Akatsuki no Yona - Sei Kingdom Part 1: A temporary fort DRAMA CD | Interview of the recording cast
T/N: Hi everyone! To celebrate the 100th chapter since chapter 120 of akayona (my favorite) I've decided to translate some of the interviews with the voice actors included in the drama CDs of the Sei Forts arc from 2017/2018! I'm still pretty much an amateur though, so take my translation with a grain of salt. I'll try to translate the next two interviews eventually...Enjoy!
(translation under the cut)
Chiwa Saito(Yona's voice actress) and Tomaeki Maeno(Hak's voice actor):
Q: This was your first recording for a Drama CD in a while. How was the atmosphere at the recording set?
Saito: I was happy to be able to perform the tense scenes in the fort, or the embarrassing and bittersweet exchange with Hak. There was the same teamwork as usual on the recording site and we had a lot of fun.
Maeno: It was the same atmosphere as the one when we were recording the anime. Both Yona’s group and Suwon’s side were very friendly.
Q: Tell us about a striking scene or line from “Sei Kingdom Episode – Part 1”.
Saito: In the first part, there were a lot of scenes where I call Lili’s name, so I played these parts very carefully as I wondered what kind of emotion I should put on this single word. I’ll be happy if I conveyed it well.
Q: Do you have a message for the readers?
Saito: The seriousness, excitement and charm of “Akatsuki no Yona” are superbly packed in these two episodes. I did my very best to make sure the fans of the original story enjoy it to the fullest. Please listen to it again and again and immerse yourself in the world of “Akatsuki no Yona”!
Maeno: I was happy to be able to follow the original story of Kusanagi Mizuho-sensei again with our voices and acting. Please keep supporting “Akatsuki no Yona” so we can see more of Yona and her friends’ adventures animated.
--
Junko Minagawa(Yun's voice actress) and Masakazu Morita(Ki-ja's voice actor):
Q : How was your first recording for «Akatsuki no Yona» in a while ?
Morita: As always it was the same “Akatsuki no Yona”. I never get tired of this unchanging “harmony” we have.
Minagawa: This is a wonderful place where it feels like no time has passed at all. “Akatsuki no Yona” is really loved by the cast, so I’m always happy and having fun with it.
Q : Do you have a striking scene is mind?
Morita: I was impressed by Ki-ja and the others who somehow were able to construct the fort completely. Please pay attention to Kija’s “What?!” line!
Minagawa: There were many scenes with the “Dark Dragon and the Happy Hungry Bunch” where I felt like there was a bond and trust that went beyond family. Even though there were tense scenes, the comical and happy “reunion” made me laugh out loud!
Q: Do you have a message for the readers?
Morita: This time the story revolved around the pattern of everyone’s heart. I’ll be happy if you could feel these complex "heartbeats".
Minagawa: Hi everyone it's been a while! I was happy to be able to come back in the world of Yona again. I hope you enjoyed it as much as me~ Please keep supporting us in the future as well.
--
Nobuhiko Okamoto(Shin-ah and Hen-dae's voice actor):
Q: This time you acted as both Shin-ah and Hen-dae. How was it to act as two characters at the same time?
Okamoto: I was nervous since the timing of Shin-ah and Hen-dae’s lines were a bit close at times. This time Hen-dae had more lines than Shin-ah, and the scene where he was deeply moved after seeing Hak again was very impactful.
Q : What’s your favorite part of "Sei Kingdom Episode – Part 1"?
Okamoto: Everything!- is what I want to say, but if I have to choose one, I’d say it’s finding out how the new characters will interact with the usual members.
Q: Do you have a message for the readers?
Okamoto: Thank you very much for still rooting for us even after the anime ended. Please keep supporting us in the future too!
--
Yuusuke Kobayashi(Soo-won's voice actor) and Tomoaki Maeno:
Q : How was your first recording for «Akatsuki no Yona» in a while ?
Kobayashi: First of all, I was relieved to have so many allies (laugh). Since there are always far more people in Yona’s group than in mine. That being said, during the breaks the atmosphere was as usual, and I felt nostalgic as I went about the recording.
Q : This time many generals from Kouka Kingdom makes an appearance, how was it to interact with them ?
Kobayashi: You could say I felt at ease! In particular, I’ve always enjoyed listening to the interactions between Joo-doh and Geun-tae, but this time Soo-won is also slightly toyed with by Geun-tae so I was like "Aah, so that’s how general Joo-doh always feel." (laugh)
Q : In « Sei Kingdom episode - part 1 », there is a scene where Hak and Soo-won confront each other through a wall, how did you feel when you performed this scene?
Maeno: I was very conscious of the « pauses ». Since it’s an important scene, after I noticed Soo-won, I naturally gripped my hand very tightly.
Kobayashi: I was rather troubled by that scene. I didn’t want to express too much agitation, but I didn’t want the feeling of tension to be missing either...I went through a lot of trial and error to find a way to get in between the two. I’m glad I was able to get the feel of it.
Q : Do you have a message for the readers?
Kobayashi: It’s been 2 years and a half that the anime ended and I’m happy I could perform as Soo-won again. Moreover, as it covers approximatively 2 volumes, the drama CD is really copious! Please let yourself be totally immersed in the world of Yona again.
--
Kusanagi's special comment:
I felt like I was going to faint over the gorgeous cast. I was especially happy that the 3 groups of Yona-Hak, Hak-Suwon, and Hak-Mundok, were able to perform together.
Za Hana to Yume Fantasy 2025 : Akatsuki no Yona / Shishidou Akari X Kusanagi Mizuho Q&A
Everything the Vtuber Shishidou Akari is curious about in Akatsuki no Yona!
The story is in the middle of its final arc! Akatsuki no Yona keeps getting more and more exciting. Shishidou Akari, an avid Akatsuki no Yona reader who is part of the group of virtual streamers “Nijisanji”, is now asking all she’s curious about in the story! What are the scenes that left an impact on Kusanagi-sensei? What are her tricks when she feels blocked with her work…?! A must-read for all fans ☆ Plus, Shishidou Akari also shares with us her favorite parts and scenes in Akatsuki no Yona ♪
The story of the fan Shishidou Akari! The best points of Akatsuki no Yona.
The meeting with Akatsuki no Yona:
Shishidou: I learned about Akatsuki no Yona from my recommendations on an anime streaming site. At first I wasn’t sure if it was a battle anime, but I thought I would give the first episode a try. So I thought, but before I realized I was at the final episode, I had bought all the manga volumes and it had already become my favorite series! It’s only been a couple of years so I’m still a novice, but I’m so happy I got to know such a great story!!
The best points of Akatsuki no Yona:
Shishidou: The characters! The story! The art! Everything is the best! My favorite characters are Yona, Hak and Yoon. I love Yona’s continuous growth, how Hak is so unwavering and reassuring, and how Yoon is always so reliable despite being cute, but I think everyone is amazing and that every character has their own individual charm! There are 45 volumes now, and I keep wondering how can such a long series be so thoroughly enjoyable?! Everytime I add a volume to my pile, my heart swings between impatiently waiting for what will happen next and really not wanting it to end…! I’m really looking forward to this campaign as well!
My favorite scenes in Akatsuki no Yona:
Shishidou: This is at the very beginning, but I love the scene when Yona is captured by Soo-won and his followers and Hak rescues her. (Yona has other allies but,) watching Hak fight countless enemies and protect Yona to cling to life as her only ally really shoots me right in the heart. I have so many scenes I love that I could never write about all of them here, but I’m very happy that in a story full of battles and about reuniting new friends, there are also regular scenes between Hak and Yona that get me so many butterflies in my stomach. I think it’s amazing that both women and men can enjoy it! I will keep watching over Yona and Hak!
Shishidou Akari x Kusanagi Mizuho
Q&A about everything Shishidou Akari wants to know!
Kusanagi-sensei replied to the 9 questions Shishidou-san asked her! Now sharing it in the form of a conversation.
Shishidou: My favorite character is Hak, but do you have favorites and characters you particularly like too? I wonder if creating characters you love can become an obstacle for the manga…? Is there anything like this for you?
Kusanagi: I don’t have any favorite characters, but I really like to draw characters that don’t often appear in the story like Tae-woo and Hen-dae, or Algira&co. When it comes to Yona’s group and Soo-won, it’s more like I’m fighting alongside them. The characters I love in other stories are a different thing from my own characters.
Shishidou: Akatsuki no Yona has been adored for many years, but what are the scenes that left an impression on you in particular?
Kusanagi: If we go back several years in the past, chapter 91 “He was a very precious friend”, chapter 120 “Reach” and chapter 152 “I care about many things” come to mind.
