Manga Review – Vinland Saga Vol 2 by Makoto Yukimura (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction/Manga
Size: 432 pages
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Release Date: January 21, 2014
ISBN-13: 978-1612624211
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd volume in the Vinland series
Source: Bought
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the second omnibus in the Vinland Saga historical manga series. I continue to be blown away by the incredible artwork, wonderful characterization, and excellent story in this series.

Askeladd and his band of warriors continue rampaging through England and end up in battle with London where they meet the rather viciously hilarious Thorkill. We also meet Prince Canute whom Askeladd decides to go on a mission and rescue in order to win the Danish King Sweyn’s favor. Whoever holds Prince Canute holds the keys to both the thrones of England and Denmark and Askeladd has large ambitions.

We also get a lot more backstory on Thorfinn. We find out some of the things he had to do when he was younger to survive and how he lost his family. Thorfinn is a fantastic character that is hard not to love.

The addition of Thorkill was awesome…he is so enthusiastically evil and such an awesome fighter. Prince Canute is another interesting addition to the story.

There is a ton of war and action in this volume. We see a lot of the horrors of war (there is also quite a bit of swearing, rape, and dismemberment) so I would recommend for adult readers only.

The illustration is amazingly detailed, even the backgrounds are very realistic. Character expression is very well done as well. There are a ton of characters in the story but I never have trouble telling them apart.

The story is still epic in proportions. I continue to enjoy the historical summaries at the end of each chapter. This is just really a very high quality epic historical fantasy manga and is really unlike anything I have ever read before.

Overall an absolutely fantastic epic historical manga. The illustration is fantastic, the characters are complex and interesting, and the story is fascinating. I strongly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys manga. Really it is incredibly well done.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Graphic Novel Reading Challenge
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge