Vinland Saga begins in the early eleventh century, as Danish armies fight for control of England. Thorfinn is a boy in a quiet Icelandic village whose father was once a feared warrior. When his father is killed in an ambush, Thorfinn attaches himself to the band of mercenaries responsible, determined to kill their leader in a fair duel. He grows up as their attack dog, fighting for the man he hates in exchange for the right to challenge him.
That's only the first act. The series is really about what comes after revenge: guilt, slavery, and the slow work of building a life that doesn't depend on killing. Its cast changes almost completely between arcs, so this guide groups characters by the part of the story where they matter most, then covers the real history behind the names.
- Creator
- Makoto Yukimura
- Manga
- Weekly Shonen Magazine, then Monthly Afternoon, 2005–2025
- Anime
- Wit Studio (season 1, 2019), MAPPA (season 2, 2023)
- Setting
- England, Denmark and the North Atlantic, c. 1002–1020s
- Genre
- Historical drama
The War arc: Thorfinn, Askeladd and Canute
The first season covers Thorfinn's childhood and his years in Askeladd's band, as the Danes under King Sweyn try to conquer England. It's violent and fast, built around three people who each want something from a broken world: revenge, a homeland and a crown.
Thorfinn
Protagonist · Son of Thors
Thorfinn is introduced as a fierce little boy who loves stories of a land called Vinland. After his father's death he becomes a short, furious fighter with two daggers, living only for a duel he keeps losing. Over the series he turns from a revenge-driven killer into a man trying to atone, and his search for a way to live without violence is the story's real subject.
- Voice
- Yuto Uemura (JP), Mike Haimoto (EN)
Askeladd
Mercenary leader
Askeladd leads a band of Viking mercenaries and is the cleverest person in the first season. He's half-Danish and half-Welsh, and secretly descended from a legendary British king, which gives him a hidden loyalty to Wales. He kills Thors for a bounty, then raises Thorfinn as a weapon. He's cynical, funny and sometimes cruel, and he's one of anime's most admired antagonists for good reason.
- Voice
- Naoya Uchida (JP)
Canute
Prince, later King of England and Denmark
Canute is introduced as a timid, silent prince who hides behind his guardian and is despised by his father, King Sweyn. A crisis in the snow transforms him into a cold, calculating ruler who believes he can build a paradise on earth by force. He mirrors Thorfinn: both are boys broken by violence who pick very different ways to answer it.
- Voice
- Kensho Ono (JP)
Thors
Thorfinn's father · Former Jomsviking
Thors was once the most feared warrior of the Jomsvikings, until he deserted to live peacefully in Iceland. He's called back to fight and dies in the opening arc, but his belief that a true warrior needs no sword shapes everything Thorfinn later becomes.
Thorkell
Jomsviking commander
Thorkell is a giant who loves fighting more than anything, and who switched to the English side simply because it offered better battles. He's cheerful, terrifying and almost unkillable. He takes a liking to Thorfinn after their fights, and later becomes one of Canute's commanders.
- Voice
- Akio Otsuka (JP)
Bjorn
Askeladd's second-in-command
Bjorn is Askeladd's right-hand man, a burly warrior who eats mushrooms to go berserk. He's the closest thing Askeladd has to a friend, and his final scene with him is one of the first season's quietest moments.
Ragnar
Canute's guardian
Ragnar is the gentle, overprotective retainer who has raised Canute since childhood. His devotion keeps the prince safe and also keeps him small. What happens to him is the turning point of Canute's life.
Willibald
Priest
Willibald is a drunken Christian priest who travels with Canute's party and keeps talking about what love really means. His answers are bleak, and they push Canute toward his new ambitions.
Sweyn Forkbeard
King of Denmark
Sweyn is Canute's father, a cold and capable king who is trying to conquer England. He sees his younger son as a weakling and plans to have him removed. He's the immovable force the first season builds toward.
Leif Erikson
Explorer · Family friend
Leif is the real explorer who reached North America, here an old friend of Thors who fills young Thorfinn's head with tales of Vinland. He spends years searching for the boy after his father's death and becomes his link back to his family.
The Farmland arc
The second season jumps forward a year. Thorfinn has been sold as a slave and works on a large farm in Denmark, empty and haunted by the people he killed. The cast here is almost entirely new, and almost entirely ordinary people, which is what makes this arc so affecting.