In the present, I’d say chapter 197 “Shaky handwriting” from Yonhi’s memoirs arc. It’s the episode where Il addresses a letter to the departed Yonhi. I don’t often have the occasion to portray the emotions of characters like him so I’m glad I could draw it.
Shishidou: Is there any scene that makes you like “Ah! This one has a deeper meaning, you know!”? If so, please tell us which ones!
Kusanagi: I’m not sure if this counts, but when Zeno transformed into a dragon in chapter 259, he swept Hak and Yona away in the direction of Hiryuu’s coffin with his dragon’s hand. He actually did this on purpose so they wouldn’t be crushed by the debris of the collapsing palace. (Zeno knew that no debris would fall on the coffin because of the Dragon Gods’ protection.)
Shishidou: If you could change into any of your characters, which one would you like to be? I’d want to be Jae-ha so I could fly!
Kusanagi: I feel this! I’d like to be Jaeha too so I could jump around anywhere like in parkour. I’d like to have a healthy body with good motor skills.
Shishidou: If you could become a citizen of any of the five tribes, which tribe would you choose?
Kusanagi: Of course, the wind tribe is the first that comes to mind. You probably can live freely and at your own leisure without any pressure from above, there. But public order has been restored in all the tribes, and they have improved in many ways, so any of them might be pretty nice now.
Shishidou: How do you get back on track when you feel blocked and can’t advance on your work?
Kusanagi: Generally the root of the block is that I’m sleep deprived, so lately I’ve been trying to stop pushing myself more than strictly needed to get some sleep. When I absolutely don’t have the time to sleep, I shake myself like “It’s bad!! It’s very bad!!” to get things done. Eating makes me sleepy so I’m also holding off eating a little in those cases.
Shishidou: In the story, the characters are wearing Chinese garments, but what would Yona and the others wear if they were living in the real world of today?
Kusanagi: I’d like to make Yona wear boyish clothes. Otherwise it’s pretty basic, but I’d give tall characters like Hak and Jae-ha a long coat with a mature look.
Shishidou: What kind of cooking is Yoon skilled at? I want to eat it.
Kusanagi: He’s good at hot pot cooking and any recipes that mix rice with various ingredients. But it’s not like he could get any fancy ingredients when he was living with Ik-soo or when he traveled, so his culinary repertoire is actually not that big.
Shishidou: What kind of person is Kye-sook…? I wonder if he’s nothing more than an advisor…? Who is he really?
Kusanagi: Since he was a central figure with Soo-won that planned out the usurpation of the throne, he probably has a lot of discretion for a simple advisor. As he said himself, he “was born with no status to speak of”. He was a commoner, joined the general troops of the sky tribe army when he was a young boy, and after being gravely injured and picked up by Yuhon, he received an education and studied the art of war together with Soo-won and Min-soo in Yu-hon’s mansion. (Min-soo’s major study was medecine)
Speaking of Soo-won’s childhood friends, there are of course Yona and Hak, but Kye-sook and Min-soo were his childhood friends as well. Since he was living in the same place as Soo-won day to day, it means that Kye-sook even spent more time by Soo-won’s side than YonaHak did. He worshiped Yu-hon and deeply despised Il, so he used every means necessary to make Soo-won the King, and he was very wary of Hak that (seemed to) threaten Soo-won’s life.
[ID: Fanart of Hak hugging Suwon tightly. They have their head in each other's crook of the neck. The lighting is yellowish with a white background and some feathers. end ID]
Thank god you're alive
(pose reference from this post https://x.com/MrsGhostStudio/status/2049681317080555833?s=20)
I don't always post my doodles here but take these yaoi of the suwondawn sketches from the past few months to follow up with my latest suhak piece <3 mostly suhak + one jaewon sweep
Suwon's character analysis: From being shown to showing
Suwon is really a character all about being watched and scrutinized, isn't he?
Of course he's not self aware he's a fictional character but his position as a King and in relation to Yona ironically put him in a position that gives him a similar awareness that if he did. Suwon is judged and analyzed by everyone, in and outside the story. He knows that when he shows himself (and appears in the story) he has to perform a certain way. He has a role to follow and perform until the end. The way he speaks, the way he stands, the way he moves...being King means controlling and being aware of all of it. The moments we see through this costume are moments where he's taken by surprise and becomes "out of character" for this role. Moments where he's literally called out by characters around him for it, making him fall in his expected role more and more. He has to behave a specific way, he has to wear specific attires, he is very aware he is the object of many gazes around him. When he performs his role perfectly he is judged but in ways he expects because it's others' roles as well. When he breaks out of this role, he is judged anyways for losing himself. No matter what Suwon does or says, others will judge him or love him and expect things from him. It is true in the narrative and outside of it.
The South Kai arc with chapter 221 and 224 has him desperatly try to stick to his role that is slipping through his fingers, he has to position himself in contrast and opposition to Yona, he has to be the King his father wanted until the very end, etc. Yet, Yona and Hak kept breaking these roles as well. Hak, in full armor from Kai, the enemy, arrives and gives the senjusou to Suwon, in full King attire at this moment. Hak enters the stage like a blast when the curtains were about to fall and turns all formalities and rules of distance and what is allowed or not to dust. He breaks the role he carried until now as the character that should hate Suwon forever and try to kill him, and saves him instead. The fact that Suwon is King then doesn't really matter, Hak did this as his former friend.
In chapter 243, Suwon wants to speak to Hak privately but is well aware that if he comes out and does that, he will be seen and judged, confirmed by the shadows in chapter 251. He is not allowed to be himself without any costume freely, hence the cloak and hood on. He is not allowed this one private moment, eyes are on him and not only Hak's that he very much expects as well. That's why Suwon's tone the whole chapter is so...ambiguous. At the beginning, he speaks matter of factly, maybe not as "Hak's King" but at least in a unpersonal way, like an anonymous messager. He tells him information. That's why he calls Yona "Princess Yona" too I think. It is Suwon trusting Hak and relying on him personally, yet he is not totally open yet, Suwon still has a role to play. The more it goes, the more the tone shifts subtlely, now calling Yona by her name, his hood falling when Hak hits the wall, and talking more personally. What he shares then is what he is resigned to do and accept given his position and role that he can't just give up on now, what is the most reasonable within the range of his actions from then on. What he conveys to Hak is that he will not break character and stop performing his role as King, the one thing changing being only how he passes it down to Yona.
However, there is one final thing that the manga makes perceptible for absolutely no one but Hak, that even the shadows can't hear and understand. Suwon's last word(s) to Hak is not digitally typeset like every other text inside speech bubbles, but handwritten so small it looks like muttering that we can't for sure confirm the full forms of. Since chapter 243 came out, I did try for a long time to decipher it, and many concluded it could be a "sayonara" or "arigatou", and it was also translated and typesetted in the official English translation as "Farewell".
But honestly, now I think it is something we should not and are not supposed to decipher. In my eyes, it was Suwon's attempt to have just one thing, one word that would not be scrutinized and broken down to pieces by the people that watch him with no regard to his agency. The only thing we break down is the unintelligible form of it. I'm sure that we are not wrong to think it was something along the lines of a "Farewell", but I can't help but feel like it's not right to take even that from them now. This page is also the trigger that makes Hak understands that their entire convo was in itself a performance that Suwon directed from the start and aimed at people looking at them (the shadows and the audience), and the real message that he conveys only to Hak and not the shadows is that he is giving him and Yona a chance to escape and never return, despite the fact it goes directly against what he told him clearly in their conversation. I think this is what breaks Hak's heart too then, and why Hak realizes that he indeed can't dream of walking on the same path as Suwon anymore. Because Suwon will keep performing a role that will constrain him this way and make him hurt Yona and Hak. That this is maybe the path awaiting them too. The best way is to escape from it when it's not too late. It is too late at this point for Suwon though, or so he thinks. Suwon is self-aware that he can't discard them by this point, so to me this is him trying to negociate these feelings of his (by leaving them one chance to leave) with his role and constraints as a King in this complicated, indirect way.
It's very telling afterwards how the moment from chapter 243 Hak remembers is Suwon's final word that we can't read, whereas for the shadows it is the moment he tells Hak he will make Yona the next ruler. The unreadableness of the former and the enhanced size of the text in the latter...yeah. Suwon's words removed from their full context often are enhanced like that, aren't they?
