Take A Pick Tuesday: Yona of The Dawn

Take A Pick Tuesday: Yona Of The Dawn

 

Everyone was so excited for this show I was excited and yet was delayed in watching it nonetheless. Set in a world that would remind people of familiar story influences such as The Romance of The Seven Kingdoms though with its own built mythology and a fascinating structure that is unique on its own. All the while Yona Of The Dawn embraces the feel of the traditional adventure story and that’s not a bad thing, it’s something to build on.

 

      Yona is the princess of the Kouka Kingdom, daughter to a king who chooses peace over war and despises violence, her father favors kindness over viciousness to secure his kingdom which inspires some and concerns other, including those closest to him. Many people speak on the other kingdoms gaining strength from this way of governing, which later shows that King il had even given away land to avoid war.  These mix results spill on to the four clans as well, (five clans including the sky clan) who are pillars to which the king stands on, his army and his strength. The other clans are wind, water, fire and earth.

 

       Some of the greatest warriors are bred from these clans but the strongest of all is the general of the wind tribe and protector of Yona, nicknamed The Thunder Beast Hak. Yona doesn’t necessarily see the complexity of how the kingdom is run, she’s only on the verge of turning sixteen with love on her mind, unaware of what the transition into adulthood would mean, even talks of marriage do not seem far behind.  It’s to Hak most of all that she conveys these feelings, showing where her mind is, her opinions of her father and of the things she is aware and unaware of.  The relationship between Hak and Yona is on the complex side that goes beyond protector and protected.

 

     The two are shown as childhood friends which includes a third friend Soo Won, who’s to attend her birthday.  The three were always inseparable but Yona had always been in love with him, it seemed a mutual thing as observed by Hak, in fact it seemed a no brainer that the two would get married except for the fact that King il refuses.  That starts a whirlwind when things turn somber because Yona can’t dwell on it long, despite having time to blame her father and criticize him as king, it all changes when she discovers his dead body and Soo Won standing over him.

 

       With Hak and others putting their life on the line, they manage to get Yona out of the palace in the midst of this rebellious act. Something that would start Yona’s journey within and without.  She’s scarred with the sight of her father’s body and the betrayal from the one she loved.  Hunted and saved, barely making it several times Yona brims with uncertainty, even knowing who’s responsible she seems to still struggle with actually blaming him.  Though she soon burns with the urge to protect Hak who she sees nearly die for her several times so she could live and is filled with the desire to set things right, except what is right?

"We'll go anywhere we have to, as long as it means you'll live."-Hak

 

        Having Yona face the greatest questions she’s ever had in her life she must ask one that tears her in two which splits the identity. How can she ignore her father’s wish of choosing above violence but desire to learn how to use weapons, protect and thereby killing in order to do so. It’s a dilemma she carries as she takes up learning how to use bow and arrow and soon becomes aware of a destiny she may have to follow to accomplish her journey, find the people with dragon’s blood that could protect or aid her, just as the legend was which founded their kingdom.

 

The legend goes something like this, the red dragon comes down from heaven and takes human form building the kingdom and getting swept into human affairs which also meant being susceptible to their dangers.  When in danger the other dragons come to protect him with the intent of taking him back to heaven where he belongs except the red dragon does not want to return. So to ensure his safety they give their blood to a chosen, one for each dragon in order to protect him for the rest of his now mortal life.

 

     Yona must search out the most recent incarnations of these dragons as the legends seem to point to her being the reincarnation of the red dragon.  Will they agree to help or even believe in the powers each one has, for each it is different some except their destiny whole heartily having waited like the ones before them. Others have been cast out, believed to be cursed, others run from this destiny wanting nothing more than freedom from it. Will they really be able to help Yona after all?

 

      Very early in the show Yona realizes she’s been shielded from histories and what was really happening in her kingdom. Now that the kingdom is in someone else’s hands she must see the kingdom for what it is and what it isn’t and must decide what it needs to be. What Yona found are complexities that may actually hurt her emotionally, even an understandable stance her father had made shows the ripples it had caused and the people it effected. This makes an interesting contrast on how other characters feel about the king even those that follow her. Some even admit to disliking the king themselves before meeting Yona.  Others who normally would have seen it as foolish find the ideal worth believing in, not just for what it is but for the man who believed in it.

 

      Meanwhile it shows the perspective of the one who snatched the throne, Soo Won and how he chooses to restore the kingdom to its former glory. His aggressive direction in which he believes riles the people yet he keeps the calm, smiling nature that Yona had fallen in love with. Even with his generals doubting him he accomplishes multiple things at once, for example restoring the income in the earth clan, giving them a resource of value they didn’t know they had, something to trade with other kingdoms and through an exhibition reawakening the fighting spirit in them and the belief of their general.

 

   After this peak into what’s happening in the kingdom we return to Yona’s trying to find all the four dragons. I have this theory about the dragons that each love Yona but in the sense that they’re drawn to her, destined but also because she inspires the concept of love much like her father did. If Sun Won has worked toward things to strengthen the kingdom and show himself a worthy king, the same argument can actually be said about Yona.

 

      Since her journey she’s learned every aspect of living both as a person and someone in the kingdom, understanding that it goes deeper than she had ever perceived. Everything from having to face the animal you slay in order to eat, to addressing the people that are suffering such as the human trafficking arc, what it means to be afraid, what it means to be a person that has no voice to speak on their suffering. This has driven her to protect the kingdom in the way maybe only she could. Especially when the obvious question is, how will she go about taking the throne, how will she choose to rule is finally brought before her?

 

     One of the greatest achievements of the show however is how it will resolve, spoiler alert she sees Soo Won again, though we all knew it would happen not quite the way it does. It isn’t so much about her questioned resolve to kill him that may make you unsure of what will happen, it’s Sun Won given a perfect opportunity, he seems to have no motivation to end the life of his competition for the throne. If it’s love even if he knows the wrath he brought, what could he do for a kingdom he may not hold for long, if he has chosen not to defend against the true heir?

 

      Some of the best shows of the previous year and this year have left us with a major cliffhanger. It’s easier to know going in that this show is one of these though most anime fans are used to some unanswered questions that the manga can give us answers to. Making us want more is a sign of a great show and of course another season could be in the cards, there’s no way to know but to wait.  Until then what we have is a feast of crisp animation, in depth storylines, while embracing humor and other minor aspects we love in some shows, making them the show’s own unique trademark.