At first, this show seems like your average run of the mill shoujo reverse harem, but by the end of the first episode as the story goes on, it seems to be more than that, its really a well written story which focuses on vengence and betrayal, it blow other shoujos away. The pacing at times when getting dragons to join may seem a little slow and does drag on here and there. Sure it does focus on finding the dragons but get to the point already, sure there may be a sidestory but can we just get these people coming in?
The characters are done well and are beautifully developed, Yona is pretty much one of my faviroute female characters of all time, she starts off weak and fragile like a little kitten and develops on to be something big, a brave independent creature awaiting its prey, its done in a way that developing her is spot on. If I'd rate Yona alone it would be an easy 10. Hak is Yona's first protector, being known since childhood, Hak is goddamn badass, he helps Yona and keeps her safe from danger, he'll use himself as a tool to protect her. The other dragons are pretty good characters each with their own backstories and being well developed to Yona. The problem i have here is that some of these characters might say a serious speech and then revert to comedy, at first its a good ol'joke but it keeps getting used so much that its just a pain in the ass at times.
The Art is pretty good for the most part, it has some well done character designs and sometimes has some well detailed characters. Same goes for sound, its great to listen, both OPs and EDs are goddamn beautiful and the OSTs fit the shows theme.
The show is a blast to watch, it leaves no plotholes (from my point of view) and has dialouge that seems useful. The problem is that sometimes this show is a serious adventure fantasy and then converts to a shoujo comedy and usually this transition feels unatural and ruin the tense moments. At times its pretty funny but at times, I can't even.
Story:9
Art:8
Sound:8.5
Character:9
Enjoyment:9.5
Akatsuki no Yona is a goddamn pleasure to watch and I'm glad I didn't ignore it. At first the plot sounds generic, but give the show a chance and you'll experience some of the most well done developements in anime in years. This show deserves a Season 2, hell it needs ne. And this all comes from Studio Pierret... how about putting this effort in Tokyo Ghoul? But besides jokes, you should seriously start watching Akatsuki no Yona right now.
