Anime: Yona of the Dawn/Akatsuki no Yona
Genre: Fantasy, adventure
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
General Setup: Yona is the only daughter of the King of the Kouka Kingdom. She is the the image of pampered royalty and only cares about taming her wild red hair and crushing on her cousin, Soo-won (which was perfectly legal then, don’t worry). While Soo-won is visiting the castle for Yona’s sixteenth birthday she tries to convince her father to let her marry him. Her plans are drastically changed when Soo-won kills the King in order to take the throne. Yona is forced to flee the castle with her bodyguard, Hak. While on the run from Soo-won’s soldiers they look for allies in the dragon warriors of legend.
Characters: I really liked Yona’s character arc. She starts out a spoiled princess, but she soon figures out that in order to survive she needs to move beyond her grief and learn to do things for herself. Even though her father detested weapons Yona convinces Hak to teach her how to use a bow and arrow so she can defend herself. Not that Hak is an incompetent bodyguard. He is known throughout the land as the Thunder Beast because of his lightning-fast speed and tremendous power. Hak grew up with Yona and Soo-won and while he feels a duty to the former King to protect Yona, he also cares about her. Soo-won betrayed his closest friends when he killed Yona’s father. He is an interesting character because, while he may be a better ruler than the previous king, the way he went about gaining the throne was wrong. I thought that, overall, all of the characters in this show were really well written and made the show enjoyable to watch.
Plot: The show starts out with a bang, but the next few episodes are a little slow. However, after Yona ‘gets her act together’ the pacing picks up. The characters really drive the plot of this show. Other than the slow pacing at the beginning I really enjoyed watching this anime. Unfortunately, there are not enough episodes for the show to get into some of the later arcs of the story. (Can we have a second season, please?)
Ending: The end of Yona of the Dawn is somewhat open-ended. While the anime accomplishes the goal it set forth at the beginning, there are still several unanswered questions. Loose threads aside, the show ends on a nice note and gives the viewer a feeling of resolution, even if not everything has been resolved. The ending leaves ample room for a second season, but time will tell what will happen on that front.
Things to Watch For: For the most part the show is really clean. However, it does have some violence and deals with some difficult topics, like slavery and poverty.
Humor: This show is funny! Okay, it’s not ‘I can’t breathe because I am laughing too hard,’ funny, but it really is amusing. The humor slips in and out, breaking up the more serious moments. I also liked how some of the humor is provided in ‘side notes’ from the narrator.
Moral Lessons: Picking up a weapon means acknowledging the possibility that you will have to take someone’s life. In order to protect what is dear to you, you need to have strength.
Sights and Sounds: The art for this anime is fun and full of color. It goes for a cartoonish bent, instead of trying to be more realistic. Yona of the Dawn has a really nice soundtrack. It is full of traditional sounds and beautiful music. Also, I really liked the second opening song. It is quick and catchy and the lyrics fit really well. I could listen to it all day!
Fillers: There are no fillers in this anime.
Length: There are 24 episodes in this anime.
Where to Watch: You can watch Yona of the Dawn on Crunchyroll and Hulu, as well as the FUNimation website.
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