Anime Review: Akatsuki no Yona

Akatsuki no Yona ("Yona of the Dawn") - 24 episodes

Yona is a spoiled and naive princess of Kouka Kingdom but her world is shattered when her father dies and she runs for her life. She goes on a quest for the dragon warriors in order to protect the people she loves.

The manga ruined the anime for me. Don't get me wrong. I've said this a million times and I'll say it again; the problem for me is that the anime lost its magic when you already know the story. Nothing beats watching the story unfolds for the very first time. Still, it was good to know that the adaptation is faithful to the original story. If you haven't read the manga, don't worry you haven't missed anything crucial. The only difference that I can remember is the first episode. It's not quite I remember it. I'm not going to discuss the storyline. You can read my review of the manga here. But I really enjoyed watching the fights and my favorite heart-stopping scenes from the manga. I was also hoping that the anime will cover beyond the chapters that I've already read. I'm undecided if I should continue reading the manga or to just wait for the second season. There's no official news if there'll be one, but I have a feeling that there'll be! 

Reliving Akatsuki no Yona in a TV format brought new realizations. I just realized now that the shield and sword are most probably Hak and Suwon. The sword and shield thingy just didn't make a mark on me in the manga. My hunch is that Suwon is really a good guy is getting stronger. 

Ever since I've started reading novels again, I've discovered the terms: 'special snowflake' and Mary Sue and in this case it's the dragon blood to blame. The harem members are confused with being drawn to her and they blame it on the blood connection. I kept referring to the foursome before as guardians but they aren't. Instead of the usual priestess searching for the guardians, it's a princess searching for the dragon warriors. I don't remember the yellow dragon having the awakening in the manga. I wonder why? Hmm..could he be a traitor or something? (Oh my god! I just read a spoiler for the reason of the non-awakening...Argh!) Also for some reason, Yun's feather in the anime is so distracting! It never bothered me in the manga before.

I was also expecting that they'll tweak the lend-me-your powers-for-a-very-vague-quest. It is still the same passiveness if she'll take over the kingdom. Well, maybe that was indeed how it's going to play out and it will eventually lead to an all-out war in the future.

I love the songs but the opening songs struck me the most. It's not common that we get an opening song that is purely instrumental and I like how it sets the mood and the video shows a story. Then the second opening suddenly surprised us with a very modern song which is a complete opposite of the first. Well-played!

Now that Yona of the Dawn has ended, we wait for another red-haired heroine, Snow White. What's next, Dawn of Arcana? (I still haven't completed Arcana. Is this a confirmed reverse harem?)

Updated review on Top 10. 1/24/2020:

I always dubbed Saiunkoku Monogatari as the successor of Fushigi Yugi until along came Akatsuki no Yona because of her quest for the warriors and the ancient oriental setting sans the isekai. But it is a worthy anime on its own. We have a strong heroine, engaging storyline, dreamy antagonist and loveable characters. It's hard to choose a favorite character, I love 'em all. My whole being is screaming for season two.  I sometimes wish I will wake up to the news of the second season. But at this point, my positivity for a sequel is waning and now my NEED to read the manga again is piquing. I am so confused about which to read first now but this definitely on my priority list. 

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