My thoughts on Askeladd.
The main reason I say this is because askeladd as a character is some of the most complex characters I have seen in manga to date. I loved his arc over the story and one of the only characters I shed a tear over when they died.
At first we are meant to believe he was just some other viking. Nothing special. Nothing noteworthy.
And then yukimura expanded him beyond anything people could think of
I love how despite being a man whose entire life was focused on his one goal (becoming king) he never cared for anyone else. He stood among people he hated. Lead people he hated. Worked under the rule of people he hated.
And that itself shows you how dedicated this man is.
But Askeladd is still human. And that's what makes him different from the "evil mastermind" trope.
He built his life by the words his mother gave him and wanted to live by it.
But especially with Bjorn, he knew that he was full of shit in that regard.
He still befriended Bjorn. His closest and only friend. A man who comes from a race Askeladd hates.
Askeladd despite all the evil he had done he still had a good heart. He cared for bjorn, for Thorfinn (which he wanted to refuse), for Canute, even for atli.
But this human nature of him didn't stop him from achieving his goals
No matter how much he cared, Askeladd always removed all obstacles. He slaughtered an entire village for his goal without a second thought. That's how far gone he was to it.
To shorten it, despite how much human he acted or felt. Nothing could change his mind about his goals
I could talk for hours on end about Askeladd but this is just the baseline of what I feel for him. I'd love to hear everyone else's thoughts