Review for Yona of the Dawn Part 1

Introduction

It’s something of an irony that we as consumers rarely get to see the direct benefits of the so-called global economy, and that’s doubly so for fans of niche entertainment such as anime. The first great divide comes in terms of region coding, and what used to be different television standards. Each territory tends to have its own local distributor, better suited to understand local audiences, what will sell, what won’t, which makes sense up to a point. But then you have some downright strange, and let’s face it anti-competitive pronouncements from Japanese production committees, studios and distributors who will do what it takes to protect domestic sales at the expense of the rest of the world, leaving global fans scratching their heads in consternation. It used to be an idle wish in some quarters that English territory releases should be handled by companies with global reach, so that we’d at least get equal treatment in terms of disc content and presentation. That way I’d no longer have to import the US release of the Trigun movie because the UK release was technically compromised, and a hundred other such instances.


Then Crunchyroll came along and showed that a global reach was possible for an anime company, albeit for online streaming, trying to be a one-stop shop for anime. Rival streaming services are available, one of them from Funimation. They briefly streamed to the world for a few months when they started initially, before the fine print on the contracts became legible and they geo-locked their streams. Given the sheer number of exclusives that Funimation get, fans have wanted their streaming site opened to the world for several years now, and earlier this year with the re-launch of their site, that finally happened. Funimation Now is accessible from the UK. But that’s just the start, as this summer, Funimation are moving into the physical distribution of anime in the UK as well, with releases mirroring their US titles in terms of format and content. No more NTSC-PAL conversions, no more missing extras, no dodgy subtitles, and no flaws, unless we share those flaws with the rest of the world. Sauce for the goose.


It’s been a good while getting to this point, and it could be that Funimation have run out of UK distributors to partner with, having worked through MVM, Revelation Films, Manga Entertainment, and Anime Limited to this point where they’re launching on their own label. Anime Limited will continue to work with Funimation to release UK specific Ultimate and Collector’s Editions to titles that deserve a little extra, like the forthcoming Full Metal Alchemist, but the standard releases will be coming through Funimation, the first of which is the first half of the fantasy series Yona of the Dawn. I’m on record as saying that the fantasy genre isn’t my favourite anime genre, but I have to say that I’m in a good place when it comes to anime fantasy right now, having recently reviewed Rage of Bahamut: Genesis, and a quick look at the visuals, the production design of Yona of the Dawn puts me in mind of Magi: The Labyrinth/Kingdom of Magic, so for once I’m diving into a fantasy series with a sense of hopeful anticipation.

Yona’s life as Princess of the Kohka kingdom was a blessed one. Her father was a pacifist king, who preferred to deal with his neighbours rather than wage war, and although Yona lost her mother at an early age, she wasn’t short of love, with a father who doted on her, and close friends, particularly her cousin Su-won, who was like a sibling when they were younger, although as she approached her sixteenth birthday, those feelings became a little more complicated, and also her personal guard Hak.


And then on her sixteenth birthday, Su-won murdered her father, King Il, and because she witnessed the crime, she had to flee with only Hak to protect her. Now, as Su-won ascends the throne, Yona has to fulfil a prophecy, and gather the legendary heroes that will help her to take back what is rightfully hers.

The first twelve episodes of Yona of the Dawn are presented across two Blu-ray discs as follows. Just like the US release, this is a combo pack with the show on DVD as well, but I have only the Blu-ray check discs to comment on for the purpose of this review.

Disc 1
1. Princess Yona
2. Broken Bond
3. Faraway Sky
4. The Wind Clan
5. Roar
6. The Crimson Hair
7. Fate
8. The Chosen Door

Disc 2
9. Wavering Determination
10. Yearn
11. The Dragon’s Claws
12. The Blindfolded Dragon

Picture

Yona of the Dawn gets a 1.78:1 widescreen 1080p transfer on these Blu-ray discs. It’s a fine transfer, clear and sharp throughout, with smooth animation, strong colours, and no overt signs of compression, or even digital banding. It’s an appealing animation, and while the character designs are anime generic, and the world design doesn’t exactly challenge in terms of detail and intricacy, the action scenes are animated robustly, and the overall feeling is of appealing consistency.

The images in this review were kindly supplied by Funimation.

Sound

You get the usual Funimation options of Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround English, and 2.0 Stereo Japanese. The translated subtitles, and signs only tracks are locked to the appropriate audio stream. I went with the original language track, and was happy enough with the experience; the actors are suited well to their roles, and the stereo does well bringing out the action sequences and the orchestral music. The subtitles are accurately timed and free of typos. I gave the English dub a brief try, and from what I heard it seemed fine, perfectly listenable.

