Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Yona of the Dawn
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11358 |
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Nope, it was mentioned it in the other thread too. I had to go back and check names after that "killed" line, then I thought it was a mistake, until spoiler[they dragged him off and he whimpered "I'm still alive."] 
This is much better now that she's stopped wailing. It wasn't so much the crying that was bothering me, but how loud she was about it while being pursued. Then again, building a fire at night didn't seem to be the brightest move either. 
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Ultimatum
 Posts: 162 |
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Oh, I'm not saying my wishes for the show are the majority opinion or anything. I'd just personally like the show to focus on Yona's growth and journey. Romance is fine, but I don't like it when it takes over the plot, and given Soo-won's actions, it seems like it might not be a great idea to reintroduce him as a new member of a love triangle. I mean, he did kind of spoiler[kill her dad and almost kill her, even if he resisted a bit.] I don't watch too many reverse harems (mainly because there aren't many) so I don't know the dynamics, but given the author's past work like NG Life, I was looking forward to some interesting, fleshed out female characters. Don't get me wrong, Yona's great, but she's the only prominent female character in the show at this point (and judging from the opening, the only one in the show at all). |
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SweetCoconut
Posts: 44 Location: Philippines |
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Yes, Soo-won's name was differently spelled in the latest episode, but not only that, character's names was misspelled in this episode despite that it should be based on the manga's original translation. For example, Mun-dok's name was Mun-deok in the subs.
And also, the BG music was still overpowering the dialogue and I don't know who's the fault here. The studio? TV station? CR? |
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer
 Posts: 2609 Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City |
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Is there an official translation of the manga available in your country? We don't have one in English, and if you do in the Phillipines, consider me officially jealous! It looks to me like they're using a romanization of Korean such as we typically see in English-translated manhwa and K-dramas, hence "deok" instead of "dok" even though we can't hear the "e." That's why the "su" vs "soo" looked so odd to me - to generalize, usually I see it spelled with the "u" in romanized Chinese and the "oo" in romanized Korean. |
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Darkmagick
 SubscriberPosts: 463 |
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My assumption is that now that Funimation has announced their license of the series, Crunchyroll is using Funimation's official romanizations that were in their press release, regardless of what is properly Korean and what is not. (Before now, they seemed to be using the romanizations used by the primary fan scanlations?) Anyways, I'm thinking these are the spellings we can expect from now on. (Which makes me sad, because that "Su" is really bugging me.) |
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lys
 Posts: 1008 Location: mitten-state |
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There is a list here of the official spellings used in the French (UGH, SO JEALOUS) manga translation. They still look Korean, but less bizarre than some of the spellings I've been seeing. That assortment of letters CR's fansubs used for Han Dae looked ridiculous.
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Crisha
Moderator
 Posts: 4290 |
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Oh, wow, I loved episode 5 "Howl".
This. This is what I was looking forward to. There were several scenes that had some brilliant, little moments. Yona's scene with Tae-yeon was absolutely adorable, especially when he gripped his cap and pulled it down his head before crying. Tae-yeon's voice actor did an amazing job that entire scene. And then later, when Yona confronts Hak about leaving, their back-and-forth banter was so entertaining to watch. Yona's willful attitude is a main reason why she's one of my favorite characters this season. She's not arrogant, but neither does she back down. And the resolution to that scene is absolutely hilarious when she says just the right words to convince him to take her along. 
