Princess Yona has lived an easy life at the palace then on her sixteenth birthday her world is thrown upside down when her childhood friend Soo-won kills her father and seizes the crown. She manages to escape with her bodyguard, the formidable Son Hak; life will no longer be easy for the princess. Fleeing to Hak's home village an oracle tells them a story about how the first king united the kingdom with the help of four legendary dragons. The oracle's assistant, Yun, joins Princess Yona and Hak as they set about searching for the dragons. As they find each they will have to face difficulties and genuine danger. The dragon's aren't the beasts one might expect; rather they are men imbued with great strengths; each distinctive from one another and not until she has recruited all four can she return and try to reclaim the throne.
This anime proved to be a real surprise; I expected the usual mix of fighting and humour and while both are present what we really get are a great set of characters. Officially this is a shoujo series but while watching I never really thought about it that way despite the fact that there are clear 'reverse harem' elements as Yona surrounds herself with an ever-growing band of attractive male companions this is a series that can be enjoyed by anybody regardless of gender. The characters are all distinctive both in appearance and behaviour and the good guys are all likable. There are villains we meet along the way and while some are detestable Soo-won, the main antagonist, is a bit of an enigma; perhaps he isn't quite as bad as he seems in a later scene he meets Yona and does nothing even though she is vulnerable. The story is nicely paced over twenty four episodes although as the final episode ended I couldn't help but think of Churchill's words, "This isn't the end. This isn't even the beginning of the end. However, this is the end of the beginning" so hopefully this is just the first season and we will get to see more of this enjoyable story.
This anime proved to be a real surprise; I expected the usual mix of fighting and humour and while both are present what we really get are a great set of characters. Officially this is a shoujo series but while watching I never really thought about it that way despite the fact that there are clear 'reverse harem' elements as Yona surrounds herself with an ever-growing band of attractive male companions this is a series that can be enjoyed by anybody regardless of gender. The characters are all distinctive both in appearance and behaviour and the good guys are all likable. There are villains we meet along the way and while some are detestable Soo-won, the main antagonist, is a bit of an enigma; perhaps he isn't quite as bad as he seems in a later scene he meets Yona and does nothing even though she is vulnerable. The story is nicely paced over twenty four episodes although as the final episode ended I couldn't help but think of Churchill's words, "This isn't the end. This isn't even the beginning of the end. However, this is the end of the beginning" so hopefully this is just the first season and we will get to see more of this enjoyable story.