Einar
English slave · Thorfinn's friend
Einar is an English farmer whose family was killed by raiders and who was sold to the same farm as Thorfinn. He's warm, stubborn and angry, and he slowly pulls Thorfinn out of his numbness by insisting on friendship. His dream of buying back his freedom and farming his own land gives the arc its hope.
- Voice
- Shunsuke Takeuchi (JP)
Ketil
Farm owner
Ketil is a wealthy landowner known as "Iron Fist" Ketil, a reputation built on a war story that isn't true. He's kind to his slaves in a way he finds easy, and capable of terrible things when frightened. He's one of the most human portraits in the series.
Arnheid
Ketil's slave
Arnheid is a quiet woman held as Ketil's servant and companion, who hopes to see her husband again. Einar falls for her kindness. Her story is the saddest in the arc and shows what slavery costs in a way battle never does.
Snake
Leader of the farm's guards
Snake is a laid-back swordsman who runs the hired guards. He looks like a thug but has a strong sense of fairness, and his respect for Thorfinn grows into something like friendship.
Olmar
Ketil's younger son
Olmar is a spoiled young man desperate to prove himself as a warrior. His clumsy attempt at heroism is a small-scale version of the violence Thorfinn is trying to leave behind.
Thorgil
Ketil's elder son
Thorgil is a battle-hungry veteran of Thorkell's army who returns home when the farm is in danger. He shows what Thorfinn might have become if he'd never stopped.
Gardar
Arnheid's husband
Gardar is a farmer turned warrior who has been searching for his wife. His arrival brings violence to the farm and forces every character to choose a side.
Later arcs: the voyage to Vinland
The manga continues past the anime, following Thorfinn's return to Iceland, a war in the Baltic, and the long preparation for the voyage west. These characters have not yet appeared in the anime.
Gudrid
Sailor at heart
Gudrid is Leif's sister-in-law, who refuses an arranged marriage and longs to go to sea. She joins Thorfinn's company and becomes one of its most important members.
Hild
Hunter
Hild is a skilled crossbow hunter whose father Thorfinn killed years ago. She joins him to judge whether he deserves to live, and her presence keeps his past in front of him.
Karli
Orphaned baby
Karli is a baby rescued from a massacre, whom Thorfinn and Gudrid look after. He is the child their peaceful world is meant for.
Floki
Jomsviking commander
Floki arranged the bounty on Thors at the very start. He returns in the Baltic War arc, when Thorfinn must face the men his father once deserted.
Garm
Jomsviking warrior
Garm is a spear fighter who wants to beat Thorfinn, and who can't accept that he no longer fights. He's a living test of Thorfinn's new way of life.
Ylva
Thorfinn's older sister
Ylva is Thorfinn's loud, strong-willed sister who stayed home in Iceland. Her reunion with him is one of the warmest moments in the manga.
Helga
Thorfinn's mother
Helga is Thors's wife, who waits years in Iceland for her son. Her quiet grief is the first thing Thorfinn has to face when he comes home.
The real history behind the cast
Yukimura built his story around real people from the Icelandic sagas and the history of Anglo-Saxon England, then filled the gaps with his own characters. Knowing which is which helps you spot where the manga follows history and where it invents.
| Character | Real or invented | Historical basis |
|---|---|---|
| Thorfinn | Based on a real person | Thorfinn Karlsefni, Icelandic explorer of Vinland |
| Gudrid | Based on a real person | Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir, Karlsefni's wife in the sagas |
| Leif Erikson | Real | Norse explorer who reached North America around 1000 |
| Canute | Real | Cnut the Great, king of England, Denmark and Norway |
| Sweyn Forkbeard | Real | King of Denmark who conquered England in 1013 |
| Thorkell | Real | Thorkell the Tall, Jomsviking leader who served England and then Cnut |
| Askeladd | Invented | Name taken from Askeladden, a Norwegian folk-tale hero |
| Thors, Einar, Ketil | Invented | Created for the manga |
Askeladd's claimed descent from Artorius, an ancient British war-leader, is a nod to the legend of King Arthur. Sweyn's sudden death in 1014 is real history; the manga simply gives it a very different cause.
