With season 2 of Vinland Saga set for early 2023, fans of the Viking anime will get to see brand-new worlds on Thorfinn's fantastic adventures to find the fabled Vinland.
After the death of the most beloved character in the series at the end of season 1, fans may be feeling cautious about the new season. However, Vinland Saga has proven that its cast of characters is greater than one. The Viking anime has many characters that are incredibly interesting, as well as very powerful, with some stronger than others.
Helga
Helga is the wife of Thors and the one who made him see the path of the "true warrior." Together with Thors, she escaped the Viking life and settled in Iceland with her family, far away from the war.
Helga is one of the older characters in Vinland Saga and never really trained to be a warrior like her husband. Because of this, she's not a very strong character in a show like Vinland Saga which includes eight-foot-tall Nordic giants and mercenaries with incredible minds for battle.
Leif
Inspired by real-life adventurer Leif Ericson, Leif was an adventurer who would tell the younger Thorfinn stories of other lands. Later in life, they met up together again as Leif offered to take Thorfinn with him on his travels.
Leif and Thorfinn have a wholesome relationship yet, especially with Leif blaming himself for the death of Thors, a tragic relationship. The adventures of Leif and Thorfinn will take an interesting turn in season 2, but the much older Leif may not be as up for the adventures as Thorfinn is.
Ylva
Thorfinn's family is arguably one of the wildest anime families in the genre, and Ylva certainly gives the aura of a young woman raised by one of the strongest Vikings in the world.
Ylva is headstrong and hard-working, doing physical labor for the family during the winter and being a good older sibling to Thorfinn. However, she's still just a regular civilian compared to the powerful Vikings that comprise the world of Vinland Saga, making her not stand out as a strong character.
Canute
Often in action/adventure anime, the protagonist's growth is spearheaded by a powerful rival, as seen in Shonen Jump. However, Thorfinn's main foil in Vinland Saga is a prince rather than a warrior.
Canute was Askeladd's other main travel companion that he had to look after, and the young prince clearly wanted nothing to do with Vikings or combat. He's a fairly tall young man capable of being a fighter, but instead is a tactician and moral leader.
Harald
While he was really only mentioned in season 1, Canute's older brother Harald was technically another part of the story that will be returning for season 2.
Harald was the original member of the royal family chosen to become king, so much so that the former king was willing to kill Canute to ensure his rule. With Canute now on the throne, Harald's succession claims will have to be backed up by his age and physical superiority over Canute.
Floki
Floki is the main antagonist of Vinland Saga and the main person responsible for everything wrong in Thorfinn's life, including the death of his father, Thors, and his mentor, Askeladd.
Much like Askeladd, Floki is a scheming kingmaker trying to create his own path to as much power as possible. Also, just like Askleadd, he has the power to back it up. Floki is a capable Viking, but his battles have demonstrated that there's still a tier above him.
Thorfinn
Thorfinn is the protagonist of Vinland Saga and the son of Thors, one of the strongest people ever to live. The young mercenary had the benefit of learning from both Thors and Askeladd.
After losing his father in Thors and his unlikely partner in the anime villain, Askeladd, Thorfinn will enter a journey to become a "true warrior" and find out who he really is. In the meantime, he'll make his way with his incredible agility and skill in battle that he learned from the most intelligent fighter in the series: Askeladd.
Askeladd
While the character and voice actor for the fan-favorite anime antagonist, Askeladd, will likely be present in season 2, it will tragically only be in flashbacks and backstories.
Though he met his end in season 1, he went out as a hero. Not only did he slay a corrupt king, but he replaced him with Canute and managed to save Wales, all in one. He outmatched Thorfinn at every step of the way and was able to outsmart everyone until the very end.
Thorkell
It's rare to see a living character in an action/adventure anime stronger than the protagonist, antagonist, and deuteragonist. However, the giant Viking Thorkell is just that.
Thorkell defeated Askeladd in battle and it took Askeladd and Thorfinn's collected strength, agility, and brains to eventually defeat him in combat. Fortunately, the Viking remains alive and will be back for season 2, where he hopes to finally discover what the path of a "true warrior" means.
Thors
Thors is the father of Thorfinn and was the strongest man in the world prior to his death. Fortunately, fans will still get to see more of his character through backstories, flashbacks, and visions in Thorfinn's mind.
Thors was able to defeat Askeladd along with multiple other fighters, and Thorkell confirmed that Thors was even stronger than him. Still, over all the bloodthirsty Vikings, the strongest of them all gave up his sword for any purpose other than defense. Tragically, he was killed after Floki conscripted Askeladd's mercenaries to kill him.