Bringing the Viking era back to life with a gut-wrenching tale, Vinland Saga has been a hit among anime fanatics. But in the recent Crunchyroll Anime Awards of 2024, the show had to walk away empty-handed with zero awards, making fans angry and question whether was Vinland Saga robbed across the internet.
All of this has flared up a storm among certain parts of the community. But does this angst hold up? Breaking down why such a successful runtime of such a popular show couldn’t bag even one award is beneficial. It will help us understand where the current community is leaning toward and what future shows will be more inclined to satisfy.
Vinland Saga got robbed in the Crunchyroll Awards 2024
Vinland Saga Season 2 was nominated for 5 awards: Anime of the Year, Best Continuing Anime Series, Best Cinematography, Best Drama Anime, and Best Main Anime Character. But sadly, it didn’t win any of them.
9 years
50+ nominations
0 Awards #AnimeAwards pic.twitter.com/AtfPoh5Tir
— 𝐍𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐦 (@NakeemHere) March 2, 2024
Season 2 is different from the first one. It has a more philosophical turn showing the journey of two men dealing with their past traumas. Other than being IGN’s Anime of the Year 2023, not many companies share the same opinion. But it’s clear that the series is exceptional and deserves a few wins.
However, Crunchyroll seems to disagree. The show is also animated by MAPPA so it should’ve been treated the same as other big projects. Fans across the internet are not saying that it should’ve won in most of the categories, but should’ve won at least once.
Shibuya Incident Arc vs Slave Arc?
All the Vinland Saga fans are angry, except the JJK fanbase. People are okay with Attack on Titan winning with the Best Drama, but more upset that JJK has won Anime of the Year.
Animation-wise, there are definitely some peaks and valleys in JJK. Itadori’s flurry-fisted showdown with the Locus curse certainly can’t compare to Sukuna’s divine battle against Mahoraga. But even at its worst, it is for sure that the Shibuya Incident Arc wasn’t bad at all.
- Considering the absolutely brutal production schedule MAPPA employees are faced with, it’s a miracle the arc looks as great as it does at all.
- The same goes for the Slave arc, giving us some of the darkest yet most beautifully animated, perfectly paced, shocking, upsetting, and exciting stories to watch. We don’t have a proper winner here, but we already know has the throne.
Vinland Saga delivered on the promise it gave its fans
When it comes to Seinen, we usually see three names come up before anything else: Berserk, Vagabond, and Vinland Saga. Berserk being the favorite of many, seeing Vagabond and Vinland Saga being so often mentioned in the same breath had me curious for ages.
After the Vinland Saga anime was first released in 2019, it didn’t seem to grab the audience at first. There was surely something in those first episodes, but it felt more like a promise than a proper hook. After that, people who stuck with it hoping that it would make good on that promise, weren’t disappointed at all.
What does this epic tale of Vikings and Vengeance provide?
After faking his own death, the famous warrior Thors takes his family and moves to a place of peaceful snowy hills of Iceland. Growing up, his son, Thorfinn, wants to go on adventures and grows a strong fascination with a land of legend: Vinland.
- Unfortunately, Thor’s past catches up with him, and he is killed by a pirate named Askeladd. Thorfinn then promises to get revenge on Askeladd, while also getting the invitation from Askeladd to join his crew.
- This way our young protagonist doesn’t need to bother hunting him down, but will he survive enough to get the vengeance he pursues? And more importantly: should he?
And mind you, dear readers, this entire first season, all 24 episodes, is just the prologue to the actual story! It’s not even fully started yet, but it has already told one of the most surprising and fascinating revenge stories you could have ever seen.
Viewer’s loss of interest in Character developments
We have seen all kinds of development in Vinland Saga. But have you seen our development from news to amazing anime features? If not, check our Newsletter right now! I’m sure we were all amazed at Thorfinn going from a sweet, innocent kid to an emotionless and ruthless Norse assassin and then into a charismatic warrior prince.
And how could we forget Askeladd, or Lucius Artorius Castus, from Season 1? He’s a rare example of an antagonist who walks the line between likable and despicable and was so good that everyone else paled in comparison.
It’s just that, character development still remains a cornerstone of anime storytelling, and new viewers might not enjoy it all the time.
Possible award Vinland Saga could’ve won in the Crunchyroll Anime Awards
From the 5 nominations, Vinland Saga had, in my opinion, one of the best cinematography. The series’ ability to depict sweeping landscapes, intense battles, emotional moments, and artistic direction could have earned it recognition in this category.
Which is all thanks to the animators. Give them, like, a year of paid vacation time. Or maybe you know what, make it two. Don’t pretend like you can’t afford it MAPPA!
Conclusion
Recent trends have shown that newer fans are heavily inclined toward crisp and fast-paced animations with battle shonen reigning supreme in popularity. This is seen clearly in how Jujutsu Kaisen has risen to the peak with little to no difficulty. Days have gone past when slow to mid-paced developments have captured our hearts. Gems like Cowboy Bebop with its no-cliffhanger bs will fall out of trend with newer audiences.
And that is exactly what we have come to witness with Vinland Saga. Crunchyroll Anime Awards have preferred the popular shows to its ranks, and Vinland Saga losing is just a sign of good character development and well-written stories losing out on-trend. That is all from us. Comment below to let us know what you think!