Anime characters with a story filled with pain, an ambition that prioritizes revenge and a berserker mode to achieve their objectives always seem to get me excited. No matter how overused this troupe is, watching a plot of a brooding, anger infested protagonist seeking nothing vengeance can never go wrong in my books and what makes it even better is when the hero actually achieves his objectives bloodily. This might not be the case of Thorfinn son of Thors but that doesn't make his story any less interesting.
Born on an island known as Iceland, Thorfinn isk the son of a former Jomsviking warrior Thors and princess Helga. Thorfinn has just one sibling, an elder sister named Ylva who inherited the strong genes of their father. From the earliest stage of his life, Thorfinn has always looked up to his father idolizing him for being the embodiment of strength. As a boy he always wanted to go adventures on the sea just like the stories he heard from the village's storyteller Lief. Thorfinn's curiousity made him a stowaway on a ship that was leaving the island for a war expedition. His father and a few members of the community were aboard the ship and it did not take for his father and the crew members to discover him hiding in the ship leading to disciplinary actions from his father. Thors mission turned out to be a trap to have him killed as they were soon surrounded by mercenaries. Desperate to save Thorfinn and the rest of the crew, Thors challenges the leader of the mercenaries to a duel which he ends up winning. However the leader Askeladd still ends up killing Thors right in front of his son on the condition that he will spare the lives of everyone else. Thorfinn watched his father unjustly shot to death at the young age of 10 turning a sweet innocent young lad into a rage vessel with one purpose killing Askeladd.
After the death of his father, Thorfinn refused to return back home, instead stayed behind in his father's ship which the mercenaries took with them as trophy for their work. They soon discovered Thorfinn standing up for everyone to see a murderous look that sent shivers down the spine of grown men who were confused abd decided to call their leader.
The moment Thorfinn laid eyes on Askeladd the things he said made me jump to the conclusion that Thorfinn is just the guy I have been searching for all a long. Watching that scene alone made me feel every emotion the boy was oozing and the hunger for revenge??? Well Thorfinn made even the audience a massive supporter to his cause.
https://youtu.be/B0pIISs-o8w?si=Rh60oRQ-5J5J3ds5
As the Thorfinn grew, so did his rage, he ended up becoming a member of the very group responsible for the death of his father just so he can have the opportunity to challenge the Askeladd to a one on one duel but ended up becoming a tool for war.
Thorfinn never stopped challenging Askeladd even though he lost every single time. The show took an unexpected turn when Thorfinn's revenge was stolen from him as Askeladd was killed by prince Canute which sent him into a frenzy and finally an empty shell with nothing to live.
Thorfinn would later get back on his feet becoming a force of change completely against the use of force accepting his father's beliefs of having no enemies. Although his character development is labeled is top tier, I still loved the crazy personality of a revenge monger ready to kill with so much as batting an eye. He was fearless, brave and possessed the right skill to back up his drive. Thorfinn may have deviated from the ideals that drew me to him but doesn't mean I not invested in his character. In my books, he is among my top 10 best berserk characters and will always have a special place in my heart.
Images are from imdb