The manga series Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura contains a mixture of historical, apocryphal, and invented characters in its cast.
The series is divided into four story arc focused on Thorfinn, a young viking who wishes to kill his superior Askeladd as revenge for the death of his father, Thors.
In following arcs, an older Thorfinn questions his sins and decides to atone for them by finding the land Vinland which he was told as a child where people can live in peace.
The series was influenced by Makoto Yukimura's thoughts with vikings as they were hailed as heroes despite their violent methods with Thorfinn's development being how to atone for his killings.
One of the few exceptions is Gudrid due to how she is based on a historical figure with the same name who makes a major impact on Thorfinn's life and the author tries being faithful to such event.
[31] The ending of the first season was well received for how a single death brought a major impact to both Thorfinn and Canute for how they change when such event occurs.
[40] Following Askeladd's death, critics were surprised by Thorfinn's quieter personality and his parallelism with a corrupted Canute while also giving focus on slaves even if it employed less action sequences.
[44] For the fourth story arc, Manga Sanctuary said Thorfinn now lives to his father's legacy during his quest while finding his new found family appealing.