yona of the dawn

By Mizuho Kusanagi. Released in Japan as “Akatsuki no Yona” by Hakusensha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Hana to Yume. Released in North America by Viz. Translated by JN Productions, Adapted by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane.

As we watch Yona and her bunch wandering through the nations doing good and saving people, it would be all too easy to cut back to the usurpers back at the palace and make them simple, cookie-cutter antagonists. But one reason that Yona of the Dawn is so strong is that Su-Won is not a cookie-cutter antagonist. In fact, the reader might occasionally be thinking to themselves, “You know, Su-Won being king may actually be a very good thing?” Yona is dealing with the world at the lowest level, going from small village to small village for the most part, while Su-Won takes on major threats to his kingdom and also tries to get the leaders of the various tribes to think better and learn more. It’s micro vs. macro, and neither choice is bad. And it also means that when Su-Won and Yona see each other towards the start of this volume, the tension involved is absolute dynamite – and it can only last a few seconds before being taken away.

If you do want a more typical evil antagonist, there’s always General Su-Jin, who cannot conceive of a situation where he loses to this upstart new king. But lose he does, as right from the very start we see horses dressed up as tigers (some nice historical research from Kusanagi-san there) and it just goes downhill from there. Su-Jin is the classic example of the obsessive who cannot let something go, and I felt sad that he did not have a moment where he threw up his hands and screamed “THIS CANNOT BEEEEE!”. The best part of his attack on Su-Won was actually when Yona confronted him, as her concern is not only t stop the violence but also to tell him how far Tae-Jun has come. Sadly, it’s all for nought, but it does lead to that beautiful shot of her and Su-Won seeing each other (there is some absolutely gorgeous art in general in this volume. I may not mention it all the time, but Yona of the Dawn is extremely pretty).

There’s also a bit of reverse harem here, but honestly, every single time that one of the other guys (usually Jaeha) shows that they’re in love with Yona, it’s there to underscore how obvious Yona/Hak is as the OTP. Here we see Yona getting a bit jealous when Hak uses his natural charm to get customers at a bazaar, and also tamping it down because she knows one day he’s going to leave her and go with someone else. That will never, ever happen, but hey, this is why you don’t hook up the main couple in the first book. Hak and Yona are perfect for each other. That said, the other guys all have their charms, and I am certainly content for things to simmer a bit as they are now. This is a bit of a transitional book, as we see that Tae-Jun, much as being a nurse is something he’s awesome at, having to return to the Fire Tribe to be temporary leader while his brother studies. As for Yona and friends, I’m sure we’ll be starting a new arc next time. I can’t wait.

By Mizuho Kusanagi. Released in Japan as “Akatsuki no Yona” by Hakusensha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Hana to Yume. Released in North America by Viz. Translated by JN Productions, Adapted by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane.

One of the many things that the author of Yona of the Dawn is very good at is showing that the world keeps moving even as Yona and company are gallivanting around saving villages, gathering more hot guys, and hiding her true status from prying eyes, other parts of the Kingdom still have events move forward. Indeed, it’s doubly true here, as we see that Su-Jin, the leader of the Fire Tribe, has been plotting to overthrow the King for some time now, and is not going to let a little detail like Su-Won actually killing the previous King and taking over stop him. After all, what good are plans if they don’t end with you in a position of absolute authority? And so a lot of this volume is warfare and tactics, which is good. Fans of Yona’s slow-burning relationship with Hak may not get a lot to see here, but it doesn’t matter, as Kusanagi commands the reader’s attention no matter what she writes.

One of the things I like best anout this series is that it shows Yona’s decisions, which usually involve impulsively trying to protect those being attacked even when it would be far more sensible to stay hidden and keep doing reconnaissance, as being the right thing to do. Yes, Yun occasionally chimes in with how stupid this actually is, but the reason that everyone follows Yona is because she is wearing a nametag that says “Have you hugged your idealist today?”. Yes, the narrative shows that she made the right decision every time, but that’s the point. This is a manga that began with Yona’s crush and childhood friend betraying her and killing her father, and yet it refuses to get bitter and cynical, even when events conspire against it. Every time Yona looks determined and asks everyone to fight to save the oppressed, my heart grows a little bigger.

