Yona of the Dawn (Akatsuki no Yona)
Hair as red as the sky at sunrise
Author: Kusanagi Mizuho
Year first published: 2009
Original Language: Japanese
Genre: Fantasy, adventure, romance, shojo
I knew very little about this manga going in. I had heard that it was set in ancient Korea (unusual for a Japanese manga), and the only exposure to it i had was the second ending theme of the 2014 anime, the song "Akatsuki" (dawn) by Akiko Shikata, one of my top three favorite composers.
When I saw they had several volumes of this on the shelf, I decided to take a peek. I'm very glad I did!
The story features Yona, a young princess and the sole heir to the fictional kingdom of Kohka (which has aesthetics from ancient Korea), doted on by her peace loving father in the wake if her mother's death. While sheltered, she had grown up healthy and happy, beside her two childhood friends, Suwon, her cousin on her father's side, and Hak, grandson of one of the kingdom's generals who is assigned as her personal guard.
Hak is quite abrasive, while Suwon is gentle, and the pair of them are very protective of Yona in their own ways.
Having come of age, her father begins to talk to her of marriage, as her husband will become the next king. The princess begs her father to let her marry Suwon, but the king refuses.
On the night of her sixteenth birthday, Yona goes to her father's room, intending to ask once again to be allowed to marry Suwon, only to find her father assassinated, his assailant standing over him in the darkness. Fearing for her life, Hak helps her flee the palace.
It’s a pretty decent shojo manga! I like Yona, but I’m not too keen on Hak. Then again, I’m not into the “I can fix him” type tsundere men…well, I’m not really into tsundere women either to be honest. But Hak is just a huge jerk to pretty much everyone. It’s frankly surprising he faces no repercussions from being such a dickbag to the princess, of all people, but I guess the story doesn’t really focus on court politics and social graces. It’s a bit more on the action and adventure side.
There are four elemental tribes, with each leader as one of the generals of the king, with Hak being from the wind tribe. In one of the authors notes, the mangaka notes that she likes drawing old men, but there’s not many chances to do that in shojo manga. Chief Mun-Deok of the wind tribe, Hak’s grandfather, is especially badass, and he has a really cool design.
The art is gorgeous, and the mangaka and her assistants are incredibly skilled at backgrounds and tones. There’s plenty of spicyness too, if you’re in it for those heart pounding shojo romance moments.
A very traumatized Yona finds it difficult to go on, so Hak takes her back to his home village to lie low and let her recover. While doing this, he continues to be a huge ass. He makes several sexist comments towards Yona, calling her homely and commenting on her weight, even dragging over another girl and saying “Hey this girl is much hotter than you, why can’t you be sexier?”
It’s really icky because it very strongly paints him as the male romantic lead and I’m not a fan. I just don’t get the appeal of someone who does nothing but put you down.
Yona starts to regain her strength, but upon learning that the village is being targeted by the Fire tribe, convinced that the Wind tribe is responsible for the king’s murder. Unable to just sit by and watch, she sets out, imploring Hak to come with her for her protection while she finds a way to stop the mutiny and restore the kingdom before an inevitable war happens.
On the run again, Hak and Yona are advised by Mun-deok to seek out a priest to help guide their way.
Volume three introduces us to some new faces. After falling from a cliff, Yona and Hak are found unconscious by a young boy around their age, who has a good knowledge of medicinal herbs. It turns out he’s acquainted with the priest they were seeking.
We learn the legend of the founding of Kohka, wherein a red dragon god became a human in order to live among them. Humans had begun to let evil into their hearts and captured the red dragon, coveting his power. Four other dragon gods descended to rescue him and destroy humanity, but the red dragons begs them not to, stating that he too is human now.
Unwilling to simply leave their friend behind, they gave their blood to four chosen human warriors, with their duty being to protect the red dragon. These warriors eventually formed the four tribes. Yona is tasked with finding the descendants of the dragons that inherited their power, and with a new companion in tow, they set forth to find the only hope Yona has to survive.
Having found the village of the white dragon, Yona and crew now have another fighter amongst their ranks, a young man with the Arm of the White Dragon, a power that imbues his right arm with the mighty claws of a dragon, allowing him to slice through his foes with ease. Hak is, of course, a jerkass to the newcomer. With a new party member acquired, they seek out the blue dragon, delving deep into Fire tribe territory.
They reach a mountain village where Gija, the white dragon, senses the blue dragon, yet the villagers insist no such person lives there. Yona, however, insists that she must meet with him.
The ever kind and brave Yona has recruited a young man with the eyes of the blue dragon into their group, and now they set off to find the green dragon. During the night, Yona trains diligently with her bow.
They arrive at a port city in the Earth Kingdom, only to find that the green dragon is elusive and slippery, always sensing Gija and making himself scarce.
So far, I love Jaeha. He's definitely one of faves at this point. Him being a disaster bisexual makes him even better.
Yona and Jaeha finally meet, and she learns that the Green Dragon is a member of a pirate crew stationed just off the coast. Enraged by the corrupt officials of Awa, she asks to speak with his captain.
Oh man, Captain Gi-gan. She is one absolutely badass old lady and I want to be as cool as her when I’m older. Yona’s group all tag along, and while everyone else can fight, and Yun can cook and do medicine, Yona has no helpful skills to speak of, so Gi-gan gives her a task.
She has to collect a powerful healing herb that only grows on a treacherous cliff, with no help from anyone.
They also learn that the leader of the city, Lord Kum-ji, has been engaging in human trafficking, and Yona and crew become even more determined to bring him down.
Yona and the pretty boy Yun don disguises and get themselves “kidnapped” to find where the captives are being held before they’re taken out of the country. With more than just her own life at stake, the princess has made plans to signal her dragons from the ship, but will they be able to make it in time?
Our redheaded princess really starts coming into her own, and its fun to watch her slowly growing into an unstoppable force to be reckoned with. And Jaeha loses the spot of favorite dude, with Sinha now being my fave.
I still dislike Hak.
Yona and crew find the Yellow dragon, but having no idea what to do next, they turn to the person who gave them the propehesy in the first place, the priest Ik-su.
Looks like we're having a Suwon arc! From here the focus shifts to Suwon, and how he's managing while visiting the Earth tribe capital of Chishin. We learned a few volumes ago that the late King Il wasn't exactly beloved by the people, being seen as weak and unwilling to defend his citizens. However, it seems that the generals don't think too highly of their new king so far.
Review posted 2023/09/20
Last Updated 2023/09/25