Manga Review: Yona of the Dawn, Volume 15, by Mizuho Kusanagi

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: December 2018

Volumes: 28+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 14. 16.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A red-haired princess loses her family and her kingdom… Now she must rise and fight for her throne!

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, Su-won. But everything changes on her 16th birthday when tragedy strikes her family!

A drug known as “nadai” has spread throughout the Water Tribe territory, so Yona and Riri, the daughter of the Water Tribe chief, are determined end this drug crisis. However, their task is an uphill battle, and they couldn’t have imagined the dangers that await them!

Review:

I'm so impressed by the quality of Kusanagi's work. Her earlier series were very good, with a lot of potential and usually good character development, but some were a little weak, and some of them had badly placed/too much humor for the plot. This series is so perfectly balanced, with on-key humor and plot, and such intense serious moments. And the characters are the best. Sometimes I think about this, and I'm just so impressed, and so happy about it. I just love this series so, so much.

Okay, anyway.

Yona is badly injured, but she continues to fight anyway. She stays strong, and it inspires Riri. The dragons and Hak, on the other hand, are extremely worried, and feel awful for not guarding her correctly. Yona, on the other hand, feels bad for not being stronger. It's a sad, touching moment, seeing them all struggle with this.

During the fight, though, Yona gets on the bad side of Hyo, the man behind all of this. But, while his pride is wounded and he wants her dead, they're all in search of him just as seriously. More so, even.

There's a surprising turn of events in the latter half of the volume, as we see Su-Won again. I really want to hate him, but he intrigues me, and then he does something good... I'm conflicted about him. But it's interesting to see him and Yona actually interacting; they are on very uneven ground with each other, but they also kind-of have an understanding. I'm curious about where that's going to go next. I'm also curious about Zeno—it's a little unclear what his power is, what his position and what he knows.

This series cannot come out fast enough. I need more.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!