Reflections on Anime #2: Akatsuki no Yona
The time we live in, as otaku (or even as a casual fan of anime), is one where we are truly spoiled. Every three months, we get another set of forty-plus series to watch, in addition to all the long running series that give us our fix on a very consistent schedule. Because of this, we are complacent, and take this ‘Golden Age’ for granted.
Sure, with all of those series, it’s not very often that they differ from each other too terribly much. Variety is the spice of life they say, but people don’t deal well with change, causing us to have a stagnant flow of the same-old, same-old. And when you come across a series that does exceed expectations, that is different, that resonates on a level that transcends the medium, it becomes even harder to drudge through the clichéd and familiar stories that seemingly plague every one of these three month blocks.
And that’s why when you find that series, that stand-out for that season, for that year, or even longer, it’s worth talking about. And, chances are, you may not have seen it.
I’m talking, of course, about Akatsuki no Yona.
Now, it would be presumptuous to declare Akatsuki no Yona, a masterpiece, especially when it’s still going and anime are plagued with tons of examples of series being really good, but failing at that crucial point: the ending. We still have some time before we know if Yona can conclude properly, or if it will lose all the good will it has right now will be lost, but there are several reasons to expect the end to be just as good as the journey to it. And those reasons are what we’ll discuss today.
Characters
A story can be good and interesting, but without characters that drive the story forward and that the viewer/reader actively roots for, it can ruin the whole experience. This runs throughout a majority of your cast too. So often, there are series that run on the charisma and charm of just one to two characters to keep the audience engaged, without giving every character a chance to shine or even the creator giving every character enough of a personality to let the audience decide if they want to like that character or not.
And I’m not talking about characters that you only root for. A great cast of characters will cause emotions within the audience, such as actively cheering when something amazing happens to one of them, or feeling disgusted by the actions of an antagonist, or even shedding a tear (or tears) in a moment that truly define why you like that character or a moment that breaks them. This extends beyond our protagonists and into our antagonists as well, showing us more than just ‘I should hate this guy’ or ‘this woman just needs to be put down...’, letting us see their motivations, and finding something human in them, even if we don’t necessarily agree with their methods or reasons.
Akatsuki no Yona definitely excels with its characters. From the evolution of the title character/main protagonist Princess Yona, to the powerful childhood friend/love interest Son Hak, and everyone from the silent Shin-Ah and the flirtatious Jae-Ha, there is not one character of our main core that is unlikable, with even the primary antagonist, the treacherous Soo-Won, having some redeeming qualities, as well as some mystery as to if he’s actually the villain in our story or just misunderstood. Pair these characters with the ever-shifting location of the narrative, and it makes the world that Yona takes place in feel alive and fluid, without being overwhelming.
This is further helped by Yona’s background, being a sheltered princess for the majority of her life, and thrust into a world that should be everything but unfamiliar to her, only to discover the strife and corruption that runs deep in the Kingdom of Kouka, making her the perfect entry point for the viewer to learn about the history and events without needless exposition. We are learning of the world as she, and some of her companions, are, allowing us to view Kouka without the need to overwhelm us with a lot of details, leaving the dialogue as purely conversational. Just for reference, this won’t be the only time dialogue is mentioned as a key aspect of Yona’s appeal.
Along with interesting characters, they are also fairly varied, yet similar enough that they mesh together easily and without much of a fuss, but they do pick at each other. The word ‘Nakama’ gets thrown around a lot in these types of series, and can be overwhelming when referring to one’s friends, but this is definitely the best word for them: this small eclectic group of warriors following Yona act like a family, and will fight for the sake of each other. Another issue with series like Akatsuki no Yona is that eventually everyone devolves into a sword wielding bad-ass.
And while the collective force of Hak (halberd), Kija (fists), Shin-Ah (sword), and Jae-Ha (legs and throwing knives) is more powerful than way larger forces, they each fight with their own unique style and their own abilities, not copying each other or overlapping. Even Yona herself, who begs with Hak to learn weapons for fighting, doesn’t overlap, using a bow and arrow, only recently picking up a sword in the manga. Another nice touch is that Yona doesn’t just instantly have ability as an archer, but the series actively shows her training in the use of the bow and failing multiple times because of skill, endurance, and ultimately fear of taking another life. After the events at the end of the anime (the Awa arc), she has gotten past this and can now use the bow fairly proficiently but without being a master of it.
Going beyond our four fighters, and the support of our main heroine, we have Yun and Zeno, the former being a genius who cooks, cleans, sews, and patches up the others after their conflicts, so much so he’s recently been referred to as their mother, and the latter who joins the dragons at the end of the anime and until recently, was kind of just there, but the depth of his ability (and the effect it has had on his life) is exceedingly well-written and more than a little tear-wrenching. In fact, with his back-story being shown in from chapters 101 to 105, Zeno may have become my favorite character in a cast where deciding who I like over another is just too difficult. And that’s the say nothing of the potential romances...
Story and Lore
But don’t misunderstand; Akatsuki no Yona is not a reverse harem, or an otome. It is a story that is rather action-heavy for a shoujo, but not to its detriment. And even if it is a little action heavy, it is incredibly balanced when it comes to presentation. It knows exactly when to inject some levity into the story, especially in those moments that are getting a little too heavy, and it knows when to pull at your heart-strings. Most of the time, when that kind of emotional dissonance is created, it can create a mood whiplash, but in Yona it works so well, that you are never jarred by the change in mood.