There is a bit of humor and romantic tease in this volume, mostly confined to the start, which sees all the guys squeezed into one small tent, or the wonderful shot of Jaeha with Sinha in his arms – not exactly what he’d planned. Presumably so the cliffhangers work out, we also get a couple pf side stories to round out the volume, the longer of which deals with Gija and the scars on his back. I’ll be honest, as the “harem” around Yona has grown, I feel that Gija has slipped into the background more than the others, so this was a nice way to remind readers of his past – which was sad, but not quite as sad as others were assuming. That said, I suspect readers will be focused more on the outcome of the battle between Su-Jin and Su-Won, and how the Happy Hungry Bunch are going to interfere even though they’re up against a ridiculous number of troops.

To sum up, Yona of the Dawn is still one of Viz’s best titles. Everyone should be reading it.

By Mizuho Kusanagi. Released in Japan as “Akatsuki no Yona” by Hakusensha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Hana to Yume. Released in North America by Viz. Translated by JN Productions, Adapted by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane.

This volume of Yona of the Dawn is a return to the beginning in many ways. It opens with an extended flashback showing the trio of Yona, Hak and Su-Won as children, sneaking out against orders to see what the town looks like, which ends up turning into a disaster after Yona is kidnapped almost immediately. It’s a terrific sequence, showing off the strong friendship that the three had, as well as showing that Hak and Su-Won each are jealous of the qualities they see in each other. And of course it’s tragic because of what came later, something that is still affecting both Yona and Hak deeply, as we see later on. He has nightmares about Yona, both in regards to Su-Won’s betrayal and also her becoming a warrior rather than a princess. And Yona is feeling the same thing, only she knows what side she’s going to choose going forward.

Yona and company are moving north, arriving in a village that is much the same as the fire tribe one they left, but is much better off due to developments in their grain. This excites Yun so much that he’s willing to do a festival dance in order to get more information about it – or at least have Yona do it, as Yun can’t dance at all. Hak notes that Yona has danced in the past, but it’s been rather awkward and amusing more than anything else. That changes here when Yona uses the dance to show what she’s become and where she’s headed, in a performance that makes everyone’s jaw drop, including Hak’s. For shippers, there’s a giant pile of Hak being in love with Yona here, but he’s fighting back against too many things, including Yona being mostly oblivious, for it to go anywhere. But man, the burning unsaid passion in this book is amazing.

Rest assured the book is also filled with humor – one two-page section had me laughing out loud just from the use of ‘pondering’ and ‘lounge’ as comedic weapons. A lot of this comes from Jaeha, who has become my favorite non-Yona character (those who recall my I Hate You More Than Anyone reviews may guess why – he’s basically Honjo as a superhero. He also knows that Hak/Yona is the endgame, which grates on him a bit – but not enough to stop him giving Hak some good, if needling, advice. That said, I don’t think anything more is going to be happening anytime soon. I do wonder if we’ll be seeing another female cast member soon – this volume has them go to a village with a lot of young women who remind us that Yona is walking around with a bunch of hunky guys, and some female friendships would, I think, do her good and make her a bit less serious.

To sum up, this remains one of the best Shojo Beat titles being released by now, and an essential purchase. Buy it, you’ll love it.

By Mizuho Kusanagi. Released in Japan as “Akatsuki no Yona” by Hakusensha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Hana to Yume. Released in North America by Viz. Translated by JN Productions, Adapted by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane.

Character development is something that you want to see in a good story. It’s something we’ve seen throughout Yona of the Dawn. For all that people were chanting “badass sword princess!” when the series was originally licensed, it’s taken a while for Yona to get from her sheltered princess to that point, and she still has a long way to go. And that means that character development happens even with the villains, provided they aren’t meant to be the standard “I am so evil I have to die” sorts. That’s why this volume is devoted almost entirely to Tae-Jun, the arrogant Fire Prince who has been dealing (badly) with thinking that he killed Yona back at the beginning of the series. He’s always been played for comic relief, and there’s certainly still some of that here – his puppyish devotion to Yona makes us uncomfortable but also makes us laugh. But there’s a larger story to be found here, which is the suffering that the kingdom has been going through.

