Written by: Kevin Berge
For all her unique touches, you can tell Yona's artist really likes her male characters wholly androgynous. (Image Courtesy of: stmed.net)
There are few shows, anime or otherwise, I have heard about and instantly known I'd love. It took barely a pitch to convince me I would fall in love with Yona of the Dawn, a smart and engaging adventure anime that uses it plot to develop characters who start simple and grow far more nuanced.
Unfortunately, I had one reason to stay away for years. The anime is not a complete story. While largely well received, it covers just the first 8 volumes of a so far 26-volume manga. In order to cover it, I would have to accept that I would not get the complete story or commit to reading the ongoing manga.
I have finally given the show a chance with the assumption I'm going to get hooked enough that I will have to read the manga. It's inevitable, but I think there's still something to be learned and celebrated in watching this series.
Unfortunately, I had one reason to stay away for years. The anime is not a complete story. While largely well received, it covers just the first 8 volumes of a so far 26-volume manga. In order to cover it, I would have to accept that I would not get the complete story or commit to reading the ongoing manga.
I have finally given the show a chance with the assumption I'm going to get hooked enough that I will have to read the manga. It's inevitable, but I think there's still something to be learned and celebrated in watching this series.
Basic Story Set-Up
In the Kingdom of Kouka, Princess Yona lives carefree as the only daughter of King Il, hoping to marry her long-time friend Soo-Won and rule over a peaceful pacifist nation. However, she is completely oblivious to the politics and dangers all around her.
One fateful night on her 16th birthday, she is forced to flee the castle with her bodyguard and childhood best friend Hak. Unprepared for the world outside her bubble, she must learn to survive as she seeks assistance from the mythical Four Dragon Warriors.
One fateful night on her 16th birthday, she is forced to flee the castle with her bodyguard and childhood best friend Hak. Unprepared for the world outside her bubble, she must learn to survive as she seeks assistance from the mythical Four Dragon Warriors.
Cute dainty Yona couldn't put a hurtful finger on a fly... but she murders with glares. (Image Courtesy of: animeep.com)
Story Arc Analysis
***This is the only section that expects the reader to have seen the show already and will contain complete spoilers. Skip to the Impact and Art Style section if you have not seen the anime yet.***
Betrayal (Ep 1-8): Yona starts with a brilliant set-up, establishing the three main characters as long-time friends before the plot tears them apart. It is simple but effective, using emotional attachment to complicate political intrigue that frames the story clearly.
What is especially fascinating is that Soo-Won is set up as the betraying villain here but then slowly it is revealed that there is far more depth to his actions. This is not just a story of royalty taking back the throne. This whole story is about learning to be better people and rulers for Kouka.
Yona and Hak are likable but somewhat naive lead protagonists. Yona does not know the world and believes too fully in her father's pacifistic ideals. Hak is single minded in his devotion to protecting Yona and fails to see that she needs to be more than just the princess to succeed. It establishes a ton of room for growth.
The White and Blue Dragons (Ep 9-16): While this anime will never be able to fully explore the adventurous side of its premise, it does a great job of establishing and building its characters that form the base of Yona's army. Yoon came in the first section as an intellectual and healer before the three ventured out to find the dragons.
Kija is the devoted dragon warrior, who immediately applies himself to the role of protecting Yona. He quickly takes on Hak's role, which puts them into conflict and makes clear that Hak's role in the story is far more than what he think it is.
The Blue Dragon, who Yona names Shin-Ah, is a more complex character because she establishes how the people of Kouka can treat otherness. He's isolated and damaged, which makes it fascinating to see how he comes into his own as the group grows.
The Pirates of Awa (Ep 17-24): This is the heart of the show. While it is partially about recruiting the Green Dragon Jae-Ha, the real heart of this is showing Yona finally come into her own. Here, she is forced to accept that her father made mistakes that have to be rectified and also gets the chance to act rather than just be protected.
The whole group must rally to fight for the downtrodden city of Awa, joining a pirate crew of young orphans. While The Dragons Warriors are all valuable, Yona finds herself repeatedly in situations where she is the only one that can handle the work needed, and her actions prove her to be far more than a woman born into fortune.
This all leads to Yona being the one to kill the corrupt king Kum-Ji. The group really takes shape here with Jae-Ha working as a romantic rival to Hak as well as a young isolated pirate in need of finding more in his life. With Yona, he gets the chance to mature and find something worth fighting for.
The action here is at its best, and it also sets so many of the characters to be far more interesting to explore down the line. Shame this is where the story ends in the anime.