Suwon is at the same time forced and not allowed to change. He is at the intersection of clashing expectations. It is bad whether Suwon follows his role perfectly or whether he breaks out of it a little and tries something different. Suwon is cruel to Yona and Hak and should die for his actions, or Suwon is too nice and submitting to Yona and Hak (and the larger narrative). No matter what Suwon says and does, it will cause discourses after discourses from both those supporting him and those against him. It is cruel, because people around him are changing and looking him differently than before, whether it's good or bad. In chapter 242, he acts out perfectly as the determined and pragmatic King he is as always, yet now even Geuntae doesn't seem satisfied. Suwon, because of Yona's influence on the people and world around them, has also no other choice but to adapt to these changes in some ways, yet characters like the shadows that refuse any change from 10 years ago stand against it. Again, then chapter 243 to me is Suwon's way to still perform his role as expected from others by negociating with all these sides in some ways. But it's really so complicated, isn't it? And in the end, a chapter like 243 was painful and upsetting for everyone.
I read many people say that Suwon was not here enough in the castle arc and it was annoying that Keishuk was so much present instead, and I remember very well how desperate I was to see him more by then, but it makes sense too, no? After all, Suwon didn't want to be seen. By showing himself as little as possible only in the moments he knows he can perform well, he was still somewhat in control of what people saw of him. The illness made it that Suwon could just not perform more than he did. He didn't want anyone and especially not Yona and Hak to try to see him beyond the performance, yet they kept getting closer and closer, pushing Suwon to hide himself away more and more too.
Suwon knew very well that the second he came out in the open he was closely looked at, by Shin-ah of course, but Shin-ah is only the best example of this general feeling of being watched and judged I think. This is Suwon's interpretation of Shinah's gaze, and I'm sure there is part of truth in it but I think it is also heavily influenced by Suwon's own feelings. Suwon was judged and followed for isolating Yona when she learned of the illness and for imprisoning Hak, but those were things he was only /indirectly/ the cause of. Of course, Suwon didn't do anything to go against them and it was his responsibility this way, he knew and had the authority to decide different, but what I mean is it portrays very well how Suwon is aware, /feels/ the way others scrutinize him ever since he killed Il for every single negative (direct and indirect) consequences of all he does and is. He will never be free from it. People will never let go, even when Yona and Hak do. I think the wound on his shoulder or the pain of his illness he doesn't act on enough are also symbols of that. His present shoulder wound is the literal trace and scar of Shinah's gaze on him in chapter 249, and Suwon is okay with carrying it.
It's not like the story has never let us enter Suwon's mind before recently, after all the narrative doesn't strictly follow only Yona's POV, but Suwon from the beginning was still generally a character seen from the outside by others rather than followed from inside. All these iconic scenes of characters looking at him, whether it's only his back or in the eyes are very much about that. These scenes serve to show how Yona (and Hak) is the subject of the story and will always watch him and what he does, the way Suwon watched Il for 10 years. It also serves to confirm to him that they hate him and wants him to die, etc...
It is very interesting too that the majority of flashbacks we have of him (outside of the one in chapter 11 and some bits of ch1/185) are never from Suwon's POV, but from others and how they perceived Suwon and felt about him then. Hak in particular. Even the diary arc is not from his POV. It is always about the conflict between the characters' first impressions of him and other sides of him revealed to them later on. Suwon to characters and to readers alike is like a puzzle we try to resolve, picking him up piece by piece. Each POV about Suwon is important because he is seen differently by each character, they all see different parts of him and reveal new things about him in reaction.
But this is precisely where we differ from the characters individually and what makes the larger narrative not solely about Yona's subjectivity. As readers we can assemble each piece in a way characters, even Yona, cannot. Moreover, we are also shown some bits from his own POV that no one else inside the story get to see. That's why honestly...I don't see Suwon as a puzzle to piece together since a long time. Of course we don't know and maybe don't understand everything about him, but the characters' struggle to understand him is quite different from readers' position when they judge him one way or the other, in my eyes. The only way I can make sense of why the story would go out of its way to narrate things about Suwon only to us when he is a character all about being shown and seen, is that at the end of the day the larger narrative is and was never against Suwon, its scope includes him too, we are made to feel for him as well. It is only so hard with Suwon because he himself doesn't let us and has circumstances that doesn't allow him that. Akatsuki no Yona is very much about Yona's subjectivity above all, but not fully and totally either and it cares about other characters as well (whether it does it well or not is another topic), and the existence of a character like Suwon we are shown glimpses of the interiority of from the very first volumes highlights this well, I think.
Despite this, the characters' struggle didn't end. And that's where the nuance between what the larger narrative of Akatsuki no Yona tells us about him and what Suwon as a character-narrator shows and tells us is meaningful. Suwon is a fictional character that depends on a bigger narrator and author of course, but there are several layers of narration in comics art, some which embrace the mind and subjectivity of one chosen character and making them "independant", agent of what they show and tell.
When we are shown what Suwon thinks in chapter 217 or in chapter 221 for example, I don't think it was that Suwon as a character wanted to be seen, but only that he was breaking and vulnerable in a way that made these bits showable to us. The fact we see Suwon's thoughts is a representation of Suwon's emotional state. It's not something Suwon has agency over at his own level. He is not a narrator in those moments, but a character being shown.
More precisely, Suwon did try to resist the narrative in chapter 217. Inner monologues in comics and especially in shoujo manga can be represented in different ways and have different functions. In chapter 217, there is a visual contrast between the thoughts that "float" on the pages, his personal lingering feelings for hurting Yona, and the thoughts in the black boxes, that have him rationalize the situation. Generally, monologues in text boxes are said to be a more objective level of narration (I get this from the "How to draw shoujo manga" book by Shigeki Suzuki, a former editor for Dessert's magazine).
Obviously, Suwon is not objective here, but it represents his attempt to affirm his authority on what is told and narrated, his control on feelings he doesn't want to acknowledge and to get out in the open. He tries to be a narrator. The metaphor of a box that opens against his will is then perfectly fitting. There are the words typed in text boxes, and the words out of these boxes. In the very next page, the boundary between panels and text boxes is blurred thanks the magic of shoujo manga composition. The first two vertical panels could very much be text boxes on their own, and what he says in them is still him being pragmatic and rationalizing what he has to do. Yet, as we see, Hak is now in these boxes as well. It breaks the illusion of Suwon as a character-narrator here (which was already hinted at by the choice to make the bg of the text boxes so dark). He can't control his thoughts from going towards Yona and Hak, he is not showing that willingly.
What we see inside Suwon is him still performing the best he can. It's him trying to convince himself and push himself to fulfill his duties with no hesitation. It's still not all of him, there are still things that he tries desperately to hide and keep deep deep inside of discarded boxes. Inside and outside, he has to be the perfect pragmatic King his role ask, so all that is shown has to be that. He can't allow himself to be anything else, he has to shut off and erase any trace of different voices in his heart. Yona, by being a person that expresses and voices out her feelings more, brings these feelings Suwon doesn't want to show on the page, she shows them to us. Seen like that, Yona can maybe thematically be a representation of Suwon's repressed feelings.
(A bit differently but similarly, it is a similar process in chapter 221 where this time Suwon can't barely try in any effective way to narrate what he's thinking, what we see as panels and text boxes make no difference anymore, until it blows up for good when he has this flashback of Hak and Yona from chapter 11 and realizes he can't discard them. )
So, Suwon is a character that is shown to us in several ways. One, there is how he is seen from the outside, the way characters perceive what he shows to them or what is shown about him to them. This is the layer Suwon has the most control on in a way (even if not totally), as his position in the story makes him very conscious of his obligation to perform because people are watching him. He shows his full control and flexibility of his image in the ways he willingly pretends to be more naive and weaker than he really is to Geuntae, Soojin and Li Hazara for example. He plays with others' expectations and perception of him. Outside, Suwon is already full aware of how he is supposed to present himself, he already knows what is going to be shown or not for the most part. He allows himself to break out of character when he knows no one else watches him, which are the rare moments the narrative can show him when he's not performing. As the story advances however, these moments become much rarer as he is watched closely by more and more characters in his privacy.
On the other hand, there is how the higher narrative tries to show us his emotional state, his point of view and feelings. It is inherently something he as a character is very against of ever since he became King. Even then, what is shown to us at several occasions is Suwon's failure in showing us what he wants to show, instead having taken from/out of him what he doesn't want to reveal. The Crimson Illness is an interesting metaphor for it I think. It can easily be interpreted as a visible manifestation of Suwon's already existing struggles, after all. The Crimson illness makes all that is hidden visible to others. It gives it physical symptoms. Again and again, his illness and bloodline are revealed to others against his will. The illness is the crack to the performance Suwon tries to maintain as a strong King. It makes him vulnerable, forcing him to depend more on others. It breaks his role and how he wants others to see him. He wants to be seen as strong and independant and in control, but he can't control his episodes and when he is shown in a frail condition. It brings out what is inside, it makes his repressed thoughts visible to us readers as well, it's the reason why the narrative shows us his inner struggles more closely.