Yona has slowly been realizing what she wants to do for this kingdom, but it’s not something that she’s really able to fully achieve as a bandit. Tae-Jun could really make more of a difference, though it’s worth noting that even he has to disguise it as “searching for the bandits and making the towns better as a result”. The peasant towns we’ve seen the last few volumes are really struggling, as every able young man is now gone to the army, leaving almost no one left to keep everyone eating and surviving. There’s a heartwarming moment with an old woman who bitches and moans about how bad Tae-Jun is at backrubs and everything else he tries to do, but Yona notes that it’s mostly just bluster. But later on, we hear that the old woman has died. This isn’t a magical cure, where Yona or Tae-Jun start to do the right thing and everyone magically gets better. People still die. People still suffer.

Tae-Jun’s soldiers are also seen throughout, and don’t have quite as much of a leap, as they go from “we are devoted to our lord even if he’s like this” to “we are devoted to our lord and oh look, he’s doing things now”. That said, they seem perfectly content to help the villagers as part of finding the bandits, once they get over their initial “if we come near them, we will get sick and die” phase. (Which, truth in manga, does actually turn out to be somewhat true – one of the soldiers seems to pick up a bad case of “con crud” fairly quickly.) As for Yona and the others, they realize that they need things that aren’t in the Fire lands, so are off to find them, and presumably to start a new arc. In the meantime, everyone who’s been reading Yona of the Dawn will enjoy this, and appreciate a more nuanced look at a former goofy villain.

By Mizuho Kusanagi. Released in Japan as “Akatsuki no Yona” by Hakusensha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Hana to Yume. Released in North America by Viz. Translated by JN Productions, Adapted by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane.

First of all, let’s just stand back in awe at the fact that our heroes are now named “The Dark Dragon and the Happy Hungry Bunch”, something that is both hilarious and awesome. The name is indicative of their status as semi-secret bandits, but also the sheer improvised nature of this whole enterprise – after gathering the Dragons, we’re now regrouping and seeing how best to let Yona figure out what to do next. “Help people” is the obvious choice, but help people how? Well, turns out there’s injustice right in front of them, what with the fire tribe officials shaking down the poor villages for money and taking children as collateral when they can’t pay up. Thus it is time to kick ass, take names, and pose dramatically. Unfortunately, when you’re the village saviors, you’d better be aware that there can be a cost to your actions.

I’ll admit I was not expecting that kid who confronted the bandits – you know, the other bandits who aren’t so happy – to be killed off, but it’s a good lesson narratively. The Happy Hungry Bunch can try to save the villages they come across, but there will always be places they can’t be, and villagers they can’t save. If they’re going to bring about a revolution, rather than just be Robin Hoods, a different strategy is needed. We also get a return to Sinha’s issues, with his medusa-like eyes that brand him as a monster, going back to his childhood. Yona’s faith in him pulls him back from the brink, but it’s a chilling sequence that reminds you how powerful all of these guys are. Something which Yona is also understanding, as she asks Hak to teach her swordfighting in addition to archery so she can be more well-rounded. Yona the princess has become Yona the terrorist, with all that this entails.

Despite the drama, the humor in this volume is not limited to the Happy Hungry Bunch. Tae-Jun returns, still devastated by the fact that he “killed” Yona back at the start of the manga, and the humor is that he’s basically become a broken shell of a man who is damn-near suicidal, which would be uncomfortable if the tone weren’t so light. I’m not sure of Kusanagi plans to do a more dramatic plot with him next volume, but for the moment I’m perfectly happy with him being comic relief, as the chapters with him moping around like a sad puppy are hysterical. I suspect finding that Yona is alive will fill him with a new burning desire, but sadly he’s about #15 in the ‘Yona love interest’ sweepstakes, so I suspect more comic relief may be in the offing instead.

