Akatsuki no Yona
Yona of the Dawn

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first review :) *minor spoilers but isn't that important*

Story:
- Though the introduction & plot of the story seems kind of boring and almost generic, as you read further into the manga you won't even consider it boring. It starts out with a weak princess, Yona, and while others won't even bother touching a manga with this type of female protagonist, surrounded by many other men of her own harem, Yona actually puts up a name for herself. Yona gets stronger overtime because of her own determination and will to, which I really give respects to her for. As the story progresses, the story introduces ... more characters that will accompany Yona and her bodyguard Hak, as they roam the lands of Kouka together. 9.5/10

Art:
- Mizuho Kusanagi certainly doesn't disappoint when it comes to the art style with Akatsuki no Yona. She makes it so that the historical part of the series also ties into the art work with its abstract, marvelous designs with building structures, statues, clothing, etc. The art is interesting, and I really love how Mizuho will put in amazing designs in certain parts of the story that isn't necessary to the story at all. Mizuho is perfect for drawing details, no page in Akatsuki no Yona isn't beautifully done. 10/10

Characters:
- My favorite part about Akatsuki no Yona. The unique and different amount of characters there are in the manga! Each of the main characters have their backgrounds, and where they all came from. Everyone has different personalities, but they all have personalities to where you will just like them all. The character development for Yona is outstanding. Her journey from being a spoiled princess who always got anything she wanted to a more stronger person who works to get what they want and help the people in need around her is amazing. My favorite dragon is Hakuryuu, Kija, because I really love the comedy he brings into the group as well as his loving loyalty to Yona. Romance between Yona & Hak is very sweet too, why can't they just get married already ? Everyone has their own humor that I personally enjoy; the characters never bore me. 10/10

Enjoyment:
- It takes a lot for me to go ahead and read a manga, I would rather see things in color and sometimes reading and seeing black and white over and over again starts irritating my eyes. Even then, I highly enjoy Akatsuki no Yona. This is my favorite manga. This manga has never made me uninterested, I always loved how it can be very serious, the dialogue being very story heavy to a more light-hearted atmosphere in the next page. The transitions from serious to comedy is driven out very well, the jumps don't really feel so sudden, it felt like it was natural for it to be there. I love each and every one of the character's for a lot of different reasons, and a lot of different reasons because they have so much behind them. I liked, loved this manga for the art work, characters, meaning, how the characters interacted with each other, how the arcs were presented, just pretty much everything! I hope Akatsuki no Yona won't stop publishing for a few more years, and I also hope that the anime for Akatsuki no Yona will finish off excellently and someday receive a season two (by the time the anime ends, there will be a lot more stuff that didn't get animated, so pray for season two!) 10/10

Overall:
- Overall, this manga is a 10/10 for me; if you are a person who is interested in the historical fantasy aspect in stories as well as romance, comedy, and action then this manga is practically calling out to you! Keep in mind though that this is a shoujo and a reverse harem, but don't let those two change your mind on possibly reading this. Every male in the reverse harem will make you like this series, and Yona herself, of course.

RECOMMENDED FOR SHOUJO READERS.

Ended up dropping this manga so it will only be a short review.

Usually I'm able to endure a few cliche character tropes but these characters were such caricatures of every sappy profile in the book I honestly couldn't.
Main lead girl is interesting enough - very emotional - would not necessarily call her 'independent' or 'strong'. It's the old case of a mangaka saying:
"Hey look: my character is so strong. You know this because I am TELLING you she's strong, not SHOWING you her strength". This just doesn't work for me; especially when I have to endure a character getting injured every few ... pages to be gimmickly stiched up/saved by their love interest.

Main love interest - complete tsundere to the point it's frustrating. This also completely opposes how servile he was in the first few chapters. I mean I get it's a part of the story that he's her 'bodyguard' etc. but it just seems like a mismatch of traits and leaves me confused/frustrated. On one hand his personality is that of a tsundere, on the other his role in the story is completely servile and doting and it doesn't make sense and seems completely manufactured/one-dimensional.

Art: I mean its good and proportional, but it's a bit cheap. Best summed up by Hayao Miyazaki when he said: "They make their characters overly expressive for cheap laughs at the expense of beautiful art".

Story: Started off good. The twist at the beginning was pretty shocking. Fell off completely. No real direction afterwards and I was confused as to what the chars were trying to achieve/where they were going.

This is the manga that I dropped several times.

This manga got great potentials. It has nice plot story, nice character development, the tune is set to medieval era, has great romance possibilities, but all of them are wasted.

Story(4/10) : This manga is about a princess that got betrayed by the man she loved, got her dad(the king) killed, and then run away for her life. In the journey, she learned that her father is not a great king like she always imagine, and she wanted to do right, for her father. The plot itself is quite interesting, but the execution is horrible. The plot is ... toned to a serious and darker story, but the execution is set into a comedic style, with stupid plans and stubborn yona, putting herself in danger time and time again for little to no reason at all.

Art(5/10) : The art itself is not bad, it has nice shoujo artstyle, would give this a 8/10 if this is a fluffy shoujo manga. The problem is the art is not really compatible with the timeline. The time is set to medieval era, and the characters are sometimes in a serious problems, such as kidnapped, betrayed, etc. The situations can be expressed much, much better in other artstyle.

Character(2/10) : The characters, especially the four dragons, are drawn to yona, not because of yona's personality or strength, but because she is the one dragon king. Kija, a nobleman in his village, suddenly bowed to yona, because he felt the 'throb'. Before he met yona, he would throw out all the people that visited him. Jaeha cannot run from yona even if he wanted to, because of once again, the 'throb'. basically the characters are forced to stick with yona, because she is the one. I'll give this 1/10 for characters and dropped this long ago if not for Hak being there.

Enjoyment(2/10) : I can't bear to read this manga, it is so frustating. Every 2-3 chapters, I stopped reading this manga, and read another manga instead. I picked this manga, dropped this manga, read another manga and finished it, then picked this manga, and the cycle continues.

Akatsuki no Yona has great potentials, but most of them are wasted.