Suwon can only somewhat control and influence what is shown outside, which why I think he showed himself so little in the castle arc as an attempt to show himself only when he's in an "acceptable" state for it. In the end, he still pushes himself more than necessary when he has no other choice (and because he doesn't want to rely more on the people around him). However, after the South Kai arc Suwon knows important development. From then, Suwon has no choice but to face things for real : His is sick, heavily weakened and disabled by it, and is going to die soon. In parallel, he also acknowledges he can't discard Yona-Hak, and that he can and has to rely on them for Kouka's sake.
Chapter 243 is the very first time (Minsu aside I imagine, but we are not shown that) that Suwon himself tells someone directly about his bloodline and his illness. As said before, chapter 243 is an entire performance, but it's one where he got to choose the person he wanted to say these things to. However there is still a gap between what Suwon wants to show to Hak and what he doesn't want to show to others. The chapter is still framed not from Suwon's POV at all. Suwon has no privacy, even in a scene initially presented to be only between the two of them. The idea that at this point Suwon is allowed any privacy is unreliable framing influenced by Hak's flawed POV. Hak by then is not yet really aware of the existence and purpose of Suwon's personal bodyguards in detail. Suwon can convey messages undirectly, but because he still has to show himself a certain way to characters like the shadows he's not allowed to show things explicitely. He can only be seen through others' eyes, forced to rely neither on the images nor the text typed and shared by the narrator(s), but instead on the subtext and unintelligible scribblings. Suwon is still bound by the vow the Shadows made to themselves 10 years ago, but freed at the end by the vow bounding Hak to him. To Hak alone he can share his truth : that he can't and won't respond to his expectations, nor that he is only what he shows as King to others. No one else might understand, but he trusts Hak can get the message.
Then Suwon is attacked by Shinah, and at first we were not shown at all what Suwon was thinking and feeling. The second he wakes up in chapter 256, he leaves that behind him and thinks as a King again. However something important changed, obviously he still has people around him he has to act a certain way for, but the shadows are no more. The people left around him are more flexible and actually rejoice that Suwon decides to retreat. They don't know it was partly motivated by lingering feelings for Yona and Hak, but they're still more flexible and allows Suwon more privacy and agency.
So it brings us again to chapter chapter 261/262, which are to me the very first occurence of Suwon being allowed to be a character-narrator where he gets to truly show and tells his own story. Showing instead of being shown. Showing the experience and feelings of being seen. Chapter 262 doesn't only highlight the importance of gaze in Suwon's character, but is meaningful by making Suwon himself show it to Hak, and to us readers by proxy. This is what makes Suwon and Hak's interactions in this chapter so so important. Suwon, as already established, is still resolved to perform his duties as King until the very end. That's why he still doesn't show himself bare in front of the people of Kuuto, Mundok or Lili. He still has to be a strong King that inspires confidence and reassurance to them. He can't show that he is actually chronically ill and severely wounded. What citizens expect from the King is to be strong enough to withstand, resist, and win against all the disasters they face.
But when it's only Hak and Suwon alone next, Hak is of course annoyed. There is no one on the rooftop of the collapsing palace to watch and judge them. Suwon doesn't have to keep his armor, his King costume, and keep performing in front of him, acting like his wound doesn't hurt him this much and that he's perfectly collected. The shadows are no more, they're isolated from the city. Hak as we can see with chapter 200 or 224 is annoyed by all these roles and formalities and always go against them. This is what makes Hak free. Hak goes wherever he wants to be, will play any role needed to get there and let go of them when they get on his way. Hak says he sucks at letting go, but in a way he is much better at letting go of these things than Suwon is, even when he doesn't have to keep them.
Something interesting in this scene, as already pointed out by others, is the intent behind making Hak order Suwon to undress. Despite his tone, he still doesn't undress Suwon forcibly to then show him to all of us against his will, but encourages Suwon to act upon it himself. He is frustrated by Suwon's own passivity in regard to himself. Suwon has to ask for Hak's help, but it is still triggered by Suwon's own will. Hak forces Suwon to ask for the support he needs in order to have agency. Showing himself is difficult for Suwon, both literally because of his wound and emotionally because he is not used to it, so Hak helps him for it. Of course, the act of removing his armor and letting go of his father's sword is also when Suwon at long last can stop just performing as the King character he is supposed to be. Finally, through his trust in Hak, he can truly and openly show something different to us readers too.
Then Suwon talks about himself. Not just facts and objective information like he did in chapter 243, but how he feels and what /he/ sees. Finally, Suwon tells and shows.
This spread is one of my favorite of all times I think, because it just encapsulates everything I'm trying to explain with this post. Suwon is undeniably a character-narrator in this scene because of how he shows willingly and literally to someone else what he saw and felt, making this moment surreal. After all, it should be impossible for Hak to see that. The text in this spread is typeset like is any inner monologue and is not in speech bubbles. Hak, by the rules of narratology in comics is not supposed to hear any of it. They are thoughts inside of Suwon. However the last panel showing the bottom part of Hak's face seems to imply that Hak very much sees and hears it all. Hak here is in our exact position as reader, able to see, read, feel what Suwon is sharing inside of him. It's not something brought to the outside taken from him for it to be broken down, scrutinized and judged by others. Instead, Suwon makes us come to him inside. It is something incredibly private and intimate Suwon shows in full spread to Hak and us alone. It is precious. Suwon's narration transcends narrative layers to reach Hak's senses and ours at the same time. It represents how Shinah in dragon form is watching him, but by doing so he is very much the one to show himself and Shin-ah. It is not a first person narration where we would see things through his eyes, but a third person one, above. As a character-narrator, Suwon is obviously not at the top of the narrative hierarchy and Kusanagi is the one making all these narrative and laying out choices, but here, she lets Suwon carry the role of teller and shower. In chapter 249, she decided against showing that to us directly like she showed how he felt in chapter 221. She willingly gave Suwon the time and space to do it himself when he was ready to, to the person of his choice alone.
As Hak says at the end of chapter 262, Suwon can choose another path instead of repeating the same complicated one. As we've seen, his role as King indeed puts him in an overcomplicated and messy position where he has to jungle between clashing expectations and duties and his own feelings, making everyone and him first hurt in the end. From then on, Suwon can try another path for real.
In that same chapter before he removes his armor, Suwon also tells Mundok that he can't possibly influence the Heavens. So here, I have a final interpretation about this:
Aren't the Heavens the representation for a higher narrative layer? They're the ones making the "final" judgment and punishing characters or not, they're the ones making (one layer of) the narrative of the story through the prophecy. They can't be touched and reached for, they're in another world above the characters. Suwon is well aware that he is only a character with a defined role in the narrative, so to him, there is only so much he can do and it's pointless to fight against it. In chapter 268, Suwon says again that there's nothing he can do since they're not people. The Gods are the ones seeing and showing everything.
It is perfectly illustrated in chapter 268 with Yona. Yona didn't want to make it about Hak at all, she doesn't want to involve him in any of this, and doesn't openly mention and express her feelings for him inside the chalice because it is not her focus and priority then. Yet the Gods show everything against Yona's will and to her despair. They bring out and show her and us a majority of moments Yona shared with Hak, many that were supposed to be only with the two of them. But like the Shadows with Suwon, the Gods were always watching. Yona was able to make her own decision and was resolved to leave the chalice with the dragons before they brought this up in chapter 267. It is something shown about her and against her, they take from her any agency she had, she is trapped. Similarly to Suwon in chapter 221, she is forced to face feelings she underestimated the paralyzing power of.
However, I'd argue that Yona still managed to bring the Gods closer to us, at least from the invisible higher layer they were on the narrator hierarchy of the story to a layer inside the narrative. Again, she brought them on the page, she made them real, she made them characters and more "human". They're still entities with the power to show, but also visible characters that can be changed and talked with: they literally can be moved and influenced. Yona and Zeno showed them to us, in the sense of making them visible and revealing them to us readers. Maybe the way they treat Yona is their reaction against it, unconsciously. After all, bringing them on the pages of the story forced them to face their contradictions, it is threatening them. Unfortunately, by chapter 268 it still didn't strip them of their powers and ability to control the other characters' narrative.
But I think Suwon perfectly understood all of this. Suwon now has the power to show his perspective. Even if the Gods aren't people, he is free to choose the way he frames how he is seen and watched with his own subjectivity. He is now a subjective character, not only an objective (in the sense of being object) one. That's why his plan depends on getting the Gods' full attention on him. This page is so similar from Shinah looking at him in chapter 262 for a reason. Suwon now gets more control and freedom in what he can show and tell. Suwon literally brought the Gods down to us and showed them. It's not like Yona climbing up to them. Suwon has the power to influence the Heavens and the narrative, because Suwon is not only his static character role, but a character that can change and who we can openly feel for. He won't submit to the Dragon Gods' narrative like he was resigned to before. He is the narrative too. Like Yona or Hak or any other character we ever followed is. Akatsuki no Yona is a story about characters and their feelings, and Suwon can now fully embrace his power in it.
