Yona

Ki-Ja

Shin-Ah

Jae-Ha

Zeno

Ik-Su

Soo-Won

Hak Son

Geun-Tae Lee

Mun-Deok Son

Haeng-Dae

Tae-Yeon

Min-Soo

Gi-Gang

Tae-Jun Kan

Yuno

Yu-hong

Jun-gi An

Heuk-Chi

Joo-Doh Han

Kye-Sook

Kum-Ji Yang

Since Yona is the only princess of a grand kingdom, she has been raised with great care by her doting father and protected by her childhood friend/guard Hak and others. However, her fate changes on her 16th birthday, when her beloved cousin Soo-won murders her father to claim the throne. She flees the castle to Hak's hometown and begins her new life.<br>
<br>
(Source: Anime News Network)

Cartoons with strong female characters (and strong as in well-written, not emotionless fighters who do nothing but kill people and look cool) were a rarity back in the old days. But now, more and more of them are popping up, all of them being well received. When I was young and discovering the true nature of anime, I was amazed by anime's boldness in wanting to show things that most American cartoons wouldn't dare touch. Even the kids shows were mature and sophisticated, and that really appealed to me. As I expanded my anime repertoire, I began to learn more and more about Japan's standards on cartoons, and I eventually came to a realization why I love anime so much: the Japanese do so much more with animation rather than just limit it to kids shows or gross-out adult comedies, from horror and love stories to questioning humanity and the progress humanity has made over the years. I even took some classes on Japan and how circumstances such as World War II and the various earthquakes it had influenced many anime we know and love, from the old ones to the contemporary anime of today. However, the growing cynic in me is aware of the anime industry's gravitation toward bad harem moe wish fulfillment anime and catering to otaku rather than telling ambitious, passionate stories full of heart that everyone can love. But not all hope is lost, as there are still quality anime that pop out in modern times. One of those anime is Yona of the Dawn. Seriously, where has this been all my life?! It makes me feel like I'm 12 years old again, discovering the true nature of anime for the very first time, TEN years after the fact!

Yona is a lovely princess who lives a wonderful, pampered life in the Hiryuu Castle, nestled deep in the Empire of Kouka, with her father, King Il, her childhood friend whom she bickers with, Hak, and her cousin, Su-Won, whom she has a crush on. Her life is perfect and she doesn't have a care in the world, and wishes to marry Su-Won, but her father is against it. However, on a dark, stormy night, she is horrified as Su-Won, her beloved cousin, kills her father in cold blood and drives her and Hak out of the castle. With the help of some friends, she and Hak manage to escape death and Yona learns that in order to survive in this world, she have a lot to learn and a lot of growing up to do, and she can't afford to sit around and cry and cling to Hak all the time. A priest and his apprentice tell her and Hak about the Four Dragons who can help her take back her kingdom. With courage in her heart, Yona and friends set off to find the reincarnations of the four dragons with intent to save the Kouka Empire and reclaim her beloved home.

With a premise like this, it's no wonder a lot of people would be intrigued. Princesses have gained a bit of a bad reputation in the Western world, as they're usually portrayed as useless, shallow damsels in distress who love tea parties and dressing up, giggling over nothing, gush over marrying their prince charmings, and pretty much do nothing of importance to anyone or anything. When bad things happen, they're usually shown to just submit to it and wait for someone to rescue them, such examples being Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. But the death of Yona's father isn't the cue for someone to come and save her, even though it does. It's the start of her journey to become strong and more worldly. Simply put, in this story, Yona refuses to be the victim. She strives to become, and eventually does become, a hero. It shows us that the problems with most shows about princesses nowadays aren't princesses themselves, but rather what we, as a society, have done to them and reduced them to. Society sees princesses as damsels in distress who cannot be put on the same level as others. But Akatsuki no Yona takes that notion and smashes it into smithereens, though not without a few jabs at the concept every now and again, especially with how some of the characters treat her, especially Kija and Yun.

