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Yona of the Dawn
Episode 16

by Rebecca Silverman,

When Yona of the Dawn began, we were essentially asked to accept that Yona loved Su-won because he was a nice guy. While we did get a little flashback to see this, mostly we took Yona's word for it...word that was quickly shown to be something less than the full picture when Su-won murdered her father in front of her. Now in episode sixteen we begin to see who it might have been that Yona fell in love with. Su-won, as you may recall, is visiting the Earth Tribe and has done something less than impress their leader, General Geun-tea. The battle hungry general thinks the new king might even be worse that King Il, seeming totally unmotivated by important state issues and instead babbling about tea. In an apparent effort to appease Geun-tea, Su-won suggests a mock battle so that the Earth Tribe can show off their prowess. Geun-tea scornfully accepts and half-heartedly goes to the game, only to discover that if Su-won is a rabbit, he's the kind from Monty Python and the Holy Grail: with a taste for blood.

While this is not as strong an episode as those following Yona and her band, this episode makes a good case for Su-won's dual nature and how he is not above playing people in order to get what he wants. While he's visiting the Earth Tribe, he makes several moves to significantly improve their economy, which will not only help to secure their aid should he have to go to war, but will also have the added benefit of improving the entire kingdom's economy, strengthening his hold on the throne. I've said that he does seem to genuinely regret having driven Yona away, but now we see that he might be considering the repercussions of that; since she's still out there somewhere (and I don't think he really believes that she's dead), she could come back and try to take back the kingdom. But if the tribes are behind him and he has created a distinct contrast between himself as a ruler and her father, he's got a much better chance at holding on to power. While I hesitate to say that power is corrupting Su-won, I'm also not sure that he would spare Yona's life a second time...or Hak's, for that matter, rosy childhood memories notwithstanding.

The best part of this episode quickly becomes its most overused. As Su-won is apparently running around the playing field like a ninny, we see a brief glimpse of his face looking dangerously serious. The first time we see it, it is striking and frightening, reminding us as viewers that he's not who he is pretending to be. By the fourth time, the effect has worn off and I was regretting using it as a screen cap. (Too late!) Had it remained a one-time image (or maybe two), it would have served as a powerful glimpse of the man Su-won is hiding under his amiable face. Overused, it just feels like beating the proverbial dead horse. (Which reminds me that these are some of the creepiest, most dead-eyed horses I've seen in anime.) That's basically how the entire episode feels – the point could have been made in a quarter of the time and had just as much, if not more, impact. Drawing it out into almost two full episodes just makes the plot lag, because no matter how ingenious Su-won's political machinations are, they are not the stuff of action or adventure. Since that is what the show has set itself up to be, political drama feels like a letdown.

Fortunately next week we return to our princess and her quest for the Green Dragon, who appears reluctant to take up her cause. Also there apparently will be pirates, and I am a total sucker for pirates. I would hope that Su-won's further schemes are better integrated into Yona's adventures, or that she at least comes across word of what he is doing, as that would be a better way to present the two plot lines. Regardless, next week should be a return to the previous format of the show, and hopefully it will prove stronger than these last two episodes.

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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