Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 22 by Mizuho Kusanagi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Princess Yona lives an ideal life as the only princess of her kingdom. Doted on by her father, the king, and protected by her faithful guard Hak, she cherishes the time spent with the man she loves, Su-won. But everything changes on her 16th birthday when tragedy strikes her family!
The mission to rescue Yona and Riri from Sei leads to reunions and revelations! Who is Riri’s secret crush? And has Yona come to realize her feelings for Hak? Later, masked visitors from the nation of Xing beckon Yona and the Dragon Warriors to meet their leader!
Warnings: violence, and body horror; sexual harassment
In the aftermath of the fight at the Sei border, Riri is recovering from the ordeal, while also feeling like an impostor over being declared a hero. Visiting her in recovery is Su Won, which just fuels a certain General’s teasing over them being a match. She is also now aware of the relationship between Yona and Su Won, and so she questions whether she can trust the latter, when he is probably the enemy of the former. Meanwhile, Yona and her group are heading towards the wind tribe, but get intercepted by envoys from the nation of Xing, which borders Kohka, and may be next in Su Won’s expansion plan.
A major plotline in this volume was Hak’s feelings over Su Won and his betrayal – we get glimpses of them in younger, happier times, as Hak questions him over who he loves. He also has complicated feelings over Su Won betraying Yona, and Yona holding onto a gift (THAT hair ornament) from him – and the Four Dragons are finally made aware of Yona’s former crush on Su Won. It was also a moment of bonding for them, as they decide to protect the gift nevertheless, and to follow her lead in that matter. Yona herself is processing her newly realized feelings towards Hak.
A new story arc was also started with Xing, where the nation is divided over Kohka – some are charged up for a war led by the ruling princess, while some are in awe of the stories of the Four Dragons making it across the border due to that whole thing at Sei borders. I am interested in how that plays out – they are at risk in another country, and being involved in political squabbles might turn Su Won’s attention on them (I still feel that he is neutral about them because they haven’t interfered with any of his plans so far).
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Viz Media LLC, via Edelweiss.
Previous books in the Yona of the Dawn/Akatsuki no Yona series
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Releases on February 4, 2020
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