Now for the technical stuff: first, the animation. It's bright, colorful, sharp, sleek, and looks quite good. The battle choreography is pretty good for the most part, the movements are reasonably fluid, the colors change depending on the atmosphere, befitting certain moments, and everything looks great. Usually, when the show wants to do comedy, they turn the characters into chibi-fied versions of themselves, probably for purposes of cuteness and hilarity, and it works pretty well here. I've heard some people say that they go a bit too far with this in that they insert these random moments in dead serious scenes as well, but I honestly had no problem with it. I think they're thrown in there so viewers can properly digest the dark and serious moments as well so it makes the scenes come off as less depressing or serious. I mean, obviously we have to show the characters in fun, happy situations before they're thrown into conflict and see what they're really like so we can have the chance to care about their struggles, right?

The music is another thing that really makes the show stand out. Since the show takes a lot of cues from ancient China and Korea, the music has a very distinct Eastern sound to it, from erhu sounds to other Eastern instruments I don't have names for. But every piece of music in the show works: whether it's a fun happy piece during a comedic moment or a roaring, bombastic violin during an epic battle scene, or soft erhus during the sad moments, every piece of music fits their intended scene, and it knows when to be subtle and when to pull out the stops. The music almost sounds a lot like Avatar: The Last Airbender, and they share a lot of commonalities, both in their music, premise, settings, and adventure-esque stories. You can tell the composer for this series is a very ambitious one, intent on bringing the show to life with his music, and if you ask me, he gets an A+. Both the opening and ending themes are very good as well, fitting the show's themes and atmosphere. I hear some say the second opening is a bit too J-poppy for such an Eastern-looking show, but while the music may not fit, the lyrics fit the show as it centers on Yona growing as a person and learning to survive in a harsh world.

The characters are easily what make the show. They may seem like typical reverse harem stereotypes, but in this show, they are actually given depth and turn out to be so much more! But the show really excels in Yona's development. All throughout the show, she evolves from a spoiled, helpless, selfish, shallow princess to a strong, worldly, mature, and more open-minded young woman who is just trying to survive in the world, while still remaining vulnerable. Her friends and the Four Dragons get just as much personality and development within these 25 episodes. Shin-Ah is the silent, quiet type who is troubled by his tragic past, but is kind, sweet, and caring and helps his friends no matter what, and isn't a typical angsty lone wolf who hates everyone. Kija is a pompous rich kid who tries to do what he's been raised to do his whole life but doesn't always succeed, and often tries to push his ideas on others, but its called out, treated as a genuine character flaw, and it never comes off as mean-spirited, and he genuinely does care for his friends despite having lived a sheltered, pampered life. Yun is basically the glue that holds the group together, doing all the cooking, sewing, and anything that doesn't involve fighting, but even he isn't a damsel in distress. Every character, sans one who appears at the end, contributes something to the show and they're all very three-dimensional, showing lots of sides to them that most reverse harems don't even try to do these days. I love them all, even the villain and the skirt-chasing womanizer! Even side characters get some personality and focus!

However, as much as I praise this show and love it and want more people to see it, it does have a very very big flaw. The anime is an adaptation of a long running manga that's still ongoing as we speak, and the show stops as soon as it introduces one character who NEVER APPEARS UNTIL THAT FINAL EPISODE. Basically, the anime really isn't much more than a commercial for the manga. But hot dang, is it a GREAT commercial for a manga! Seriously, if FUNimation ever dubs the rest of it, they should have Toonami air this, as this would probably become really popular here in the US if treated right, as shows like this need to be made!

A wonderful, compelling show with great characters and a riveting story to tell, even in spite of its constraints. I highly recommend it!

Want a harem that doesn't suck? Here's one that you'll definitely love!

For those that have watched this and now read the manga: do you know if more episodes will follow? I mean they can gladly make 2 more seasons of 24 episodes each so why aren't they doing it? They could make at least an extra OVA for us. ?

