Yona of the Dawn

Yona of the Dawn
Cover of the first tankōbon volume, featuring Yona
暁のヨナ (Akatsuki no Yona)
Genre	Adventure Epic fantasy Romance
Manga
Written by	Mizuho Kusanagi
Published by	Hakusensha
English publisher	NA: Viz Media
Imprint	Hana to Yume Comics
Magazine	Hana to Yume
Demographic	Shōjo
Original run	August 5, 2009 – present
Volumes	43
Anime television series
Directed by	Kazuhiro Yoneda
Written by	Shinichi Inotsume
Music by	Kunihiko Ryo
Studio	Pierrot
Licensed by	Crunchyroll
Original network	AT-X, Tokyo MX, Sun TV, TV Aichi, RKK, BS11
Original run	October 7, 2014 – March 24, 2015
Episodes	24 + 3 OVAs

Yona of the Dawn (Japanese: 暁のヨナ, Hepburn: Akatsuki no Yona) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mizuho Kusanagi. It has been serialized in Hakusensha's shōjo manga magazine Hana to Yume since August 2009, with its chapters collected in forty-three tankōbon volumes as of February 2024.

A 24-episode anime television series adaptation produced by Pierrot aired between October 2014 and March 2015.

Plot

2000 years ago, the fictional nation of Kouka was founded by the Crimson Dragon God, who came down to Earth from the Heavens as a human, deemed the Crimson Dragon King. As a result, humans forgot about their god and became evil, seeking power. The Crimson Dragon King was eventually forced to fight against these humans, and just as he was about to be killed and the world was on the brink of extinction, four other Dragon gods, imbued with the dragon blood, joined his side as human warriors, and helped him. After clearing Kouka of evil, the Crimson Dragon King died. The four Dragon warriors mourned his death and walked separate ways from his castle, leaving the country to develop over the centuries into 5 Tribes: Sky, Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire. As countless generations flew by, this history became a famous founding myth.

2000 years later, the story commences with Yona, the sole princess of Kouka, ruled by her pacifistic father King Il under the Sky Tribe. Yona lives a lavish, sheltered life from the harrowing reality outside of the walls of the Crimson Dragon Castle, her only friends being her bodyguard Hak, general of the Wind Tribe, and Su-won, her crush of 10 years and the son of King Il's brother, Yu-hon. But contrary to this peaceful illusion, Kouka is once again on the verge of destruction and about to undergo a political upheaval.

A week before a party celebrating her sixteenth birthday, Su-won visits to pay tribute to her. Upon revealing her intention to someday marry him to her father, Yona is shocked and dismayed when King Il forbids her from choosing Su-won as a husband. On the night of her 16th birthday party, Yona visits her father's chambers again, determined to change his mind. Instead, she walks in on Su-won driving a sword through King Il's chest, revealing that he would planned a Coup d'état and would become Kouka's next King. Yona and Hak become fugitives and are forced to flee to Fuuga, the capital of the Wind Tribe. Under the suggestion of Hak's adopted grandfather and prior Wind Tribe General Son Mundok, Yona and Hak search for a priest of several expelled from the Sky Tribe capital by Su-won's father, Yu-hon. The priest tells Yona about the Crimson Dragon King and four dragon warriors who unified the nation. Guided by the founding myth, Yona begins a journey to find these dragon warriors in order to survive and save her country.

Characters

Main characters

Yona (ヨナ)

Voiced by: Chiwa Saitō (Japanese); Monica Rial (English)

Yona is the princess of Kouka and only child of the late King Il and Queen Kashi. She is of Sky Tribe descent. Having rare red hair and violet eyes, Yona is the reincarnation of the Crimson Dragon King. As the reincarnation, she has inherited his soul, and the four legendary dragon gods' blood will react to it upon laying eyes on her, compelling them to keep to the gods' oath to protect and fight with her. According to King Il, Yona's mother, Kashi, was killed by insurgents when she was 6 years old, but this was later revealed to be the work of his brother Yu-hon, who had hired an assassin to kill her mother due to her affiliation with the priests. Sheltered in the Crimson Dragon Castle, Yona was very dependent, spoiled, and naive. Her father did not allow her to touch weapons, leave the castle, nor raise her with political awareness. She spent her days with her childhood friends Su-won and Hak. From an early age, she secretly harbored romantic affections for Su-won, but her father opposed her from marrying him. After Su-won carried out a coup to murder King Il, Yona, who accidentally witnessed the aftermath of the scene, was forced to flee for her life. With Min-su distracting those in pursuit and his timely self-sacrifice, Yona was able to flee with Hak to the Wind Tribe. Instead of hiding in the Wind Tribe, she decided to journey around Kouka to find the Dragon warriors mentioned in the exiled priest Ik-su's prophecy. After opening her eyes to the ruined state of Kouka, she acknowledged and took responsibility for her father's neglect and her own past ignorance. Losing her father, her castle, her throne, and the man she loved in just one night spurred Yona to vow to become stronger, to defend herself, her allies, and to secretly protect her country during her travels by mastering archery and swordsmanship. Over the course of the series, she moves past her romantic affections for Su-won and develops new feelings for Hak, eventually confessing to him. She resolves to someday release Hak of his job and return his "freedom" to him, but Hak vows to stay by her side because he loves her too.

