暁のヨナ

AKATSUKI NO YONA

MANGA

STATUS
RELEASING
VOLUMES
Not Available
RELEASE
Invalid Date
CHAPTERS
Not Available

DESCRIPTION

Yona reels from the shock of witnessing a loved one’s murder and having to fight for her life. With Hak’s help, she flees the palace and struggles to survive while evading her enemy’s forces. But where will this displaced princess go when all the paths before her are uncertain?

(Source: Viz Media)

CAST

Hak Son
Yona
Shin-Ah
Jae-Ha
Zeno
Ki-Ja
Yun
Soo-Won
Ao
Ik-Su
Lili An
Geun-Tae Lee
Tae-Jun Kan
Mun-Deok Son
Gi-Gang
Min-Soo
Haeng-Dae
Kouren
Algira
Mei Nyan
Hiryuu
Yuno
Abi
Joo-Doh Han
Tae-Woo

CHAPTERS

RELATED TO AKATSUKI NO YONA

ANIME ActionAkatsuki no Yona

Cover Art for Akatsuki no Yona: Tsuki no Shita de

NOVEL AdventureAkatsuki no Yona: Tsuki no Shita de

OVA ActionAkatsuki no Yona OVA

REVIEWS

GGShang
85/100
An all around solid shounen feeling shoujo
After having a decent amount of people tell me over and over again about how good Yona of the Dawn is, I finally decided to take a read to see what all the hype is about, and I can say that they knew what they were talking about. For the most part.

Yona of the Dawn is a story about a sheltered princess who has her entire life shattered when her childhood friend and romantic love interest kills her father to ascend to the throne. She runs away with her bodyguard Hak and they have to find a way to survive off the radar to avoid being captured and killed by the new emperor. Now, as a basic premise this isn't that uncommon, but it serves its purpose well to set up the story. After this, there are essentially two major arcs, with one being really lackluster and the other one being pretty decent. The first major arc follows Yona as she finds out that she is the reincarnation of some important guy who had four dragons to protect him, so she goes off to find these four dragons. This is by far the weakest part of the story, which is unfortunate since it comes so early on. I was really contemplating dropping Yona of the Dawn because of it, but trust me when I say that it gets much better. The next major arc actually contains quite a few small ones, but it basically involves Yona and her crew going around to help the poor and forgotten people of her land. It does much better than the dragon arc since we actually get to see the characters, especially Yona and Hak, grow and become more fleshed out. Along the way there is some political drama, a few action scenes and romantic development between characters.

If I were to describe the mood and pacing of Yona of the Dawn, I'd say that it's a mix between shoujo and shounen. It has the conflict instigation/resolution speed of a shounen while having the romantic and comedic pacing of a shoujo. It makes for an interesting, although a little weird experience. Thematically it also falls really neatly into these two demographic groups, with nothing being too difficult to understand or hard to swallow.

If we take a look at the characters in this manga, I'd say that they are probably some of the weakest parts of it. Besides Yona and Hak, and maybe like a third of the other cast, no one really does anything or grows. They are essentially the same from when they first are introduced to the latest chapter. This isn't necessarily the worst, but there's just a lot of wasted potential with it. Other than that though, Yona, Hak and the new emperor have a really interesting chemistry throughout the series which is probably the best part. Yona also serves as a good, headstrong female protagonist, which was refreshing to read.

Personally when I read Yona of the Dawn, I didn't find it to be all that spectacular. I really disliked the first arc, I found Yona to be a little too headstrong without getting any consequences for it, I thought the dragons were really bland and boring as characters, the dragon's interest in Yona felt really undeserved for the most part, Yona's romantic feelings never really felt resolved well and maybe a few more things I found to detract from the story. But those are pretty minor overall, so I don't think that detracts from the story being overall decent.

Yona of the Dawn is a shounen feeling shoujo that explores the great dynamics between a princess and her people as well as childhood friends and betrayal. It's not the best story in my opinion, but it is overall solid all around.
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RoseFaerie
100/100
A masterful piece of fiction which everyone should read.
Yona of the Dawn is my favorite manga and one of the easiest 10's I've ever given out. I'm glad I read the manga since the anime was only the tip of the iceberg. It barely scratches the surface of what Yona of the Dawn has to offer. This review shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, since I am the Yona advocate of the Shoujo Indoctrination Club and my Yona pfps will have to be pried out of my cold, dead hands.

Yona is a sheltered princess from the Kingdom of Kouka who wants for nothing, except for the love of her cousin, Su-Won who she's been forbidden from marrying. However, on the night of her 16th birthday Yona witnesses Su-Won murdering her father.

She flees alongside her faithful bodyguard, Hak, and is forced to face the results of her father's decisions as king. However, she also decides to take action and find Kouka's four Dragon Warriors of legend and reclaim her kingdom.

It's interesting to think back to the beginnings of Yona of the Dawn. King Il's assassination is just a small piece of the story. The story changes as the characters and the world around them change. As Su-Won and Yona notice the impending threat of neighboring countries, Yona and her companions gain notoriety, and more information about Kouka's past comes to light, the story expands. It's not just about Yona, Hak, and Su-Won anymore, even if they're in the center of it, it's about all of Kouka.

