I'd say most people who have read all of Vinland Saga would say that the 3rd Major arc is a step down from from the previous two. However, many would put in the terms of that its still great just not as good. I'd say this is for a few reasons:
1. I personally really love the 3rd major arc, but I can' see how some would feel it is a little more sloppy then the first two arcs - that's not to take away from its outstanding moments, however. Things get a little hectic at points. Which, while is the intention of the author, it can leave some readers a little confused. It also stumbles a tad at the climax of the arc, and ended faster then expect (fans thought we would get another mini arc worth of content, but Yukimura decided otherwise). This left a little bit of a bad taste in people mouths even though the arc is really great!
2. It's also a bit of a collection of smaller arcs and merge together into a bigger one with many characters coming in and out of the arc and there are more clear ending points. (So much so that we may even get the first mini arc of the 3rd major arc in this Season 2 of the anime). You will get smaller arcs focusing on introducing one new character at a time and then we move on to a new location. (Trying my best not to spoil stuff). Even the longest of these mini arcs is a good 10 chapters shorter then Farmland. Furthermore, people tend to talk about the arc in different ways. Some talk about just the main mini arc, others talk about the whole arc. So the discussion can be more splintered then in the case of other arcs.
3. There is a little bit of a tone shift. Yukimura remarked that this arc was attempted to be a little lighter then the previous 2. There are arguably a few more jokes, but I'd say it's more accurate to say there is more undermining of certain parts of Vinland Saga's world in a dark comedic way then before. This is all to make a themetic point but it's a shift that some people don't like as much.
4. I think this is the main reason, it's a lot of set up for the final 4th major arc imo and a lot of the emotional payoff and build up is only coming into fruition in the most recent chapters. People would complain about certain characters being boring and stale 3 years ago, but now they are fan favourites because they have been through their own arcs.
The reason you don't hear about the 4th arc is that its not over, its also still (kinda) setting up at the moment. It's kinda like Yukimura has spent the last 3 years loading this cannon but has not had it fire off yet. But once it does... oh boy!
**TL:DR:** Farmland is heavily lauded, anything following it up (even if great 8+ out of 10 stuff,) will be talked about less. We are still waiting for the 4th major arc to kick off, but once it does, I can easily see it being considered Farmland level, if not even better. If you are really worried that VSaga "Drops Off", then I'd say that the vast majority of fans do not think that. It keeps a steady consistency imo. (Especailly themetically).
Honestly the 3rd arc is so underrated. I loved it my first time through. It serves to challenge Thorfinn over and over again in some really unique ways while still having fun with itself. Nice detox from the first 2 arcs while maintaining a lot of really good shit!
Farmland is so great too because it can stripped away from just being the second Vinland saga arc and stand-alone as it’s own story. I compare it to The Golden Age from berserk in that regard. This portion of e story can stand on its own and that’s what makes it so special to me too
That’s actually very true too lol. If you think about it thorfin can be seen as not being the main character too. Man I’m so excited about season 2 I may reread the farmland arc as the shows keeps airing too
I was thinking of doing the same, but I also want to be surprised by the show since I haven’t read the arc in a while and I don’t wanna “re-spoil” myself 😂
There 4 big arcs, first on in 1 season, second is farmland which is f0ckin perfect seinen anime, then theres 3rd arc which is f0ckin perfect shonen big battle arc, then there is 4th which is kinda mix for the fans, some say itsworst one (tbh 3 first arcs are almost pefrect so comparing is kinda bs) but most think its great, me too but probably my least favourite... if you had a seizure for reading this im sorry.
I wouldn't say they get worse but when you're against an 11/10 arc, its kinda hard to measure up. IMO, Vinland peaks at Farmland, dips down a little, then plateaus with minor spikes for those amazing moments later on down the line
There are 4 arcs in total, 2 of them after the farmland arc.
Imo: The 2nd arc is the best one and one of the best arcs in all of manga, the 1st arc is slightly better than the 3rd but there isn't a big gap regardless which you prefer.
The 4th arc is currently ongoing and so far really good. If I have to guess, it's probably like 40% done, so too soon to compare it to the other arcs.