For those that haven't watched this: if you want to watch a harem different from all the rest, then give it a shot. The animation is very good and the story amazing. The music matches perfectly the background. You may hate Yona at first but her character changes dramatically after a few episodes. There is a strong female lead just in case you are interested in this. No, it's not your classic romantic story where the prince in shining armor is a dude with an attitude. I know some people that didn't like her at first dropped the anime because of it. DON'T DO IT! Also, there is a lot of action with fights and blood (hell yeah). The characters are pretty funny, especially Hak. ? It has an OVA which is just as good. (The OVA has a plot. It's not just fan-made. It shows some stories from the Dragons.) The balance between comedy and drama is awesome. There are serious moments, funny moments and sad moments all of which will get through you. If you want to know what happens afterwards then continue reading the manga from chapter 42. The story becomes better and better and in my opinion they should have released more episodes of this. Even though it's underrated, it's definitely one of my favorites! ?    

Tip: Make sure you watch the anime first and then read the manga.If you do opposites you will get bored because the first 2-3 episodes may seem like a copy from the manga. After that it settles.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

An underrated anime that deserves more attention!     (Are there any more seasons coming up? -Discussion)

We all know that the shoujo demographic is known for its lighthearted and cute romcoms and SOL. It's more like a candy magazine and full of pinkish color. There were lighthearted romcoms like Maid-sama, Special, A, etc. that will make you laugh. There were also complex doramance or drama romances like Nana, Fruits Basket, Natsume Book of Friends, etc. And there was a thrilling action like Banana Fish, which I couldn't believe. But it's to have like that kind of stories in shoujo magazine, and Akatsuki no Yona is one of them.

Akatsuki no Yona is an action-adventure, fantasy, historical romance show, produced by Pierrot, known for its famous titles like Tokyo Ghoul, Naruto, Black Clover, etc. and it was based on the manga of the same name. This is different from other shoujo that I mentioned earlier because it is more complex and character-driven. And of course, it's mainstream. I don't know why I got sold by this show and I considered it as one of the biggest pillars of shoujo magazine.

The story was set in a fictional kingdom of Kouka, which was created by the former King Hiryuu. The kingdom is governed by five different tribes; earth, wind, fire, water, and sky. Each tribe's Chief and General are respected by the people and hold royal authority. Yona, the princess of the Kouka Kingdom, is a spoiled brat. Her kind father gave her much expensive stuff like necklaces, golds, dresses, and many more. On her 16th birthday, her beloved cousin, Su-won gave her a precious hairpin, and she was into a spiral of happiness. Yona has feelings for her cousin and Su-won sees her a bit like a woman. That's the day of her birthday. But that night, she drowned in deep despair when she saw her beloved cousin, killed his father in front of her. He murdered her father to avenge the alleged murder of his father. He had a motive to restore the powerful kingdom of Kouka that it used to be during the reign of his grandfather. Yona's personal bodyguard/childhood friend, Hak escaped with her, and Su-won declared himself the new ruler of the kingdom, while the two of his childhood friends were pursued by enemies.

I gotta admit it, the story was beautiful. Because the story will focus on Yona herself and her relationship with Hak. The premise kept me hooked and it was so interesting. It got more interesting when the story introduced the history of Kouka that Yona is a reincarnation of King Hiryuu, and their mission to find the 4 dragons. The interactions of the characters were pretty amazing also and relatable. They were acting like real humans in different worlds and situations. The formula of action, fantasy, and romance elements was just the right amount and perfectly balanced. Although the fight scenes were kind of basic, that's the beauty of the show. There were no magical powers like in Naruto, DBZ, or in any other mainstreams. Just strength, combat prowess, and wits. The story was initially developed for the development of Yona's character and I loved her development, from a princess into a warrior. She was a soft-hearted clingy princess when she was back in that kingdom, but the cruel world slaps her with the brutality of survival and the outside world, which made her a strong woman. Not all things in her perspective are always candy, happiness, and love. That's the beauty of her development, as she knows what are the consequences of being in the outside world and how to survive it. She reminds me of Mulan from Disney and I like strong heroines. Yes, there's Asuna from SAO, Sakura from Naruto, and many more, but having a weak-willed and powerless heroine like Yona is so unique. I like the symbolism of her arrow shot at the enemy pirate, as she's now a grown woman and a warrior. The weak-willed princess Yona was gone now, and she was capable to fight for herself and her friends. That was her first kill by the way. And the symbolism of letting the precious hairpin that Su-won gave her is great, as an act of letting her feelings go from that man. The other characters were developed as well. I liked the character of Hak and Su-won because of their motives regarding Yona. The 4 dragons were great too and their backstories were satisfying and relatable. I mean, having great power from the dragons is great but it can cast you out from ordinary yet important things like family. I haven't read the manga but I planned to because the content in the anime was unsatisfying. Overall, the first season was merely a prologue to the main story and I can't wait to read the manga.

