WEBVTT

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- It's Isaiah Colbert the otaku of Kotaku.

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Peak fiction is back.

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And no, I don't mean "Chainsaw Man."

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I'm talking about another

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MAPPA anime adaptation, "Vinland Saga."

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As with the final season
of "Attack on Titan,"

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MAPPA is taking the reigns from Wit Studio

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for "Vinland Saga" season 2.

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No doubt most of you anime
onlys might expect this season

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to be as action-packed
as the first season,

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given MAPPA's propensity to pop off

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in the sakuga department.

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Buttress those expectations, viewer.

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I said buttress them,

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because season 2 of "Vinland
Saga" is going to be adapting,

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what I like to call, the farming arc.

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Meaning this season is gonna
be a bit of a slow burn.

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"Vinland Saga" season 2
director, Shuhei Yabuta,

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addressed the anime's slower pace

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and decrease in "showy events" on Twitter,

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saying the emotions of characters

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will move more greatly and fiery.

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If episode one is anything to go off of,

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anime onlys would be
wise to let Yabuta cook

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because this season is
gonna be straight gas.

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The first episode of this season follows

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a new character named
Einar, an enslaved farmer.

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During his harrowing journey
into indentured servitude,

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which the anime expands upon

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with wholesome scenes
featuring his mum and sister,

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Einar is bought and sold to work

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on Ketil's farm in Jutland, Denmark.

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It's here where we're reintroduced

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to our short vi-king, Thorfinn.

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Safe to say the years
haven't been kind to him

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since the season one finale.

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"Vinland Saga's" farming
arc is the best thing

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I've experienced in manga

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for its engrossing
character study of Thorfinn.

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Prior to "Vinland Saga,"

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the only manga that engulfed me

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in its "deadly warrior has a farming arc"

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storyline was Takehiko Inoue's "Vagabond."

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Much like "Vagabond's" Musashi,

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Thorfinn will have to come to grips

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with his crimes against
humanity he's committed

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while doggedly pursuing
his shortsighted goal

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of killing his father-murdering
murder papa, Askeladd.

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While it takes "Vagabond"
nearly its entire run

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to get to its farming arc,

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"Vinland Saga" segues into its farming arc

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directly after its first.

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Farming arcs in these
seinen stories provide

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its grizzled warriors
with much-needed moments

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of reflection on how chasing

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their dreams have adversely affected them

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and those unfortunate
enough to cross their paths.

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Not to give too much away

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about the emotional climax of these arcs,

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but the life lessons their
titular characters arrive

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at are soul-stirring.

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"Vinland Saga" season 2
is streaming every Monday

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this season on Crunchyroll and Netflix.