I have been searching for the past few months to find a new anime to watch, yet could not find one that hooked me well enough to continue past the first few episodes.
But this anime was different. While I only started watching it to kill time and serve as background noise for my daily activities when I discovered it on Netflix and realised it featured the talents of some of my favourite voice actors, I was immediately hooked from episode one, and found myself binge watching the rest, only stopping to write this review.
While the opening animation was clumsy and seemed low budget, I could hardly say that for the rest of the series.
Let's start with the main character. From episode one, all of the characters immediately pull you in with their quirky and unique (and very close to realistic) personalities and beautiful designs. While I was hesitant about watching an anime about a princess (as I expected her to be meek and constantly playing the damsel in distress), something seemed different about her from episode one and I quickly found out just how determined, caring, selfless and strong-willed she is, which shattered all previous misconceptions.
Yona immediately became not only a strong character I could look up to as a teenage girl, but a relatable heroine - I felt her pain, I understood her need to become stronger for those she loved, but most importantly, I felt inspired by her realism of her emotions. Despite all she had been through, she could not give up the pin Soo Won gave her. She could not ignore the grief she felt towards losing her father, the disappointment she felt towards herself for letting her childhood friend almost get killed and the pain of Soo Won's betrayal that haunted her memories.
And despite hearing and seeing for herself what her father's weakness did to the country, she never lost the love and admiration she had for him.
She is a true inspiration. She showed me that there is strength in everyone that can be turned into something amazing when put to use, and that it's possible to be hung up over past events, yet turn those emotions into a pillar of strength. That you don't need to be perfect or constantly rely on others to succeed. In this way, she is different from your typical princess and your typical anime heroine. She's neither tough as nails nor a complete girly ditz - she finds a balance.
Another thing that makes this anime special is how they portray the protagonists and antagonistic sides. It shows how different people perceive others.
Il killed his brother
Soo Won avenged his father and killed Il before unintentionally causing various other innocent deaths
We later find out Il was a terrible king - his ideals only lead to more suffering.
Who is really in the wrong? Who is truly evil?
While I despised Soo Won for his underhanded tactics at first, episode 16 showed him in a new light - as a leader who truly wanted to improve the country, no matter what it takes, and as a leader who truly desires harmony and prosperity, even if temporary chaos is the only way to achieve certain things at first.
Unlike other animes(?) which try to positively show two warring sides fighting for their own definitions of justice and make you feel for both sides (i.e. Tokyo Ghoul), Yona succeeds in showing that antagonists need not be evil. In the end, Tokyo Ghoul still made me hate most of the CCG, showing their leaders as psychotic, misguided murderers, but Yona made me understand in a deeper way that justice isn't black or white and can't be treated as such, and it showed me that misunderstandings and opacity are perhaps the biggest problems with regards to human relations throughout the eras. I must give kudos for the writing style, too, as it not only managed to make me cry on several occasions, but also made me laugh and even provoked my maternal instincts towards a certain blue dragon despite him literally being the same age as me.
If there is anything to complain about... I'd say the opening definitely needs work.
Overall, it is extremely rare for me to discover a series that pushes me to dedicatedly watch each episode with care and interest and avoid spoilers at all costs (I tend to go looking for spoilers because I'm weird) but Yona did it.
Bravo writers. Bravo sound technicians and designers. Bravo animators. Bravo manga author. It was a terrifically executed work of art.
