Yona of the Dawn

Yona of the Dawn
Cover of the first volume, featuring the main protagonist, Yona
暁のヨナ (Akatsuki no Yona)
Genre	Action, Fantasy, Romance, Adventure, Reverse Harem
Manga
Written by	Mizuho Kusanagi
Published by	Hakusensha
English publisher	NA: Viz Media
Magazine	Hana to Yume
Demographic	Shōjo
Original run	August 4, 2009 – present
Volumes	23
Anime television series
Directed by	Kazuhiro Yoneda
Written by	Shinichi Inotsume
Music by	Ryo Kunihiko
Studio	Pierrot
Licensed by	NA: Funimation
Original network	AT-X, Tokyo MX, SUN, TVA, RKK, BS11
Original run	October 7, 2014 – March 24, 2015
Episodes	24
Original video animation
Akatsuki no Yona: Sono Se niwa
Directed by	Kazuhiro Yoneda
Written by	Shinichi Inotsume
Music by	Ryo Kunihiko
Studio	Pierrot
Released	September 18, 2015
Original animation DVD
Directed by	Kazuhiro Yoneda
Written by	Shinichi Inotsume
Music by	Ryo Kunihiko
Studio	Pierrot
Released	August 19, 2016 – December 20, 2016
Episodes	2

Yona of the Dawn (Japanese: 暁のヨナ, Hepburn: Akatsuki no Yona) 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 twenty 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.

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 pacifistic 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)

She is the title character and the main protagonist of the series. Yona is the sole princess of Kingdom of Kouka. Her mother was killed by insurgents 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 dependent, spoiled and, naive. However, after her father's death and Soo-won'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 astoundingly hesitant to kill, she eventually overcame this hesitation during the battle against Kum-ji. She is said to be the reincarnation of Hiryuu, the first king of the Kingdom of Kouka, who also had red hair. Being the reincarnation of Hiryuu, the four legendary dragons's blood will react the moment they lay their eyes upon her and they will hear the voices of the original four dragons' oath to protect Hiryuu. Yona travels around the country to learn about the outside world as well as protect her country and her people in secret. Although Yona cannot forgive Soo-won, some part of her still cares about him and she still keeps the hairpin he gave her. Over time though, she seems to have developed feelings for Hak, which she fully realizes by chapter 110, but she is too embarrassed to tell Hak for fear he doesn't return them and would tease her for it. 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)

He is Yona's childhood best friend and bodyguard, as well as the former general of the Wind Tribe. He is known as the "Thunder Beast" for his astounding lightning-like fighting skills, 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. As an orphan he was adopted by the previous Wind Tribe general, Son Mundok, as his grandson.

Hak is usually calm and nonchalant, occasionally teasing Yona, although he actually cares deeply for her and vows to protect her at all costs. He was a good friend of Soo-won before his betrayal, and seems to have loved Yona from a young age. However, knowing that Yona had feelings for Soo-won, Hak has been suppressing his own feelings in favor of Yona and Soo-won living happily together. He vowed to be Soo-won's right-hand man if Soo-won were to marry Yona and become king. Hak is shown to be extremely protective of and even jealous when others get too close to Yona. In combat, Hak uses a Hsu Quandao as his main weapon.

Yun (ユン)

Voiced by: Junko Minagawa (Japanese); Clifford Chapin (English)

He is an orphan boy who was taken by the monk, Ik-Soo, as an apprentice, when he was a child. Because of his cute face and expertise at cooking and making herbs, he is often mistaken for or teased to be a girl. He found Yona and Hak when they fell from the cliff after the ambush led by Tae-Jun. He initially disliked Yona for being an ignorant princess, but after witnessing Yona's bravery, he apologized. His hatred for nobles originated from the fact that Ik-Soo was banished from the kingdom by Soo-Won's father. He always dreamed of going on a journey, but never did so before out of concern for Ik-Soo. Yun now travels with Yona and Hak.