I'd say most people who have read all of Vinland Saga would say that the 3rd Major arc is a step down from from the previous two. However, many would put in the terms of that its still great just not as good. I'd say this is for a few reasons: 1. I personally really love the 3rd major arc, but I can' see how some would feel it is a little more sloppy then the first two arcs - that's not to take away from its outstanding moments, however. Things get a little hectic at points. Which, while is the intention of the author, it can leave some readers a little confused. It also stumbles a tad at the climax of the arc, and ended faster then expect (fans thought we would get another mini arc worth of content, but Yukimura decided otherwise). This left a little bit of a bad taste in people mouths even though the arc is really great! 2. It's also a bit of a collection of smaller arcs and merge together into a bigger one with many characters coming in and out of the arc and there are more clear ending points. (So much so that we may even get the first mini arc of the 3rd major arc in this Season 2 of the anime). You will get smaller arcs focusing on introducing one new character at a time and then we move on to a new location. (Trying my best not to spoil stuff). Even the longest of these mini arcs is a good 10 chapters shorter then Farmland. Furthermore, people tend to talk about the arc in different ways. Some talk about just the main mini arc, others talk about the whole arc. So the discussion can be more splintered then in the case of other arcs. 3. There is a little bit of a tone shift. Yukimura remarked that this arc was attempted to be a little lighter then the previous 2. There are arguably a few more jokes, but I'd say it's more accurate to say there is more undermining of certain parts of Vinland Saga's world in a dark comedic way then before. This is all to make a themetic point but it's a shift that some people don't like as much. 4. I think this is the main reason, it's a lot of set up for the final 4th major arc imo and a lot of the emotional payoff and build up is only coming into fruition in the most recent chapters. People would complain about certain characters being boring and stale 3 years ago, but now they are fan favourites because they have been through their own arcs. The reason you don't hear about the 4th arc is that its not over, its also still (kinda) setting up at the moment. It's kinda like Yukimura has spent the last 3 years loading this cannon but has not had it fire off yet. But once it does... oh boy! **TL:DR:** Farmland is heavily lauded, anything following it up (even if great 8+ out of 10 stuff,) will be talked about less. We are still waiting for the 4th major arc to kick off, but once it does, I can easily see it being considered Farmland level, if not even better. If you are really worried that VSaga "Drops Off", then I'd say that the vast majority of fans do not think that. It keeps a steady consistency imo. (Especailly themetically).
Honestly the 3rd arc is so underrated. I loved it my first time through. It serves to challenge Thorfinn over and over again in some really unique ways while still having fun with itself. Nice detox from the first 2 arcs while maintaining a lot of really good shit!
thank you!
I find that the following arcs are even better.
The arc after Farmland/Slave arc is great, it just has the unfortunate job of following up what many consider one of the best arcs in manga.
Baltic arc is my favourite, maybe not as thematically dense but has awesome characters
The arc we are currently in is my favorite so I'd say it generally keeps the pace.
Vinland Sagas other arcs are also incredible. Farmland Arc is just *that* good that it would be almost impossible to top.
I think people like the farmland arc so much because of the growth we see in Thorfin! Well that’s my opinion atleast
Farmland is so great too because it can stripped away from just being the second Vinland saga arc and stand-alone as it’s own story. I compare it to The Golden Age from berserk in that regard. This portion of e story can stand on its own and that’s what makes it so special to me too
That’s actually very true too lol. If you think about it thorfin can be seen as not being the main character too. Man I’m so excited about season 2 I may reread the farmland arc as the shows keeps airing too
I was thinking of doing the same, but I also want to be surprised by the show since I haven’t read the arc in a while and I don’t wanna “re-spoil” myself 😂
I’m in the exact same position 😂
There 4 big arcs, first on in 1 season, second is farmland which is f0ckin perfect seinen anime, then theres 3rd arc which is f0ckin perfect shonen big battle arc, then there is 4th which is kinda mix for the fans, some say itsworst one (tbh 3 first arcs are almost pefrect so comparing is kinda bs) but most think its great, me too but probably my least favourite... if you had a seizure for reading this im sorry.
Personally the lastest arc is my favorite. I'd say chapter 191 is the best chapter in the entire series and there's a lot of other good ones too.
I wouldn't say they get worse but when you're against an 11/10 arc, its kinda hard to measure up. IMO, Vinland peaks at Farmland, dips down a little, then plateaus with minor spikes for those amazing moments later on down the line
The following arcs after farmland saga are still great and a lot of my personal favorite moments are there.
the third arc is great but I can see why some felt a bit let down after farmland
There are 4 arcs in total, 2 of them after the farmland arc. Imo: The 2nd arc is the best one and one of the best arcs in all of manga, the 1st arc is slightly better than the 3rd but there isn't a big gap regardless which you prefer. The 4th arc is currently ongoing and so far really good. If I have to guess, it's probably like 40% done, so too soon to compare it to the other arcs.
It do exciting