Akatsuki no Yona

Yona of the Dawn
暁のヨナ (Akatsuki no Yona)
Genre	Action, Fantasy, Romance, Adventure
Manga
Written by	Mizuho Kusanagi
Published by	Hakusensha
Demographic	Shōjo
Magazine	Hana to Yume
Original run	August 2009 – ongoing
Volumes	17
Anime television series
Directed by	Kazuhiro Yoneda
Written by	Shinichi Inotsume
Music by	Kunihiko Ryo
Studio	Pierrot
Licensed by	NA Funimation
Network	AT-X, Tokyo MX, SUN, TVA, RKK, BS11
English network	NA Crunchyroll
Original run	October 7, 2014 – March 24, 2015
Episodes	24 + OVA

Akatsuki no Yona (Japanese: 暁のヨナ, lit. "Yona of the Dawn" , also known as Akatsuki no Yona -The girl standing in the blush of dawn-) is a Japanese manga series by Mizuho Kusanagi, serialized in Hakusensha's shōjo manga magazine Hana to Yume from August 2009. It has been collected in seventeen tankōbon volumes. An anime television series adaptation by Pierrot aired between October 7, 2014 and March 24, 2015, featuring the voice cast from the drama CD adaptation, along with new cast members.^[1]

Plot

The story follows the redemption of Yona, the sole princess to the kingdom of Kouka. Yona lives the carefree life of a princess in Hiryuu castle, being sheltered by her pacifist father, King Il, and protected by her bodyguard and childhood friend Son Hak. During a party being held for her sixteenth birthday, her other childhood friend and love interest Soo-won comes to pay tribute to her. Intending to tell her father that she cannot forget her love for Soo-won, she visits King Il's chambers and witnesses him being killed by Soo-won, who reveals that he will now properly rule Kouka. Hak intervenes and saves Yona and they escape from the castle to Hak's birthplace, the Village of Wind. Under the suggestion of Hak's grandfather Son Mundok, Yona and Hak search for an oracle named Ik-su. Ik-su tells them the legend of the first king of Kouka, Hiryuu, and the four dragons who unified the kingdom. Yona and Hak, joined by Ik-su's assistant Yun, begin a journey to find the reincarnated legendary dragons in order to survive and save the Kingdom of Kouka.

Characters

Yona (ヨナ)

Voiced by: Chiwa Saitō (Japanese), Monica Rial (English)^[2]

She is the titular character and the main protagonist of the series. Yona is the sole princess of Kingdom of Kouka. She appears to be a cute and naive girl at the beginning. Her mother was killed by robbers when she was young, leaving her father King Il to raise her up with Son Hak and Soo-won. Being a princess, she was initially dependant and spoiled, always nagging when something was not the way she wanted. However, after her father's death and her first love's betrayal, she decided to be more independent and become strong enough to fight and protect herself. As such, she requested Hak to teach her archery and sword. While initially hesitant to kill, she eventually threw away this hesitation during the battle against Kum-ji, being able to unleash a murderous intent that made her opponents afraid moving and kill Kum-ji herself. She is said to be the reincarnation of Hiryuu, the first king of the Kingdom of Kouka, which explains her red hair even though her parents both had black hair. Being the reincarnation of Hiryuu, the four legendary dragons's blood will react the moment they lay their eyes upon her as well as hearing the voices of the original four dragons' oath to protect Hiryuu. Not wanting to remain oblivious of the current state of her own country, Yona decides to travel around the country to find out more about the outside world as well as protecting her country and her people in secret. Although Yona cannot forgive Soo-won for killing her father, Yona couldn't bring herself to hurt him when they were reunited at Awa, revealing that some part of her still loves Soo-won; she still keeps the hairpin that he gave her before his betrayal and even assisted him during the war as she realised the reason Soo-won wanted to become king. Over time though, she seems to have developed feelings for Hak. She primarily uses the bow and arrow in combat and later learns to wield a sword.

Son Hak (ソン・ハク, Son Haku)

Voiced by: Tomoaki Maeno, Ayahi Takagaki (young) (Japanese), Christopher R. Sabat (English)^[2]

He is Yona's childhood friend and Bodyguard, as well as the former general of the Wind Tribe. He himself is a quite handsome man who gives a cool and scary aura. He is famously known as the Thunder Beast for his astounding fighting skills that were said to be unrivaled by anyone, earning him the title of the strongest soldier in the Kingdom of Kouka. His talent had already been recognized since he was thirteen years old and he was the first person to become a general at such a young age. He was an orphan and adopted by the previous Wind Tribe general, Son Mundok, as his grandson. He is fairly calm and nonchalant, and likes to occasionally tease Yona at every chance he gets, albeit deep down he actually cares for her very much and vows to protect her at all costs. It is demonstrated throughout the story that Hak's feelings towards Yona stem from more than just being her Bodyguard, but because he loves her. This is hinted when he occasionally attempted to make a move on her. He used to be a good friend of Soo-won's and wanted for Yona and Soo-won to live happily together, and even hoped for Soo-won to become the king with him as his right-hand man, but this soon turns into hatred when Soo-won betrays them. Hak even attempted to kill Soo-won the moment they were reunited face-to-face at the Water Tribe village and stopped only because Yona told him to. In combat, Hak uses a Hsu Quandao as his main weapon.