While initially reluctant to kill humans and animals in line with her father's pacifistic principles, Yona overcame this against Kum-Ji, the human trafficking crime lord of Port Awa. Over many arcs, Yona's name becomes famous throughout and outside the nation as she gains new allies and becomes worldly-wise, and Su-won's faction is eventually compelled to form an alliance with hers to avoid civil war and protect the dragon warriors, which have become akin to human weapons, from enemy nations seeking their powers. Although Yona does not forgive Su-won, after realizing that he did not usurp the throne merely for revenge, genuinely cared for her and Hak, and showed to be a better king than Il, she decided that fighting against him due to personal vendetta would only plunge the nation into chaos, and now only wishes to understand his motivations. After learning about Su-won's terminal illness and the role her past life played in it, Yona ends up finding his mother's diary which recounts the history of conflict between their parents, and moves forward with this knowledge, wondering what can be done as war with the Kai Empire looms. As the war progresses, Yona takes a prominent position in Kouka's army, and begins experiencing visions of a future where her friends died and she has become the next queen, an ability possibly inherited from her mother, who possessed the same power.

Hak (ソン・ハク, Son Haku)

Voiced by: Tomoaki Maeno, Ayahi Takagaki (young) (Japanese); Christopher R. Sabat (English)

Hak is Yona's childhood friend, bodyguard, and love interest, as well as the former general of the Wind Tribe. He is known as the "Thunder Beast" for his astounding lightning-fast fighting skills, earning him the title of the strongest soldier in Kouka or "man with the strength of 1000 men", though he is not very famous outside the Sky and Wind Tribes. His talent in combat had been recognized as a child, and he was the first person to defeat a general at his age. He was orphaned as a toddler during a war between Xing and Kouka 17 years prior before the start of the series, and was found and adopted by the previous Wind Tribe general, Son Mundok, as his grandson and heir. After Su-won's betrayal, he was falsely rumored to be the murderer of King Il and potentially Yona, but this was eventually proven false once Yona's faction allied with Su-won's faction and they returned to the Crimson Dragon Castle. While once extremely overprotective of Yona, Hak later takes pride in her determination to become stronger and her fiery side. After Yona and Hak eventually confess their feelings to one another, they become a couple.

Hak is usually sarcastic and nonchalant, often found teasing Yona, but secretly harbored an unrequited love towards her at the beginning of the series, vowing to protect her on King Il's orders at all costs. He also was loyal towards King Il, considering him a brave man despite the popular opinion, and regretted not being able to protect him from death. He also considered Su-won his best friend before his betrayal, looking up to him as a brother. However, knowing that Yona had feelings for Su-won, Hak suppressed his own feelings in favor of Yona and Su-won living happily together. He vowed to be Su-won's right-hand man if Su-won were to marry Yona and become king, and had resolved himself to serving them both for the rest of his life. Being a deeply loyal and straight-forward person, he was severely traumatized by Su-won's betrayal and nearly kills him and his subordinates once encountering him in the Water Tribe, screaming and crying; he has arguably had a harder time coming to terms with the betrayal than Yona. At one point, Yona describes Hak's past affections towards Su-won to Lili: "because Hak trusted Su-won more than anyone else, he cannot forgive him more than anyone else". However, there are several moments throughout the series where Hak makes decisions on the fly or is able to fight together with Su-won without needing any discussion, even using his battle strategies.

After reluctantly allying with Su-Won's faction and returning to the Crimson Dragon Castle, joining the Sky Tribe army as a foot soldier, and learning that Su-won has been secretly terminally ill, Hak becomes worried for his friend and ventures to Port Awa to find a medicine that can cure him, even temporarily. After bringing Su-won medicine that successfully delays the disease and protecting him from Emperor Cha-geol of South Kai, Kye-sook promotes Hak to Sky Tribe vanguard captain. In combat, Hak uses a guandao (a glaive-like bladed pole weapon) as his main weapon, though he also appears to be highly proficient with bows, swords, and hand-to-hand combat.

Su-won (スウォン, Suwon)

Voiced by: Yūsuke Kobayashi, Nozomi Yamamoto (young) (Japanese); Micah Solusod (English)

Su-Won is the childhood friend of Yona and Hak, as well as the son of King Il's brother, Yu-hon and Lady Yon-hi, and currently stands as Kouka's 11th King of the Sky Tribe. Growing up, he loved Yona like a younger sister and Hak as a brother. In the wake of Yona's mother Kashi's death, Su-won comforted Yona and promised to be by her side in her mother's place, largely contributing to her unrequited love for him. He was also Hak's best friend and confidant for many years, and the two of them learned spearmanship and archery under Mundok, as well as greatly admired each other as children. Early on it is revealed that Su-won had wanted Hak as his own bodyguard, but understood that Yona would probably need Hak in the future where he betrayed them.