The animation was well-done. The adaptation of the manga was great because it's different from other shoujo animes. The style and designs made the show more intense, thrilling, and yet beautiful.

The sound was perfect. I like the music and it suited well to every scene. It gave me beautiful historical vibes like the KDrama Princess' Hours, Empress Ki, and Moon Embracing the Sun. I like how they made variations of Akatsuki no Yona's theme like the beautiful Morning dew ver., the quirky Promenade ver., the heart-wrenching Melancholy ver., and the exciting main theme of the series. It made me tear up a bit every scene.

Overall, this anime is a rollercoaster ride of emotions and thrilling adventure. It's a beautiful show that deserves more recognition from both anime and shoujo fans. It's different from mainstream shounen, but it's easily one of the best action-adventure animes that is character-driven also. It had ups and downs, but I'll be happy if the studio will make a second season or a remake with a different studio. Give it a watch and I'm sure you'll never regret it.


___Story: 9.6/10
Characters: 9.9/10
Animation: 9.1/10
Sound: 9.7/10
Entertainment Factor (Action: 5/5, Romance: 5/5): 10/10
Enjoyment: 9.9/10___

A journey of a spoiled brat princess was turned into a ferocious warrior as she embarks on a cruel and brutal world.

Сериал, где каждая серия была интересна. Красивое оформление, нет обилия магии, большое внимание идёт взаимоотношение главных героев.


__Сюжет__
Начнём с того, что это неординарный сюжет, хотя и понятное повествование, как девушка Йона пытается стать сильной, чтобы быть не как обуза в компании, а способная сражаться бок о бок. 

Может показаться банальщиной, но повествование, с которым ведётся аниме заставляет поверить в происходящее, заставляя думать, что будет дальше. Здесь полно неожиданных моментов, которые не дадут вам заскучать.

img(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UViOFuWLLWU/maxresdefault.jpg)

__Персонажи__
Каждый персонаж чем-то уникален и интересен, таящий в себе какую-то загадку, даже сама главная героиня Йона. Су-Вона, который совершил переворот и смог завладеть престолом, можно назвать злодеем с первых серий, но не так. Вы до конца сериала будете ощущать сметения чувств с ним. 

~!_Су-Вон ведь вроде он плохой, а с другой он действительно стоящий правитель царства Коуки. Лично моё мнение, он правильно сделал, ведь народ у правителя должен быть на первом месте, а Су-Вон как никто другой видел его бедствия под правлением миролюбивого, но крайне слабого императора, отца Йоны_!~


__Графика__
Не сказать, что это произведение на уровне Макото Синкая, но и здесь окружение прорисовано достаточно хорошо, как и сами персонажи, хотя иногда видны прорехи и малый бюджет на картину, особенно в опенинге. И сделаем учёт того, что это графика 2014 года. Если я ошибся, поправьте.

__Продолжение__
Несмотря на популярность манги и крайний интерес, особенно сейчас у людей к этому аниме, в то время 2014 года оно не превзошло ожиданий и из-за этого был отменён 2 сезон. Стоит ли ждать его? Скорее всего нет, хотя манга до сих пор пользуется спросом и на стадии онгоинга. 

img(https://99px.ru/sstorage/53/2017/04/tmb_196484_2109.jpg)

Возможно, при завершении манги кто-то и решится сделать аниме, ведь популярно как никак, но скорее всего в этом случае всё начнётся с начала 1 сезона, как это было с аниме "Хоримия" 2021, которое было выпущено ещё в 2014 году под названием "Хори и Мия".