Soo-won (スウォン, Suwon)

Voiced by: Yūsuke Kobayashi, Nozomi Yamamoto (young) (Japanese); Micah Solusod (English)

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. When around others, Soo-Won maintains his outward personality purposely making himself look clumsy to hide his true intelligence. After Yona's mother died, Soo-won was the one who encouraged Yona and promised to be by her side in her mother's place. He was also Hak's best friend. Soo-won's father was killed by Yona's father, King Il (although publicly he supposedly died due to an accident). This leads Soo-Won to conspire with the Fire Tribe, kill Yona's father, and take over the throne. With King Il dead and Yona missing with Hak, Soo-won is crowned the new king. Even though he hates King Il and declared he will dispose of anyone who gets in his way, Soo-Won genuinely cares for both Yona and Hak. He hides the fact that Yona is still alive from his followers with the fire tribe spreading rumors that Hak murdered King Il and kidnapped Yona.

Dragon Warriors

Kija (キジャ)

Voiced by: Masakazu Morita, Haruka Chisuga (young) (Japanese); Ian Sinclair (English)

He is the descendant of the White Dragon and the inheritor of White Dragon's claw. Kija spent most of his life isolated in his hidden village, respected mostly like a god of the village. He is naive and often gullible. Out of all four dragons, Kija is the most loyal to Yona, having been raised on the tale of Hiryuu and feeling a strong duty as the White Dragon, especially after he developed feelings for Yona. He regularly bickers with Hak, who calls him "white snake". However, both eventually developed respect and trust for each other through their concern for Yona's well-being.

Shin-Ah (シンア, Shin'a)

Voiced by: Nobuhiko Okamoto, Sanae Kobayashi (young) (Japanese); Eric Vale (English)

He is the descendant and the inheritor of the Blue Dragon's eyes. When Shin-ah was born, his mother killed herself out of fear of raising the child with the Blue Dragon's cursed eyes. Feared by the villagers, who believe that those who look the dragon in the eyes will turn into stone, Shin-ah had a lonely childhood and longed for friends. Shin-ah was raised by the previous Blue Dragon, Ao, who taught him swordsmanship and his duty to protect the village until Ao died. One night, after Ao's death, Shin-ah used the power of his eyes to protect his village from approaching soldiers, unintentionally killing all of them. This forced the entire clan to move and stay hidden from civilization. He saved Yona from a malicious villager when she got lost in the caves and eventually he joined her. Shin-ah originally had no name and was only referred as the Blue Dragon, until Yona gave him his name. Shin-ah's 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 becomes paralyzed for short time. To avoid making eye contact, Shin-ah always covers his face with mask. Shin-ah is usually accompanied by his pet squirrel, Ao, named after the previous Blue Dragon. Shin-ah cares about and is loyal towards Yona as she was the person to give him a name.

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. Jae-Ha was kept prisoner in his village until he eventually escaped and joined a pirate crew. Jae-Ha tried to avoid Yona because he did not want to be constricted by his supposed duty. He initially declined Yona's invitation to join her. However, he was soon intrigued by Yona's spirit and determination, and despite his doubts about whether it is the dragon blood talking, he leaves his pirate crew and joins Yona on her journey. Jae-Ha is laid back and a womanizer. He is aware of Hak's feelings towards Yona and likes to tease him about it, much to Hak's annoyance. Jae-Ha's dragon leg allows Jae-Ha to jump incredibly high, which Jae-Ha use to his advantage when observing the perimeter from above. However, his power is useless when he is under water. In battle, Jae-Ha uses daggers as his main weapons, which he hides beneath his clothes.

Zeno (ゼノ)

Voiced by: Hiro Shimono (Japanese); Josh Grelle (English)

He is the Yellow Dragon warrior. Zeno was a wanderer who first met Yona and her group when he smelled Yun's cooking; Yona invited him for lunch, and he happily accepted. Despite supposedly being the Yellow Dragon (confirmed by Jae-Ha, Gija, and Shin-ah), Zeno admits that unlike the other three dragons, he didn't sense any 'awakening' when he first saw Yona and doesn't initially show any special abilities. Zeno is cheerful and upbeat, and is usually smiling. Seemingly stupid, 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 about two thousand years since obtaining the dragon blood. He used to have a village, but over time it eventually ceased to exist since Zeno's power forced him to move from place to place. Zeno's dragon power is immortality; his body continues to regenerate no matter how many times he is attacked even if his head is cut off from his body. However the power can only be used when Zeno is gravely injured. When he uses this power, his dragon scales appear throughout his body.

