Akatsuki no Yona
Animation: Studio Pierrot
Premiere: October 7, 2014
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Airtime (GMT+9): Tuesdays at 23:00
Episodes:
Station: AT-X
Information Links: AniDB, ANN Encyclopedia, MyAnimeList, syoboi, Wikipedia
Summary:
Princess Yona, sole heir of the Kouka Kingdom, is raised in luxury and lives in ignorance of the world outside the castle walls. Her father dotes on her, her childhood friend serves her, and she has no worries beyond her attraction to her cousin, the handsome Soo-won, and the annoyance of her unruly red hair. On her 16th birthday, however, everything changes when Yona simultaneously loses everything and becomes a fugitive of her own kingdom. With no one but her bodyguard, Hak, at her side, she flees her pursuers for the relative safety of the outside world where she will have to learn to fend for herself.
Rank: 5 over 5 stars
Own opinion:
On the heels of Pierrot’s adaptation of Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii comes another shoujo manga adaptation. However, Yona has far less in common with Soreseka than it does with Watase Yuu’s shoujo classic Fushigi Yuugi. It’s an adventure with dark undertones and some light humor on the side, and likes to reflect on Yona’s predicament as a fallen princess. Unfortunately, fans of Soreseka may not be quite as enthralled with this princess, though she’s not exactly a pushover herself. Unlike Nike, she is spoiled and weak at first and has to change to survive. However, she does have an army of shoujo boys ready to dazzle and save the day, and she does undergo vast character development, so if that’s more your style of romance, you should give Akatsuki no Yona a try.