So I find the resonance between Suwon's developing agency in the narrative and the way readers engage with him really interesting. I guess Kusanagi didn't expect Suwon to be controversial the way he is to this day when she started the story and created him, but I like how she discusses it in the story and tied it so beautifully with his character arc. I said about chapter 243 that we shouldn't try to decipher Suwon's message, but actually I don't think that's true. I don't think Kusanagi is that pessimist about her readers. Sure, we see as much as the Shadows or as the Dragon Gods do but we're not them either. The characters share so much with us too, like seen in chapter 262. I think the story simply wants to encourage us to question how we engage with the characters and what we expect from them by representing caricatures of extreme fandom opinions (that can be pretty prevalent and very vocal unfortunately). Suwon himself was always a character we were encouraged to decipher, I think. Otherwise it would mean not trying to understand him at all because he played the role of an antagonist (or whatever he can be called) anyways, which is incredibly sad. I think we were always encouraged to resist against that and try to understand him despite his own resistance. Suwon needed to learn that it's okay to be vulnerable and show us, and that it won't make him less loved and cared for.
Suwon will probably always be a character that is scrutinized and judged in and outside the story, it keeps being so despite all recent developments. But today I am convinced that nor Suwon on his level as a character, nor the narrative will keep making him a character that is forever only seen by others anymore. Now we will see what Suwon sees and feels what he feels, he will show us. He will influence the Heavens and shake the narrative itself I'm sure, he will bring them all down to us.
The fact that Suwon was never allowed to enter Hiryuu's shrine since he was a kid, and the first thing he did when he finally stepped foot there, is to stab king hiryuu's corpse 😭😭like this is so funny to me .
you slaughter hundreds of random people on a regular basis but suwon killing ONE (1) person (that we know was extremely harmful) is the most despicable thing ever to you?
each of the people that you slaughter had someone who will grieve after them, so many of them had beloved daughters
only cares about one person that he loves and will do absolutely anything for her - and these are mostly completely unnecessary things, he simply doesn't care
yuhon was sadistic, hak seems to just not have empathy for anyone except yona and few of his friends
if you would think that hak unnecesarrily slaughtering hundreds of these random people "for yona" is romantic in any way - then yuhon was romantic as well [what about kouren who walked around holding heads of her friends as a child and still to this day has flashbacks]
Hi!! Sorry for the very long reblog, but your post really inspired me and gave me a lot to think about. Because well yes, totally, but the manga goes far beyond than that I think. Soooo long post / sort of Hak analysis under the cut :
Hak truly shares traits with Yuhon, and I think Hak had the potential to follow a very similar path indeed. But today, I think Hak is significantly different from Yuhon. It's something I couldn't say by the Xing arc. And I would say Yuhon exists partly as a reference point for Hak's development on purpose.
Unlike Yuhon, Hak develops empathy for people outside of Yona. It starts with the ddhhb and it expands little by little. He is inspired by the dragons' resilience and refusal to attack anyone back in the Xing arc despite being captured and beaten, he is inspired by Yona trusting people again and again even after being betrayed...
That's why he saved Raan. That's why he cares about the same soldiers that attacked him and Yona before in the Kuelbo and castle arc. That's why he protected and helped Geuntae, that's why he tried to save Suwon. That's why he doesn't blame Meinyan, even if she's indirectly "responsible" (she's not, but she would be by Hak's standards few arcs earlier, like literally the example of that woman that caused Yona to be kidnapped in the sei forts arc) for his friends being hurt. Hak totally looked like he was about to decimate Kaji in ch224, yet he didn't. Hak was able to make the difference between Kurau, a harmful person that was sadistic with his friends, and Kaji. Hak started to lose it in the Kuelbo arc, yet in the end he doesn't kill Kuelbo. When Hak is ready to defeat soldiers again in the Chagol arc and Val is worried and uncomfortable when thinking that Hye-tan, his old comrade, will be one of his victim, it makes Val decide to face Hye-tan himself so that he doesn't die, and Hak understands.
However, I do think that Hak's battle exploits are indeed romantized. Raan describes him like a god of war lol, and the action scenes are drawn to make him look cool and badass, it was intended from his very conception. Hak definitely killed more people by his own hands than Suwon since the start of the story, even if I wouldn't say war battles like in the Sen Province are "regular". The reader is made to be in awe and admire Hak.
So I do think there is an argument to be made about how there isn't a real focus on the impact and consequences of all the soldiers/random gangsters and what not the characters killed since the beginning of the story. Like yes, it shouldn't be romantic and poetic, it's monstruous, it's sad and tragic! Is there really beauty to be seen in violence and strength so big it can put an end to other lives? We see the monstruousity of this violence too in the story, but it's rarely the main focus when put in the same episode as our heroes fighting with their cool powers and super strength. It's a bit likee...shoujo-washing war lol. Like war is bad but it's cool when it's the bishonen in action. It's true of all fighters in the manga to be fair, but I don't think it's stupid to point out that it's a thing for Hak and the dragons in particular, since the story is fully siding with them.
It's more than probable that all the people Hak or the ddhhb killed or at least hurt weren't all iredeemable like they judged it for Kumji or others, and a lot of these people were only following orders. But hmm, I think it's a broader problem with Akatsuki no Yona, not only with Hak, that it's only focusing on major figures and not so much the common people. There are some, but most of them rarely have interiority and they're only background characters. The characters we follow all pretty much have relations with gouverning powers.
For example, the current arc pushes the theme that "punition" is harmful and applies this to Zeno, Suwon, the dragons...but only them get this "luxury", because they're important. Although you could argue that our main characters don't kill others as punition, but as to prevent further harm when it's clear that incriminated characters won't change and stop, or because their own life is threatened. But I mean...if you take Zeno attacking Hak, they wouldn't try to stop him so peacefully if they weren't close, they wouldn't argue that Zeno was forced by the circumstances this much, so again, yes, there is a bias. (I think you read Vinland Saga already, but it's a great example of a story doing a very good job at deconstructing violence and trying to find ways to avoid it with all characters, no matter their relevance in the story!)
But you know, I don't think counting how many people Hak killed compared to Suwon really matters, because truthfully killing Il isn't the thing Hak can't swallow. To some extent yes, but Hak's grief is never directly about Il's death. It's Suwon's betrayal to him and Yona. It's giving Yona the hairpin the same night he killed her dad. It's Suwon throwing them away like they're nothing to him, when Hak dreamed of serving him forever. It's Suwon's trampling on everything he cared for. Hak is mad at Suwon not because every person killed has people that care for them, but because Yona wasn't just "some people that cared for Il" that Suwon had no relationship with, and Yona was important to Hak himself. It's only because they were close and both Yona and him loved and trusted Suwon so much that Hak can't let go of his resentments. What Hak can't forgive is very intimate and personal, selfish even, it's not about moral justice and because murder is bad. And he's self-aware. Hak is oh so biased, and simply hates people that hurt the people he loves, and that's why he wanted to kill Suwon so much, and that's why his development is about learning to control these emotions and see the bigger picture.
If it was only killing Il, it wouldn't be the most despicable thing to Hak, even if he is indeed partly upset because he considers that Il being non-violent, Suwon had the power to find another way. But the reason he cares so much about that is not so much about Il, it's about Yona. He cares because Yona is related to Il. If there are people that make it about Suwon killing Il, I assume that unlike Hak, they just havent unpacked yet that Il isn't this important and it's not truly what makes them mad, and that they probably wouldn't care if Il wasn't Yona's dad or if he was a random King from a foreign country lol.
However, as much as Hak still can't get over some of that, he's been making the effort to face the root of his feelings, to recognize it's personal and subjective. Hak's meaning in the story is to explore that not only the greater good matters, and those individual, personal emotions matter too, I think. Even if the world disagrees, this selfishness isn't all bad. Does that make Hak a hypocrite for not caring this much when it's him hurting/killing random soldiers? Surely! But caring about some things more than others this way is very human too I think. But he still learns to care, even if it will never be as much as Yona and his favorite people in general. Maybe that's why he doesn't fight it when earth tribe soldiers are mad at him for keeping the senjusou for himself in ch214, (even if the execution of this part was pretty lame and fell flat imo), because he understands how they feel.
