Yona of the Dawn

Episode 17

The latest addition to Princess Yona's harem might be a little more difficult to secure than some of the others. Now that we've learned about Su-won's governmental plans, the story this week shifts back to Yona and her quest to find all of the dragons, with the latest challenge being finding the Green Dragon. Gija and Shinha keep losing track of him – they managed to find the port town, Awa Port, where he lives, but for some reason he keeps vanishing from their internal radars, something which seems to frustrate Gija. (But really, what doesn't?) As viewers, we quickly learn why the Green Dragon is so hard to pin down: he doesn't want to be found. Jeaha is a beauty-obsessed member of Captain Gigan's pirate crew and he has no interest whatsoever in fulfilling his so-called destiny by protecting some dragon king guy or whatever. His life is his to live, and no one is going to tell him otherwise. (Interestingly, Gigan rules her crew with an iron fist, but perhaps he doesn't mind her telling him what to do because he chose to be part of her crew in the first place.) He also has the power of limited flight from his dragon legs, which presumably is why Gija can't keep tabs on where he is.

While your opinion may differ, I found Jeaha the least appealing of the dragons thus far. He's a wily fellow, which certainly works for him being a pirate, but he's also highly egotistical, a trait I tend to find annoying. He certainly does seem to genuinely enjoy his life, however, which is a nice change from the lives pretty much all of the other male characters were leading before Yona and Hak found them, and his interest in forming a fast friendship with Hak is entertaining. How Yona will eventually change his mind about joining her party should be interesting. I would assume that it would have to do with her beauty, but early in the episode Hak points out that the princess is not looking her best right now, which given Jeaha's love of the gorgeous would seem to be deliberate. Right now it seems more likely that Hak will be the one to convince him, because he does seem to genuinely like and respect the Thunder Beast.

Poor Hak is the butt of all jokes this episode, with Yona seeming to think that he needs time to tend to his “manly needs” at a brothel or two. How much of that she actually understands is up for debate, but Hak spends a lot of his screen time looking both uncomfortable and embarrassed, rather to Yun and Gija's delight. (Poor Shinha, we can assume, has exactly no clue as to what is going on.) Hak's misadventures do lead to the discovery of how corrupt Awa Port is, and Gigan's pirate crew is at the moment the town's only defense against the corruption of its officials. This gives Yona a chance to step up and prove that she can be as effective as her cousin when it comes to governing, and I hope that we'll see her get that chance, because not only would it have a positive impact on the story's ultimate goal of her reclaiming the throne, but it would also serve as a warning to Su-won that he might have more to deal with than he currently thinks. That could lead to a more balanced mix of Yona and Su-won storylines, such as we got in early episodes of the show.

The other major point of note here is Captain Gigan. She marks the first truly successful female in a leadership role that we've seen in the story, Gija's granny notwithstanding, as she played the matriarch part we take much more for granted. As a pirate captain, Gigan has command of her own small navy and is actively using them to better the lives of those in Awa Port, something the leader of the town ought to be doing. That she is having some success makes her a potential role model for Yona as well as concrete proof that it is possible for her to achieve her goals. That she might be based on real-life Chinese pirate Cheng I Sao makes her all the more intriguing, and it does seem possible given that she and Jeaha wear clothing from the Kingdom of Kai, which looks more Chinese to Yona's Korean-style garb.

In any event, there is a definite sense that Yona and her band have reached an important point in their journey. Here in Awa Port they have the opportunity not only to get the Green Dragon, but also to fight corruption and score points for Yona as a future queen. Hopefully that's what we'll get to see unfold in future weeks.

Rating: B+

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

Rebecca Silverman is ANN's senior manga critic.