Yona of the Dawn is content to move slowly at this point, building its characters and increasing the tension that something needs to be done. Yona’s now resolved to get even stronger, but toward what end? Will we get a few more volumes of wandering through random villages? Possibly, but I still plan on enjoying them. Yona is always a treat to read.

By Mizuho Kusanagi. Released in Japan as “Akatsuki no Yona” by Hakusensha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Hana to Yume. Released in North America by Viz. Translated by JN Productions, Adapted by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane.

This volume of Yona can be divided into two parts. The first sees Yona finally fulfill the first part of the prophecy, gathering the last dragon, and then trying to figure out where to go from here. The second takes us back to the kingdom where we see what Su-Won is up to, and figure out that he’s a far more ambiguous figure than everyone may thing (both reader and characters within the series). Both parts work equally well, and you get the sense that the author is declaring this the “end of Part 1/start of Part 2′ for the series, as Yona gets a new purpose that will still manage to keep her wandering around from town to town, and Su-Won shows that he is not a pacifist like Yona’s father, but that doesn’t mean that he’s gearing up for blood and carnage either.

After the epic adventures to find the various Dragons in prior books, it is very much an anticlimax to have the last one, Zeno, just pop up and say “OH HAI!” to our heroes, then join them on a whim. It’s intended on the author’s part, of course, and the rest of the cast are just as thrown off their game by this guy who seems like a giant flake but can occasionally show a flair for the serious, and also does not seem to have the deep emotional bond with Yona that the others do. Honestly, it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise if he turned out to not be what he seemed later on, but for now I’m content to go along with Zeno as he’s fun. We also return to Ik-Su the priest once Yun realizes that they’ve fulfilled the prophecy but nothing has actually happened. This leads to Yona questioning what she wants to do – does she want to regain the kingdom for her father? Well, no, she wants to help other towns in need. I suspect that’s what we’ll be doing for a while.

Meanwhile, back in the kingdom, we see a rather grumpy general, Geun-Tae, who is depressed that even though there’s a new, supposedly not pacifist king, he’s STILL not fighting in great battles. This allows us to see Su-Won’s too clever by half manipulation from another point of view, and that other point of view paints Su-Won as a clueless idiot. The audience already knows that’s not true, of course, so the chapters instead show how, in a mock war game, Su-Won can win the trust of an important ally, and also how he listens and pays attention to everything and uses it to better the kingdom. Su-Won is turning out to be a really good king, and therefore Yona’s decision is going to be even more difficult. (Also, I must resist calling Su-Won Henry IV.)

As always, there’s even more that I didn’t get to talk about, like Geun-Tae’s adorable tea-loving wife, and Yona deciding to learn how to swordfight by stealing Hak’s sword in his sleep, which goes about as well as you’d expect. The series remains compulsively readable, and even though it’s on the fasttrack with a release every two months, it still feels too long between volumes. More!

By Mizuho Kusanagi. Released in Japan as “Akatsuki no Yona” by Hakusensha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Hana to Yume. Released in North America by Viz. Translated by JN Productions, Adapted by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane.

Wrapping up the pirates arc, there’s a lot to love here for the Yona of the Dawn fan. Yona herself is at her most badass, saving Yun and setting off the flare, killing the main bad guy herself with an arrow, and of course getting Jaeha on their side through the sheer power of her determination and awesomeness. Yun is also very awesome, getting the crap kicked out of him and showing that he’s far more than just the party straight man. Jaeha kicks and kicks some more, and also manages to be charming and seductive in that “nothing will ever really come of it” sort of way. But I think I have to admit that after finishing the volume, there’s really just one scene that I want to read over and over again, and that’s when Yona, in the aftermath of the battle, runs into Su-Won, who is equally stunned to find that she’s not dead.

Su-Won is, of course, the villain of the piece, and it was his killing of Yona’s father that started the whole shebang. But there’s always been a sense that there’s more to him than that – he’s Yona’s childhood friend and crush, and we knew at some point he would start to show a different side. We get that here, as his amazement at Yona not being dead leads to his needing to protect her from his own aides, who would no doubt not take kindly to Yona bopping around the country with a bunch of superpowered hot guys. The series has always done a good job showing Yona the Princess contrasted with Yona the outcast and messiah, and briefly being that princess again and seeing Su-Won (and reaching for his sword to potentially kill him) sends her into a bit of a mental tailspin. Hak is, of course, there to help clean up, and there’s even some parts played for comedy (such as when she unthinkingly starts to strip), but mostly this emotional scene serves notice that we will be returning to Su-Won again, and find out why he needs to do all this.

