Yona of the Dawn is my favorite manga and one of the easiest 10s Ive ever given out. Im glad I read the manga since the anime was only the tip of the iceberg. It barely scratches the surface of what Yona of the Dawn has to offer. This review shouldnt come as a surprise to anyone since I am the Yona advocate of the Shoujo Indoctrination Club and my Yona pfps will have to be pried out of my cold dead hands. Yona is a sheltered princess from the Kingdom of Kouka who wants for nothing except for the love of her cousin SuWon who shes been forbidden from marrying. However on the night of her 16th birthday Yona witnesses SuWon murdering her father. She flees alongside her faithful bodyguard Hak and is forced to face the results of her fathers decisions as king. However she also decides to take action and find Koukas four Dragon Warriors of legend and reclaim her kingdom. Its interesting to think back to the beginnings of Yona of the Dawn. King Ils assassination is just a small piece of the story. The story changes as the characters and the world around them change. As SuWon and Yona notice the impending threat of neighboring countries Yona and her companions gain notoriety and more information about Koukas past comes to light the story expands. Its not just about Yona Hak and SuWon anymore even if theyre in the center of it its about all of Kouka. I cant talk about Yona of the Dawn without discussing the characters which were in my opinion the strongest point of the manga. Yona herself is my favorite character in all of animanga and for good reason. She begins the story as someone very sheltered naive and spoiled. All she worries about are very small things in the grand scheme of things: her hair whether or not SuWon likes her back Hak teasing her... ect. She has no idea what the people of her country are going through. However after the tragic events that transpire Yonas eyes open. She grapples with the realization that everything she thought she knew is wrong. She doesnt know how she feels about SuWon anymore and her fathers antiviolence policies arent as ideal as she had imagined. She really strives to grow and change. She doesnt allow herself to hide from SuWon for the rest of her life and chooses to better her kingdom. Yona grows from a foolish girl into a leader and protector worth admiring. Hak Yonas bodyguard is known mostly for his good looks inhuman fighting skills and sarcastic personality. However I feel like his most defining trait is his loyalty. Hes the type of person who bases his decisions soley on the people he cares about. Trust is of the utmost importance to him. He is loyal to King Il and hes loyal to Yona striving to keep her safe as shes the only thing he has left from his previous life. However SuWons betrayal cut him to the core and he cant understand how the person who was once his best friend could betray him. SuWon is a very complicated person. The more I learn about him the more muddled my feelings become. SuWon is very authentic and friendly. When I first watched the anime I couldnt fathom this person committing murder. I understand his motives and I feel like he is superior to Yonas late father as a ruler yet I dont agree with all of his actions or motives. I feel like his kindness and personality are genuine and yet at the same time there feels like theres something a bit off thats almost impossible to see. He seems like such a warmhearted airhead yet he is a master of manipulation. He loves everyone yet holds no one close to his heart. Hes enigmatic and difficult to understand. As for our other leads we have Yun and the four Dragon Warriors. Yun is a prettyboy genius a 15year old boy rescued by a seer and highly skilled in medicine and homemaking. Theres a running joke that hes the other characters mother. Hes a pacifist and yet hes willing to put himself in harms way for the sake of those he cares about. KiJa is the White Dragon. He was sheltered in his village and raised with the idea that his destiny to serve the Crimson Dragon King is the highest thing he can achieve. Hes a bit overprotective of Yona and a bit pompus but hes still very innocent and grows up a lot over the course of the story losing his overbearing attitude. Hes well meaning if a bit dense. SinAh the Blue Dragon didnt have the same fortunate upbringing as KiJa. As a result he struggles with socialization barely speaks and has a strong desire to hide his power and avoid using it as much as possible. In the end its his own demons that hold him back and over time he opens up a bit more and is able to accept himself. Hes my son and I love him. Also his pet squirrel Ao is an icon. The third dragon is the Green Dragon JaeHa. The first word that comes to mind when I think of him is deranged. He is the most freespirited of the bunch whose traumatic past has caused a hatred for his supposed destiny. He has the most bizarre personality out of all of them since hes a bit masochistic the team pervert as well as the one who tries to lighten the mood. As much as he likes getting reactions out of his teammates with his outlandish behavior he really is a big brother to all the other dragons. His growth was something that really stuck out to me since its so subtle from the way he matures as a person to his shortlived crush on Yona and the way his feelings for her changed. The final dragon is Zeno who may have a happy innocent carefree exterior but his life is marked with tragedy. I wont go into it for the sake of spoilers but the sadness of his story shook me to the core. Its beautiful and full of things to think about but I digress. Hes full of mysteries as he is both wise and childish. Other characters I was thoroughly impressed with include Riri and TaeJun who are both children of tribal chiefs. The development they receive is fantastic and I feel like it really cements one of the themes of Yona: Children righting the wrongs of their predecessors and surpassing their parents. Riri TaeJun and his brother Yona and even SuWon deeply illustrate that theme. Even the Dragons are working to be free of the burdens of their predecessors. The romance of the series is fantastic. The main couple is stunning and they have such strong chemistry and fall in love in such a believable way. Every romantic scene between them made me feel something. I will admit that Im not a fan of the honeylicking Hak scene. XD The comedy of the series didnt click with me a lot at first but I feel like it improves as it goes on since most of the comedy I liked was from the very chaotic interactions between Yona and her companions. Id even go so far as to say that they have my favorite dynamic in all of anime. As it goes on the comedy is reigned in and most of the comedic chapters are bonus chapters to avoid taking away from the darker more serious tone the series takes as it progresses. I am also a huge fan of the art and character designs. They are stunning. I could literally look at pictures of Yona characters all day. Yonas eyes are some of the prettiest shoujo eyes that Ive seen. I feel like I could say more but I have to cut myself off here. I was so impressed with this series. Of course it has some small flaws since it feels like its starting to lose some direction but I am officially obsessed. Its such a stunning piece of work that I could recommend to even the most dead set against shoujo with faith that they might like it. Basically read Yona.