When around people, Soo-won maintains a facade of being a clumsy and carefree young man, hiding his true intelligence and shrewdness. After King Il killed his father and caused Kouka to suffer under his neglect for ten years, Su-won rushes to conspire with the Fire Tribe to kill him and take over the throne. Although he frequently expresses his love for humanity and people, and does not wish to sacrifice individuals, he simultaneously believes that no single person is more important than the stability of the nation, and vows to dispose anyone who gets in its way.

With King Il dead, Yona missing and presumed dead, and Hak presumed to have killed them both and on the run as a fugitive, Su-won is crowned king and vows to recreate Kouka into a country that never relies on gods, aligning with his father's beliefs. Throughout the series, in addition to leading his armies into battle to strategically expand Kouka's territory, he traverses around the Fire, Earth and Water Tribes while incognito in order to solve their internal conflicts and unite the tribes, often running into Yona and Hak along the way. Despite the underhanded method he chose to gain the throne, he has actually been a good influence on Kouka; hence, Yona decides not to seek revenge. Even though he hated King Il, Su-won shows visible care for Yona and Hak: he hides the fact that Yona is still alive from his followers after he discovers this, and pointedly avoids arresting or attacking Hak when given the opportunity. However, this ultimately becomes a problem once Yona and the dragon warriors have become famous in Kouka, and his faction is ultimately forced to ally with her group to avoid civil war. The alliance is shaky but with time both sides learn to rely on one another as war with the Kai Empire approaches. During this time, he is revealed by Zeno to be secretly afflicted by the Crimson Illness, a terminal illness inherited from his mother, Yon-hi, due to being a descendant of Hiryuu. This illness, along with his father's hatred of religion, had an overwhelming influence in forming his arguably atheist outlook and hatred towards the Crimson Dragon King, despite Yona being his very reincarnation. His ultimate objective is to subdue the Kai Empire, increase Kouka's territory, and make it into a powerful nation that will never be attacked before the illness eventually kills him, at which point he will finally begrudgingly cede the throne to Yona—a choice that currently has Hak furious with him.

An Lili (アン・リリー, An Riri)

Lili is the only daughter of Water Tribe General An Joon-gi and Yona's best friend. She is a confident, spunky girl around Yona's age, with big ambitions to help solve the overwhelming drug trafficking issues plaguing the Water Tribe thanks to the Kai Empire. However, her efforts are impaired by her overly-protective father with whom she shares a distant, strained relationship, and her only helpers are her female bodyguards, Ayura and Tetora. She initially thought that Yona and her group were suspicious, and thus involved in the drug trade, but after shadowing Yona's group for hours and being saved by them from a violent drug addict, she realizes that they share a common goal and befriends them. With the combined efforts of herself, Yona's group, and an incognito Su-won, they are successfully able to arrest the reigning drug lord in the Water Tribe, although the group dissolves once Hak learns of Su-won's involvement and nearly kills him, to Lili's horror. Lili and Yona's groups team up once again afterwards to quell the Water Tribe's drug and slave trade in the neighboring nation of Sei, resulting in Lili and Yona being kidnapped by the enemy and sold as slaves in retribution for their drug-ban efforts. They eventually break out from the slave camp, but Lili is caught once again and sent to be hanged after protecting Yona from a similar fate. She is rescued in the knick of time by Lili's personal guards and Yona's group, aided by from Su-won's and Joon-gi's forces—most notably, a joint effort between Hak and Su-won. Her near-death experience and her anti-drug trade efforts resulted in Lili gaining strong respect from the people of the Water Tribe, and allowed Su-won to acquire Sei as a vassal nation.

From that point onward, Lili becomes a common ally between Yona and Su-won. She boasts a close friendship and loyalty to Yona, but also a blooming camaraderie with Soo-won for his role in her rescue. Acknowledging that her alignment with both factions and neutrality could be seen as hypocritical, she opts to temporarily reside in the Sky Tribe capital, Kuuto, to delve into the royal politics that pique her intrigue and gather further intelligence about the situation (as well as report back to Yona). While Su-won seems unfazed by her decision, his subordinate Kye-sook takes issue with it and unsuccessfully seeks to remove her. She is one of the few characters outside of Yona's companions who, not knowing her before her father's death, is privy to Yona's true identity as the princess of Kouka. She vows to protect Yona from Su-won's faction and has publicly announced her friendship and loyalty to Yona to thousands of Sky Tribe and Water Tribe troops, but she is also considered a valid marriage option for Soo-won by her father and some of the other generals of Kouka, though much to her distaste, as she has a crush on the much admired General Geun-tae. As the war with the Kai Empire arrives, Lili fights to protect Kuuto as the Crimson Dragon Castle is burned to the ground by Emperor Cha-geol.

