Vinland Saga: 10 Greatest Thorfinn Quotes from Anime & Manga

Even though a lot of people watched and read Vinland Saga for the action scenes, the truth is that this is one of the deepest anime and manga storylines ever due to how the different experiences of the characters give you a better insight into how life works and how a person should live their life. In that regard, Thorfinn, the main character, has one of the best character development arcs in anime history.

Thorfinn turned from an angry and vengeful young teenager to a mature and level-headed young man who no longer wanted to hurt anyone. That is why Vinland Saga contains some of the greatest quotes that symbolize Thorfinn’s transformation from a boy to a man. So, with that said, let’s look at the greatest Thorfinn quotes from the anime and manga.

“The strong kill the weak. It’s only natural.”

Thorfinn became an angsty young teenager when he witnessed Askeladd and his men murdering his father before his eyes. That was when he decided to join Askeladd’s band of mercenaries so that he could earn an honorable duel with Askeladd and kill him in a fair duel, which was something that the mercenary never gave his father. In that regard, Thorfinn developed a mindset consistent with what the Vikings believed in the sense that men needed to be strong and that those who were strong should kill the weak.

“Far west, across the sea, there is a land called Vinland. It’s warm. And fertile. A faraway land, where neither slave traders nor the flames of war reach.”

During the early part of the storyline, Askeladd and his band of Vikings conquered a settlement called Hordaland. They enslaved the leaders of that place, including a young girl that they called Hordaland because this place where they lived was called Hordaland. Initially, Hordaland thought that Thorfinn was also a slave because he was seemingly shackled to Askeladd and his men, only for Thorfinn to tell her that he was a free man.

Thorfinn told Hordaland that she should have killed those that enslaved her, only for her to tell him that he didn’t have a place to go even if she did. That was when Thorfinn told her about Vinland, a place Leif told him when he was still just a child. As such, it was clear that Thorfinn still remembered Vinland even though he was living a tough life with Askeladd.

“Don’t forget, Askeladd. My only wish as a warrior is to beat you in a duel. Our next duel will be your last. I’m going to carve out your heart, and offer it to my father’s spirit.”

This quote perfectly embodies what kind of a young teenager Thorfinn was while tagging along with Askeladd. Due to Askeladd’s actions, the only thing that Thorfinn wanted to do at that time was to earn an honorable duel with him and beat him so that he could avenge his father’s death.

For Thorfinn, this was the only reason he had for living, as he saw his father as his entire world when he was still just a boy. But the fact that Askeladd took his father from him turned him into an angsty young boy who only wanted vengeance. And Thorfinn didn’t have any other goal in life other than to kill Askeladd.

“Why do I have to be afraid to die? Are you living because you don’t want to die? Is there anything good that comes from being alive? I can’t think of anything.”

This was the part when Thorfinn was at a point in his life where he no longer wanted to live. Thorfinn worked on Ketil’s farm during the second season of Vinland Saga. He realized that he was a slave who no longer had a purpose of keeping on going because he had just lost Askeladd and could no longer claim the revenge he wanted to seek. The quote allows you to see deeper into Thorfinn’s mindset, as the only reason he had for living was to kill Askeladd, who Canute killed at the end of season 1.

“Without my hate, I’m empty. I survived on my hatred alone. I don’t know anything besides the battlefield. I don’t know the first thing about fixing a roof. I can’t do anything. I don’t even know what I should be doing. I’m empty.”

Thorfinn didn’t know anything about life before he became a slave. This was because only his hatred for Askeladd kept him going, as he wanted to kill the man with all his heart. As such, Thorfinn never understood what it was like to live the normal life of a young boy and was never taught anything else in life other than fighting.

That was why he felt empty at one point in time because he didn’t know anything else in life. He grew up believing that his sole purpose was to avenge his father’s death, and that purpose had been taken away from him. That was why he thought that it was his hatred for Askeladd that kept him going throughout all of his childhood years.

“War always produces lots of slaves. Those defeated in battle become slaves. Like you and Arnheid. The line between warrior and slave trader is blurry. Slaves come from other places too, but I think war is the number one source. If the number of wars decreased, so would the number of slaves. But Norse men don’t think war is a bad thing. A Norse man’s worth is determined by his valor and wealth. The more enemies you kill and wealth you bring back home, the more you’re respected. So, fathers teach sons to fight, arm them, and send them off on warships. It’s what the Nords have done since ancient times without questioning it. It’s always difficult to stop doing what you think is natural.”

As the storyline of the Slave arc of Vinland Saga progressed, Thorfinn steadily opened his eyes to the truth of the world and the things happening around him. He saw how evil the world around him was because war became an avenue for the Norse people to prove their worth as men. That was why the Norse killed, pillaged, and enslaved those they could conquer. And the cycle continued because they taught their children that this was the natural way of how things worked in the world and how men should be.

In Thorfinn’s eyes, the entire world saw this as natural because that was always how things worked. But he didn’t see any point in continuing the cycle of killing people and teaching children how to kill. This was when he started to believe that there could be something more in this world than this unending cycle of hatred.

“You couldn’t call simply not killing or destroying any more atonement. I need to grow more wheat than I trampled underfoot. I need to rebuild more houses than I burnt down. I still don’t know how to eliminate war from the entire world. But just a single village would do. I want to create a place where people don’t need swords.”

During the time that Thorfinn had already decided that he no longer wanted to continue a life of violence and that he needed to atone for all of the things that he did in the past, he contemplated what he could do to make up for the things that he did in the past. He believed that being a pacifist wouldn’t change the fact that he destroyed many lives.

Thorfinn told Einar this when they both contemplated what they could do in the future and how to be better people. This was right before Thorfinn remembered the story of Vinland, which Leif told him many years ago when he was just a kid living in Iceland. And the fact that he knew that he needed to build homes and give people a better life in a faraway place eventually prompted him to try to reach this mythical land.

“There’s no point if you fight for peace. You’ll never escape from that bloodthirsty hell that way.”

Thorfinn eventually became a pacifist that realized that fighting never solves anything. He reached a point in his life where he would only fight if there was no other way out of a situation. That was why he always tried to talk things out at first before resorting to violence.

It was this mindset that allowed Thorfinn to realize that fighting for the sake of peace would not solve anything. This made him different from Canute, who wanted to create a Viking paradise but wanted to use violence to reach this goal. In contrast, Thorfinn understood that fighting would only lead to more fighting regardless of the person’s goals.

“I have no enemies.”

This is one of the most powerful quotes that Thorfinn has ever said. He got a quote straight from his father, Thors, who always preached to him that no one was born with enemies and that no one had to be Thorfinn’s enemy. When Thorfinn remembered what his father preached, he realized that making enemies was a personal choice on anyone’s part and that he and everyone always have a choice of whether or not to make enemies out of people.

“I want that which surpasses even the merciful release of death.” 

Thorfinn knew that the world around him was hell and that he was living in a world where people only killed others to get what they wanted. However, he realized that there was more beyond this hell and that there was something that could make him both happy and redeemed. Thorfinn knew that death wasn’t going to redeem him from his sins, and that was when he thought that doing something to redeem himself was what could bring him the happiness and peace that he always wanted to have.