Vinland Saga Stuff

[hearthesea.wordpress.com]

Hey guys. Here are some thoughts on Vinland Saga in connection to violence, if anyone is interested.

(I felt like blogging about this after reading the latest chapter, which seems to signal dark events on the horizon. It feels like the 'Farm Arc' has come to an end, or is at least nearing that point.)

Comments

[ext_559391]

Thanks for reading, etrangere. The point you raise is exactly what was on my mind, too -- that strange contradiction between the anti-violence theme and the violence as something that actively attracts people to read the work in the first place. Slippery ground.

As for it being a failure in storytelling on his part...that's an interesting issue, and one that I hadn't really considered. It's difficult to answer. I don't think I would blame him for the fact that many read his work purely for violence, though -- the whole point of fiction is the subjectivity behind it and the diverse reactions people can have to the same thing. If people enjoy things that are contradictory to Yukimura's intentions then I think it's only to be expected -- the minute his work becomes public, it forges new 'relationships' with every reader that comes across it, and each will have their own unique perspective on the work. That doesn't mean I actually like that people only read the series for the battle scenes, but I do respect the fact that they represent alternative stances, even if it annoys me at times. The fact that none of us know Yukimura's intentions (unless he has specified them in an interview somewhere) makes this even more murky -- it could be that he has a more complex attitude to violence in that he enjoys certain elements and is disdainful of others. The thing is, I never feel as if he is trying to push some sort of 'moral' onto the readers -- I hate that sort of thing, so I'd assume that I would pick up on it. Hmm.

It's hard to untangle this issue...I'm definitely going to give it more thought.

Also:

[ext_559391]

(I've also edited the bottom of my blog post and linked to your comment on this page, if that's okay -- I thought it was great food for thought. Let me know if you want me to take it down, though.)