OVAs: I wish I could comment on the quality of the Yona OVAs, which go into the backstories more of the Dragon Warriors, but they've never been officially adapted to English even just with a subtitles. I'm just leaving these stories to be explored in the manga.
Betrayal (Ep 1-8): Yona starts with a brilliant set-up, establishing the three main characters as long-time friends before the plot tears them apart. It is simple but effective, using emotional attachment to complicate political intrigue that frames the story clearly.
What is especially fascinating is that Soo-Won is set up as the betraying villain here but then slowly it is revealed that there is far more depth to his actions. This is not just a story of royalty taking back the throne. This whole story is about learning to be better people and rulers for Kouka.
Yona and Hak are likable but somewhat naive lead protagonists. Yona does not know the world and believes too fully in her father's pacifistic ideals. Hak is single minded in his devotion to protecting Yona and fails to see that she needs to be more than just the princess to succeed. It establishes a ton of room for growth.
The White and Blue Dragons (Ep 9-16): While this anime will never be able to fully explore the adventurous side of its premise, it does a great job of establishing and building its characters that form the base of Yona's army. Yoon came in the first section as an intellectual and healer before the three ventured out to find the dragons.
Kija is the devoted dragon warrior, who immediately applies himself to the role of protecting Yona. He quickly takes on Hak's role, which puts them into conflict and makes clear that Hak's role in the story is far more than what he think it is.
The Blue Dragon, who Yona names Shin-Ah, is a more complex character because she establishes how the people of Kouka can treat otherness. He's isolated and damaged, which makes it fascinating to see how he comes into his own as the group grows.
The Pirates of Awa (Ep 17-24): This is the heart of the show. While it is partially about recruiting the Green Dragon Jae-Ha, the real heart of this is showing Yona finally come into her own. Here, she is forced to accept that her father made mistakes that have to be rectified and also gets the chance to act rather than just be protected.
The whole group must rally to fight for the downtrodden city of Awa, joining a pirate crew of young orphans. While The Dragons Warriors are all valuable, Yona finds herself repeatedly in situations where she is the only one that can handle the work needed, and her actions prove her to be far more than a woman born into fortune.
This all leads to Yona being the one to kill the corrupt king Kum-Ji. The group really takes shape here with Jae-Ha working as a romantic rival to Hak as well as a young isolated pirate in need of finding more in his life. With Yona, he gets the chance to mature and find something worth fighting for.
The action here is at its best, and it also sets so many of the characters to be far more interesting to explore down the line. Shame this is where the story ends in the anime.
OVAs: I wish I could comment on the quality of the Yona OVAs, which go into the backstories more of the Dragon Warriors, but they've never been officially adapted to English even just with a subtitles. I'm just leaving these stories to be explored in the manga.
Hak isn't a Dragon Warrior, but you can tell deep down he really wishes he was. (Image Courtesy of: animoapps.com)
Impact and Art Style
Yona of the Dawn is a story of maturing. All three of the main characters are young immature teenagers, struck by the reality of a world on the edge. Yona, Hak, and Soo-Won each must comes to terms with their role in changing a direction forged by their parents.
It makes for an engaging set-up with a host of interesting characters that come to fill other unique roles, rallying around the defining trait of the leads: steady-fast commitment. Everyone adds a new layer to this fantastic yet somewhat familiar world.
As more of a shōjo anime than straight adventure shonen, Yona stands out by relying on almost entirely character. There are no gimmicks here. The main fighters are powerful, but they don't do anything fancy. It is hard to say if the fight sequences would stand up over a longer series, but they do work for what is presented.
The anime does not get enough time to fully explore its romance side, but that is clearly an area where the series as a whole is focused. While the adventure makes it stand out to most demographics, its good-looking male character crew surrounding the female lead makes for some awkward love triangles that are the show's weakest focus.
The writing and art style of Mizuho Kusanagi stands out from peers by being able to shift so cleanly from the sweet to the comedic to the violent. It is an intense series at times, but the anime alleviates this tension with some great unexpected moments of levity that feel right.
Every character has a distinctive look and feel that goes beyond the obvious touches like Yona's red hair or the dragon limbs of the Dragon Warriors. They all have fairly sharp chins, but their eyes and garb make them stand out with beautifully colored scenes in every episode.
It makes for an engaging set-up with a host of interesting characters that come to fill other unique roles, rallying around the defining trait of the leads: steady-fast commitment. Everyone adds a new layer to this fantastic yet somewhat familiar world.
