arc, and also I promised myself I would record my feelings about the farm arc before starting the next arc, and now it's been ages because I have carpal tunnel syndrome and my wrists hate me and so many terrible things keep happening but I'm still doing this dammit.
"No one, anywhere, ever deserves to be hurt."
It says a lot that I can get to the part that's "the hero and the first friend he's ever had deal with setbacks in raising wheat" and go "yes, of course, this is the real story, of course Yukimura dubbed the first arc filled with action and war and monumental political struggles the prologue." It says a lot that I can just lie there going "this theme, it's so well-developed" for something like a volume and half before the big climactic scenes that clearly state this is it.
If the first arc was about finding purpose and stepping forward to be who you want to be instead of what your personal circumstances have pushed you towards, the second arc is...well, also about that, because I expect the whole series will be. But while the first arc was about the necessity of looking beyond yourself to find something greater, and the danger of not doing that or lying to yourself, the second is about how hard that is when an entire system and culture is stacked against you. It's about how a toxic culture creates toxic people, even if the people in question aren't necessarily bad. It's about how people will scapegoat others and step on them to maintain their own status.
It's hard, to fight against all that. But you can, if you're serious about becoming a better person and trying to make a better world.
Yukimura has already proved his chops at portraying tragedy and its fallout, and at how to dramatize inner conflict. But that's even more central in this arc, as the leads are no longer dealing as much with who to be as how to be. And does he ever knock it out of the park.
I assure you this is even more impressive when you have the official release.
Thorfinn's character growth is...IT'S JUST SO GOOD YOU GUYS. His struggle with feeling empty reveals the cracks that were already there, and it's so breathtakingly rough and gratifying to see how he remembers and discovers how to fill those cracks in and become someone better. For all that the world as a whole remains as brutal as it was, Thorfinn finally has just enough space and just the right people to rediscover kindness. And to make the decision that no matter what, he will embody that and bring it to others. I love, too, how even though Thorfinn is coming to resemble his father in his strength and ideals, he's still very much his own person, too. He's still a cocky brat sometimes, and a little more of an outsider oddball than a natural leader. It is, genuinely, some of the best character growth I've ever seen, and takes Thorfinn from a good protagonist with problems to one of the best protagonists the medium has to offer. Maybe I'm overselling it here but I love Thorfinn so much you guys.
I love so many of these characters so much! Einar is such a good man and friend! Snake is trying! Arnheid has been through so much and still shows insight and grace! Canute is all conflicted political mastermind! Olmar's a useless asshole but he learns! The old master is a grump with a heart of gold! They're all so fully realized by the writing and the stunning art, have you seen this stuff.
I think it's the fact that Yukimura is able to so clearly show the characters' internal process and that however much the stakes are escalating the real point is how the characters are dealing with it that makes this arc's focus on the theme of "nobody has any enemies" incredibly clear without (in my opinion) feeling heavy-handed. It's flat-out stated at certain points, of course, but those points are earned as Thorfinn struggles through his past and what to pick out of it, and struggles with his present and how to act in it. And crucially, it's also stated through Canute's doubts, through Snake's sympathetic motivations and explanations of his stance, through the fact that we see the good in Ketil before the bad, through the fact Gardar's killing spree is contextualized by his suffering as a slave and his love for his family without being ignored.
The greatest problem, of course, is Arnheid. I do think her own arc is written well, and it's important to see what this male-dominated system does to the most powerless people in it. Her struggle to survive and find some, any, small measure of happiness is portrayed with great sympathy from both Yukimura and the two male leads (I appreciate how although Einar is head over heels for Arnheid, the instant her husband turns up Einar's number one goal is helping the two of them escape). But...she's still, ultimately, fridged. "Woman's life gets continually destroyed by men's choices and control over her and then she dies" isn't necessarily a bad story when the overall story is about how those forces are destroying things for everyone, but when it's the only story we've gotten for a female character so far in the series it does leave a bad taste. I'd be harder on this, I think, if I didn't have reason to believe that there are more central female characters coming and Yukimura might have realized his mistake here. But as it is I certainly don't blame anyone being frustrated with it.
I had a lot more to say, but the thing is that even without the time it's now been between when I read the arc and when I'm finally writing this all up, I can't sum up Vinland Saga unless, maybe, it's on a chapter-by-chapter basis. There are too many moments. "THAT MOMENT WHERE EINAR SAYS THEY'RE FRIENDS AND THORFINN GOES WHAT THE FUCK," "THAT DREAM SEQUENCE OH MY GOD," "CANUTE AND THE GHOST OF HIS FATHER ALONE IN A ROOM," "THORFINN RECEIVING MORAL CRITICISM FROM THE GHOST OF ASKELADD," "SNAKE REVEALING WHAT HE KNOWS ABOUT KETIL AND STAYING TO THE BITTER END ANYWAY," "THORFINN GIVING HEARTFELT SPEECHES WITH A COMPLETELY SWOLLEN FACE," "YLVA PUNCHING THORFINN."
And, of course, "I have no enemies."
Anyway Vinland Saga is really good. REALLY GOOD.