And at least with Suwon he doesn't make his personal anger a reality he imposes on everyone by killing him, like Yuhon did. That's how Hak doesn't follow Yuhon's footsteps. I think that's the most important part. That even if someone hurt you and a part of you wants them to die and suffer because of it, you can't kill that person like only your truth matters, no matter how much your experience and feelings are important. In the end, Hak can now recognize that Suwon killing Il wasn't only personal, and that killing Suwon when he's been doing a good job as a King wouldn't be equivalent at all, even if he can't live like Suwon does.
I think it's fair to criticize him for not making as much effort to not kill /gravely wound his enemies as Thorfinn does in Vinland Saga for example (even if again we have examples of Hak sparing and saving some of his enemies' life too), but it also feels kinda unfair to blame Hak for this when he was never meant to be this way maybe? It's a fairly high standard in universe that no character achieved or pretended to even aim for so far, after all.
On top of Akatsuki no Yona having a layer of "the action is here bc it's very cool and epic" that encourages us to turn our brain off a bit, which is cool but also ermmm. When you think about it, it's pretty fucked up in ch169 how Hak fondly remembers him and Suwon having fun thinking up of tactics that cause the annihilation of troops, that Hak then puts into practice in the present lol. The manga never challenges that, the focus was only Hak's emotions and his relationship with Suwon in that scene. Which I love. In general, the first focus of the manga is the emotions of its characters, contrary to Vinland Saga whose first focus is its themes of non-violence, I'd say? Thorfinn's character serves the themes, whereas the themes serve the characters in akayona, if that makes sense. Akayona has strong anti-war and pro-peace messages too but it's clearly not as radical as in Yukimura's story, for sure.
I'll conclude on this: Despite these flaws, one challenge akayona's characters face is to not be desensitized by wars, death and violence. Many characters are desensitized to it to different degrees, but the story argues that even in a world where such things are a given and it's more "efficient" to detach yourself from such worries, you should still make the effort to cling to your humanity as much as possible, unlike Yuhon. This tension between "doing what must be done no matter how one feels about it" and "caring for each person's integrity and feelings" is present in all character. But Hak said it himself: Suwon isn't Yuhon, Suwon wouldn't cause unnecessary violence and suffering for no reason, he can trust Suwon as a King.
Hak was ready to be a tool whose role would be to kill and die protecting those he loves(Yona in particular right after the coup) so they stay clean. Being a tool means detaching himself from the world and the people around him, not caring about the people he fights and antagonizes. A tool has no brain and no heart, after all. While Yuhon doesn't deshumanize himself like Hak but others by perceiving them as pawns, it pretty much leads to the same result. Hak has it in him to only be a tool like that surely, and he is/was close to at times, but he's been learning to look at the people he's facing with heart a bit more thanks to the positive influence of the people around him. He tends to judge and antagonize people quickly here and there, he's biased, there are things he just can't get over, and I think he will always detach himself from the seriousness of a lot of battles to some extent. But well, I appreciate the efforts he's made against all that too.
So a better yuhon? An alternate Yuhon? A Yuhon with sense and compassion?
Does that make Soowon an alternate Il? Lol, like the kind but better at making decision? One that takes responsibility and not a coward?
That doesn't change the fact for biased likeness for Hak and likewise biased hatred for Soowon. Yona is in the equation, Hak learned to trust these people because yona trusted them. I'm sure he trust other people too but that is the case for ddhhb, or the people who were good to yona, which is fine and a fact.
I've said this on many forums,
Hak killed soldiers that had likely nothing to do with the bad things happening, they were doing just what they were ordered to. They were pawns in the game of royalty and war. Soowon killed a coward, unfit and incompetent ruler who was responsible for suffering for many. Even if IL was a relative, he committed a crime by being ignorant to the suffering of people. Just because he is father of yona doesn't justify his misdeed or should be felt sympathy for just because he is Yona's father. He was killed rightfully as he should. And those who are like oh how must yona have felt.
Well guess what? Life's tough wear a helmet, so did the poor people of your kingdom did in your father's reign.
Any incompetent ruler/higher up given the get go to do evil just because they are your beloved, is counted as favoring your own and is pure form of injustice. And killing such person is neither treason nor betrayal. It is called making a difficult decision and sacrificing your own self and your image for greater good.
Il is not innocent, his death was not a treason or betrayal, it was justice served to those innocent people who suffered due to his lacking in ruling.
Il was devastated when his daughter was missing, when she was young, by the kidnapper and he was able to put her in high security in castle walls and soldier. The common folks don't have that luxury, their families were kidnapped or likely sold in black market. If he was worried about his own daughter and understood the pain, he should have given the same concern and security to the innocent people in his kingdom who had no point of return after getting kidnapped.
Yona and her pain is needlessly glorified, specially because it was from soowon, her crush(how dare he, just because she liked him he should have though about her feelings and never think about betraying her. Oh what evil man) She had luxury and its protection. Her father made it happen. I wish there was a French style revolution against Il for his incompetence and ignorance towards people.
Soowon killed yona's father and committed treason???? He was THE reason for kingdom's decay and suffering,
Soowon TRIED to kill yona??? Who had puppy crush on him. Oh no, what an evil man? What a joke.
My position is that I'm very glad Suwon killed Il because I also hate him very much and think he was an incompetent and terrible King. I don't think him being Yona's father and being respected by very few people excuses him of anything. As Keishuk says in chapter 178, it was a beautiful night of victory, because indeed, not everything is about Yona's feelings. You're right about all of Il's wrongs and how the people of Kouka deserved the same security as Yona. I'm not arguing against that at all.
Well guess what? Life's tough wear a helmet, so did the poor people of your kingdom did in your father's reign.
But I think it's a bit sad to accept that. Yeah life is tough, and Suwon showed that reality to Yona, but do we really have to just accept things are this way and never try to make it better? Like, Suwon himself was hurt by this. If not for Yona, I do wish better for Suwon. I'm very glad he doesn't regret killing Il but I think Suwon and Yona together as a group, deserved better too. Chapter 258 is titled: "We have lost too much". The story takes Yona's side far more than his I also agree, so we're asked to sympathize with Yona's pain again and again and too much to my tastes sometimes, but I don't think it does only that. Yona and Hak also make the effort to try to understand Suwon and help him, and by doing so it indirectly asks the readers to make that effort for Suwon too. If people don't make this effort, it's their problem and not mine.
You say yourself that Suwon sacrified his own image and made a difficult decision for the sake of the country and you're right. But like, I wish he didn't have to make such a difficult decision and sacrifice! That's me being naive and too idealistic maybe, but I still want to watch the characters try to show me another way, because otherwise there's no use getting mad and fighting against anything, no? To call this a difficult decision feels like an euphemism too. Sure growing up is about making decisions sometimes, like, oh which course should I choose at university? Should I spend the new year with my crush or with my family? We all have a bunch like that depending on our circumstances. But something like choosing between a COUNTRY and the people you love is a lot to carry alone. Suwon accepted to carry it and to take responsibility for it, but was that ideal? I think he deserved better. Like Yona wishes for Zeno in ch261, I also wish for a world where people like Suwon wouldn't need to make painful choices like that. And Hak doesn't say it with these words, but at the end of ch262 that's a bit what it is about imo. Hak doesn't pretend he could have done better than Suwon, but that he believes Suwon has it in him to find a better way, not only for Yona's sake, but for Suwon himself too, as his path brings him suffering and death behind the concept of "punishment".
The thing is, if I were a citizen that knew nothing about Suwon's relationship with Yona and wouldn't care anyway, yes, the fact that Suwon hurts Yona and tried to kill her to better the condition of the whole country wouldn't matter at all to me. I wouldn't particularly sympathize with Yona even if she knew nothing, because of her privileges as a Princess. I just wouldn't care, whatever. As a royal and as a King, I don't think Suwon was wrong. Personally I don't think Suwon was wrong at all even. And Suwon shouldn't have to be prioritizing Yona over the whole country like Il wanted him to either. Suwon isn't bad for it at all and in the end people don't blame him for that. Even Yona says she understands. Even Hak acknowledges that it's the limitations of being in a position of power.
