The Vinland Saga Season 2 anime is being blatantly teased by director Shuhei Yabuta. The new tweets could be hinting at an upcoming official announcement, depending on how you interpret it.
On Sept. 22, director Shuhei Yabuta tweeted out a picture of three drawings of some of the main Vinland Saga characters, including Thorfinn, Askeladd, and (Princess) Canute. The director revealed that “there is a small easter egg” and asked his Twitter followers to figure out the secret message.
Besides the Japanese text, what stood out was the Nordic runes hidden in the background on the bottom left of each piece of artwork. Fortunately, if you Google “Nordic runes,” there are multiple photos that provide a quick translation.
Each Nordic symbol represents an English character. If you spell it out, the runes say “sea-son two.”
The Japanese text is also another hint since it has the characters complaining about being made to wait, presumably on Vinland Saga Season 2.
Thorfinn asks, “How long must we wait,” to which an annoyed Askeladd replies, “That’s why I hate kids,” and Canute chimes in, “It’s soon… I guess.”
Vinland Saga Season 2 confirmed? While the director is teasing Vinland Saga Season 2, he also added a disclaimer by saying, “Whatever it [the easter egg] is, there are no deep meanings…” and “It’s not a big deal.”
In early October 2020, the director announced that he would be joining the Shingeki no Kyojin Season 4 CG staff at Studio MAPPA to help them finish the Attack On Titan Season 4 anime. Yabuta will be the only returning staff from WIT Studio, but he also announced that he has his “own directing title” so he can’t “focus on AoT only”.
Considering the timing of this tweet, Yabuta could be referencing directing the Vinland Saga Season 2 anime, which still hasn’t been officially announced. However, he could also be referencing directing a different project that hasn’t been officially announced yet.
In the past, the director had expressed his hope that he’d work on the Vinland Saga Season 2 anime in the future.
“This big incident changed everything for Thorfinn, but his story will continue!” the director wrote back in December 2019. “I pray that he will meet many people, and his eyes truly open to seeing the vast world… I hope it was of benefit to [all of you] involved in [making] this work, and [I] hope to get together in another work!”
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Updated October 2, 2020: Added new comments from the director.
Shuhei Yabuta is currently working with animation studio MAPPA
The director has a background as a CGI artist, and he worked on the first three seasons of the Attack On Titan series as a CGI/3D director. He also worked on the Attack On Titan Season 4 anime trailer, and that anime season is releasing in late 2020 (please see our story for the Attack On Titan Season 4 release date).
Like many in the anime industry, the director is a contractor, and he floats from studio to studio based on the projects. He’s worked with Madhouse for No Game No Life, Overlord anime, Parasyte, ACCA 13, and other anime.
For the Attack On Titan anime and Vinland Saga anime, he’s worked with WIT Studio. And now, he’s currently attached to animation studio MAPPA.
No, that does not necessarily mean Vinland Saga Season 2 anime will switch studios from WIT Studio to MAPPA, although it is a possibility.
Besides finishing up the original work The Great Pretender, WIT Studio is focused on producing more original creations like the upcoming Vampire in the Garden. But WIT Studio hasn’t announced their full schedule for 2021 yet, so Vinland Saga Season 2 could remain with WIT.
Anime news leakers claim Vinland Saga Season 2 is in the “pipeline”
While the tweet by the director is the first official hint that a Vinland Saga Season 2 announcement could be forthcoming, there have been claims made by anime news leakers.
In December 2019, Spytrue claimed that “Vinland [Saga] S2 is on the pipeline.” Spytrue also contended that “Vinland Saga [Season 2] will not be in 2020, unfortunately,” which turned out to be true.
Spytrue has a pretty solid history of accurate anime news leaks. For example, Spytrue correctly claimed that Attack On Titan Season 4 would still come out in late 2020, even when others were beginning to believe it would be delayed until 2021. At the same time, Spytrue also claimed Attack On Titan Season 4 wouldn’t switch studios, so that’s why it’s always good to take anime news leaks with a grain of salt.
Let’s hope a Vinland Saga Season 2 release date announcement will set up the anime for 2021. Stay tuned!