Only One Anime Episode Ranks Among the Greatest TV Shows of All Time

Many well-known anime become part of the popular culture zeitgeist as dramatic and inventive storytelling experiences, but only one can truly lay claim to a single episode that was so good it was ranked among the highest-rated TV shows ever. As determined by the anime-watching public, some anime is destined to stand out from the rest; among the best in the business are audience-powered aggregators like IMDb, My Anime List, and Rotten Tomatoes.

One anime stands out from the others for a very good episode: Vinland Saga. It received a highly sought-after 9.9 audience rating on IMDb, ranking it higher than any other anime and alongside TV icons like Breaking Bad. Vinland Saga is a critical darling, yet another sterling example of Kodansha’s reputation as a manga publisher. Its anime is just as good as expected in light of this.

Thanks to the wonderful efforts of WIT Studio for season 1 and MAPPA for season 2, it’s become one of the greatest contemporary anime viewing experiences for fans of the medium. The best episode of Vinland Saga, seen as the king of all anime episodes on IMDb, has a solid reason for being the highest-rated installment on the platform.

Summary

• “End of the Prologue” from Vinland Saga is the highest-rated anime episode on IMDb at 9.9, joining TV legends like Breaking Bad.
• The emotional and devastating season finale marks a pivotal moment for Thorfinn’s character development and storyline.
• Vinland Saga’s top episode stands out for its perfect culmination of an emotional journey and sets up a beautiful redemption arc.

Vinland Saga Has the Highest-Rated Anime Episode on IMDb

“End of the Prologue” Sits with the Greatest of TV’s Golden Age Episodes

Vinland Saga season 1, episode #24 “End of the Prologue” has received a score of 9.9 on IMDb, according to almost 18,000 people. This remarkable feat places it at #4 among TV’s finest episodes, among Breaking Bad, Six Feet Under, BoJack Horseman, and Game of Thrones. It should come as no surprise given that the first season finale, like previous traumatic TV episodes like “Ozymandias” from Breaking Bad, is an intensely felt and tragic shift in Thorfinn’s reality. As one of the best anime episodes ever produced by Vinland Saga, Thorfinn comes to the realization that his desire for vengeance can never be fulfilled.

User reviews for Vinland Saga’s best anime episode commonly praise the narrative shift signaled by Askeladd’s death, citing the character as stealing the show in this season finale.

However, it’s also the signal for one of the greatest and most uplifting character arcs ever adapted to anime, with Thorfinn Karlsefni reflecting on his father’s death. After Askeladd has killed King Sweyn in a bid for the crown, he is put down by Prince Canute, crowning himself King of England, while Askeladd lies dying on the floor, a defeated kingslayer. Thorfinn rushes to the scene, trying in vain to cut down Canute for this act, while holding Askeladd, furious at the man who killed his father, realizing he’d never get to duel him for vengeance.

What Makes This Vinland Saga’s Episode Great

Why Thorfinn’s Anime Epic Resonates with IMDb Users

The real reason Vinland Saga has the highest-rated anime episode is quite straightforward: it sets up a lovely redemption arc and is the ideal conclusion of an emotionally taxing and self-destructive trip doomed to fail.

An anime already derived from manga nobility is Vinland Saga. Fans were aware of the storytelling potential of the series, as it was the youngest among the Seinen Big Three, along with Vagabond and Berserk. But with Berserk’s inconsistent previous adaptions and Vagabond’s almost unfathomably gorgeous manga, which is difficult to adapt, the pressure is on Vinland Saga to embody the finest seinen anime narratives and earn a spot among the Seinen Big Three. The true reason Vinland Saga has the highest-rated anime episode is simple: it is the perfect culmination of an emotional and self-destructive journey destined to fail, setting up a beautiful redemption arc.

Thorfinn begins his story in Vinland Saga by stowing away with his father, Thors, wishing to become a warrior like him, only to see Thors slain in front of him by Askeladd and taken captive. Thorfinn learned to survive, having taken Thors’ dagger, honing his instincts and hatred, ironically influenced by Askeladd in Vinland Saga, with the eventual promise of a grudge match. However, this blinding quest for vengeance would get a rude awakening when Askeladd was cut down, marking a distinct coming-of-age moment for Thorfinn as he suddenly realized he had nothing to live for.

But this isn’t the only reason why fans of Vinland Saga season 1 episode #24 have overwhelmingly chosen it as their favorite anime episode on IMDb; it also heralds a shift in tone at pivotal points in several character arcs. Askeladd meets with King Sweyn and declares himself the legitimate King of England, citing the lineage of Lucius Artorias Castas as the model for the legendary King Arthur. Canute’s action marks the beginning of his bloody and sinister campaign of subjugation aimed at bringing about peace. Thorfinn, recalling his father’s words, now understands why his father desired to give up his weapons.

