Akatsuki no Yona is a shoujo by its traditional definition and elements. It has a frail girl surrounded by tall bishounens, all of them gentlemen with variations of what they like about the girl. It's basically the reverse harem with a high degree of innocence and constant doses of comical smiles, cheesy jokes, blushing, and tender moments about strong men protecting the princess as she evolves into a woman with stronger will and some level of independency. There are, however, many elements that set it apart from how it is labeled.
Akatsuki no Yona is a tale about Yona, the princess of the Kouka Kingdom and her journey to gather the descendants of the mythical four dragons after her childhood friend and love interest, Su-won, betrays her, kill her father, and take the throne for himself. During her journey, the protected princess will grow into a stronger woman, learn about her former subjects, earn the respect of her guards, and ultimately face off against the ursurper with the backup of mythical powers and her lineage. It is a solid representative of the medieval fantasy genre, a genre lacking in quality but that recently got the injection of a few good shows in the industry.
- Daenerys Targaryen?
If you know the Game of Thrones TV Series or the Song of Ice and Fire books, you will probably notice quite a deal of similar ideas in this tale. A frail princess with holy blood, lined with dragons that are supposed to exist only in legends of distant past, fleeing the forces of ursurper and wandering the land, gaining respect of the people, and understanding how to rule and use those who pledge loyalty to her. She is Daenerys with red hair and big eyes, and her scaly allies are now handsome men with subtle dragon abilities. That is a good thing though, because that means her journey is bound to be complex, troublesome, and proving.A Roallercoaster of Intensity
Akatsuki no Yona starts weirdly. Its first two episodes get quite a deal of narrative problems, there is some sort of rush in the tale, but it is also heavily dramatic for a show that calls itself a shoujo. The sequence keeps up with tension, pursuit and action, followed by a slow-paced mid part focused on truly being a show for girls with lots of bishounens and ultimately finishing with a increase of intensity and the promise of a more powerful and mature second part that is yet to come.But it always try to be a shoujo by script
The essence of action, pursuit, warfare, scheming and so on is something you mostly see on shounens if you take the labeling seriously. Akatsuki no Yona, for that reason, manages to grab those who dislike shoujo elements (like myself) quite easily. It always does, however, some effort to toss in the tender moments, jokes about how all men love Yona, innocent blushing, and so on. When it does that, you get to remember this show as intentionally made to please girls regardless of their age.But you know...
Considering the dozens of medieval fantasy around who claim to be shounens that are infuriatingly abused by ecchiness and lolis, this mixture with traditional shoujo elements is not only more tolerable, but also fitting to the image of the frail lead, which is central to the story. It also does, as in most of its kind, contribute quite a deal into developing a more believable personality to the cast, which contrasts with the colorful starting stereotypes.The cast...
Although quite charismatic, the cast suffers a lot for being absurdly attached to shoujo templates we were taught to identify over the years. The frail girl, the multiple types of handsome guys surrounding her, the "love is in the air" feeling, etc. is ever present and at many points spoil the intriguing pasts and some interesting time dedicated to give humanity to the dragon descendants, Haku, and Yun.But it is all decently animated
Studio Pierrot did a great job here, although certainly supbar with the high standard we have these days. Animation-wise the show has its shinning moments, with superb fights with Haku at the early parts, but beyond that it gets quite lacking in the department. The art style does not help with its focus on being shoujo-like for the sake of hitting a predetermined audience, and the colors most of the time feel forced considering what happens. These, however, are just details that make Akatsuki no Yona fall short in this department, and are by no means issues large enough to spoil the overall decent work, especially when it is backed by an outstanding sound direction.
I must say Akatsuki no Yona was the most pleasing surprise of its season for me. I wasn't expecting anything from it and got a show that brought me back to the years of Twelve Kingdom and Escaflowne, where shoujos could be more than just tales of frail girls being courted by tall men with exquisite personalities and flair.
Those looking for a medieval tale can certainly find one of the best of the recent seasons here, full with its bits of fighting, tension, and heartwarming experiences. What you must endure to enjoy it are the stale parts made to attract girls and make this a shoujo. However, if you consider how plagued by ecchiness and nonsensical lolis the shounen counterparts are, then what Akatsuki no Yona does is easily endured by anyone.
Let's hope the second season lead the show to a nice conclusion. This first part certainly work as a charm to present the setting and the cast.