But if we change our stance from a mere citizen to Yona (and you're going to say that's what the story does all the time already but sorry stay with me), then Suwon is far more than just a royal and a King. He was Yona's childhood friend, someone that she had a crush on, which belongs to her alone but...Suwon liked her too, even if differently. A relationship is 2 people and it was Suwon's too. Suwon took care of her for years and comforted her and told her several times he's here for her and that he'll always wipe off her tears etc...He was someone Yona trusted and felt safe with. Yona may have been a bit too much on a cloud in her crush for him, but Suwon was truly caring with her, it wasn't all in her head and saying otherwise would be a disservice to Suwon. (and she was pretty lucid about the fact Suwon only sees her as a child) He cared! He was a good friend until the night of the coup! So taking the nature of their relationship outside of role and status into account then yes Yona and Hak didn't deserve to be treated like they're strangers and just anyone. Like the Suwon they knew never existed. It's /in this context/ we're supposed to feel for them. Which coexists with Suwon's good reasons and circumstances to kill Il outside of this context. And to be clear, I think Yona and Hak were to some extent projecting and expecting too much from Suwon because they were in their own bubble too...but like, such happens in relationships and generally friendships with miscommunication doesn't end so tragically either. Suwon was closing himself off too. It was messy and complicated on every side. A canon event for every teenager dare I say, and the tragedy is precisely that outside factors like the fate of the country and family murders were involved in their relationship. It's for that they deserved better, not just for Yona, but for the three of them. That's why Yonhi begged Il to end this cycle so both Suwon and Yona wouldn't have to hate each other.
Does all this teenager drama matter for the poor people of Kouka struggling to feed themselves? Of course not! That's why Suwon acted like he did. But it mattered to them because it's their life. Suwon is indeed right to not make everything about that, but there should exist a compromise where he doesn't have to throw his feelings and others away either. I think that's all the story is arguing. I think that would make Suwon happier too. And the conditions were absolutely not reunited by chapter 1, so what happened happened and it could only be this way. Suwon was made to understand his feelings didn't matter by Il, even Yuhon, and the people around him in general, and that's where he was wronged and why discarding Yona was a necessary sacrifice for him. That's what make it so so sad. It doesn't matter for the majority of people that don't even know them, but they should be allowed to care at least for themselves.
Like, even if we're made to feel for Yona, many characters always said that Suwon is a good King and basically no one regrets Il at all and they don't really care he was killed. Nothing removes that. Some people even rejoice from it, like Keishuk, and I feel that a lot on a personal level but that's one POV among others. Yona's and Hak's are only that too, they just happen to be who the narrative choose to follow.
Suwon also killed many soldiers that were only following orders so blaming Hak for it feels like a very slippery slope. We see him kill a drug addict in the water tribe arc, his orders cause the deaths of soldiers, for the greater good, yes, and I don't blame him for it, but that's the reality of things too. He aims for the smaller number of casualties as possible in the Fire Tribe arc for example, but he also takes back Kin Province mainly for the moral of the troops and the symbol of it and people die for it. He isn't as violent as Yuhon at all and it's also for a good cause, but does it change that it still causes the deaths of innocent people? It's a necessary evil and I support him in it given he was also always running against time, but it's still not the most ideal. If we start to evaluate how necessary these things are...well then we'll be renamed Kusanagi Mizuho because that's pretty much what Akatsuki no Yona explores all the time, no? Like, that's the reason why Yona feels conflicted in the Kin province arc, and why Yona argues against Suwon in the Xing arc. The prisoners of the Earth Tribe in the South Kai war were innocent too. Meinyan in ch203 was as far as he knew innocent. Suwon makes the difficult and most pragmatic decisions and I admire him for that, he was doing his best and I think his fears for taking more risks are founded, but I also feel that the people he had to discard deserves to be saved too. He thinks there isn't any better option, but Yona is here to show him that better options are possible too if they make them themselves, I think. I don't think it necessarily have to be made about Yona "winning" and proving him so wrong because Suwon is so stupid and cruel and Yona so kind and compassionate like it's a competition or something. That adversity is present, but progressively fades as the story goes and as they interact more and more, they're past that already. Yona doesn't really want the war against Kai to happen either, yet as she has nothing to prevent it, she accepts to join it. Like it was for Suwon killing Il, the conditions to not make any form of war and violence happen aren't reunited yet, so they have to do with what they have in the present. And they have more than what Suwon had by chapter 1 already, because they give their help to each other now.
Suwon doesn't really act in the name of justice, I don't think he has this pretention. That's you projecting here. That's what differentiates him from Meinyan: He doesn't see things as unfair and unjust, but as absurd, irrational. If he did that's what would make him a hypocrite, but Suwon is self aware that he might be judged and punished for the people he hurt too and he's fine with that (:(). He did it because that was the most practical thing to do. It was the first step to accomplish his goal. There was a part of genuine resentment for having killed his dad too but that's personal. It's also based on conviction of course, because he believes people can't depend on the Gods like Il does, but it's a bit separate from the matter of killing Il or not and he wouldn't kill him for that alone. I don't think Suwon killed Il to "punish him" even if that's how he felt deep down, but most of all because Il was in the way. As he says in chapter 2 in response to Hak, he killed Il because Kouka "has no need for a timid Kind". If Il had opened a dialogue and stepped down himself Suwon wouldn't have killed him. I don't blame Suwon for the ways he does things to be clear and that doesn't make him a monster and an unfeeling person to me in the slightest like I know it does for some people. I even personally think Suwon is juster for all he fights for. But that's what makes it hard for me to blame Hak like this for killing innocent people on the battlefield too. If Hak was never shown making any effort to consider any of his enemies and was only criticizing Suwon, I'd still be mad too, but that's not what happens when he considers Raan for example, nor when he acknowledges the things Suwon accomplished too and can put himself in his shoes. The idea of justice like that kinda scares me if that makes sense. So the fact Suwon doesn't make it about that is something I really like and it reassures me. Like, he simply cares about what his people and his country need, it's pragmatically about what needs to be done. That's what makes me love him. It also makes me a bit sad because it means he doesn't search to get justice for himself.
Hak doesn't only trust people who are good to Yona even if that's the majority of them and the proof of that is Suwon. Suwon is...not particularly good to Yona, not publicly at least. He can be, but something notable is that Hak is never made aware of the times Suwon cares for her since the coup, and I think it's precisely to show his trust for Suwon is based on something else. Suwon as a King is still able to use Yona for the good of the country and it hurts Hak terribly, yet Hak can't help but still trusts Suwon anyway. He trusts Suwon wouldn't just execute the dragons in ch251 either for example. He trusts Suwon as King in ch223 and even more now he's able to say he always trusted his intelligence. Suwon might be an exception, but it's still here. His undying trust in Yuhon's son is the very thing that differentiates him from Yuhon. And again outside of trust, which is a strong feeling to carry for someone, it doesn't stop him to at least consider people's feelings and circumstances more.
I didn't even want to enter the "Was Suwon wrong for killing Il" debate because I'm literally on the side of the people that'd defend Suwon lmao. I'm not interested in what people say to argue that Suwon is unforgivable and wrong or whatever they say because I block them on sight. What interests me is only what the story says, not people on forums. I'm not naive enough to think that the story is pure and all good and nothing in it is to blame for people's reactions and opinions on it but I think it's infinitely deeper than what people often make it like. I don't think everything should be judged on whether Yona is personally hurt by it, but I don't think how she feels about things should be discarded either. I think it's good to have a story that values the feelings of someone discarded for a good cause, and Hak helps carrying this theme. I have my own grips with the balance and execution of that in the story, but I think what it tries to convey with that is interesting too.
All I want to say is, yes Hak could have easily been like Yuhon, and he still kinda is in some ways, but it's also reductive at this point to say they're one and the same. I also wrote about how I agree that the story still romanticizes the violence of war with our heroes and how in a way it's "shoujowashing" what Yuhon is blamed for. Like, war is bad but Hak and the dragons are doing it ethically~ so when it's them it's fine, lol. Again, akayona is not that radical about war and violence and that's fair to criticize that, and Hak is indeed the best example in this aspect. Still, ultimately akatsuki no yona also argues a lot for the end of all wars and that violence. What our main characters wish for is not for wars to continue and to make it more """"human"""", it's to find a way to reach true and durable peace.
This is Yona and Suwon and not Hak and it doesn't change how it still portrays a lot of battles, and it doesn't mean they achieved this ideal yet or that we will ever see them do, but I also think that's why Hak isn't the protagonist and it's very good so. Like,, Hak is not always validated and he's literally held back by others when he's too hot blooded and ready to kill anyone offending his friends in any way. It's not that Hak has no conviction at all, but he tends to leave the thinking to the people he chooses to follow and trust. Il's failing is that he was doing nothing to make this ideal work, but the core of the ideal wasn't wrong in itself, in theory. So yes, Suwon and Yona are royals who truly act to make their ideal happen unlike Il. Suwon is indeed a better Il that is better at making decisions and taking responsibilities, I don't see what is bad about this so I don't get your point about that... (Suwon is ironically similar to Il in several aspects too actually, but not today...). And I don't see where is the bad about Hak being a "more compassionate Yuhon", because if you ask me I don't think Yuhon is all bad either. Hak, differently than with Il is also helping actively Yona to achieve this ideal in a more tangible way.