____

К сожалению, это не закоченный тайтл и придётся читать мангу для продолжения, хотя и она интересно написана с потрясающими рисунками. Именно этот тайтл подтолкнул меня к чтению манги. Если вы не уверены, понравится ли вам, то я гарантирую это!

Недооценённый шедевр, который запал мне в душу и стал одним из лучших аниме в моей коллекции

~~~To begin with the first and most important point, in my opinion is the anime Akatsuki no Yona, criminally underrated and undeservedly not as known as it should be, with what I have possibly tackled one of the major aspects, why it still doesn't  have a second season. (Which is disappointing and a big shame)

How the introduction already implicates, I liked the anime very much. If I regard all the aspects that a review of an anime usually contains, from the categories of the Plot, Setting and Worldbuilding, over the Animation, Visuals and Atmosphere, the Characters and finally to the Music, I can state that not even one of them were not to my liking in this anime. Now we'll continue chronological with the first category "Plot, Setting and Worldbuilding".


#__Plot, Setting and Worldbuilding__

From my perspective the anime possesses a very interesting setting, that can be assigned to the fantasy genre. This particlar setting surrounds royal families, the constitution of a kingdom, for example out of different tribes, old legends and tales, historically enframed in style of a monarchistic system in old asia, as well as distinct orientalistic flair and the implementation of personal motives, like unrestraint lust for revenge, ambitions, finding your sense of purpose and a reawaken will to live.

By the start of the story we found ourselfs in Hiryuu Castle, located as the centre of power in the kingdom of Kouka. In this regard it begans to tell the story of Princess Yona, who's the first and only child of Il, who reigns as the present king. He's a gentle soul, who loves peace and harmony above all and has an aversion against weapons. Because of this he's seen as a coward and a weakling in the eyes of many of his subjects. In this environment Yona grows up in a world of peace and prosperity, without worries or problems, always with her friends, in person of Su-Won (Her cousin) and Son Hak (Her bodyguard, one of the generals of the kingdom, and heir to the wind tribe) by her side. Apart from Hiryuu Castle she knows nothing of the world outside, which is going to change in the aftermath of a fateful day...

~!After her cousin Su-Won, who in truth always held a grudge against her father, because he thinks that he was responsible for the death of his father, the king's older brother, murdered her father in cold blood, during the night of her 16th birthday and abducted the throne, she was forced to flee the castle, with her loyal friend Hak. This journey that initially first had the target of ensuring her safety, soon becomes a search for the new purpose in live for the young princess. Later we learn that she's the reincarnation of the first king of Kouka, and she's destined to find the offsprings of the four dragon warriors, who once pledged to serve King Hiryuu. With this the plot is set for the rest of the story and in this context successively more and more characters are appearing in the anime, joining the group of Yona, who create and stabilise a high level of comedy and entertainment, while our princess learns more about her kingdom and experiences a remarkable character development.!~

The story kept me engaged from the beginning to the end. Especially after the fast start and the twist in the beginning, I was curious to know how it would proceed. Later the course of the plot was predictable and followed a mostly unchanged pattern, but that didn't made it less entertaining :) 

The worlbuilding of Akatsuki no Yona has a solid foundation and is expanded every time our group visits a new place in the kingdom. Though it's limited to this point and many places and groups remain unknown till the end of the show. Many places were interesting and diversified and radiated an individual atmosphere and charme. My favorites are probably Hiryuu Castle, the capital city of the wind tribe Fuuga, Chi'Shin the capital city of the earth tribe and Awa Port.

img550(http://www.anime-evo.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Akatsuki-no-Yona3.jpg)


#__Animation, Visuals and Atmosphere__

The anime has a pleasant drawing style and the animation is appropriate for an anime with a release date of 2014. Especially during fighting scenes, the anime presents good animations, which are looking clear and deliver good transitions. 

Concering the visuals I can state that I would classify them from passable to good. This already implicates that there weren't any outstanding images or compositions, for which you would pause the episode. But that also excludes the other extreme, that I didn't like any visuals or that I found them bad at all. Most of the time I was satisified with the visuals that were presented, and the thing I prefered the most about them, was the asian architectural style which is in line with the basic theme of the anime.