At the same time though, this episode showed that she doesn't just act without thinking. Hak asks her to not move, to stay hidden and out of danger, and she hesitates over what to do when Hak is in danger, understanding that by disobeying and revealing her hiding spot that she may put him at a disadvantage during his fight. But then, in an internal passionate speech reminiscent of many a shounen hero, she decides to face her issues head on and successfully runs out and saves Hak from immediate danger. It's a wonderful scene, demonstrating that she is neither completely thoughtless or helpless. And then she continues to stand her ground in front of Tae-jun, not convinced or wavered by his words. (She's definitely no Miaka, at least. In fact, if you loved the fantasy-fare of Fushigi Yugi, but were eternally frustrated with Miaka, then give Yona a chance.) There are three minor criticisms I do want to address, however. 1. The BGM: The background music for this show is absolutely gorgeous. However, someone needs to crank down on the volume. This episode wasn't nearly as bad as episode 4, but it's been present throughout the entire series. Occasionally, the music could be so loud and dramatic that it drowns out the voice acting. Hopefully the home disc release fixes this some. 2. The Humor: I personally find the jokes and humor in this show hilarious most of the time (i.e. Tae-jun about to monologue - the music dramatic - and then the scene cuts to Hak and Yona ignoring him and the music shuts off), though there are times I wished is was withheld. Some people may find the humor inappropriate, abruptly changing the tone in a series that is dealing with serious, dramatic issues. If someone is hoping for the next Twelve Kingdoms or Moribito - that are more serious in their tone and delivery - then they may not like humor in Yona, which can suddenly shift the mood. What's great, however, is that the series avoids the typical slapstick humor. At one point in this episode, it even sets itself up for the overdone weight joke - Hak comments as he picks her up, "You've gained weight, Princess." And Yona's only response to such a statement is to get a disgruntled look on her face and say, "That was unnecessary." I loved that scene. I love how they are characterizing Yona and how the banter between her and Hak avoids her being easily offended by his teasing jabs. I love how she just lets it roll off her instead of blowing up over it. 3. The Internal Monologuing: Internal, often flowery monologues are a common trope in shoujo, and Yona has plenty of moments where we're inside her head. This episode is filled with several. It can be considered a lazy way of developing a character if it's used too often. However, it feels appropriate for this episode since Yona has finally come out of her daze from the tragedy. Overall, I'm really enjoying this series. Between Yona of the Dawn, Chaika, Parasyte, and Mushishi, I'd say that this has been the best anime season for the year. |
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Angel M Cazares
 Posts: 5424 Location: Iscandar |
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Excellent review of episode 5. I continue to like how the show has been handled and look forward to seeing the new Yona and her merry companions.
Without a doubt. |
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Crisha
Moderator
Posts: 4290 |
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Yes, excellent review, Rebecca. I agree with everything mentioned in your review of episode 5. Yona's thoughtful consideration and determination to stand on her own two feet shows a lot of promise. I look forward to seeing what the rest of the series brings to the table.
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KidaYuki
 Posts: 129 Location: North America |
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I can't remember if this is episode 4 or 5 because I watched them together yesterday, but at one point Yona is engaging in pleasantries "Oh how are you holding up?" "I'm okay, people gave me warm food and have been very kind" mean while the musical tension was so thick it was almost suffocating. ((Then again everything but the pleasantries was dramatically at that exact point in time)) usually the only time I notice background music is when there is none |
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AwaysAnnoyed
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I'd also like to echo Rebecca in her review, it was really on-point with what I thought as well.
I'm super excited for the coming episodes, and cannot wait for the introduction of all the other men shown to us in the opening! I don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet, but that opening is gorgeous for me. It's not often when you get an opening with no lyrics, and the music fits the show like a glove! I'm really glad I picked up this show, and hopefully that won't change in the foreseeable future! |
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rheiders
 Posts: 1137 Location: Colorful Colorado :) |
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I agree that this was a really strong episode, and I can't wait for more! Yona's character shows a lot of promise and I love her relationship with Hak and Soo-won. I'm very curious to learn more about Soo-won and his real motives, as well.
I didn't really notice the music, but I may be desensitized after Parasyte's bizarre soundtrack.
I'll also add that the pseudo-Korean setting is pretty refreshing. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11358 |
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This is how the jacked up music level makes me feel.
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lys
Posts: 1008 Location: mitten-state |
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Oh wow, yes! A couple episodes back (during all the flashbacks), I was grumbling to myself about how irritating I find anime kid-voices, but this scene was so well done and felt so sincere and Tae-yeon was just the sweetest. Ahhhh~ I really adored this whole episode and was surprised by how much it all affected me, despite already knowing what would happen (I've been following it in Japanese for a while now and recently reread through it all again). Yona herself is an absolute delight! (I did realize that, oh yeah, people who haven't read the manga had to wait an entire month for her to get to this point, while I was able to take in v1-2 all at once, but I still say the gradual transformation was so worth it.) |
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Agent355
 Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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The gradual evolution of the heroine really works here. We got to know Yona and get into her head through her grief and growing convictions not to be a victim or a burden.
This was a great episode, but the jokey unwanted sexual innuendo Hak heaped on Yona really bugged me. I know lines like "will you pay me with your body" are par for the course in shoujo manga, but I don't have to like it. Otherwise the episode was pitch perfect! Great mix of humor, tension and action. Okay, the action tugged on my suspension of disbelief a bit because, let's face it, Hak was really outnumbered. But the joke of Yona and Hak ignoring the villain's monologue was well done. And I love that Yona was buying none of that guy's BS when he suggested that oppressing the Wind Clan was all on his dad. I'm really looking forward to seeing Yona grow into a leader who can't be messed with! |
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