Others

Ik-su (イクス, Ikusu)

Voiced by: Junichi Kanemaru (Japanese); Jerry Jewell (English)

Ik-Soo is a clumsy High Priest of the Kouka Kingdom and was Yun’s guardian. He spends his days in isolation praying to the gods for guidance and for the happiness of the people. He reveals a prophecy to Yona that marks the start of her search for the four dragon warriors.

Lee Geun-tae (イ・グンテ, I Gunte)

Voiced by: Masaki Aizawa (Japanese); Brandon Potter (English)

Geun-Tae is the general of the Earth Tribe and the husband of Yun-ho. He serves under Soo-Won's rule after acknowledging Soo-Won's strength during the Battle Game Festival held in Chishin. As a general who fought during Emperor Joo-Nam’s era (Soo-Won's grandfather), he is a warrior dedicated to the battlefield and has been eager to fight on the front lines again. His tribe admires him, though he insists on them treating him like an ordinary citizen.

Son Mundok (ソン・ムンドク, Son Mundoku)

Voiced by: Katsuhiko Sasaki (Japanese); Kent Williams (English)

He is the former General and leader of the Wind Tribe. He is the adoptive grandfather of Hak. Before his retirement, he was known as a general whose strength was on compared to with General Yu-Hon’s. Despite his strict behaviour and appearance, Mundok cares for everyone who lives within the Wind Tribe and the royal family, whom he showed deep loyalty to. He has a kind heart and adpoted two orphans as his grandchildren: Hak and Tae-Yean.

Kan Tae-Jun (カン・テジュン, Kan Tejun)

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese); Christopher Bevins (English)

Tae-Jun is the second son of the Fire Tribe General Kan Soo-Jin. He was determined to make Yona his wife in order to inherit the throne of the Kouka Kingdom, though it's revealed that he has genuine feelings for Yona. Because of Hak intervening in his brash attempts to court Yona, he has a vendetta against Hak. During his pursuit of Yona and Hak, he inadvertently caused them to fall from cliff, making Tae-Jun to believe that he had killed Yona. This left Tae-Jun heavily depressed and unresponsive to others until he was reunited with Yona at one of Fire Tribe's villages when his brother assigned him to capture the bandits (Yona and her group). Once reuniting with Yona, Tae-Jun fully repented his actions and determined to change the lives of Fire Tribe people, earning him respect from his subordinates.

Media

Manga

See also: List of Yona of the Dawn volumes

Mizuho Kusanagi launched the series in Hakusensha's Hana to Yume manga magazine on August 4, 2009. The series has been collected into 20 bound volumes. On October 9, 2015, North American manga publisher Viz Media announced at their New York Comic Con panel that they have licensed the manga and will begin releasing it in summer 2016. The series went on hiatus starting with 2016's eleventh issue, on April 25, 2016, due to the earthquakes in Kumamoto, where Kusanagi lives. It resumed in the twelfth issue on May 20, 2016.

Anime

See also: List of Yona of the Dawn episodes

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 while the first half of the season will be released at a later date. 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. The second ending theme is "Akatsuki", by Akiko Shikata. Two original animation DVDs will be bundled with the manga's 21st and 22nd limited edition volumes which will adapt the Zeno Arc. The first OAD will be released on August 19, 2016, and the second OAD will be released on December 20, 2016.

See also

• The Heroic Legend of Arslan, a long-running manga series with a similar premise

External links

• Official Hana to Yume Yona of the Dawn manga site Template:Ja icon
• Official Yona of the Dawn anime site Template:Ja icon
• Yona of the Dawn (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Yona of the Dawn at IMDb