Yun (ユン)

Voiced by: Junko Minagawa (Japanese); Clifford Chapin (English)

He is an orphan boy who was taken in by the priest, Ik-soo, as an apprentice when he was a child. Because of his cute face and expertise at cooking and making medicine, he is often mistaken for a girl, or teased for this skill set. He found Yona and Hak when they fell from the cliff after being attacked by Tae-Jun's ambush. He initially disliked Yona for being an ignorant princess, but later apologized after witnessing Yona's bravery and willingness to educate herself. His initial hatred for nobles stemmed from the fact that Ik-soo was banished from the kingdom by Su-won's father, and from his own impoverished childhood. He always dreamed of going on a journey so that he could learn more about medicine and the world, but never did so before due to the fact that he did not want to leave Ik-soo. After some convincing, Yun decided to leave and start traveling with Yona and Hak. Once the Four Dragons are assembled, he becomes something of a medic and caretaker for the group and harbours a close, sibling-like relationship with Yona. He is the only true non-combatant in the group, though he is capable of making explosives. Once he returns to the Crimson Dragon Castle as a result of the alliance between Yona and Su-won's factions, he befriends Min-su, Su-won's medic, and when he learns about Su-won's illness, he decides to travel with Hak to the Earth Tribe to help find a temporary cure for him and Mei-nyan.

Dragon Warriors

Kija (キジャ)

Voiced by: Masakazu Morita, Haruka Chisuga (young) (Japanese); Ian Sinclair (English)

The descendant and inheritor of the White Dragon's claw. Kija spent most of his life isolated in his hidden village whose people venerated him. He is naive and gullible, with a crippling fear of bugs. Out of all four dragons, he was the most immediately loyal to Yona, having been raised on the tale of Hiryuu and possessing a strong sense of duty. As all the previous White Dragons were raised the same way and bore the same eagerness to serve, Kija is the unknowing vessel of the departed spirits of several generations of White Dragons. His father—the previous White Dragon—was so upset that a new dragon had been born, he slashed Kija across the back shortly after his birth. As such, he was kept away from Kija until the moment he died and Kija still bears the scars across his back well into adulthood. Initially shown bickering with Hak due to feeling that he is an outsider and taking offense to his sarcastic personality, they develop a friendship over their mutual desire to protect Yona. He also struggles with a crush on Yona, but instead actively chooses not to interfere with her growing affections toward Hak. Kija wields his dragon claw in combat, which grows massive in size and is said to be able to cut through anything. When not in combat, he wraps his claw in a bandage to avoid attracting attention. Along with Zeno, Jae-ha, and Shin-ah, he has the secondary ability to manifest a shield to protect Yona in dire situations.

Shin-ah (シンア)

Voiced by: Nobuhiko Okamoto, Sanae Kobayashi (young) (Japanese); Eric Vale (English)

The descendant and inheritor of the Blue Dragon's eyes. In contrast to Kija's people, Shin-ah's village feared the inheritors of the Blue Dragon's powers, believing them to be cursed. This fear was so extreme that when Shin-ah was born, his mother killed herself. Because the villagers believe that those who look the dragon in the eyes will turn into stone, Shin-ah was isolated and grew socially awkward. He was raised to age 4 by the previous Blue Dragon, Ao, who taught him swordsmanship and gave him his duty to protect the village. Soon after Ao's death, Shin-ah used the power of his eyes to protect his village from approaching bandits, killing all of them. This forced the entire clan to flee their old village and move into their hidden mountain dwelling, within which Yona, Yoon, Hak and Kija later meet him several years in the future. While initially afraid to join Yona, he saves her from a malicious villager and eventually chooses to leave the village with her group. While growing up, Shin-ah was referred to only as the Blue Dragon and did not have a name, and thus Yona named him "Shin-ah", meaning "moonlight" in the language of Kouka. Shin-ah is able to see great distances, manifest horrifying hallucinations and induce heart attacks to those he uses his eyes on. After using his dragon ability, however, Shin-ah's body becomes paralyzed for a short time.

To avoid making eye contact, Shin-ah covers his face with a mask, though he later takes to wearing a blindfold to avoid the attention his mask attracts. Eventually, he grows comfortable enough with the rest of the group that he only covers his eyes in public. Shin-ah is usually accompanied by his pet squirrel, Ao, named after the previous Blue Dragon. He is extremely loyal to Yona, due to her being one of the first people to be kind towards him since the death of his predecessor. He is also particularly close to Zeno, and the two are often seen playing or spending time together. He mainly wields a sword in battle, choosing not to use his powers for anything other than as a last resort. Along with Zeno, Jae-ha and Kija, he has a secondary ability to manifest a shield to protect Yona in dire situations.

Jae-ha (ジェハ)

Voiced by: Junichi Suwabe (Japanese); Joel McDonald (English)