Soo-won (スウォン, Suwon)

Voiced by: Yūsuke Kobayashi, Nozomi Yamamoto (young) (Japanese), Micah Solusod (English)^[2]

He is Yona's cousin as well as her first love, a pretty boy with golden hair. In his first appearance, he was kind, cheerful, and somewhat a klutz. After Yona's mother died, he was the one who encouraged her and promised to be by her side in her mother's place, which made Yona fall in love with him. He was also Hak's best friend, close enough for Soo-Won to tell Hak to call him by his first name. Soo-won's father supposedly died due to an accident, but Soo-Won reveals that Yona's father was the one who killed him, leading Soo-Won to conspire with the Fire Tribe to kill Yona's father in cold blood and take over the throne. With King Il killed and Yona gone missing with Hak, Soo-won is crowned the new king. When informed about the news about Yona and Hak's supposed "death" by the son of the general of the fire tribe, Soo-won becomes depressed and shocked. When around others, Soo-Won maintains his outward persona, purposely making himself look clumsy to hide his true intelligence. Even though he hates King Il and declared he will dispose of anyone who gets in his way, Soo-Won was shown to genuinely care for both Yona and Hak, and he still does even after his betrayal. He hides the fact that Yona is still alive from his followers and even states that she is someone who he has difficulty forgetting.

Yun (ユン, Yun)

Voiced by: Junko Minagawa (Japanese), Clifford Chapin (English)^[2]

He is an orphan boy who was taken by the monk, Ik-Soo, as an apprentice, when he was a child. Because of his pretty and cute face and expertise at cooking and making herbs, he is often mistaken for or teased to be a girl. He calls himself "a handsome boy". He was the one who found Yona and Hak when they fell from the cliff after the ambush led by Tae-Jun. He initially disliked Yona for being a princess who is ignorant of what happened at her own kingdom, but after witnessing Yona's bravery, he took back his earlier statement about hating her and apologized, even calling her by her first name. His hatred for nobles originated from Ik-Soo's past who had been banished from the kingdom by Soo-Won's father because monks are seen as a threat. He always dreamed to go on a journey, but never did so before out of concern for Ik-Soo whom he deemed unable to do anything properly without him around. After a heart-to-heart talk with Ik-Soo and reminiscing his past, Yun relented to Ik-Soo's suggestion and left with Yona and Hak.

Ki-Ja (キジャ, Kija)

Voiced by: Masakazu Morita, Haruka Chisuga (young) (Japanese), Ian Sinclair (English)^[2]

He is the descendant of the White Dragon and the inheritor of White Dragon's claw. He appears to be a charming young man. Ki-Ja spent most of his life isolated in his village, away from the outside world and respected mostly like a God of the village, making him freaked out when he first stepped into forest and camp, developing fear for insects in the process. This also makes him quite gullible since he is oblivious of the outside world and only gained knowledge from the members of his clan. Out of all the four dragons, Ki-Ja is the most loyal to Yona, agreeing to follow her without a second thought since he grew up hearing the tale of Hiryuu and he strongly upholds his duty as the White Dragon. He has a rivalry with Hak since the first time they met, when Ki-Ja gave Hak money and ordered him to go home since he thought Hak was too weak to protect Yona, which angered Hak, who nicknamed Ki-Ja "white snake" as a payback. Both initially were not on good terms with each other, often arguing over who can protect Yona better, which worsened when Ki-Ja started to harbor a crush on Yona, making him jealous of Hak. However, both eventually developed respect and trust for each other through their concern for their master's well-being.