img550(https://animesolution.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Akatsuki_no_Yona_-_05_11.04_2019.02.20_14.11.06_stitch.jpg)

In terms of the atmosphere it was my impression that the anime has a pleasant exotic, orientalic and enchanting atmosphere, supplemented by fun and humorous moments. (Similar to the atmosphere you can find in Magi). The atmosphere in general is very much supported by the visuals, the setting and the presented characters, in which the last of them will form the category I'll talk about next. 


#__Characters__

In combination with the story and the setting, the characters, individual and as a group, are probably one of the best aspects of Akatsuki no Yona. For this review I'll focus myself predominantly on the main characters, and I'll dedicate just one paragraph for mentionable side characters.

__Yona__: 

Our female lead and the princess of the kingdom of Kouka. In the course of the story, she goes through an excellent character development. Confronted by the hard truth of reality and out of her love for her friends and colleagues, she changes her principles, her behaviour, as well is her view on the world automatically changed. This transformation of her personality, isn't just noticable for us as viewers, the characters in the anime recognize it also, and in particular her old friend Hak, has more than one time difficulties to deal with this new princess. 

~!To take a look at the initiation of her development, we must begin with the start of the story. After the incident in the castle at the beginning of the series, she's dismayed, shocked and in a state of powerlessness. In the course of the following events, she realizes that she want's to live, to honor the wish of her father and to stand for her herself and to protect the lives of her and her friends. Because of this she adapts and gains strength, mentally and physically. She trained dedicated and hard-working with the bow day in and day out, and developed more and more courage. She accepts the task that fate has given to her, but not out of the motivation to subdue the dragons, instead she want's to gather companions to have a stronger force to defend her small group.!~

In regard of her characteristics she has the traits of empathy, charisma, determination, kindness, self-reflection and curiousity. 


__Hak__:

Now I'll thematize a character who's most likely my favorite one in the show. There is less to none, I don't like about the badass and personification of coolness, that is Son Hak. 

He shares many traits with Zoro from One Piece, which could also be a reason for this sympathy (The only thing Hak is missing, is Zoros passion for work-out). Particularly his sarcasm and his relationship and interactions with other characters make the show worth watching. With Yona he has the typical childhood friend dynamic, with a nuanced romantic undertone, a large mutual sympathy. To tease her (in a comedic way) is also one of his favorite hobbies. Speaking of his favorite hobbies, his extended use of sarcasm is also one of it, which inclusively also plays a major part in the show. His relationships to Jehea and Gija, are as well largely comedy related, because of their contrary characters and habits. (His fights, gags and discussions resemble those of Sanji and Zoro very much). Furthermore the thunder beast has extraordinary good fighting skills and is a friend you can always count on.

__Yun__:

Our allround genius and handsome boy, who can do literally everything except of fighting. He's got a healthy relationship to most of the characters, and it's difficult for him to accept compliments. 

__Ki-Ja__:

A loyal and dutiful fellow (because of his background) who is distinguished by his excellent fighting abilities, and the comedy that his character represent, including insects and his difficult relationship to Hak.


__Shin-Ah__: 

If I would describe him in three words I would choose, friendly, reserved and reliable. He doesn't talk much and instead uses gestures and his actions to express himself. His animal compagnon and him are appealing figures of the show. He's also not to be underestimated in battle.

__Jae-Ha__: 

A womanizer and smooth talker, who is also obsessed with his own beauty. However the most important thing to him is his personal freedom.

__Side Characters__:

There are also many fantastic and good side characters, with Mun-Deok being my favorite of them, cause I have a soft spot for the elderly, badass characters in anime, that have the aura of life-experience and wisdom, as well as act as a caring grandfather.

img450(https://randomc.net/image/Akatsuki%20no%20Yona/Akatsuki%20no%20Yona%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2008.jpg)