The descendant and inheritor of the Green Dragon's right leg. Jae-ha was kept prisoner in his village until he eventually escaped and joined a pirate crew in Port Awa. Sensing their presence when they arrive in Awa, Jae-ha tries to avoid Yona and the White and Blue Dragons because he did not want to be constrained by his duty, and he initially declines Yona's invitation to join her. However, he is intrigued by Yona's spirit and determination, and despite his concerns that his dragon blood is influencing his feelings, he leaves the pirate crew and joins Yona on her journey. Jae-Ha is laid back, flamboyant, and a womanizer, but is also wise and experienced. He is aware of Hak's feelings for Yona and likes to tease him about it, much to Hak's frequent annoyance. Despite his earlier reservations about joining them, Jae-ha eventually becomes a surrogate older brother to the group, and develops a close friendship with Hak—who almost always refers to him as "Droopy Eyes". He harbors some romantic affection toward Yona himself, but chooses not to pursue it due to feeling that it is due to the dragons' blood, as well as respecting Yona and Hak's feelings for one another. Jae-Ha has infinite strength in his dragon leg, which allows him to kick hard enough to shatter armour and jump far enough that he appears to fly. He can enlarge his leg as Kija does his hand, however, prefers not to do so since he dislikes the look of it. Jae-Ha mainly utilizes his powerful leg for close combat and throws daggers as long-range weapons. Along with Zeno, Shin-ah, and Kija, he has a secondary ability to manifest a shield to protect Yona in dire situations.

Zeno (ゼノ)

Voiced by: Hiro Shimono (Japanese); Jessie James Grelle (English)

The Yellow Dragon warrior. In contrast to the other dragon warriors, Yona did not have to go searching for him as he wandered into their camp, and his blood did not react upon seeing Yona. He explains later that he had been following Yona ever since she fled the castle, and also visited the other dragon warriors countless times. He also is revealed to have watched Su-won's mother, the royal family, and known all along about the illness affecting the descendants of the Crimson Dragon King.

Zeno is outwardly cheerful and upbeat—behaviours adopted from his late wife, Kaya. Seemingly carefree, Zeno is actually the most observant, secretive, and depressed of the group, and often treats everyone in the group as cute children. This is due to the reveal that he is in fact the original Yellow Dragon Warrior who served the Crimson Dragon King, making him approximately 2000 years old due to his powers of immortality; his body regenerates, even if he is beheaded or burned alive, and dragon scales cover his body, making him strong as all the other dragons. However, he considers his power a curse, and does not know why he has it, a question he once asked King Hiryuu, who did not respond and died a few days later. As such, Zeno has actively sought a way to die throughout his long life span.

After King Hiryuu's death, Zeno had lived in the Crimson Dragon Castle for some time and functioned as Kouka's first priest, but was forced to leave and live as a wanderer when the public started to notice that he did not age. Zeno usually wields a shield in combat to protect Yun and Yona from projectile attacks, and reserves his power for a last resort, as it does entail him having to be gravely wounded to take effect. Along with Shin-ah, Jae-ha and Kija, he has a secondary ability to manifest as an actual dragon to protect Yona in dire situations. In a later arc, after discovering a way to end the dragon cycle and finally die, Zeno betrays Yona and her friends, explaining that this is the only way, and leaves. Yona and Hak are currently trying to find him.

Sky Tribe

King Il (イル, Iru)

The 10th king of the Sky Tribe, father of Yona, and uncle of Su-won. He is killed by Su-won in the first chapter. His wife, Kashi, was murdered by an assassin hired by Yu-hon, and he chose to not remarry and raise only his daughter in the Crimson Dragon Castle. He also sought to hire Hak as Yona's bodyguard and was on good terms with him. After learning that Yona was in love with Su-won, he forbids her from marrying him, but the true circumstances and intentions behind this rejection are not yet fully known. It is revealed in Yon-hi's diary that King Il had known that Su-won was going to kill him the entire time as Kashi had prophesied it, and passively chose to not prevent this future, treating Su-won very harshly growing up. It is also revealed that despite disliking war and conflict, he had in fact killed Su-won's father in an act of revenge after learning that Yu-hon had killed Kashi. Finally, it is revealed that he and Kashi had convinced his father, Ju-nam, to make him the next king as he knew his daughter would be the reincarnation of the Crimson Dragon King and would one day unite the dragon warriors, a future he was elated by and saw ultimately necessary.

King Il was known throughout Kouka to have kind, pacifistic ideals, and devout in his religious belief, yet simultaneously neglected his people, including his wife, which he was shown to greatly regret after her death, and even Yona herself. Wanting to keep the peace, he ceded territory and weakened national power, and became known as cowardly and obedient to outside tribes and surrounding nations. In addition, he admitted to harbor feelings of jealousy towards his elder brother. Most considered him a terrible king and hated him. King Il is revealed to have been aware of his failings as a leader and deemed himself "a placeholder" for the future where Yona would one day be expelled into Kouka and unite the dragon warriors. Despite feeling saddened and conflicted about the hatred against her father, Yona decides to protect Kouka in his stead.

Kashi (カシ)

The former queen of Kouka, Il's late wife, and Yona's mother who died when she was six years old. According to King Il, she was murdered by assassins. This is later revealed to be the work of King Il's brother, Yu-Hon, who had hired them to kill her.