Anyways, Hak believed in Il's peaceful ideology as an ideal worth protecting, but he still didn't really believe it was possible to protect others without killing and using weapons, that's exactly why he took on the role and became a blade, a shield, a tool to Il and Yona. It is harmful in the long run and that's what Hak's development is about. The Sen province arc shows him look like a monster to his enemies' eyes on the battlefield. Judo is scared of what Hak is capable of for a very long time because of Hak's blind rage and violence. Hak can really be like a monster when he kills thoughlessly on the battlefield, but he's then brought back to reality, it's not something portrayed as positive. In the battle against South Kai, Hak isn't even shown killing anyone per se outside of Kurau and only uses his flag when he's found out by the South Kai army. He doesn't kill Kaji either.
So what I mean is, as Hak tells Kaji in chapter 223: I'm only talking about the present too. Present Hak doesn't hold blind hatred for Suwon, and even if he never forgives him on a personal level he has acknowledged him as a King already and he trusts him. Present Hak doesn't kill every enemy on his way senselessly. Present Hak is not like Sen Province arc, and even then he wasn't Xing arc Hak etc... Hak will probably always be biased for Yona and his friends and he's free to do so as long as he doesn't blindly impose violence on anyone he disagrees with because of it. No matter how much Hak was mad at Suwon in chapter 243 and despite the fact he had the possibility to do so, Hak still didn't harm Suwon. That doesn't make me agree with him, he pissed me off truth be told, but it didn't end here, this too is the past and present Hak is a bit different, so I care about that.
I don't think there is anything in my initial reblog implying I think Suwon is bad and wrong for anything he ever did, so I'm sorry if anything I wrote gave you the wrong idea, because my stance is the opposite. I don't think Suwon is bad at all, and because I think he deserves better I am not against everything Hak and Yona represent in opposition to him because ultimately I think it's good for him too. None of them are perfect about it right away, especially Hak, but I care about what Hak says and does now and I can say I am relieved he changed the way he did and how that made him come this far with Suwon. Same for Yona. I'm glad they're both able to care for him in their own ways. And I'm so glad to see how Suwon's own ways help and inspire them too, and I'm so proud of him for the ways he changed and is still changing right now. I'm still annoyed by how the story makes too much about Yona's feelings and put her on a pedestal to my tastes yeah, but honestly I can go past that more easily that if at the end Suwon can live and be happy.
“The beautiful smile of a boy he once loved. And before midnight falls upon the palace, before the silver strain of clouds morph into the glint of a sword’s edge, dipped in the blood of betrayal — a passage between death and life — there is the distinct, somber shade of pale blue.”
- pale blue solace by foggydevil
I originally drew this SuHak last year as a birthday gift for my precious friend Lumen (@/Ann_archyy) on Twitter~ Manifesting SuHak!
Happy birthday Lumen!
@soo-won
Thank you so much to both you and Project Vinland’s hard work for your translations, including on series like AkaYona! You’re really our strongest soldier. I also have gift arts in mind for you this year!
Sending you lots of love~ I’m happy to have met you and be your friend. I always have fun talking to you! You’re so funny and your thought rambles and character analysis/meta posts really inspire me.
I always feel like seeing my friends’ works reignites my love for this ship. And of course, seeing everyones’ passion for it! It makes me remember what I love so much about the ship.
When I drew this last year, I wanted to make their expressions soft and tender. Suwon was very fun to draw :) I loved drawing Suwon and his hair, heehee. Thank you king!!! 👑 And Hak’s colours were fun. I love warm lighting, and colouring gold, so this was a treat 😌✨
This was inspired by foggydevil’s SuHak fic, pale blue solace
I had the mood and atmosphere of the fic in mind while I drew! Her SuHak fic is beautifully written. I love reading her writing, it’s so atmospheric and poetic… I love the prose. Her writing style reminds me of poems… It was pale blue solace that inspired me to choose the colours and atmosphere in this.
Su-won showing a wider range of expressions than usual... maybe due to Hak's influence/presence?
Urgency and exclamations
Shock
Surprised and desperation
usually he's a lot more level-headed. Well, I'd say he still is, but he's showing a more wider range of emotions whenever Hak is close by.
No, it's not just because Hak is close by, it's because he and his gay best friend actually talking now.
I remember a long time ago there was this one tumblr artist that drew Su-won actually showing a wide range of emotions (anger, fear, sadness, stress) that they wished he'd actually show; this chapter reminded me a bit of that art.
(joke) Atatsuki no yaoi adventures continue, hand-holding edition
Ok but actually being serious, an earthquake comes and Hak is trying to balance the chailce from falling. Still the panel's focus on his hand and fingers gently balancing Su-won's is... erm. Something.
No I don't mean yaoi (necessarily though let's be real, if Su-won was a woman and Hak was a man, this panel screams sexual tension)
but I am curious if there's a storytelling purpose behind it. Hak relying on Su-won once again too makes me wonder if if these two really are going to be the sword and shield at some point.
Given that we're getting the next chapter soon, I wanted to comment on this matter a last time. Akatsuki no Yona is not a fatalistic story. It showed us that things could be changed to the better through hard work. That's why, this story will never promote the idea that one should surrender to their abusers and accept their fate for the greater good. Because yes, the dragon gods are abusers: they're akin to the toxic controlling partner (or parent) who gaslights you and claims to know what's better for you, who claims their unreasonable behaviour is justified in the name of love, that it is your fault for not appreciating it, and that everything bad that happens, will be because you didn't listen to them.
Neither Yona nor Hiryuu are selfish, foolish or evil for seeking to escape a toxic environment. It is never the victim's fault for rejecting their abuser. And whatever natural disasters befall the innocent people in Kouka will be because the gods chose to unlish destruction with their own hands, not because Yona refused to yield to their suffocating love and oppression.
In fact, Yona's defiance isn't only morally justified, but also logically sound for several reasons:
1- the gods have proven themselves to be untrustworthy, by attempting to kill the very people they promised to turn human and send back to earth, leading to their current descent to madness from repetitive contract breaking. If Yona had trusted them and they later went back on their word, she'd be called dumb and naïve instead.
2- The contracts they're imposing are one sided and self serving. A contract should allow both parties to put their own terms and conditions, yet Yona is denied this right. They're desperate to regain their strength, and once that happens nothing will stop them from breaking a contract or two. Ooryuu confirms that they'll keep imposing increasingly absurd conditions, but Yona is expected to comply with these absurdities?
3- The gods had already started withdrawing their "devine protection" the moment Yona entered the chalice. They were already planning to abandon humanity all together. Their protection of humans so far was only linked to Yona's well-being, that's why, if anything, Yona returning to earth would actually coerce them into maintaining their devine protection out of fear for her safety.
4- by returning to earth, Yona isn't severing all ties with the gods. She can go back to heaven and negotiate a contract whenever she wants thanks to the chalice and a drop of her own blood. Far from "abandoning" her people to certain death, she's giving herself the opportunity to assess the situation firsthand. Is this "devine protection" really necessary? Would its absence really affect the country in an irreversible way? Can't the people actually work through this crisis hand in hand and overcome it? After all, nothing guarantees the images shown by the gods are real, or much absolute. Yona has already defied fate: saving Hak from Zeno's attack, and seeking out the dragon worriers to prevent his death, proving that nothing is set in stone, and that you can change the future through analysing the current situation to decide on the best course of action
5- Kouka isn't facing "immediate" destruction. The sun didn't disappear, it merely got veiled by clouds, much like in winter. People are able to walk down the streets without using torches or candles. While Photosynthesis may decrease, crops will not wither overnight. Kouka also ought to have its own food reserves for similar crises. It also now posses several vassal states that could help providing food and housing for the most affected areas. This leaves enough time to evaluate the situation and decide on the best conduct to adopt
6- The fundamental problem remains that the gods are apathetic to humans. They're unable to relate to them, and often minimise their suffering. Yona's return to heavens won't be more than a fleeting remedy to a lasting problem. As the protagonist of the story and Hiryuu's reincarnation, Yona ought to treat the problem at its root and find a way to bridge the gap between gods and humans, eventually making a contract that cannot be broken. Can this be achieved through surrendering yourself to vicious fickle beings? What was Akatsuki no Yona about all along? Was it a story praising self sacrifice and martyrdom as the absolute form of strength, selflessness and generosity? Or was it a story about struggling through the mud, relying on your actions, efforts and choices to shape your outcome? About challenging injustice, resisting fate and finding alternative paths? Which of these best describe Yona's actions in this chapter? Think about it, and find your answer.