~!What I liked especially about the characters of the four dragons is, that they all differ in regard of her character, backgrounds and personalities. They all have their own struggles and problems. In this relation I'm happy about the fact that they are portrayed very individual, which can also be seen in their recruitment, since two of them first reject the idea of following the princess, out of their personal reasons, what defines them as different characters.!~

Another aspect that I additionally enjoyed during the anime, was an obversation I already saw and liked in One Piece, and that's the process of different and enormously individual people joining one after another the protagonist during his journey. They have all diverse motivations, strengths, weaknesses, characteristics and backgrounds, and this reflects in their relationships, how they treat each other, produces comedic moments and creates a special group feeling. 

img450(https://alternativanerd.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/akatsuki-no-yona.jpg)

#__Music__

Akatsuki no Yona possesses a wonderful, memorable and nice-sounding score. The adaption of the main theme which plays in the opening, in different versions of ost's, were the ones who personally stood out for me the most. Examples of that would be

youtube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEw5NyEFiBw&list=PLPjgBWiybDLDxWLZHSCW0QJsuIIbSomI)

youtube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHIzCtVZqK8?t=2m16s)

But none of the pieces of music in the anime could match the original Akatsuki no Yona Theme played in the first opening. It captures the feeling and atmosphere of the anime to the full extent, and it easily took one of the places on my list of my favorite openings of all time. 

youtube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Tz3vxwJf6I)


And honestly, the second opening was in comparison to it, a huge letdown for me ^^


#__In Summary__

With Akatsuki no Yona we have an anime that tells a fascinating story, has interesting and likeable characters, presents great comedy and is accompanied by an extraordinary good music. 

The only critique points I have, are an incomplete worldbuilding, and a pacing that doesn't flesh out all the characters, which are both points that can be explained with the limit of 24 Episodes.

I agree on the description that @emojisister had on the anime and wrote in her review, this anime isn't typical for a shoujo anime. It contains also many shonen elements, the anime is a mix of different genres and responsive for diverse target groups, which is what makes it great after all. So if you're skeptical or scared off because of the shoujo genre, there is no need to be, because I'm certain for almost any one, there is something about Akatsuki no Yona you will like. 

img550(https://media.tenor.com/64W-o1_JS_YAAAAC/yona-of-the-dawn-akatsuki-no-yona.gif)





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A wonderful fairy tale that will enchant you. 

__Minor spoilers for the setup, watch the first episode if you want a fresh experience. I try to avoid major plot points later on though.__

Yona of the Dawn really stands out for me among all the fantasy adventure series that seem to flood the modern lineup of anime. Granted, it’s almost a decade old by now and the manga is closer to 15 years. I also have to admit, I dislike the isekai genre for the most part, so seeing an original fantasy anime that doesn’t rely on isekai is already a big plus for me. Sometimes a fictional world is more believable if you don’t take the initial detour. But generally, Yona of the Dawn manages to be unique for me personally. It doesn’t fall into any tropes I’ve grown sick of over the years. Maybe that’s just my experience but considering the plethora of RPG-style isekai fantasies with a generic magic system my point of view might not be unique.

What distinguishes Yona of the Dawn from other fantasy adventures is that it is very conservative with its fantasy elements and especially magic. The world itself is fictional, which is enough to qualify the series as fantasy. Even then, it is clearly inspired by feudal Japan or more generally east Asia. Instead of throwing elemental attacks at each other, characters actually have to use weapons and combat arts to fight. This makes for a much more realistic and therefore immersive setup, as mistakes are unlikely to be wicked away by magic. We eventually do get some magical elements though, but it takes around 10 episodes until we actually see anything supernatural. If I had a complaint about the series’ fantasy elements, I’d have to point out that it uses a legend/prophecy that simply turns out to be literally true. I would have wished the legend to be more abstract or metaphorical.