When she was young, she had been close to Iguni, who later became the wife of the Fire Tribe General Kan Soo-jin. More than a decade prior, she had been affiliated with the priests of Kouka as a shrine maiden with abilities to see the future, but when she and the priests sensed that Yu-hon's wife, Yon-hi, came from the bloodline of King Hiryuu, Yu-hon sought to eradicate the priests and protect his wife. Kashi's face was burned while she sought to escape from the temple that Yu-hon burned, and King Il had attempted to save her, she had foreseen a future where a red light fell between them, symbolizing that they would be the parents to Yona. As a result, she disguised herself, told Il to marry her so that Yona would be born, and convinced King Ju-nam to make Il the next king instead of Yu-hon. After learning this, while on a carriage to visit Yon-hi, Yu-hon sought to eradicate Kashi and Yona by sending assassins to attack the carriage. It is revealed that Kashi knew all along that she would end up dying at the hands of Yu-hon, and sought to protect Yona from facing a similar fate by not taking Yona along.

Yu-hon (ユホン, Yuhon)

First son in line for the throne, Crown Prince of the Sky Tribe, once general as well. Yon-hi's husband, Soo-won's father, Il's older brother, and Yona's uncle. Despite having the rights to the throne, he was not chosen by the previous king to be his successor. However, he did not have an interest in the throne, so did not worry about it, and promised to support Il. However, he later retracts this promise after discovering Il had married Kashi, a woman affiliated with the priests, and that she had convinced his father to make Il the next king and not him.

He is known to be a brave, courageous warrior who was loved his people but lost his life in an accident, but according to Su-won, King Il had actually stabbed him to death, which is later revealed to be true. Yu-hon's death is one of Su-won's main motives for assassinating Il. Yu-hon is known for disliking religion and banning the priests once they figured out that Yon-hi was a descendant of the Crimson Dragon King. Priests once had more power than the royal family, and Yu-hon did not like that. He is also known for using violent and gruesome methods in battle; 17 years ago, he beheaded the heads of war prisoners in Xing. He has a clear distinction between friend and foe and is known to show no mercy to his enemies. He had told Su-won to do the same when Su-won was a child, and his ideals largely contributed to making Su-won the king he is.

Yon-hi (ヨンヒ, Yonhi)

Yu-hon's wife and Su-won's mother. She was a frail woman and usually had a medical officer in charge of her. Even when Su-won caught a cold, she was unable to visit him. It is revealed in her diary that she was secretly from a clan of descendants of King Hiryuu, and that after marrying Yu-hon, the expulsion of the priests from the capital happened because they discovered her identity. After learning what Yu-hon did to the priests, she is shown to have felt extreme guilt and hopelessness, even self-hatred towards her blood. In addition, it is revealed that she had inherited the Crimson illness, a terminal illness found in her bloodline. Su-won is revealed to have inherited the same illness. She attempts to protect Kashi and make amends with Il with little avail. When she learns that Il has killed her husband because Yu-hon killed Kashi, Yon-hi is in despair, as she is dying from the Crimson illness. This despair strengthens as she watches Su-won, who was nine at the time, discuss possibly killing Il and betraying Yona. She attempts to reach out to Il one more time before her death, giving him her diary which explained the secrets she held, and asked him to stop the cycle of hatred and reconcile their children. Il responds in a letter he never sends explaining that he cannot after she has passed away.

Han Joo-doh (ハン・ジュド, Han Judo)

The 34 year old general of the Sky Tribe. He has a scar on his cheek and a strict, uncompromising personality. Having a short temper, he is often prone to yelling and preaching. He is aAs the Sky Tribe is the ruling power, he is the second most powerful person in the country after the king. However, he himself is not a member of the royal family nor a relative of Yona or Su-Won.

After Su-won's ascension, he served as his aide, highly praising his attitude of prioritizing his country over personal ties and expecting him to adhere to it. However, he is often shown frustrated with Su-won's antics, often having been a sort of babysitter him and Yona growing up. He also does not get along well with Geun-tae, who often teases him one-sidedly, often for still being a bachelor. Still, as Geun-tae is four years older than Joo-doh, Joo-doh still uses polite language with him. In the past, Geun-tae was stronger than Joo-doh, but now they are on equal standing.

He is wary of Hak, especially after Hak almost successfully kills Su-won in the Water Tribe. It is later revealed that Joo-doh did not agree with many of King Il's policies and saw his decision to make Hak Yona's bodyguard instead of him, who was wiser and older, as a slight to his combat skills. This was a huge reason why Joo-doh ended up leaning towards Su-won's faction and playing a part in his coup. Despite this, he genuinely did not wish Yona any harm and was relieved that Yona was alive.

Kye-sook (ケイシュク, Keishuku)

Su-won's 25 year old cutthroat advisor and strategist. He first appears when Su-won carries out his coup. He describes himself as someone of no prominent social standing who was crippled in battle, and saved by Yu-hon. Kye-sook began serving Yu-hon and dreaming of his rise to kingship, but that was thwarted by King Il. Thus, he began to dream of Su-won becoming the king that Yu-hon should have been. For years, he extracted information from Min-su who unknowingly gave him intelligence about King Il, and used it to help Su-won carry out his coup. When Yona stumbles across the crime, Kye-sook tells Su-won to kill her. He tries to do the same thing months later when Yona attempts to stop Su-won's Sky Tribe army from marching into Xing, but Yona tells him off for misusing the position he stole by killing her father. After this confrontation, learning that Su-won had known that Yona was alive the entire time, and watching Yona convince Su-won to walk away from Xing, Kye-sook sees Yona and Hak as political threats and wonders how to eliminate them. However, he quickly realizes that killing them and the dragon warriors would cause a civil war and instead seeks an alliance between her and Su-won's faction. While he shows a dislike towards Yona, seeing her as a useless Princess, he is impressed when she leads a meeting of Kai diplomats and slightly warms up to her. When he learns that Su-won is terminally ill, he understands that the invasion of the Kai Empire must happen before he dies, and asks Yona to lead the troops in the event that Su-won is incapicitated, even thinking of making her the next ruler. He is shown to sometimes go against Su-won's wishes for Su-won's sake, or the nation's sake, which Yona calls Su-won out for allowing.

