Monday, May 21, 2018

Yona of the Dawn, volume 1

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Today's post is on Yona of the Dawn, volume 1 by Mizuho Kusanagi. It is the first in her Yona of the Dawn series. It is 190 pages long and is published by Shojo Beat. The cover has Princess Yona on it with swords all around her. The intended reader is someone who likes epic high fantasy, shojo manga, and revenge plots. There is no foul language, no sex, but there is violence in this story. The story is told from third person close mostly of Yona but some of Hak her bodyguard. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Princess Yona lives an ideal life as the only princess of her kingdom. Doted on by her father, the king, and protected by her faithful guard Hak, she cherishes the time spent with the man she loves, Soo-won. But everything changes on her 16th birthday when she witnesses her father's murder! Yona reels from the shock of losing her father and having to fight for her life. With Hak's help, she flees the castle and struggles to survive while evading her enemy's forces. But where will this displaced princess go with such an uncertain path before her?

Review- A powerful story that does not get told much in the shojo way. Princess Yona is about to turn 16 at the start of the story. She lives with her father and wants to marry her crush Soo-won. But when she witnesses her father's murder, she must flee with her guard Hak and that is about it for this volume. Much of the volume is about Yona's past with Soo-wan and Hak. Growing up with them and being a princess with all that means. We really get to see what Soo-wan murdering her father in front of her does to her sense of self and her mind. We do not spend any time in Soo-wan's head so we have no idea about what he believes he is doing. The volume with Yona finding some sense of self again. I really enjoyed this first volume and I have high hopes for the rest of the series.

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.

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