Yona does recover, of course, and sets out again, because there is still journeying to be done. Naturally, Jaeha decides to go along with her, but I did love the goodbye that both he and Yona got from the grumpy get good-hearted pirate captain, who’s served as a mother figure for both of them. I also appreciated that the volume ended with a goofy comedy chapter – it wasn’t all that funny, being a variation on the :love potion makes you fall for whoever you see first” story, but it was just nice to see lighthearted fare again. We will no doubt begin a new arc next time, and I still maintain that this is one of the best Shojo Beat series you could be reading.

By Mizuho Kusanagi. Released in Japan as “Akatsuki no Yona” by Hakusensha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Hana to Yume. Released in North America by Viz. Translated by JN Productions, Adapted by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane.

One of the hallmarks of many a shoujo series is the idea of the man falling for a woman, among other reasons, because of her sheer stubbornness – the idea being that he no longer sees her as merely a weak girl who can’t do anything because of the fire in her eyes. And given that Jaeha is proving to be a tough nut to crack, it makes sense that we’d get one of these scenes with him and Yona as well. Of course, Yona of the Dawn is not your standard high school romance, and therefore the stubborn streak that Yona has involves truly death-defying walks along a sheer cliff face to acquire a much-needed herb. Jaeha can see how terrified Yona is of the whole thing, but also sees her reasoning behind why she still does it (mostly as she narrates it aloud to him, admittedly). It’s the best scene of the book.

The rest of the book is pretty nifty as well. We meet the pirate crew that Jaeha is working with, and they’re the ‘good’ kind of pirates, of course, led by a badass old woman who I hope we see more of but I suspect will be gone after this arc. The pirates are here to stop the evil slave traders kidnapping young girls, which makes Yona an obvious choice to be bait. (The other choice, equally obvious if you know this series, is Yun, who fills the tsundere role admirably and looks fantastic in women’s clothing (as he says himself). This does lead us to one of the series’ running themes, which is that it’s very difficult to conduct a secret mission to save the kingdom if you have fiery red hair that everyone knows is like the Princess. Yona’s solution here is very clever, and another sign of how she’s growing by leaps and bounds.

As for the romance side of the manga, well, Jaeha is falling for Yona, though he’s not quite ready to admit it. The second best scene in the book is when he talks to Hak and tries to get the measure of what the relationship between him and Yona is. Hak is very tightly wound, with most of his affection for Yona coming out as teasing and the occasional serious “dedication to duty” conversation, but it becomes clearer the longer he watches her that there is an intense pent-up desire there. This is normally the sort of thing that can’t stay pent up forever, but given this is a Hana to Yume romance, I expect it will likely stay pent up for quite some time. Still, it’s beautifully conveyed.

Ending with a truly loopy alternate universe omake (I love the idea of Yona as a ditz with a flower growing out of her head), this is another strong volume in an already strong series. Still one of the best Shojo Beat titles being released right now. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

By Mizuho Kusanagi. Released in Japan as “Akatsuki no Yona” by Hakusensha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Hana to Yume. Released in North America by Viz. Translated by JN Productions, Adapted by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane.

In general, I’m always a bit wary of ‘chosen one’ narratives, which Yona of the Dawn is shaping up into being. The difficulty is striking a balance between following the chosen one because you know they will be a good person who can change the world, and following the chosen one out of a literal compulsion you can’t control that draws you to them. Yona of the Dawn tries to have this both ways, and I like that the new Dragon, Jaeha, is reluctant to follow his supposed destiny, being very happy being what he is, which is a showboating, girl-loving pirate with the classic Hana to Yume “sleepy eyes”. Of course, this is still a shoujo manga, and thus the cliffhanger has him running into Yona and immediately his heart skips a beat, because of course it does – if you’re going to write romance cliches, do them properly.