It extends beyond injecting humor when you’re overwhelmed by depressing or tense moments, or pulling at the right emotions to make you legitimately care about the events (further helped by the dynamic and likeable cast of characters), instead giving you moments where the characters are self-aware of their circumstances. Upon learning that Kija can sense the other dragons, when they have no leads on the other three, Yona merely says ‘That’s convenient’ almost knowing that the only reason he does is to make her task easier. The same is brought again by Hak when he meets Jae-Ha and says he never wants to deal with him again, while Kija explains he’s the Rokuryuu. His response is akin to ‘I should’ve known...’
And going back to romance, it has always been my belief that any story needs a healthy balance of everything to be enjoyable, with no one thing in particular overwhelming the other. Akatsuki no Yona excels in this as well, with the action taking center-stage, but never overwhelming any particular part of the story. The romance, which is subtly there, doesn’t build up to any type of harem situation. Sure, Kija, Shin-Ah, Jae-Ha, and Zeno all care for and love Yona, but it’s less romantic and more like guardians to their beloved leader. There are hints that Yun may be in love with Yona, but the real romance and the part of the conflict is the triangle involving Yona, Hak, and Soo-Won (yes, the same guy who may or may not be our antagonist), who were childhood friends. It’s kind of obvious that Hak is the only real choice, but there are parts of Yona that can’t let go of her first love.
The journey to find the dragons is the major focus of the series, but Akatsuki no Yona excels with the lore behind the world we’re in. Between the legend of the dragon gods and King Hiryuu, the different regions founding and beliefs in the dragon gods, the conflict with the other kingdoms (Kai, in particular) and the politics of the regions within Kouka, not to mention the people who support different issues with each of the previous few kings, there’s a lot to like if you’re a fan of those ‘epic fantasy’ stories. If not, the attention to detail offered for the background of this world is impressive and the influence of the mythos is not purely Japanese, an effort that very few mangaka don’t take. Mizuho Kusanagi-sensei should be praised for writing such an engaging story with a well-thought out lore.
Anyone who has read my reviews knows that sound plays a key role to me in my enjoyment of series and the anime adaptation of Yona excels here as well. The first opening, “Akatsuki no Yona”, is an instrumental song with traditional Eastern instruments, going over a view of our characters and some of the events of the first half of the anime. The first ending theme, “Yoru”, is good as well, but seems a little out of place for the series. The second opening theme, “Akatsuki no Hana”, replaces instruments with a very empowering vocal song and is easily one of my favorite openings of the past few years of anime and it does a good job of showing the evolution of Yona thus far. The second ending, “Akatsuki”, is a bit more elegant and subdued than the first, but it is way more fitting, in my opinion.
The rest of the soundtrack is stellar, with the original opening theme being played at certain intervals with different octaves or cords. The other music, created for the background, is gorgeous and the care taken to make it fit the series as close to perfect as possible is appreciated and not wasted as it adds to the emotion and scene at hand. The voice acting is really well done as well, with Yona’s voice actress, the veteran Chiwa Saito standing out amongst the excellent male actors. The English cast has been picked, but I haven’t watched/heard any of the work yet to judge, despite some of the choices being more than a little disappointing (Christopher Sabat is Hak, which, don’t get me wrong I enjoy his work, but I don’t hear Hak being in his range. I could be wrong, and if that was the case, I’d be pleasantly wrong and he nails it, but until I know, I’m going to be uneasy with that choice...).
All of this, combined with the excellently built world, leads to a compelling and immersive story, that seem to be increasingly hard to come by in all mediums, where stories have given way to more set-piece style moments. Akatsuki no Yona has those moments too, but they are even more enjoyable and worth experiencing because of the care taken with building up the tension, which leads to...
Pacing
This seems to be one of the hardest things for any series in any medium to get right. Jump straight into the narrative and your audience is overwhelmed and feels like they missed out, but take too long to build it up and they get bored, not willing to weather the storm for a pay-out that may, or may not be worth it. Does Akatsuki no Yona have that perfect balance in pacing? I wouldn’t say that it has perfect pacing, but I also believe issues in pacing are extremely subjective.
In the span of the first quarter of Akatsuki no Yona, Yona has been exiled, reached the safe haven of Fuuga, leaves Fuuga, is confronted by the son of the Fire General, and meets the priest she is supposed to be meeting, while Soo-Won becomes the new king of Kouka. In other series, all of that could’ve been done in two episodes, three at the most. Yona takes six episodes, but it’s definitely for the better: you have actually given her a chance to adjust to the situation and make her own decisions. And while she is still at the start of the journey, we already feel she’s grown as a character.
The entirety of Akatsuki no Yona is like that: there is no rushing, there is no point where they’re going too slow. Sure, some events may drag a little more than others, but the pacing of the series is very consistent and never abrupt, to keep the viewer engaged in what they are watching. Like I said, I believe pacing issue are subjective, so to me, six episodes to set-up the rest of the series is well warranted, and properly executed, but other viewers may not appreciate a series taking that long to establish its premise.
Akatsuki no Yona doesn’t tell a new story, the series doesn’t break new ground, nor does it shock the viewer with anything gratuitous or over-the-top. But, it does tell an interesting narrative, with enjoyable and likeable characters, a deep engaging lore, and some of the best music and art of any anime series of recent vintage. And in this age, where everything is either color-by-numbers or just set-pieces, that is enough. We may not be close to the end of the series, or even promised a second season of this wonderful anime but length doesn’t determine enjoyment, at least not to me.
Will Akatsuki no Yona go down as a masterpiece? Who knows. But for now, being a stand-out series with a strong female protagonist and a wonderful cast of character is more than enough. We’ll have our answer once this interesting journey has its final chapter.
I, for one, know I’ll be following this princess’ story, the rest of the way.