As more of a shōjo anime than straight adventure shonen, Yona stands out by relying on almost entirely character. There are no gimmicks here. The main fighters are powerful, but they don't do anything fancy. It is hard to say if the fight sequences would stand up over a longer series, but they do work for what is presented.
The anime does not get enough time to fully explore its romance side, but that is clearly an area where the series as a whole is focused. While the adventure makes it stand out to most demographics, its good-looking male character crew surrounding the female lead makes for some awkward love triangles that are the show's weakest focus.
The writing and art style of Mizuho Kusanagi stands out from peers by being able to shift so cleanly from the sweet to the comedic to the violent. It is an intense series at times, but the anime alleviates this tension with some great unexpected moments of levity that feel right.
Every character has a distinctive look and feel that goes beyond the obvious touches like Yona's red hair or the dragon limbs of the Dragon Warriors. They all have fairly sharp chins, but their eyes and garb make them stand out with beautifully colored scenes in every episode.
Sub vs. Dub
The Funimation dub for Yona is not a complete standout, but I found myself settling in with it pretty easily from the start. There are two main issues that may turn off some from the dub. The first is a few scenes that are clearly not translated well and come off stilted, particularly dramatic moments.
The biggest problem though is the choice of Monica Rial (Dragon Ball Z Kai) as Yona. While the Japanese voice actress Chiwa Saitō (Bakemonogotori) does bring more presence to the role, I though Rial was good enough for the part, and the rest of the cast was great including the legend Christopher Sabat as Hak (Dragon Ball Z) and Clifford Chapin as Yoon (My Hero Academia).
Most will be able to tell within the first 10 minutes of the first episode whether the sub is for you. The Japanese version is stronger, but the dub is good enough that English speakers should be able to watch and enjoy without having to read the subtitles.
Recommendation: Either
The biggest problem though is the choice of Monica Rial (Dragon Ball Z Kai) as Yona. While the Japanese voice actress Chiwa Saitō (Bakemonogotori) does bring more presence to the role, I though Rial was good enough for the part, and the rest of the cast was great including the legend Christopher Sabat as Hak (Dragon Ball Z) and Clifford Chapin as Yoon (My Hero Academia).
Most will be able to tell within the first 10 minutes of the first episode whether the sub is for you. The Japanese version is stronger, but the dub is good enough that English speakers should be able to watch and enjoy without having to read the subtitles.
Recommendation: Either
Soo-Won is the show's most dangerous and formidable character, obviously. (Image Courtesy of: pinterest.com)
Conclusion
Yona of the Dawn is one of the best snippets of a shonen anime I have ever experienced (with clear shōjo elements as well). It's fun, driven by strong characters, and has a depth of emotion and storytelling that is often missing in long-form anime. It also almost entirely avoids the inherent problems with the genre.
Still, it is a hard show to recommend because the whole 24-episode arc is an introduction. It sets up the characters on each side and establishes relationships. The final main character of the complete story does not even appear until quite late in the anime.
Because of all this, it feels like a tantalizing tease of what will never come. Sure, it can work as a great introduction to the manga, but that could come just as easily from reading the manga from the first chapter. I would not surprised if just reading the manga is the better option as the anime may not be a one-to-one adaptation.
I was happy to watch it, and I look forward to getting into the manga soon to explore this series and its characters more. I just wish that there was an ongoing anime that worked alongside the manga that was set to tell even a condensed version of the manga's story.
Right at the end, I will say that there are vague hints that a second season will eventually come, but I am not holding my breath with the show airing up to May 2015. It's been three years, and the last hints were that it could release in 2018 with the year reaching its end. For now, this is all just a fascinating, unresolved tease.
Still, it is a hard show to recommend because the whole 24-episode arc is an introduction. It sets up the characters on each side and establishes relationships. The final main character of the complete story does not even appear until quite late in the anime.
Because of all this, it feels like a tantalizing tease of what will never come. Sure, it can work as a great introduction to the manga, but that could come just as easily from reading the manga from the first chapter. I would not surprised if just reading the manga is the better option as the anime may not be a one-to-one adaptation.
I was happy to watch it, and I look forward to getting into the manga soon to explore this series and its characters more. I just wish that there was an ongoing anime that worked alongside the manga that was set to tell even a condensed version of the manga's story.
Right at the end, I will say that there are vague hints that a second season will eventually come, but I am not holding my breath with the show airing up to May 2015. It's been three years, and the last hints were that it could release in 2018 with the year reaching its end. For now, this is all just a fascinating, unresolved tease.