Hatred and Vinland Saga

There is only one thing that has changed my life completely, and that is a show called Vinland Saga. 

I'm gonna to convince you to watch this show if you haven't already. 

*There will be no spoilers for Vinland Saga in this blog* 

Growing up with shonen anime, I believed that "defeating your enemy" was the right thing to do, and never questioned it. Think Naruto, Attack on Titan, Death Note, etc. 

So when I first watched Vinland Saga, I didn't understand it. This guy named Thors kept saying, "I have no enemies"...Even though he was literally at war. His enemies were right in front of him. 

To give you some context, the story of Vinland Saga takes place at an era of Vikings, and Thors was one of them, a really strong one too. But he refused to pick up a sword. 

It was only after watching it for the second time, then it hit me. I'M the one labeling them as enemies. Nobody is a natural born enemy of mine. And if I have the power to label them as enemies, I have the power to un-label them as well. 

When this realization hit me, How my mind worked completely changed, causing me to become a different person. This was an earth shattering experience. 

Suddenly I wasn't irritated by the people that I hated. Matter of fact, I no longer hated them. It was never about what they did or what they said. It was always about me, how I take it and what I'm going to do about it. 

As of today, there is not a single person that I hate. That doesn't mean that I don't feel hurt or upset by people. But I find solutions other than to hate. Because hating is a choice. 

How hard it must have been, for somebody in the era of Vikings where violence and war was so normalized, to come to this conclusion. To make a promise to themselves to never pick up a sword. And how mentally strong you have to be, to actually go through with that promise.

That is the beauty of Vinland Saga. 

Our main character is Thorfin, son of Thors. We get to see his hardships living along side Vikings to kill. We also get to see his experiences which will develop him as a person. 

Even without any of this, it is still a peak anime. You should give it a try with season one. See if you like it:) Don't look up anything about this show to avoid spoilers.