Yona of the Dawn - Reviews

here from the 2022 secret santa challange so thank you to my santa who gave me this recommendation! as you read this please keep in mind i'm a total newbie when it comes to critically assessing anime so my opinions are just that my opinions :P

story:

you could probably figure out the story from the tags but thats not to say that it doesn't do it well. the initial betrayal segement in the castle was well thought out and really got across the danger yona was in. soo-won's plan at this part seems a tad on the flawed and personal side but thats something to talk about when i write tons in the character section. the other now seemingly cliche parts of finding the oracle and gathering party members were also well done, no need to needlessly over complicate a story part when its not needed. i loved how fleshed out and realistic the world is even though its a fantasy and still has elements of fictional abilities and i also loved how the world outside of the castle walls was able to shape yona's view.

animation:

the general animation i thought was excellent, sharper lines, beautifally done eyes and especially in the fight scenes. hak and his hsu quandao was fluid and fast the animation really gave him weight as he moved on screen. it being an anime though does mean that there are a couple of simplified chibi faces sprinked in which normally i'm fine with but in this series they feel a little tacked on at the end.

sound:

here we go... by least specialist subject ^^; as far as i'm aware the sound effects and background music were all perfectly fine but take that with a grain of salt as i didn't much pay attention to those during my watch. the openings were both pretty good too, i liked opening one a lot as it was a refreshing change from the standard kind of song you hear and the second opening did suprize me with how different it was but once i got over the change it was a plesent listen. jae-ha was seen playing the erhu later in the series and i adore how that sounded.

characters:

Yona - i initially didn't like her all that much, she came across to me as bratty spoiled princess who's only focus in life was her personal love life. to which i would say i wasn't exactly wrong with that assessment... at least in the beginning. i now realise that i love how much yona grew as a character because of her starting point, she learns to really connect with people she finds that drive within herself to really stand up and help as many people as she can and then some. she has the grit to train night after night with a bow, she gets over her pampered lifestyle and gets her hands dirty and thats great. she did give of a few tsundere vibes especially with hak and there not my favourate tendencies.... she's also suprizingly oblivious to romance with anyone other then soo-won which can get annoying at times especially as she still inadvertadly has great moments with many of her traveling companions that could lead to fan shipping. the only true proper complain is one that i've seen a couple other people have.... monica rial as a voice actress seems just a little... off? not that she's not telented but the voice she does for yona is so similar to tanya degurechaff and they are very very different characters. i understand that a voice for yona is very hard since it would have to be a good balance between gentle/refined and intimidating.

Hak Son - when compared to yona i ended up liking hak sooner.... if that makes sense. i now like them about the same though. haks honesty and devotion to king Il and yona was amazing and the fact that he was basically one man against an army really showed off how dedicated he was to keeping his word. he balanced being a delicate comforter and shoulder to cry on with his true to form teasing... though everything he was doing has in his own was to support yona as best he could. his feelings towards yona are so sweet! we know from there travels that he's considored desirable but he's ignored any kind of romance due to his duty to protect and seeing him awkwardly stumble into being in love without flat out ignoring his own feelings is great.

and with that i think i need to speed up these character reviews otherwise i may genuanly be here all day ^^;

jae-ha - i'm not the biggest fan of him... not enough to hate him mind you. his perverted nature feels out of place in our main group and his views on his duty-by-blood is more inconvienient then it needed to be. though it was neccessary for the pirate arc to happen. he still cares for yona even if it is the dragon blood talking.

ki-ja - he's loud, doesn't do well outside of his own little fortress and has a innate drive to go out into the world and help people. he's a great parallel to yona's story without seeming like a carbon copy.

shin-ah - he's a protecc character to a T and he's my favourate of the dragon warriors. he's quiet and still incredibally kind despite his entire village being so against him from birth. 

soo-won - i'm not really sure what to make of him to be honest. at the beginning obviously i hated his guts... he trampled all over yona's life seemingly without a care but as we got to see him later on in the series he does genuanly seem to have the countries best interest in mind. he could have easily gone about it in a much gentler way though.... convincing Il to marry yona was a much more peaceful way of resolving his desire and yona was already in love with him. but then we wouldn't get like... this entire story....

yun - his big ego grates on me everytime... if it wern't for his actions in the pirate arc i think i may have ended up hating him. i know he cares deep down and he had a traumatic past but stating that your a "beautifal boy genius" anytime you do anything does get too repetative but thats a personal problem i have with him. other then that he's well written and is the glue that ensures the party can function as well as it does

sorry i couldn't go into as much detail over minor characters but i think i've written enough ^^;

This is an amazing anime, and did a great job...for a first season.  Sadly, as of writing this review, the anime is about eight years old (and the manga being 13 and still unfinished) which means that at least for the anime, it's very unlikely we'll see a second season to conclude the story.