Min-su (Minsu)

A servant of King Il. He often interacted with Hak and Yona back when they lived in the castle, and also knew Su-won since they were children. When Su-won rebelled, he was thought to have been shot by an arrow and killed as a decoy to allow Yona and Hak to escape, but reunites with Yona and Hak at an informant's bar the the Sky Tribe capital, Kuuto. He reveals that before being assigned to the castle, he and his mother, who was a medical officer, had lived in Su-won's mansion with Su-won's mother, Yon-hi. He did not help Su-won usurp the throne, but became a spy for Su-won against his will after Kye-sook extracted information about the castle's affairs from him under the pretense of casual conversation. After Yona returns to the castle, he acts to help her secretly. He is also Su-won's medical officer as Su-won is revealed to have been terminally ill.

Ogi (オギ)

Head of the Sky Tribe capital's information brokers. He was an ally of Su-won's, who had known him since he was nine years old. He had helped Su-won and Hak search for Yona throughout the city when she had been kidnapped by the Kai Empire as a child. Later on, he becomes an ally of Yona, and feels saddened by the current situation between Yona, Hak and Su-won, recalling when the three had been close. After learning of Ogi's interactions with Yona, Su-won cuts all ties with Ogi. Ogi is saddened by this. Lili starts to visit Ogi afterwards, promising to update him on castle affairs and how Su-won is doing.

Wind Tribe

Son Mun-deok (ソン・ムンドク, Son Mundoku)

Voiced by: Katsuhiko Sasaki (Japanese); Kent Williams (English)

He is the former General and leader of the Wind Tribe. He is the adoptive grandfather of Hak. Before his retirement, he was known as a general whose strength was compared to General Yu-Hon’s. Despite his strict behavior and appearance, Mundok cares deeply for the Wind Tribe and the royal family, to whom he is quite loyal. He has a kind heart and adopted two orphans as his grandchildren: Hak and Tae-Yeon.

Tae-woo (テウ, Teu)

17 years old. Successor to the Wind Tribe after Hak leaves. Second to Hak in spearmanship, often trained by Mun-deok every day. He is also the youngest tribal leader among the Five Tribes. He does not like Su-won very much due to his betrayal of Hak and Yona.

Water Tribe

An Joon-gi (アン・ジュンギ, An Jungi)

General of the Water Tribe and father of Lili. Almost always shown with closed eyes. He has a calm, careful personality and remains silent when his tribe is in crisis due to the drug trafficking problem, which Lili is intially at odds with him for. He hires Ayura and Tetora as Lili's bodyguards after seeing them fight at a martial arts tournament held three years at the Crimson Dragon Castle three years ago. He is also often shown trying to recommend Lili as a potential bride for Su-won, to which both Lili and Su-won decline every time. He is known as a master archer who can hit targets even with his eyes closed, according to Hak. When Kye-sook attempts to say that it was good that he did not help the people suffering from the drug trafficking in his tribe, Jun-gi glares at him and openly disagrees with him, a rare moment. It is due to Lili's influence that he eventually opens up to the idea of taking action, and allows Lili to explore and do what she can to help the Water Tribe.

Earth Tribe

Lee Geun-tae (イ・グンテ, I Gunte)

Voiced by: Masaki Aizawa (Japanese); Brandon Potter (English)

The general of the Earth Tribe and the husband of Yun-ho. His personality is described as a man who only follows strong kings, and was a disciple of Su-won's father, Yu-hon. As a general who fought during Emperor Ju-nam’s era (Yona and Soo-won's grandfather), he is a warrior dedicated to the battlefield but was unable to fight under King Il's rule. This made him frustrated, even joking about rebelling against King Il. Thus upon Su-won's coronation, he is initially skeptical of Su-won until Su-won proves himself during a mock battle festival held in the Earth Tribe capital, Chishin. Ever since, he is usually spotted on the battlefield with Su-won's army and General Joo-doh, who he often teases. His tribe admires him, though he insists on them treating him like an ordinary citizen.

While in the Kin Province between the Earth Tribe and Kai Empire, Geun-tae is struck in the back by 3 arrows and forced to retire as a general due to his injuries making him unfit for the battlefield. However, he continues to march with Su-won's army to Kai.

