A series I recommend that is up there with Berserk and Vagabond

There are only a few series I have read in my life that I believe come anywhere close the quality of Berserk. Vagabond is one, and the other is called Vinland Saga. It is a historical manga like Vagabond, which focuses on the lifestyle of vikings, rise of Cnut the Great to power and the politics related, and the development of the protagonist from being a young boy that is living and driven solely by revenge to a man with dreams of creating a land with peace. If you enjoy or know European history you will get extra enjoyment from this series. I must add that it is extremely brutal and gore-filled at times because it has to authentically convey how things were back then. For example, village pillaging and the murder of children and women will occasionally be seen, but I think an avid Berserk reader can handle this sort of thing. A lot of the tones it gives off will remind you of Berserk, only more historical and without the supernatural elements. The art is also at the same level as that of Berserk and Vagabond.

I HIGHLY recommend anyone that found what I said above interesting to give the story a chance. I wouldn't recommend it if I didn't think a lot of you would enjoy it. The story has recently been serialized in English volume format (4 volumes are currently out and they are all hardcover books), so if you want to get into it now you can easily stock up on them. French versions were serialized a while before the English, so Aaz can take his pick at whichever he wants.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Thanks for the recommendation. It's been mentioned on the forum a number of times. I've never gotten into it, but picked up on some things through osmosis.

While the art is definitely good, I think it's an overstatement to say it's on the same level as Berserk's. Of course, I'm hardly an impartial observer :void:
 
Walter said:
Thanks for the recommendation. It's been mentioned on the forum a number of times. I've never gotten into it, but picked up on some things through osmosis.

While the art is definitely good, I think it's an overstatement to say it's on the same level as Berserk's. Of course, I'm hardly an impartial observer :void:

No problem! I guess what I meant is it is in the same ball park as Berserk's art. I think Miura does panoramic scenes and large battlefields better than anyone and overall I think I appreciate his art more, but there are definitely times and aspects of Makoto Yukimura's art that I think gives Miura a run for his money. Yukimura's attention to detail is excellent, but the area he excels in is definitely facial detail and hyper-realism in this regard. Like Berserk, the art gets better as volumes pass and Yukimura further develops his artistic style. I would show you a picture but I wouldn't want to spoil anything in case you ever decide to check it out. Anyways, don't worry about all the praise I am giving it, Berserk is still my favorite series. :ganishka: Vinland Saga is a close second though, and Vagabond is right on its heels.
 
What is more significant, is the change of Art Style
Vinland Saga was at first in an Shonen Magazine, but the Mangaka could not hold up to weekly serialization so his manga was transferred in a monthly Seinen Magazine
zTdLA4j.jpg
 
I've been reading it, and enjoy the series. I don't think it's quite as good as Berserk but it's well thought out and I find the setting and themes to be refreshing compared to a lot of other manga published right now. I haven't gotten far enough to see that difference in art style; wow that's amazing. :) I would say the only manga that isn't fluff I've read the entirety of that I think is on the level of Berserk would be Lone Wolf & Cub.
 
This series was amazing... in the beginning. The action was awesome, the characters were awesome, and the tension has been nail-bitingly good at points. After a point, however, and because I don't want to spoil anything and because I can't remember very well, we'll say when Thorfinn (?) gets his new look, the series lost its fangs for me. I understand what they were going for, and some people probably like that, but it turned me off to the series. I'm not necessarily welcoming an argument with this statement, either. I regard the entire first half of this series very highly, and it's worth the read even if you end up quitting later on like I did. :)
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Mangetsu said:
What is more significant, is the change of Art Style
Vinland Saga was at first in an Shonen Magazine, but the Mangaka could not hold up to weekly serialization so his manga was transferred in a monthly Seinen Magazine
zTdLA4j.jpg

I shudder to think the reverse of that happening to Berserk. :magni:
 
Walter said:
I shudder to think the reverse of that happening to Berserk. :magni:

Oh, man!! I was just reading through Berserk volumes 35-36, and all while trying to imagine what would the Sea God, pirates/sea cucumbers, and Isma with her merrows would all look like had they been drawn in the same style that Miura had used during the first 4 volumes :ganishka:
 

Oburi

All praise Grail
Alright fyuturistic, you convinced me. I just ordered the first 3 books of this series. I hope it's as good as you say.




UPDATE-

UGX1Zo.jpg


Just came in. I really dig the quality. Nice hardcover, big, full color pages. God damn if any series deserves this kind of treatment it's Berserk.
 
Really good series, really good art too but i wouldn't say its berserk level in that respect, Miura is just too good. this series has an excellent english release as well, 2 in 1 hardcovers with couple color pages. unfortunately Kodansha USA might cancel the english release due to low sales, they already put it on suspension for awhile and the fate of the series depends on the sales of the next 2 hardcover releases.

the series at the moment is 16 volumes long and has been fantastic, Yukimura recently tweeted saying that he plans to draw 10 more volumes, less than 10 if he starts having health issues. since its a monthly release and 1 volume per year its gonna take awhile before its finished but he's been very consistent so i hope it stays that way.
 
Thanks for recommending this, just read half of volume 1, and I already am enjoying it - it has a lot of things in it that I loved about Berserk. Can't wait til I get to the switch from shonen to seinen though, just for the art improvement.
 

RaffoBaffo

Ex-Newser of the late Berserk Chronicles
It's a marvelous Manga, is in my "Seinen Top 10 list".

RaffoBaffo's Top 10 that nobody asked for!

- Berserk
- Blade of the Immortal
- March Comes in Like a Lion
- Shigurui
- REAL
- Historie
- Monster
- Dorohedoro
- Vinland Saga
- Vagabond
 
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