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Story

Yona, the princess of Kouka, is betrayed by someone she trusted the night of her 16th birthday.  With the entire castle seemingly out to get her, her loyal friend (Hak) manages to guide her to safety in order to escape the usurpers who came for the throne.

Upon meeting with a priest, they are reminded of the legend of the Hiryuu and the Four Dragons.  Not wanting things to end as they are, or for Hak to die protecting her against the new Kouka empire, Yona steels her resolve and goes in search of the four dragons of legend...or at least their incarnations.

The plot itself is rather basic and actually sounds boring now that I've typed it out.  The "fall from grace" trope is somewhat in there, though Yona still doesn't abandon the fact that she was once the princess despite learning to rely on herself.

There's some political intrigue to it, which some people might enjoy (I always find that sort of thing boring), but the anime doens't go into detail as much as the manga; most of the time is (thankfully) spent on Yona and Hak's journey to find and befriend the incarnations of the four dragons.

And as I said at the very beginning, this makes for a great anime as the characters really carry it...but unfortunately, episode 24 feels like a conclusion of merely the first leg of the journey considering all the plot points we were introduced to at the start.

Best I can describe it is that it feels like the natural conclusion to a first season/arc, but sadly has no second season to follow through (plus an incomplete manga for a source material).

The story/plot itself isn't very innovative or interesting as we see betrayals and journies in anime all the time, but the pacing is rather good...with the exception of how little time was spent on the final dragon.  5/10

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Characters

This is what you're here for.  This is the meat and the potatoes of the anime.

First we've got Yona, the princess, whose pining for the friend who betrayed her can actually be a tad annoying at the start.  She was a carefree girl who knew nothing of the real world and hadn't even been allowed to ever hold a weapon, but slowly starts to grow into a determined girl who wants to be able to protect herself.

Hak is her best friend and official guard.  Originally adopted into the Wind Tribe, he's known as the "Thunder Beast" due to his exceptional combat skills (particularly with a glaive).  He's on the sarcastic side, and often teases Yona and those around him, but obviously cares a lot about Yona (perhaps more than platonically) and will throw his own safety to the wind to keep her safe...while still slowly coming to terms with accepting that she wants to stand on her own two feet.

There are other characters, of course, but I'm not going to detail them as doing so could spoil a bit about them as well as some enjoyment; the mystery of not knowing and all.

Some of them do show signs of tropes; the White Dragon is a steadfast "straight arrow", though he also doesn't know much about the outside world which leads to a couple rather comical situations.

The Blue Dragon's circumstances are the polar opposite, but he's a kind and gentle young man who doesn't speak often.

The Green Dragon is somewhat of a womanizer, but isn't obnoxious about it like that trope is in some anime and manga; he highly values his freedom and making his own decisions.

The Yellow Dragon is a seemingly carefree and happy-go-lucky kid...though if you go watch the OVA about him, there's much more than meets the eye (and sadly, we only learn it from the OVA as he is the one who gets the short end of the stick in screentime).

All in all, the characters are rather interesting.  The antagonist is the sort which can make you either like him or hate him, though the manga certainly expands on that.  Sadly, the anime doesn't quite get to that side of him.  Still, the signs are there and I feel that it makes him an interesting antagonist; antagonists whom the viewer might be able to feel some empathy for are the hardest to write but tend to be the most memorable/best ones.

The main cast have their own distinct personalities, though unfortunately the Blue Dragon is so quiet that it feels like his character often sits silently on the sidelines (pretty sure his furry friend has more scenes than he does).  Even side characters whom the protagonists meet up with on their journey have distinct personalities...and an early one even joins them to quickly become one of the protagonists.

I loved these characters from the start, and it was to the point where I even was able to remember their names.  While they can still be quite trope-y, they at least aren't cringey and both Yona and even Hak show decent character development (particularly Yona).

Very solid; 8/10

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Overall

I did not particularly care for one version of the opening song, but all the other songs and music were pretty nice to listen to.  The voice actors did an excellent job, and the BGM helped to enhance situations.

Animation was also solid; I can't say I really have much of any complaints with that. 

All in all, I don't have many complaints about this; except, again, that it feels like the first season/arc and has nothing to follow it up with. 

While I do recommend people read the manga to follow up with the story, it's disappointing that there isn't even a whisper of a rumor of a second season so that the anime itself can start to make some sense out of information we were given (which wasn't resolved).
Though to be warned, there is far more political intrigue in the manga; though thankfully you can sort of skim those parts and still have a basic understanding of what's going on if you're not a fan of politics (like me).

I'm also not a fan of how the anime opened up.  There was no sense of danger for any of the characters, even when they were in mortal peril, because the opening scene is obviously a point in the future when they've all come together.  This means that their plots and would-be moments of tension/life or death situations as we (and Yona) meet up with these characters are dulled by the fact that we know they're all going to survive to get to that point.