Vinland Saga voice cast
The Japanese cast stays consistent across both seasons despite the change of studio. An English dub exists; we've listed only the English actor we're sure of. See our voice actors guide for more.
| Character | Japanese | English |
|---|---|---|
| Thorfinn | Yuto Uemura | Mike Haimoto |
| Askeladd | Naoya Uchida | — |
| Canute | Kensho Ono | — |
| Thorkell | Akio Otsuka | — |
| Einar | Shunsuke Takeuchi | — |
Story arcs and where to start
- Prologue and War arc Thorfinn's childhood, Askeladd's band and the war in England (anime season 1, 2019).
- Farmland arc Thorfinn as a slave on Ketil's farm with Einar (anime season 2, 2023).
- Eastern Expedition Thorfinn returns to Iceland and prepares for the voyage (manga only).
- Baltic Sea War Thorfinn is pulled back into the Jomsvikings' affairs (manga only).
- Vinland The voyage west and the settlement (manga only).
Start with the anime's first season, then go straight into the second and give it time: its early episodes are slow on purpose. To continue past the anime, the Eastern Expedition arc picks up right after the Farmland arc. Our manga vs anime guide covers when it's worth reading ahead.
What the characters are about
Vinland Saga is one of the rare action series that asks whether its hero should stop fighting, and then actually follows through. Each main character holds part of the answer:
- Thors says it first: a true warrior has no enemies. The rest of the story is Thorfinn learning what that means.
- Askeladd sees through everyone's ideals, and secretly holds on to one of his own.
- Canute decides that if God won't save people, he will, by force, and the series never quite says he's wrong.
- Einar is the victim of everything the first season celebrated, and his friendship is what gives Thorfinn a reason to change.
That makes it one of the clearest redemption arcs in manga, and a good companion to Attack on Titan and Fullmetal Alchemist, which also ask what you owe for the violence you've done. For a gentler story about a long life and its regrets, try Frieren.
All Vinland Saga character names A–Z
A–B
- Arnheid — Ketil's farm
- Askeladd — Mercenary leader
- Bjorn — Askeladd's band
C–F
- Canute — Prince, then king
- Einar — Ketil's farm
- Floki — Jomsvikings
G–H
- Gardar — Arnheid's husband
- Garm — Jomsvikings
- Gudrid — Later arcs
- Helga — Thorfinn's mother
- Hild — Later arcs
K–O
- Karli — Later arcs
- Ketil — Farm owner
- Leif Erikson — Explorer
- Olmar — Ketil's son
R–S
- Ragnar — Canute's guardian
- Snake — Farm guards
- Sweyn Forkbeard — King of Denmark
T–Y
- Thorfinn — Protagonist
- Thorgil — Ketil's son
- Thorkell — Jomsviking
- Thors — Thorfinn's father
- Willibald — Priest
- Ylva — Thorfinn's sister
Frequently asked questions
Who is the main character of Vinland Saga?
Thorfinn, the son of a retired Viking warrior. He starts as a child bent on revenge against the man who killed his father, and the story follows him for decades as he tries to become someone who no longer needs to fight.
Is Vinland Saga based on a true story?
Partly. Thorfinn is loosely based on Thorfinn Karlsefni, an Icelandic explorer who tried to settle North America around the year 1000, as told in the Icelandic sagas. Canute, Sweyn Forkbeard, Thorkell the Tall and Leif Erikson were real people too. Askeladd, Thors, Einar and most of the farm cast are invented, and the manga changes history freely when the story needs it.
Who killed Askeladd?
Spoiler for the end of season one: Canute kills him. Askeladd provokes King Sweyn and kills him in front of his court, then lets Canute strike him down so Canute can take the throne without being linked to the murder and so Wales is protected.
Why is season two so different from season one?
Season one is a war story; season two is set almost entirely on a farm in Denmark, with Thorfinn as a slave. The change is deliberate. Yukimura wanted to follow what happens to a killer after the violence stops, and the slower pace is the point. Many viewers who found the start of season two slow rank it as the best part of the series by its end.
Is the Vinland Saga manga finished?
Yes. Makoto Yukimura's manga, which began in 2005, concluded in 2025 with Thorfinn's attempt to found a settlement in Vinland. The anime has adapted the story up to the end of the Farmland arc.
Who voices Thorfinn?
Yuto Uemura voices Thorfinn in Japanese, and Mike Haimoto in the English dub. Uemura also voices Atsushi Nakajima in Bungo Stray Dogs.