I can't talk about Yona of the Dawn without discussing the characters, which were, in my opinion, the strongest point of the manga.

Yona herself is my favorite character in all of animanga and for good reason. She begins the story as someone very sheltered, naive, and spoiled. All she worries about are very small things in the grand scheme of things: her hair, whether or not Su-Won likes her back, Hak teasing her... ect. She has no idea what the people of her country are going through.

However, after the tragic events that transpire, Yona's eyes open. She grapples with the realization that everything she thought she knew is wrong. She doesn't know how she feels about Su-Won anymore, and her father's anti-violence policies aren't as ideal as she had imagined. She really strives to grow and change. She doesn't allow herself to hide from Su-Won for the rest of her life and chooses to better her kingdom. Yona grows from a foolish girl into a leader and protector worth admiring.

Hak, Yona's bodyguard is known mostly for his good looks, inhuman fighting skills, and sarcastic personality. However, I feel like his most defining trait is his loyalty. He's the type of person who bases his decisions soley on the people he cares about. Trust is of the utmost importance to him. He is loyal to King Il and he's loyal to Yona, striving to keep her safe as she's the only thing he has left from his previous life. However, Su-Won's betrayal cut him to the core, and he can't understand how the person who was once his best friend could betray him.

Su-Won is a very complicated person. The more I learn about him, the more muddled my feelings become. Su-Won is very authentic and friendly. When I first watched the anime, I couldn't fathom this person committing murder. I understand his motives, and I feel like he is superior to Yona's late father as a ruler, yet I don't agree with all of his actions or motives. I feel like his kindness and personality are genuine, and yet at the same time there feels like there's something a bit off that's almost impossible to see. He seems like such a warm-hearted airhead, yet he is a master of manipulation. He loves everyone, yet holds no one close to his heart. He's enigmatic and difficult to understand.

As for our other leads, we have Yun and the four Dragon Warriors. Yun is ~~a pretty-boy genius~~ a 15-year old boy rescued by a seer and highly skilled in medicine and home-making. There's a running joke that he's the other characters' mother. He's a pacifist, and yet he's willing to put himself in harms way for the sake of those he cares about.

Ki-Ja is the White Dragon. He was sheltered in his village and raised with the idea that his destiny to serve the Crimson Dragon King is the highest thing he can achieve. He's a bit overprotective of Yona, and a bit pompus, but he's still very innocent and grows up a lot over the course of the story, losing his overbearing attitude. He's well meaning if a bit dense.

Sin-Ah, the Blue Dragon, didn't have the same fortunate up-bringing as Ki-Ja. As a result, he struggles with socialization, barely speaks, and has a strong desire to hide his power and avoid using it as much as possible. In the end, it's his own demons that hold him back, and over time he opens up a bit more and is able to accept himself. He's my son and I love him. Also, his pet squirrel, Ao, is an icon.

The third dragon is the Green Dragon, Jae-Ha. The first word that comes to mind when I think of him is "deranged". He is the most free-spirited of the bunch, whose traumatic past has caused a hatred for his supposed destiny. He has the most bizarre personality out of all of them since he's a bit masochistic, the team pervert, as well as the one who tries to lighten the mood. As much as he likes getting reactions out of his teammates with his outlandish behavior, he really is a big brother to all the other dragons. His growth was something that really stuck out to me, since it's so subtle from the way he matures as a person to his short-lived crush on Yona and the way his feelings for her changed.

The final dragon is Zeno, who may have a happy, innocent, carefree exterior, but his life is marked with tragedy. I won't go into it for the sake of spoilers, but the sadness of his story shook me to the core. It's beautiful and full of things to think about, but I digress. He's full of mysteries as he is both wise and childish.

Other characters I was thoroughly impressed with include Riri and Tae-Jun who are both children of tribal chiefs. The development they receive is fantastic, and I feel like it really cements one of the themes of Yona: Children righting the wrongs of their predecessors and surpassing their parents. Riri, Tae-Jun and his brother, Yona, and even Su-Won deeply illustrate that theme. Even the Dragons are working to be free of the burdens of their predecessors.

The romance of the series is fantastic. The main couple is stunning and they have such strong chemistry and fall in love in such a believable way. Every romantic scene between them made me feel something. (I will admit that I'm not a fan of the honey-licking Hak scene. XD)

The comedy of the series didn't click with me a lot at first, but I feel like it improves as it goes on, since most of the comedy I liked was from the very chaotic interactions between Yona and her companions. I'd even go so far as to say that they have my favorite dynamic in all of anime. As it goes on, the comedy is reigned in, and most of the comedic chapters are bonus chapters to avoid taking away from the darker, more serious tone the series takes as it progresses.

I am also a huge fan of the art and character designs. They are stunning. I could literally look at pictures of Yona characters all day. Yona's eyes are some of the prettiest shoujo eyes that I've seen.

I feel like I could say more, but I have to cut myself off here. I was so impressed with this series. Of course it has some small flaws, since it feels like it's starting to lose some direction, but I am officially obsessed. It's such a stunning piece of work that I could recommend to even the most dead set against shoujo with faith that they might like it.

Basically, read Yona.
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