Our main character Yona starts off as a princess who doesn’t know anything about the world. She is forced out of her relatively peaceful life when her childhood friend and love interest Soo-Won kills her father, usurping the king. She flees the castle with the help of her bodyguard and betrothed Hak. Where the series really shines is in showing how Yona struggles with this situation – she doesn’t want to comprehend that her love interest killed her dear father, and even after grasping the situation, she can’t bring herself to get rid of the hair pin he gifted her, showing she still loves him. That’s just human, you can’t erase love or any livelong bond that easily, even when the other person betrays you. We get a similar moment later on, showing the other side of this relationship a bit more clearly. Yona breaks down emotionally after the encounter, which again gives her depth as a character. 

On the other hand, Yona also isn’t debilitated by her experience but manages to grow as a person. She doesn’t want to be the damsel in distress, but to learn and be useful, so Hak doesn’t need to protect and save her all the time. This gives her emotional strength - while not physically very capable, Yona shines with her determination and willingness to work for her goals. Even her enemies recognize the fire in her expression, which makes her somewhat intimidating at times. And since this series doesn’t overly rely on magic or stereotypes, Yona doesn’t fall into the magic healer or supporter archetype either.

While we don’t get a whole lot of the main villain Soo-Won, he actually is developed as a character and not just some stereotypical chaotically evil antagonist. He is two-faced, sweet on the outside and secretly cunning. A comparison that comes to mind for me is Aizen from Bleach, who also is introduced as a good-natured person until his true identity is unveiled and he is just evil for the most part. Soo-Won in contrast states right away what his reason for killing the king was, giving him a believable point of view. What makes him so interesting is that he doesn’t just have an evil side. He comes across as carefree and incompetent. His actions don’t seem to make sense strategically, but it becomes clear that he does have a bigger plan. We just can’t decide how much of him is an act or real, keeping some mystery even after knowing what he’s up to. Without the manga I can’t tell if he reverts to being a cunning supervillain or if he keeps this complex dualism, but so far, he’s one of the more interesting villains I have seen.

The deuteragonist Hak is my personal favorite, mostly because he falls into the type of personality I enjoy, and he manages to act very believable. He obviously is in love with Yona, and frequently hits on her. If the series is guilty of any trope, it’s the main character being oblivious to these approaches. This is made up by their entertaining dynamic, these kinds of situations give the series some much needed comedic relief.

Starting with the love triangle between Yona, Soo-Won and Hak, the series technically builds a harem with the rest of the main cast, each character to be sought out either supernaturally infatuated by Yona or actually having a crush on her. It stays very subtle about it though, which gives it a somewhat mature tone unlike so many series that feature harems. 

The anime manages to take all the time it needs to spotlight any new characters it introduces and develop them as a person before adding them to the main adventure party. Usually, similar series will rush to complete its main cast as early as possible. Yona of the Dawn takes the full 24 episodes to complete its cast, which is quite remarkable. Though I do have a minor issue with the opening sequence prominently showing the last character who only gets introduced in the very last episode. Not the series’ fault technically though.

It took me weeks to watch the full 24 episodes, which is partly to blame on real life catching up to me, but usually I wouldn’t consider a series I only manage to watch one or two episodes a day as particularly entertaining or great. Yona of the Dawn does invite to take your time though, as it gradually builds up its characters, world and plot over many episodes and taking its time. There wasn’t a whole lot that happened in the first season, but it didn’t feel boring either.

All in all, Yona of the Dawn was a welcome refreshment for me. It manages to stand out from the general muddy mainstream of anime productions and is unique in most ways I find relevant. The only series I can think of that remotely resembles Yona of the Dawn is Inuyasha, other than that I think it has more in common with western fantasy than other anime. It avoids most tropes, at least those that stand out as annoying to me. It’s a shame there is no trace of a second season after 8-9 years, so I’m probably going to read the manga at some point. I can recommend Yona of the Dawn to anyone who wants a break from their usual anime formula.

Yona of the Dawn Series Watch Order

Season 1

Season 2

"On That Back" OVA

"The Yellow Dragon Zeno's Past, Part 1: The Starting Dragon" OVA

"The Yellow Dragon Zeno's Past, Part 2: A Red Star Rises" OVA