Vinland Saga Ranks Among the Greatest Anime

Users Need to Check Beyond IMDb to See

My Anime List, also known as MAL for short, is still the most widely used user-powered database for beloved anime, even if IMDb is a fantastic resource and a reputable user review aggregator. Here, for its first and second seasons, Vinland Saga ranks #32 and #43 among all anime. Meanwhile, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End just managed to dethrone Full metal Alchemist: Brotherhood from the top rank with a strong enough average.

The same caprices that lead to distorted ratings also affect IMDb. Though the vast majority of evaluations are 10-star, the second most popular rating consists of over 1500 1-star reviews, which are typically reserved for absolutely unwatchable shows.

Vinland Saga is still secure in its spot among the greatest anime ever, and IMDb remains the better aggregator for individual episodes, where its strengths seem to lie. The series is a slow burn where the violent epic comes to a cruel, abrupt end, with Thorfinn renouncing his violent ways in season 2, dogged by nightmares and atoning for his sins. Vinland Saga season 1, episode #24, sets the stage for these emotional developments, alongside teases of what’s to come, including Einar, Hild, and Gudrid, as a hopeful conclusion to the highest-rated anime episode on IMDb.

Vinland Saga

Vinland Saga is an adaptation of the historical-action manga series by Makoto Yukimura. Centering around young Thorfinn, the story sees the young man on a quest for revenge following the murder of his father by the mercenary Askeladd. To accomplish this feat, Thorfinn joins Askeladd’s company to bide his time and prepare to face him in the future. The story starts around 1002 AD and revolves around fictional accounts of the Danish invasion of London.

Cast: Hiroki Gotô, Aleks Le, Kaiji Tang, Michael C. Pizzuto, Mike Haimoto, Shinya Takahashi, Alejandro Saab, Yûto Uemura, and Kaiji Tang

Date of Release: July 6, 2019

Two seasons

Netflix network

Netflix is the streaming service(s)

Principal Style: Anime

Vinland Saga Confirms Askeladd’s Ironic Influence on Thorfinn

The anime has made it apparent that Askeladd has control over Thorfinn, even though he won’t physically appear in the second season of Vinland Saga. Seeing the results of Thorfinn and Askeladd’s time together is pleasant because their connection was one of the most interesting aspects of the first season. This particular moment is enhanced by the very ironic influence of Askeladd on Thorfinn.

The events of episode 3 are continued in episode 4, with Thorfinn being hacked to pieces by a callous and petty mercenary named Fox in an attempt to make him display fear. But despite his brutality and fear of dying, Thorfinn remains unwavering, which indicates how bad his despair is. Snake, the commander of the mercenary band, intervenes to stop Fox from committing any more harm. He then bandages Thorfinn up and in a calm moment of conversation, he suddenly draws his sword to try and attack him. At that moment, Thorfinn sees Askeladd and remembers his various fights with the older man, instinctively protecting himself from the blow. It is a surprising moment that shakes Thorfinn to his core and proves that Askeladd’s combat training will never leave him no matter how malnourished and depressed he gets. However, given Askeladd and Thorfinn’s relationship, this is incredibly ironic.

Askeladd’s Complex Influence Proves Vinland Saga’s Quality

Thorfinn joined Askeladd’s gang of evil Vikings with the hopes of one day taking down his father’s killer in combat after Askeladd killed Thorfinn’s father at the start of Season 1. Though he would never be able to overcome Askeladd in battle, his time with the mercenaries had given him excellent training, and he developed into a very dangerous warrior. Even though Askeladd was his surrogate father, his only goal in life had been to kill him for the whole duration. Thorfinn lost all meaning in life after Askeladd was killed by someone else in the first season finale. Actually, Thorfinn has stated that all he wants to do is die for the majority of season 2. But just like how his hatred for Askeladd sustained him in Season 1, the fighting lessons he learned from him are now keeping him alive as a slave.

This all connects to his climactic conversation with Vinland Saga’s new main character Einar at the end of the episode. While Thorfinn claims that nothing good has ever happened to him, Einar tells him that the fact he is alive proves that someone must have done something good for him at some point and wanted him to live. No matter how hard it may be for him to admit, for Thorfinn this person was Askeladd, who let him live with his mercenary band for most of Thorfinn’s adolescence. And without Askeladd’s influence, Thorfinn would likely have died in his encounter with Snake if not sooner.

The depth of Askeladd’s impact on Thorfinn is evidence of the high caliber of the Vinland Saga’s narrative. Some of the greatest manga characters ever created were penned by Makoto Yukimura, the author of the manga on which the anime is based, and Studio Mappa did a fantastic job of bringing them to life. Vinland Saga will undoubtedly rank among the greatest anime of the year if it keeps up this caliber and depth.