Yona of the Dawn

Yona of the Dawn consists of 24 episodes and aired during the Fall season of 2014.  The anime is based off the manga written by the talented Mizuho Kusanagi.  The manga is still being published and has recently reached its 120th chapter.  The anime is placed in the Shoujo, Action, and Comedy genres.  Yona of the Dawn is favored by many individuals, and is given an average score of 8.25, courtesy of MAL.

Plot Summary

The anime, Yona of the Dawn, focuses around the young lady, Yona, who is the princess of the Kingdom of Kouka.  Yona lives a luxurious lifestyle and often complains about her hair.  She is protected by the General Son Hak of the Wind Tribe, a childhood friend of hers.  Yona fantasizes of being in a relationship with Soo-won, a friend of Hak and hers.  When Soo-won visits to celebrate the arrival of her sixteenth birthday, Yona notices a strange presence.  She mistakes a strange man for a pursuer and goes to seek the comfort of her beloved Soo-won.  The security at the entrance is increased, however, that would be useless for those who has already gotten in.  As her birthday draws closer, Yona goes to visit her father.  As she enters the room, Yona is greeted by her murdered father and the culprit, Soo-won.  Yona is forced to escape from the castle in order to live.  Hak manages to take out the guards, while a loyal servant sacrifices himself for their escape.  Yona encounters a multitude of problems as she struggles to get away from the tribes people who are in favor of Soo-won’s crowning.  After gaining the backing of the Wind Tribe, Yona and Hak go on a journey of their own in search of a priest.  The priest instructs Yona to travel to find those with the a dragon’s pleasing in order to restore order in the Kingdom of Kouka.  This leads to Yona finding Ki-ja (white dragon), Shin-ah (blue dragon), Jae-ha (green dragon), Zeno (yellow dragon).

Viewpoint

Yona of the Dawn is a masterpiece.  The main character’s strong-willed and determined personality sets her apart from the rest.  Similar to most anime in the Shoujo genre it has the typical young girl who is protected by handsome men, however, Yona is not to be compared to the typical girl.  Yona has a voice and refuses to be pushed down.  After the death of her father, it only took the girl one day to mope around before she realized she needed to focus on living.  By no means is Yona a burden to Hak.  Yona is willing to protect herself by taking up a bow and arrow, even if it means going against her father’s wish of not wanting her to use a weapon.  This anime is by far one of the best that I have come across.  I love all of the character’s unique personalities and how they all became a little family in a short amount of time.  Yona of the Dawn draws you in right away and makes you always wonder what the group is going to do next.  It was captivating to watch Yona blooms into a wonderful lady that would make any of her family members proud and see just how happy her new family makes her.  I give Yona of the Dawn 5 out of 5 stars.