mdchan

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.