Vinland Saga director Shuhei Yabuta took to Twitter to apologize to fans for being unable to fulfill the plan to create a series of short stories that would delve deep into the characters of the anime apart from the main story in Vinland Saga season 2, one of which included the backstory of Snake.

The suggestion to include his backstory was made by the mangaka Makoto Yukimura, who had submitted the story to Yabuta.

But due to certain circumstances the director had to give up on the plan to focus on the production of the main story of the anime.

“I would like to apologize to all of you. I had hoped to create a short story that would delve deeper into the story and characters in addition to the main story for Season 2. One of my plans was to create an episode about the past of Snake, which was given to me by Mr. Yukimura, but I have decided to abandon the plan in order to give priority to the production of the main story.“

Yabuta also revealed that episode 16 and 17 contained the elements of this backstory. He also had the storyboard and setting ready for this, but due to his “lack of experience” he was unable to accomplish the plan. The entire staff will instead put in all the efforts in the production of the main story.

He apologized to all those who were looking forward to the original story.

“In both episodes 16 and 17, the premise elements surrounding this short story remained in the main story, and the storyboards and settings were ready, but this time I was not able to realize it due to my lack of ability. I think there were people who were looking forward to it because the information had been out for a long time, but I am very sorry that it turned out like this.

All the staff will continue to put all their effort into the production of the main story, so please continue to support Vinland Saga in the future.“

In reply to Yabuta’s tweet, the mangaka Makoto Yukimura also expressed his apologies for getting carried away and leaking the information on the backstory without realizing what was going on in the anime’s production side

That’s right. Director Yabuta and I had a talk with everyone and we decided to do an old episode of “Snake” as an anime. I’m sorry, I got ahead of myself and leaked a bit of information without knowing what was going on on the animation production side..

Yukimura said that he had planned to draw Snake’s backstory for the episode but didn’t get a chance to do so, as it was not so easy to create an episode. However, he promises to release the story in some form or the other.

He also mentioned that the staff is working really hard on the main story of the anime, and also expressed concern and asked Yabuta to not overdo himself.

The past of Snake. This is an episode that I had planned to draw, but never got the chance to do so. After all, it’s not easy to make an episode. The main story is really great, isn’t it? I can tell that everyone at the animation production team is working with all their might. Director Yabuta, are you back home? Please don’t strain yourself.

But…! It might happen. Maybe in some form, somewhere, as an outside story. So I’m sorry, but please let me keep the origin of Snake a secret.

Shuhei Yabuta had previously mentioned that Vinland Saga Season 2 will have several small changes from the manga.

Vinland Saga Season 2 released in Japan on Jan 9, 2023.

It is being streamed on Netflix, Crunchyroll and others outside Japan.

Season 2 of the anime is confirmed to have 24 episodes. Though the studio in charge of animating Vinland Saga Season 2 changed from WIT to MAPPA, the staff working on the anime is same as Season 1.

Vinland Saga is a Japanese historical manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Yukimura. The series is published by Kodansha and was first serialized in the youth-targeted Weekly Shōnen Magazine before moving to the monthly manga magazine Monthly Afternoon, aimed at young adult men.

As of May 2022, its chapters have been collected in 26 tankobon volumes. Vinland Saga has also been licensed for English-language publication by Kodansha USA.

An anime adaptation by WIT Studio premiered on July 7, 2019, to December 29, 2019, consisting of 24 episodes.

MAL describes the plot as:

Young Thorfinn grew up listening to the stories of old sailors that had traveled the ocean and reached the place of legend, Vinland. It’s said to be warm and fertile, a place where there would be no need for fighting—not at all like the frozen village in Iceland where he was born, and certainly not like his current life as a mercenary. War is his home now. Though his father once told him, “You have no enemies, nobody does. There is nobody who it’s okay to hurt,” as he grew, Thorfinn knew that nothing was further from the truth.

The war between England and the Danes grows worse with each passing year. Death has become commonplace, and the viking mercenaries are loving every moment of it. Allying with either side will cause a massive swing in the balance of power, and the vikings are happy to make names for themselves and take any spoils they earn along the way. Among the chaos, Thorfinn must take his revenge and kill Askeladd, the man who murdered his father. The only paradise for the vikings, it seems, is the era of war and death that rages on.

Source: Twitter (1, 2)