Shin-Ah (シンア, Shin'a)

Voiced by: Nobuhiko Okamoto, Sanae Kobayashi (young) (Japanese), Eric Vale (English)^[2]

He is the descendant and the inheritor of the Blue Dragon's eyes, a handsome man. When Shin-Ah was born, his mother killed herself out of fear of raising the child with the Blue Dragon's cursed eyes since the villagers believe that those who look the dragon in the eyes will turn into stone. Feared by the villagers due to the rumor of his eyes, Shin-Ah had a lonely childhood and longing for friends. Since his mother died, Shin-Ah was then raised by the previous Blue Dragon, Ao, who taught him swordsmanship and his duty to protect the village. One night, after Ao's death, Shin-Ah used his eyes' power to protect his village from soldiers of Earth Tribe, unintentionally killing all of them. This forced the entire clan to move and stay hidden from civilization. When Yona got lost in the cave, he was the one who saved her from being taken to the underground room and eventually he joins her. He had no name and was only referred as the Blue Dragon, until Yona gave him his name. Shin-Ah's dragon eyes are able to disrupt the nerves of anyone whom he glares at until it kills them. After using these eyes, however, Shin-Ah's body will be paralyzed, rendering him unable to move for a while. To prevent himself from making eye contact, he always covering his face with mask. Once, his face is shown, revealing him to be, as said by Yona, "beautiful like a moon". Shin-Ah is mostly seen accompanied by his pet squirrel that he named after the previous Blue Dragon, Ao.

Jae-Ha (ジェハ, Jeha)

Voiced by: Junichi Suwabe (Japanese), Joel McDonald (English)

He is the descendant and inheritor of the Green Dragon's right leg, a charming young man. Jae-Ha was unwilling to fulfill his duty because he felt bound to it. Due to his dragon ability to jump high, Jae-Ha's legs were chained, but he eventually escaped from the village and joined a pirate crew. Jae-Ha is laid back and a womanizer, flirting with any woman who is charmed by him. When he first met Yona, he quickly dismisses his supposed duty as the Green Dragon and declined Yona's invitation to join her since he thought that the strong feeling of wanting to be by her side is due to the dragon blood within him, not his own. However, he is soon intrigued by Yona's spirit and determination, which lead to his decision to leave his pirate crew and join Yona on her journey. He is aware of Hak's feelings towards Yona and likes to tease and point out the fact to him, much to Hak's annoyance. Jae-Ha's dragon leg allows Jae-Ha to jump higher than any normal human can, which Jae-Ha use to his advantage when observing the perimeter from above. However, his dragon leg is useless when Jae-Ha is under water. In battle, Jae-Ha uses daggers as his main weapons, which he hides beneath his clothes.

Zeno (ゼノ, Zeno)

Voiced by: Hiro Shimono

He is the Yellow Dragon. Zeno was a wanderer who first met Yona and her group when he felt the smell of Yun's cooking. Yona then invited him for lunch, which he happily accepts. Jae-Ha, Ki-Ja, and Shin-Ah sensed at this time that Zeno was the Yellow Dragon, something that Zeno confirmed. Despite supposedly being the Yellow Dragon, Zeno admits that unlike the other three dragons, he didn't sense anything special when he first saw Yona and at first he never showed any special abilities like other dragons. This brought his identity as the real Yellow Dragon into question even though the other three dragons sense him as the Yellow Dragon. Zeno is cheerful and upbeat, usually enlightening the mood when it seems depressive and mostly seen smiling. Being the weakest dragon and the second weakest person in the group, Zeno usually provides support. Seemingly stupid on the outside, Zeno is actually the most observant of the group, quickly noticing changes or anything unusual. It's revealed that Zeno is actually from the first generation Four Dragons that served King Hiryuu and has been living for hundreds of years since obtaining the dragon blood. He used to have a village like the other dragons does, but it's eventually cease to exist since Zeno's power forced him to move from place to place. Zeno's dragon power is immortality, his body will continue to regenerating no matter how many times he is attacked even if his head was cut off from his body. This power can only be used when Zeno is gravely injured. When he uses this power, his dragon scales will appear throughout his body.

Media

Manga

Akatsuki no Yona was launched in the 17th issue of shoujo manga magazine Hana to Yume in August 2009.^[3] The series has been collected into 17 bound volumes.

Anime

A 24-episode anime television series adaptation produced by Pierrot aired between October 7, 2014 and March 24, 2015 on AT-X. Funimation has licensed the anime series for streaming and home video rights in North America. Beginning on March 17, 2015, Funimation streamed their dubbed version of the anime, starting with episode 13. The first opening theme is an instrumental song by Kunihiko Ryo, called "Akatsuki no Yona" (暁のヨナ, lit. meaning Yona of the Dawn). The first ending theme is Yoru (夜, lit. meaning Night) by Vistlip. The second opening theme is "Akatsuki no Hana", by Cyntia.^[4] The second ending theme is "Akatsuki", by Akiko Shikata.^[5]

References

External links

• Official Hana to Yume Akatsuki no Yona manga site (Japanese)
• Official Akatsuki no Yona anime site (Japanese)
• Akatsuki no Yona (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia