Vinland Saga
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Vinland Saga |
| Abbreviation(s): | |
| Creator: | Makoto Yukimura |
| Date(s): | 2005-present (manga); July-December 2019 (anime) |
| Medium: | Manga, anime |
| Country of Origin: | Japan |
| External Links: | Wikipedia:Vinland Saga (manga) |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Canon
Vinland Saga is a historical manga by Makoto Yukimura. Set in the Viking era, it loosely adapts the Vinland sagas, two texts documenting Norse attempts to settle in North America. The manga focuses on Thorfinn Karlsefni and features other historical figures such as Leif Erikson, Canute the Great, and Thorkell the Tall. Beginning as a weekly shounen serialization, it later moved to a monthly schedule in the seinen magazine Afternoon. It was adapted into a 24-episode anime in 2019. The second season began airing in January of 2023.
Fandom
Despite critical acclaim and popularity in curatorial fandom, Vinland Saga has a very small transformative fandom. The most popular ships are M/M due to its predominantly male cast. The most popular ship among Japanese fans is Askeladd/Thorfinn, which is much less popular in English-speaking fandom due to the age gap and manipulative relationship between the two characters. Thorfinn/Canute, or Thornute, is the most popular ship on AO3. Askeladd/Bjorn is, generally speaking, the second most popular ship on both sides of the fandom.
There were 343 works in the manga section on AO3 as of March 2021. The most popular three ships by number were Canute/Thorfinn, Atli/Torgrim, and Askeladd/Bjorn. A rarer ship but still in top ten is Thorkell/Asgeir.
Despite the relatively small production scale, marketing took note of overseas response after the anime began airing, and promotional posts for the second season were made in both Japanese and English, with engagement for the English tweets sometimes exceeding the Japanese. Some have theorized that the setting appeals more to overseas fans.
Vinland Saga Secret Santa is a small holiday exchange that has run in both 2020 and 2021. VinlandAnniversary2022 was a fanweek that ran from 7/2-7/8 of 2022.
Example English-language fanworks
Fanfiction
- neither sword nor crown by arahir: the most kudosed Canute/Thorfinn fanfic on AO3. A canon-divergent AU following the ending of the War Arc, or Prologue Arc.
- indulgence by Anonymous: the most kudosed Atli/Torgrim fanfic on AO3. A sex pollen/genital alteration incest smutfic.
- Steady Hands by outerrims: the most kudosed Askeladd/Bjorn fanfic on AO3. A slow burn that fills in pre-series backstory.
Fanart
- Thorfinn by aloiciaclee
- WOOHOO s2 here we go by ayu_miya
- - Björn - by niladhevan
- you're not alone by bearytinyart
- Edgelord is mad that some old man stole his spotlight from his own series. by setzeri
Fanmixes
Fanvids
- Vinland Saga「AMV」- Born For This by Kirin AMV's
- Vinland Saga「AMV」- Trials ᴴᴰ by By Hero AMV