But I finished reading the farm arc a while back now, and I have feelings about the farm arc, and also I promised myself I would record my feelings about the farm arc before starting the next arc, and now it's been ages because I have carpal tunnel syndrome and my wrists hate me and so many terrible things keep happening but I'm still doing this dammit.
It says a lot that I can get to the part that's "the hero and the first friend he's ever had deal with setbacks in raising wheat" and go "yes, of course, this is the real story, of course Yukimura dubbed the first arc filled with action and war and monumental political struggles the prologue." It says a lot that I can just lie there going "this theme, it's so well-developed" for something like a volume and half before the big climactic scenes that clearly state this is it.
If the first arc was about finding purpose and stepping forward to be who you want to be instead of what your personal circumstances have pushed you towards, the second arc is...well, also about that, because I expect the whole series will be. But while the first arc was about the necessity of looking beyond yourself to find something greater, and the danger of not doing that or lying to yourself, the second is about how hard that is when an entire system and culture is stacked against you. It's about how a toxic culture creates toxic people, even if the people in question aren't necessarily bad. It's about how people will scapegoat others and step on them to maintain their own status.
It's hard, to fight against all that. But you can, if you're serious about becoming a better person and trying to make a better world.
Yukimura has already proved his chops at portraying tragedy and its fallout, and at how to dramatize inner conflict. But that's even more central in this arc, as the leads are no longer dealing as much with who to be as how to be. And does he ever knock it out of the park.
I assure you this is even more impressive when you have the official release.
Thorfinn's character growth is...IT'S JUST SO GOOD YOU GUYS. His struggle with feeling empty reveals the cracks that were already there, and it's so breathtakingly rough and gratifying to see how he remembers and discovers how to fill those cracks in and become someone better. For all that the world as a whole remains as brutal as it was, Thorfinn finally has just enough space and just the right people to rediscover kindness. And to make the decision that no matter what, he will embody that and bring it to others. I love, too, how even though Thorfinn is coming to resemble his father in his strength and ideals, he's still very much his own person, too. He's still a cocky brat sometimes, and a little more of an outsider oddball than a natural leader. It is, genuinely, some of the best character growth I've ever seen, and takes Thorfinn from a good protagonist with problems to one of the best protagonists the medium has to offer. Maybe I'm overselling it here but I love Thorfinn so much you guys.
I love so many of these characters so much! Einar is such a good man and friend! Snake is trying! Arnheid has been through so much and still shows insight and grace! Canute is all conflicted political mastermind! Olmar's a useless asshole but he learns! The old master is a grump with a heart of gold! They're all so fully realized by the writing and the stunning art, have you seen this stuff.
I think it's the fact that Yukimura is able to so clearly show the characters' internal process and that however much the stakes are escalating the real point is how the characters are dealing with it that makes this arc's focus on the theme of "nobody has any enemies" incredibly clear without (in my opinion) feeling heavy-handed. It's flat-out stated at certain points, of course, but those points are earned as Thorfinn struggles through his past and what to pick out of it, and struggles with his present and how to act in it. And crucially, it's also stated through Canute's doubts, through Snake's sympathetic motivations and explanations of his stance, through the fact that we see the good in Ketil before the bad, through the fact Gardar's killing spree is contextualized by his suffering as a slave and his love for his family without being ignored.
The greatest problem, of course, is Arnheid. I do think her own arc is written well, and it's important to see what this male-dominated system does to the most powerless people in it. Her struggle to survive and find some, any, small measure of happiness is portrayed with great sympathy from both Yukimura and the two male leads (I appreciate how although Einar is head over heels for Arnheid, the instant her husband turns up Einar's number one goal is helping the two of them escape). But...she's still, ultimately, fridged. "Woman's life gets continually destroyed by men's choices and control over her and then she dies" isn't necessarily a bad story when the overall story is about how those forces are destroying things for everyone, but when it's the only story we've gotten for a female character so far in the series it does leave a bad taste. I'd be harder on this, I think, if I didn't have reason to believe that there are more central female characters coming and Yukimura might have realized his mistake here. But as it is I certainly don't blame anyone being frustrated with it.
I had a lot more to say, but the thing is that even without the time it's now been between when I read the arc and when I'm finally writing this all up, I can't sum up Vinland Saga unless, maybe, it's on a chapter-by-chapter basis. There are too many moments. "THAT MOMENT WHERE EINAR SAYS THEY'RE FRIENDS AND THORFINN GOES WHAT THE FUCK," "THAT DREAM SEQUENCE OH MY GOD," "CANUTE AND THE GHOST OF HIS FATHER ALONE IN A ROOM," "THORFINN RECEIVING MORAL CRITICISM FROM THE GHOST OF ASKELADD," "SNAKE REVEALING WHAT HE KNOWS ABOUT KETIL AND STAYING TO THE BITTER END ANYWAY," "THORFINN GIVING HEARTFELT SPEECHES WITH A COMPLETELY SWOLLEN FACE," "YLVA PUNCHING THORFINN."
And, of course, "I have no enemies."
Anyway Vinland Saga is really good. REALLY GOOD.