On the day of her 16th birthday, Yona, fueled by hormones and her crush on her cousin, doesn't have a fear in the world. That is until she watches her cousin Su-Won kill the king and usurp the thrown. The reason for Su-Won killing the king is best left for the manga. Su-Won reciprocates the affection for his cousin, but since she is the only one left to have witnessed what transpired, Su-Won is convinced by his advisers that she must die.Trying to escape,Yona doesn't evade capture along with her good friend Hak and eventually is taken by those loyal to Su-Wan.
The plot itself progresses at a rather dull pace, but that doesn't mean that it isn't worth reading. There is plenty of backstory evolving around Yona, Su-Won and Hak, all of whom grew up together. There are flashbacks that demonstrate why she cannot shake the love for Su-Won even though he killed her father. The love itself is still there by the end of the manga. The manga is rich with hopeless love, but lacks some of the magic elements that most shojo fantasy manga's have. There are mixed feelings between the groups who have both seen and not seen the anime. Most who have seen it are kind of iffy towards the manga, but that could be because she isn't the strong female lead they're used to.
Overall this manga is a stage setter for the bigger role that she will grow into. Much like most heroes in any type of book, movie, manga or anime. The protaginist usually goes through a lot of fire and brimstone before they emerge triumphant at the end. Even though this sets the stage it is still worth the read and if fans see it as the first building stone to a much larger story then the'll pleased. The characters themselves are well developed and Kusanagi should use that building stone for more great adventures to come!
Yona of the Dawn can be purchased through
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