Thorfinn Thorsonn (トルフィン トルソン Torufin Toruson) is a Norseman manga/anime character and the protagonist of manga/anime series created by Makoto Yukimura. He is a former member of Askeladd’s band and a past captive on Ketil’s farm. Presently, he is a trader and explorer with aspirations of establishing a settlement in Vinland.
Wiki/Biography
Thorfinn Thorsonn, also known as Karlsefni, was born on 3 February, 996 (age 26; as of 2023) in Iceland. His zodiac sign is Aquarius. The protagonist fought wars ever since he was a child just after his father’s death.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 1”
Weight (approx.): 50 kg
Hair Colour: Blond
Eye Colour: Brown
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Nature
Thorfinn was just like any normal kid with characteristics such as being open-hearted, obedient, and a little mischievous until he witnessed his father’s death. That incident left a traumatic mark on his character. He developed immense hate for Askeladd and desired nothing more than his death. With one goal in mind, Thorfinn never hesitated to kill any warrior as well as innocent individuals. Friendship, love, and morality which define a good person’s characteristics were of no value to the protagonist. Later in the series, Thorfinn regretted his deeds and swore not to hurt anyone. His MBTI personality type is ISFP.
Family
Parents & Siblings
Thorfinn’s father, Thors Snorresson, also known as “Troll Of Jom”, was a highly skilled warrior. He led a peaceful life with his family in Iceland after faking his death.
His father, Thors Snorresson
Helga, mother of Thofinn and wife of Thors was a simple housewife.
Thorfinn’s Mother, Helga
Thorfinn had an older sister named Ylva who decided to stay in Iceland. Later she married Ari and gave birth to three children.
Thorfinn’s beloved sister, Ylva
Wife And Children
Thorfinn married Gudrid, a widowed young woman, during his journey to Vinland.
Gudrid (Thorfinn’s wife)
Thorfinn and Gudrid adopted a boy named Karli. Although their love for Karli is immense, they still hesitate to introduce him as his son to others.
Thorfinn with his adopted son, Karli
Also, the couple is expecting their firstborn child as per the manga.
Gudrid revealing about her pregnancy
Friends
Einar, a former slave on Ketil’s farm, became Thorfinn’s best friend. Thorfinn met him for the first time on the farm. Initially, Thorfinn had no intention of befriending him. But as a year or two passed working together, Thorfinn slowly began to open up to him.
Religion/Religious Views
Thorfinn and his family believed in Christianity. During the slavery arc, he seemed to be highly devoted to Bible and was pretty happy with his religious beliefs.
Career
Anime
The first episode of Vinland Saga’s anime series (Somewhere Not Here) was aired on Television on 7 July 2019.
Manga
On July 15, 2005 (Chapter 1: Normanni), the protagonist was introduced in the manga.
Voiced By
The rage, emptiness, sullenness, and pain we experience through the voice of the main protagonist Thorfinn Thorsonn are because of Japanese voice actor Uemura Yuuto and English voice actor Emrick Shannon. Here is a complete list of people who became the voice of Thorfinn Thorsonn in different languages.
Japanese
Uemura Yuuto, Ishigami Shizuka
English
Emrick Shannon, Stahl Laura, Le Aleks, Haimoto Mike
German
Rachfahl Melinda, Sablik Nico
Spanish
Garza Eduardo, Tabarez Victor
French
Chase Kaycle, Darazi Estelle, Fort-Junca Benoît
Portuguese
Figueira Daniel, Frenchel Vivian, Minei Alex
Italian
Oldani Andrea, D’Agata Lorenzo
Awards & Achievements
Anime Trending Awards (2023) for Favorite Drama – Vinland Saga Season 2
Address
Thorfinn was born and raised in Iceland. And after his father’s death, he went on adventures with Vikings and fought wars. Currently, he has set sail with his little family and crew to Vinland.
Weapon
In manga as well as in anime, we see Thorfinn carry two knives. One of them was his father’s weapon which he kept by himself as his father’s last memory. He prefers to dual-wield the daggers which boost his fighting efficiency.
Thorfinn with his knife
Battles & Duels
Thorfinn followed Askaldd’s band to seek revenge for his father’s death. As most of the protagonist’s life was spent in war fields, he came across a number of death matches. However, he had no purpose left to fight once Askeladd was dead and therefore became a slave on Ketil’s farm. Here are the interesting battles we get to see in the series.