Xing

Kouren (コウレン, Kouren)

First Princess of Xing and eventually its Queen. 27 years old. Skilled at swordsmanship. She meets Yona and Hak by chance in Xing after seeing Yona hunt a bird using her bow and arrow, and praises her aim. She has a strong charisma and leadership and is beloved by her people. 17 years ago, in a war between Kouka and Xing, Yu-hon had mercilessly decapitated prisoners of war and thrown their heads over the gates of Xing despite saying that he would release them. Ever since, Kouren harbored a festering hatred towards Yu-hon and Kouka, believed that Su-won would be the same as him, as he was Yu-hon's son. She holds the dragons hostage and threatens to kill him, challenging Yona to stop Su-won's army marching to Xing. When Yona succeeds, she is shocked.

Tao (タオ, Tao)

Second Princess of Xing. 19 years old, although she looks younger than Yona. She brings Yona's group to her mansion, mistaking them for Su-won's subordinates. Unlike her elder sister Kouren, who seeks to attack Kouka with her armies, Tao considers the difference between Kouka and Xing's military powers and tries to avoid the sacrifices of her people by making Xing into a vassal nation of Kouka.

Vold (ヴォルド, Voldo)

Algira (アルギラ, Algira)

Gobi (ゴビ, Gobi)

Priest of Xing.

Others

Ao/Pukkyu (アオ/プッキュー, Ao/Pukkyu)

Voiced by: Nozomi Yamamoto

A female squirrel who was with Shin-ah in the village of the Blue Dragon. Despite being a squirrel, she is carnivorous and will eat anything, even fish. Shin-ah named her "Ao" after the previous Blue Dragon, but Yun and the author call her "Pukkyuu" because that is the sound she makes when squeaking. When her friends are injured, unwell, or unhappy, she is often showing trying to cheer them up by perching on their shoulder and holding out an acorn.

Ik-soo (イクス, Ikkusu)

Voiced by: Junichi Kanemaru (Japanese); Jerry Jewell (English)

He is a clumsy priest from Kouka and was Yoon's guardian. He spends his days in isolation praying to the gods for guidance and for the happiness of the people. He reveals a prophecy to Yona that marks the start of her search for the Four Dragon Warriors. In Yon-hi's diary it is revealed that he had once lived in the palace and took care of the temple with Yona's mother, Kashi, before being chased out by Yu-hon.

Kan Tae-jun (カン・テジュン, Kan Tejun)

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese); Christopher Bevins (English)

Tae-jun is the second son of the Fire Tribe General Kan Soo-jin. He was determined to make Yona his wife initially only to inherit the throne of Kouka Kingdom, though it is revealed after he mistakenly believes that she is dead that he genuinely liked her. Because of Hak intervening in his brash attempts to court Yona for years, he harbors a vendetta against Hak and actively tries to have him killed after Hak and Yona escaped the castle. During his pursuit, he inadvertently caused both of them to fall from a cliff, leading Tae-jun to believe that he had killed Yona. This left Tae-jun heavily depressed and guilty over the ordeal for months. He is finally reunited with Yona when his brother assigned him to capture bandits said to be driving off Fire Tribe soldiers from collecting taxes — which was really Yona and her group defending the poor from being abused by the military. Due to his extreme happiness that Yona is alive, Tae-jun fully repented his actions and resolved to change the lives of the Fire Tribe's people, earning him respect from his subordinates and Yona herself. He later remains a valuable ally to Yona and her group from that point onward, even agreeing to risk treason at her request.

Media

Manga

Further information: List of Yona of the Dawn volumes

Written and illustrated by Mizuho Kusanagi, Yona of the Dawn started in Hakusensha's shōjo manga magazine Hana to Yume on August 5, 2009. Hakusensha has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on January 19, 2010. As of February 20, 2024, forty-three volumes have been released.

The series has been licensed for English release in North America by Viz Media, who announced the acquisition at their New York Comic Con panel in October 2015. The first volume was released on August 2, 2016. As of August 1, 2023, thirty-nine volumes have been released.

Anime

Further information: List of Yona of the Dawn episodes

A 24-episode anime television series adaptation produced by Pierrot aired between October 7, 2014, and March 24, 2015, on AT-X. Funimation has licensed the anime series for streaming and home video rights in North America. Beginning on March 17, 2015, Funimation streamed their dubbed version of the anime, starting with episode 13 while the first half of the season will be released at a later date. The first opening theme is an instrumental song by Kunihiko Ryo, called "Akatsuki no Yona" (暁のヨナ, lit. meaning Yona of the Dawn). The first ending theme is Yoru (夜, lit. meaning Night) by Vistlip. The second opening theme is "Akatsuki no Hana", by Cyntia. The second ending theme is "Akatsuki", by Akiko Shikata. Three original video animations were bundled with the manga's 19th, 21st and 22nd limited edition volumes, respectively. The first OVA was released on September 18, 2015, the second OVA was released on August 19, 2016, and the third OVA was released on December 20, 2016.

See also

• The Heroic Legend of Arslan, a long-running novel series with a similar premise

External links

• Official Hana to Yume Yona of the Dawn manga site (in Japanese)
• Official Yona of the Dawn anime site (in Japanese)
• Yona of the Dawn (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia