Danica Davidson
January 6, 2023 
This month is going to have a whole lot of Vikings in Japan. First off, the second season of the Viking anime Vinland Saga will be debuting on January 9. That of course is based on the manga series by Makoto Yukimura. But in addition to this, the American Viking movie The Northman, which already played in U.S. theaters in 2022, is finally reaching Japanese theaters on January 20. And the two franchises have decided to work together for some advertisement that will benefit both of them.
In this Japanese trailer for The Northman, the Vinland Saga characters Thorfinn and Canute are talking over it with commentary. Some of what they discuss are the similarities between the two stories. In addition to being about Vikings, they’re also both stories that concentrate on revenge.
Crunchyroll gave this description for the second season of Vinland Saga:
“A new millennium begins in the southern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark.
After the death of his longtime enemy, Askeladd, Thorfinn lost his purpose in life.
He was bought by the landowner Ketil as a ‘slave’ and engaged in land reclamation work on his farm.
Thorfinn meets a young man there, Einar, who was also a slave like him.
The encounter of Einar led Thorfinn to face the sins he had committed and began to find meaning in life.On the other hand, Canute, who became the King of England, attempted to extend his territory for the establishment of the promised land.’
This is ‘The Story of a True Warrior (Saga).’
‘The story of Atonement and Salvation (Saga) “that lies beyond the prologue.”'”
Vinland Saga creator Makoto Yukimura has said he wanted to create a manga that explored violence, and thought a story taking place among Vikings would be a good opportunity to do so.
Source: Crunchyroll
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
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