I try to keep this review spoiler free after episode 10 or so.

So this actually is a rewatch, the first time I binged it when it came out. However, while I did like it a lot back then I didn't really uncover and peel back all the layers that constitute this absolutely fantastic, more or less perfect tale.
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Story & Plot 10/10__

The story, at first, is a simple revenge story. After the first few episodes, Thorfinn (the main character) loses his father to Askeladd, a mercenary leader who is in service to the Danes during their quest to conquer England for their king. The core of the story, even with all the intrigue, political aspects, plot twists and turns and all the apeshit stuff that comes during the course of the show, is a.lways the revenge story - Thorfinn wants to, needs to really, defeat Askeladd in a fair one vs one duel to avenge his father.
To that end, Thorfinn tags along with Askeladd and his gang while they do their thing, being kept on a leash by Askeladd who promises him a fair duel as long as he keeps earning cred. And so begins their incredibly bizarre, co-dependent story that's soon peppered by the arrival of Prince Canute and the complications that brings with it.
The story itself is pretty basic, it needs to be said, HOWEVER, the execution and narration as well as the depths of insight we get into the characters is amazing. There really is not one episode I felt is filler or doesn't contribute anything to the story.
You can only imagine how happy I am that S1 is a 24 episodes affair and not a 12-episode rush. The plot takes its sweet time to establish things and it fits, as the following arcs are epic in scale.

Vinland Saga is, despite the action it packs, NOT a popcorn action romp, it's a deep, profound character story on things like what war does to people, how far one would go to protect the ones they love, and what love even is, revenge, father figures and so on and so forth.

__Characters 11/10
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I'm not trying to be funny or anything, but I need to say, out of all the anime I watched so far, there's no show I've yet seen with better characters. Nearly all named characters that have an impact on the story range from very well-crafted basic ideas (Ragnar, Thors, Thorkell (who is SO MUCH FUN)) to amazing characters with lots of layers (Thorfinn, Canute, Thorkell) to absolute god-tier (Askeladd). Shit you not, Askeladd is THE antagonist of anime that came out in 2010 and I'll die fighting that notion. Nothing comes close to how ... torn, contradictory, twisted and just overall fantastically written he is. I never excepted him to become one of my favourite characters ever.
I said that I want to keep this review spoiler-free post episode 10, so I will here, but there's nothing that prepared me for the sheer amount of character development they went through (besides Thors cause, you know, he's dead within the first few episodes).
Granted, as I wrote, this is a rewatch and thusly, I already knew most of these things, but also now with a bit more years into my life and a new perspective on MANY things, I was really... surprised by how much I missed the first time I watched Vinland Saga. What impact certain lines had, what made characters do what they do and so on and so forth. Like I said above, the show is a character study on many of the same topics through different lenses, but it's also a fantastic drama. The reason the most important section of this review is the shortest is, cause it's spoiler free.

__Technical stuff 10/10
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Trust WIT to forge something fantastic. Attack on Titan, Vivy, Ousama Ranking, Great Pretender... I really haven't seen any show that, didn't get me hyped and that floored me with its execution, small miss-ups with CGI and off-model characters notwithstanding.
And it's much the same here. The obvious standout is the very well-animated fight scenes, dripping with swag, great choreography and flair. Additionally, the overall animation quality was while not terribly great (ofc, Sakuga was there in the big fights) very consistent which is worth a ton.
Then there's the overall aesthetic of the show, very rich in subtle, not desperately popping colours EXCEPT when necessary to make someone stick out. For example How Canute runs around in a bright red cloak amidst raiders in somewhat washed-out earth tones. Or Askeladd's trademark black-and-gold body armour that clashes with the bright blond of his hair and beard. Or how Torkell's outfit consists of weirdly mashed up colours with a bright red-and-orange bandana. An interesting inverse to the "use colours to make important characters pop" thingy is Thorfinn himself who wears mostly brown that doesn't stick out and that somewhat matches his hair. I mean it fits as he's essentially an assassin and they don't wanna stick out, but I guess you get where I'm coming from.

But what really sticks out to me personally is how insanely expressive WIT's facial expressions are, and doubly so the eyes. There are lots of closeups of characters' faces contorted in pained, joyous, triumphant, furious or smug expressions and it just works.
As for the way the eyes are expressive, they add a whole ton of emphasis and importance to what a character goes through or what they decided to do. Be it becoming a badass, remaining calm and composed in the face of danger, expressing how much of an empty shell someone had become etc. etc.

Speaking of pain, joy, triumph etc, the voice actors are abso-fucking-lutely amazing. It's got one of my favourite VAs in there, Akio Otsuka, who is as bombastic and fantastic as ever, with his voice matching Thorkell's insanity but the insistence on a fair fight and the layers he has to a T. Then we have Canute who has a dream, and Kensho Ono managed to make Canute's character development progressively audible in a subtle but noticeable difference. While watching, I constantly wondered how Shizuka Ishigami and Yuto Uemura, who voiced Thorfinn, had a voice left after all the rage-filled but unironically terrifying screaming coming out of the young man. Still, especially Yuto did a fantastic job of not only conveying Thorfinn's rage and hatred but also his more or less complete disinterest in anything BUT that.
And then we finally have Naoya Uchida, who, at age 66 when Vinland Saga was being shot, gives an incredibly stellar performance, adding yet another layer to Askeladd, impeccably driving home just how mysterious, troubled and dangerous his role really is.

Overall, I could go on and on about how insanely good Vinland Saga is, but I'm sure you guys are busy and so am I.

It's just.... wow. If you haven't seen it and/or don't think you will like it cause you have no interest in Vikings, history, revenge, drama, political intrigue or what have you, I still beseech you to give it at least 3, ideally a 6 episode grace period (as it's a 2-cours season). If you're not hooked by then you probably won't be after. I for one have hardly ever been more excited for the second season of something to drop.

10/10