Thorfinn Vs. Askeladd
Thorfinn desperately wanted to kill Askeladd with his own hands. Although Askeadd and his crew were aware of his intentions, Askeladd still let him join his band. Askeladd promised Thorfinn a duel if he proved himself on the battlefield. The first time Thorfinn challenged Askeladd in a duel was when he was just a kid and had no fighting skills. But Thorfinn’s physical strength improved every time he killed other warriors. When Thorfinn equipped fine warrior characteristics and he asked Askeladd for a duel again. Like the first time, his fighting skills were still not enough to beat Askeadd. The last time, he fought Askeladd was when his right arm was broken. He lost all three duels with Askeladd and failed to avenge his father’s death.
Thorfinn Vs. Thorkell
Thorfinn fought Thorkell, uncle-in-law of Thors, two times. In the first battle, he would have been dead if he couldn’t escape. However, he knocked out Thorkell in the second duel with him. Unfortunately, he got his arm broken in this fight. Still, he challenged Askeladd in an impaired physical state right after defeating Thorkell.
Controversies
Criticism Due To Bad Animation
Many fans seemed disappointed after the release of Vinland Saga Season 1’s last episodes. According to manga readers, the last episodes of the first season failed to recreate the scenes published in the manga. Hundreds of manga fans expressed their dissatisfaction through tweets requesting a better piece of artwork. Shuuhei Yabuta, the director of this anime series, had to issue a public apology after facing so much criticism for the quality drop.
Thank you for a lot of responses, and I really appriciate for your understanding and supporting. It is also unwilling for me to make a film that is unsatisfactory for viewers. I will keep pushing on.
— やぶた Shuhei Yabuta (@yabshu55) November 4, 2019
Favorites
Books: Bible
Activity: Upskilling Physical Strength
Death
Real-life Thorfinn, Thorfinn Karlsefni, died early at the age of 27 soon after the establishment of his dream place Vinland. So manga and anime fans can expect the protagonist to die soon. However, so far, there’s no official announcement from his creators or Wit Studio regarding his death.
Facts/Trivia
- Thorfinn Thorsonn is inspired by a real figure, Thorfinn Kerlselfni. Just as same in manga/anime, the real version of Thorfinn goes on an adventure to find his dream place, Vinland. And that’s how the series got the title “Vinland Saga”.
Thorfinn Karlsefni (980 AD- 1007 AD)
- Even many manga readers don’t know the main protagonist has two namesakes. The first namesake originates from his real-life inspiration Thorfinn Karlsefni. And later in the series, when Leif Erikson adopts a young boy. He names his adopted son “ Thorfinn”, the second namesake.
- The birth year of Thorfinn is different in manga/anime and in real life. Thorfinn was born in Iceland in 996 whereas Thorfinn Kerlsefni, the real-life version of Thorfinn, was born in 980 in the same countryside.
- Although the Thorfinn character is based on a real figure, there are still so many differences in their characteristics. The Thorfinn we see in anime and manga had violent nature. On the other hand, Thorfinn Kerselfni sought exploration and adventures all his life and thus, established Vinland.
- Thorfinn was neither happy nor sad after the death of Askeladd. Emotions flowing in his mind were unexplainable. He struggled for years to make sense of his life’s purpose. Later in the series, his new connections played an essential role in finding him a new purpose for his meaningless life.
- Thorfinn’s short height brought him an advantage and disadvantage as well. During fights, his small height helped him gain extra speed and also made him less vulnerable to open attacks. Well, even with these benefits, he struggled in combat with tall and strong warriors like Thorkell.
- Bible was his source of motivation and finding inner peace. He was indeed a Christian but never developed faith in God until he started listening to Snake’s Bible readings. With the help of the Bible and his new friends, he recovered from the trauma and started living life with a new purpose.
Thorfinn listening to Snake’s Bible readings
- Thorfinn was neither afraid to die nor desired a happy life. Still, he became stronger, fought many battles, and kept himself alive. All of this is just to fulfill one single purpose, and that is avenging his father’s untimely death.
- It’s hard to believe that even being a warrior for years, the protagonist never gained any visible scars other than the ones which were underneath his clothes. Here the irony is, the first time he got cuts on his face was when he wasn’t a warrior but a slave.