Extras

The discs present their content with animated menus.

Disc 1 autoplays with a trailer for the Funimation Now streaming service, but the only extras are the audio commentaries. The episode 4 commentary features ADR Director Clifford Chapin, alongside Kent Williams (Mun-deok), and Mikaela Krantz (Tea-yeon). The episode 8 audio commentary has Clifford Chapin, Monica Rial (Yona), and lead writer and voice of Ik-su, (Jerry Jewell).

Disc 2 autoplays with a trailer for Garo. You get more than usual when it comes to the assortment of promos, a set of Promo Videos, a TV Spot, BD/DVD trailers, and the US trailer for the show. You get the usual textless credits (rendered less so by locked subtitles), and further Funimation trailers for Rage of Bahamut: Genesis, Samurai Warriors, The Boy and the Beast, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Selector Spread WIXOSS, Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign, and Tokyo Ghoul √A.


Anime releases in the days of yore used to have production notes, either on disc, or as an insert in the case. I really did miss that with Yona of the Dawn, as I’d really love to know more about its story and the mythology. It looks to be a Korean tale given the character names, and I’d love to know if it’s an original manga adaptation, or if that too is based on mythology and legend; the kind of thing that you usually find in production notes.

Conclusion

There’s only one thing that disappoints me about Yona of the Dawn, and that’s the opening theme. The intro to that theme is rapidly paced Japanese percussion, driving and exciting, and ever since I’ve started watching the series, I’ve been fighting an urge to re-watch nu-Battlestar Galactica as well. Such facetiousness aside, Yona of the Dawn is a solid piece of entertainment, a well put together show with an interesting story, likeable characters, and an appealing way of drawing the viewer in. It’s not perfect, and there are plenty of better shows out there, but it is consistently enjoyable, and at no point can you call it dull or bad or anything too negative. It’s just that at no point does Yona of the Dawn threaten to excel, or astound.


It’s a decent historical fantasy, and with its tale of a princess going on the run with her protector, there’s more than hint of Moribito about the story, especially during the early episodes. It’s certainly not on the same level as Moribito, largely because of the emphasis on humour, and also a less holistic approach to its magic and fantasy elements. The one criticism that Yona of the Dawn probably deserves is its emphasis on humour. After all, it has a very dark and tragic start, where the childhood friend, cousin, and romantic interest of Princess Yona kills her father the king to usurp his throne, and moves to have Yona killed as well. That understandably throws the princess into a listless depression, to the point that she’s practically a bystander in her flight with her protector Hak. It seems the kind of dark tinged story that would develop in further dark and tragic directions. It could potentially be another Berserk, but Yona of the Dawn plays things very light, and maybe even too humorous given its premise. This is a show with plenty of SD moments for its characters.


Yona of the Dawn is also a show that unfolds at its own, really quite leisurely pace. This is a story that really does want to fill in the blanks as it goes along, newly introduced characters or situations will always get flashbacks if warranted, so that you understand the characters and their motivations (it’s difficult to see Su-won as a moustache twirling antagonist as a result), but it also means that plot twists and surprises are pretty rare in this show. The first episode introduces the main characters in the palace, and sets the scene, taking us to the moment of regicide, while the second concerns Yona and Hak’s escape from the palace. The trip to Hak’s homeland covers Yona’s subsequent grief and depression, and it’s only when they find temporary sanctuary that she begins to come to terms with her new life. When the sanctuary proves unsafe, they get pointed towards the Oracle and the show takes us past episode eight in meeting him and learning of her destiny and what the story is really about. The story is about Yona fulfilling a prophecy, and gathering mystically powerful allies to help her regain the throne, but it’s taking its time about finding these Four Dragons, and as we reach the halfway point, Yona has only recruited one Dragon to her cause, and has only just located the second.


Somewhere along the line, words like ‘average, adequate, mundane’, and ‘mediocre’ have taken on negative connotations. Everyone wants the next big thing, and Yona of the Dawn is not the next big thing. It is however, fun, consistently entertaining, and put together with style, panache, and a love for the material. It may be an average show, but the studio made the best, average show that they could. I certainly didn’t begrudge watching a single minute of Yona of the Dawn, and I look forward to the second part of the show. Just because a show doesn’t warrant superlatives in a review doesn’t mean it’s not worth watching, and Yona of the Dawn will keep viewers entertained.