Meanwhile, as predicted, the Blue Dragon decides to come with them, and even gets named by Yona, who is, of course, still the Chosen One but balances this out by being caring and loving and sweet and nice, etc. Names turn out to be pretty important in this book, as the male cast who aren’t Hak gradually start to call Yona by her first name. Hak is an exception, though, and this is the best scene in the volume, as Yona tells him the reasons that she wants him to still call her “your highness” and treat her as royalty. It’s so that they don’t forget her father or what he did. This is immediately followed up with the heartbreaking revelation that most people in the country seem to regard the late King with contempt as a terrible King, much to Yona’s distress. (In reality, putting the distance between her and Hak may be authorial fiat – let’s face it, this is a reverse harem manga with an obvious endgame, and it’s best to delay it as much as possible.)

Most of this volume is, of course, the standard quest, as Yona and company continue wandering the land hunting for Dragon Warriors. This means that they have to stop and fight injustice whenever they can, of course, even if they’re supposed to keep a low profile (Yona’s red hair really does not help with stealth missions). The humor in this book is fairly predictable, mostly revolving around Hak’s inability to practice what he preaches, and everyone (including Yona) seeming to think that he spent time in a brothel, much to his frustration. Jaeha looks like an excellent addition to the cast, balancing nicely with the other guys’ personalities. This of course assumes that he does join the main cast, and I suspect the next volume will show us Yona trying to convince him of the righteousness of her cause.

In the end, this is another top-notch volume of Yona of the Dawn, which continues to be one of Shojo Beat’s best series.

By Mizuho Kusanagi. Released in Japan as “Akatsuki no Yona” by Hakusensha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Hana to Yume. Released in North America by Viz. Translated by JN Productions, Adapted by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane.

Yona of the Dawn started off pretty serious, given the nature of its plot. It always had some humor, but in the midst of regicide and fleeing from a murderous former trusted friend, you can understand why things were a bit edgy for a while. But now Yona is collecting allies, and learning to shoot a bow, and things are looking up even if she is occasionally still attacked by bandits or led into deathtraps by terrified villagers. This allows the author to bring in a lot more humor – the third volume already had a lot of this, but this one finds almost the perfect balance between action fantasy, tragic backstory, and hilarious shenanigans.

the hilarity tends to come from three different places. First we have Yun, the resident tsukkomi of the group, who keeps them from dying in the middle of the woods and tries to provide actual common sense among a group that sorely needs it. His line in snark is good, but it’s his offhand introduction of himself as “genius pretty boy” that made me giggle most. (And he’s not wrong – this is a very attractive cast in general.) Hak and Gija, meanwhile, are both attracted to Yona, though they either won’t admit it or aren’t aware of it, so this naturally puts them at each other’s throats. Luckily it’s in a comedic way, and I was reminded a couple of times of the dynamic between Legolas and Ginli – particularly with counting the number of dead bandits. And there’s also Yona, whose humor comes when she steps away from her princess and savior mode in order to, say, beat her would-be lovers across the head, or insult a squirrel’s name. This is a very amusing book.

This does not take away from its other qualities, though. We meet another Dragon Warrior here, and his past is tragic and filled with violence, and I suspect meeting Yona will be the best thing that ever happens to him – though you may need to convince him a little more first. It’s easy to be terrified of someone who’s different from you, especially if they have a mysterious power that can seemingly kill people. Luckily, nameless Blue Dragon (he was too unloved to be given a name!) is found by Yona and company. There are also lots of fights interspersed through the volume, which Yona does not take part in, though she is getting better with a bow. I like the scene where Hak admits he hates the idea of her learning to fight but loves the idea of her learning to be stronger – it strikes a nice balance between the patriarchal “women shouldn’t be doing this” and his growing respect for Yona as a young woman.

I’m not sure how long it will take to convince the Blue Dragon to come with them – not long, I expect, it’s not like he has much tying him down – but I eagerly await things being resolved in the next book. Must-read shoujo fantasy.