Another minus is that the final dragon got all of one episode (and not even that much), and we basically know next to nothing about him.  That has to be supplemented with the OVA...but since the OVA isn't part of this 24-episode anime which I'm reviewing, I have to dock points for needing to go find it.

Still, this is a rather good and solid anime with interesting characters (although you'll probably be watching mostly for Yona and Hak...leaning heavily towards for Hak).

Interesting anime with a good cast of characters, but it is held back by an incomplete story and no second season to wrap things up with.  I feel I can still give it an 8 out of 10 (though it was close to a seven) since it at least wrapped up the "find the dragons" arc.

My first so called "reverse harem".

I saw some "gay" anime before (Banana Fish, Yuri on ice, Free etc), so I was thinking I am kinda prepared for it, that it will be fruity guys doing fruty things, to appeal to girls, at least that is what I believed, but then I was blown away by the actual MC.

You see, the thing with reverse harems is that, even if you don't care a bit about guys, there is this main girl which is often the best, or even the bestest, girl. I mean in many romance animes, even if main character is female, you rarely get such wholesome heroines as in reverse harems. I think this is caused by the fact, that there are so many "cool" guys competing for her, each having some special ability, that the girl simply must be pretty well roudned overall to keep the whole thing balanced.

So funnyly, Yona is one of very few well written and exceptional heroines you can get. If you like realistically strong (not "strong") female lead characters, Yona is your girl and this is her anime, give her a watch.

This is a good anime to watch if you are looking for some cute romance that is not realised by the main character. This can be resembled to maybe "Kaichou wa maid sama". I don't know about you but I think it is sort of frustrating but cute and also since the series didn't really seem to come to a full finish so there could be a second season where maybe this love could hopefully be realised and send us all to happy tears.

Romance is not the only aspect of this anime which was awesome , the beginnning I felt was really good because ...without spoiling...was maybe a bit different and extreme the sort that would make you to step back in shock, which is really refreshing compared to the norm but also a bit sad.

After the shocking event the whole anime was about Yona going on an adventure to become stronger and collect allies. You'll be taken aback when you do see her standing strong like a "warrier" in a sense instead of her pervious self where she was an innocent and completely oblivious princess.

Yona of the Dawn wasn't a show I expected to like as much as I did. It was a show that fit my tastes based on its setting and tags but nothing really struck me at first glance as it becoming one of my favorite anime of all time. But even with that being said, there are some sticky points here and there that keep this from being a masterpiece in my opinion.
**Please be warned that this review will contain some spoilers. **

Story: The anime begins with a young princess named Yona who is celebrating her most recent birthday in the palace. She bears witness to a horrible crime and must run away from home to avoid a similar fate. She is protected by her personal guard as they travel in secret. Soon Yona learns she is part of a mystical prophecy and sets off to round up the 4 dragons that will help her regain control of the kingdom. 
It is a decently cliched plot, by all means. The reverse harem can be smelled a mile away. But while I kept it as vague as possible, the intricacies are what make this story stand out. The main villian themself even undergoes a little bit of extra layering by the end so you have a tougher time hating them. So while it may rely on certain tropes, it breaks apart to tell its own tale and is all the better for it. 

Animation: Probably the topic I have the least amount to say in. This is a show that will not blow you away with its animation, but its not ugly either. I tended to give it so high because of the ability to switch between the quirky style of the comedic scenes and the normal style for its action sequences. I could tell effort went into staying faithful to the source material and I appreciate that. 

Sound: The show mainly focuses on traditional japanese music for its OST. Most songs have this gentle grace to them that could also double as sleep/study aids. My only complaint for this section is that while the 1st OP to the show portrays the rest of the soundtrack well, it just did not instill in me a need to keep relistening to it every episode. Juxtaposed with still image shots of the cast and some scenes straight from the epsidoes themselves, I ended up skipping it often. This was made better with the second OP, which while vastly different from the other tracks, kept my interest much better. 

Characters: This is where the true brilliance of this show comes out. When you first meet Yona she is whiny and self-centered. Her biggest worry in life is that her hair makes her stand out too much. But give the girl a few episodes of extreme personality training out in the real world and she morphs into one of the strongest shoujo protagonists I've seen. She is a powerhouse. The other characters in the show are also blessed to have multiple facets to them. Most of the dragons have their backstories laid out bare for viewers to see why they are the way they are. And why their motivations differ so greatly from each other. This only gets better with the OVAs.  

Overall: 8.75 out of 10 (rated 9 out of 10 on site) 

Overall, as stated above, this anime is probably either #1-2 on my personal favorites. But even with all the love i have for it, the show is not perfect. But for what it is, its an extremely enjoyable watch. And I hope that if you are thinking this show sounds good that you will give it a go. It comes highly recommended from me.