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Yona of the Dawn
Episode 15

by Rebecca Silverman,

Su-won is back! And he's clearly playing his cards very close to his chest, seeming to spend most of the episode putting on a sweet, dippy act for the general of the Earth Clan, a man who is thirsting for war. This act does nothing to endear Su-won to the general...and very little to move the story forward, even though we who have been watching the show can pretty much put money on the fact that he has a clear reason behind his behavior. Is he proposing war games in order to show a doubting public that he means business? Gauging the strength of his forces in preparation for waging an actual war? It's hard to say, really, and given that the background theme of this episode is how weak a king Yona's father was, it's certainly going to be interesting to see what Su-won's plan is. Sadly it is far less interesting to watch him sweetly smile his way to its execution.

Back with Yona, meanwhile, the gang is looking for the Green Dragon, led by Gija's innate sense of where he is. They pass through a village raved by illness and neglect, and Yona must come to terms with the fact that her father, whom she believed to be a good, kind man, was not well-loved by his subjects. This is the first time we get to hear what the rest of the group thought of him, and apart from Hak, it isn't good. Yona's distress is probably the strongest part of an otherwise meandering episode, with a very strong performance from Chiwa Saito, who makes Yona's pained, stifled wails run down your spine. Of all of the trials Yona has had to face thus far, crushing her image of her father might be the hardest.

Speaking of images of others, it is interesting to note that when Su-won talks about the people he cares for greatly, Yona is nowhere in the image. Instead we see Hak and other members of the Wind Tribe, which once again causes me to question whether or not Su-won's feelings for the general are entirely platonic. It would certainly add some unexpected tension to their inevitable final confrontation, for everyone involved, and Yona, who has already had her heart broken by Su-won's murder of her father, may find herself even more conflicted than she already is. On the other hand, we do still see Su-won looking vaguely romantic towards her in the opening theme, but there's no rule that he can only like one gender.

On the subject of the opening theme, this episode marks the arrival of a new one, “Akatsuki no Hana” (Flower of the Dawn) by Cyntia. While the song itself isn't unpleasant to listen to, it doesn't feel like it fits the show, particularly coming on the heels of the instrumental “Akatsuki no Yona” which preceded it. Some images in the opening theme remain exactly the same against the new musical background, which is a little jarring, and overall I just don't feel like it works particularly well. The new ending theme, “Akatsuki” by Akiko Shikata, is a smoother fit for the series, and while it is visually less interesting than its predecessor, it is quite beautiful, as is its opening image of a falling flower.

While this isn't the best episode of the series, nor does it firmly point us to where the story is heading, it is still interesting, focusing on varying opinions of King Il. It also shakes up the regular formula of “Yona Looks For Dragons,” which if nothing else will make it feel fresh when we get back to it. It seems that we'll have at least one more Su-won focused episode, so hopefully that will give us a better sense of what's going on in his head. At the half-way mark we have hit a brief stumble, but it seems possible that this is in service of introducing Su-won's plan – and then we'll better know what Yona is going to be up against in her quest to reclaim her throne.

Rating: B

Yona of the Dawn is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation.com.

Rebecca Silverman is ANN's senior manga critic.


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