Yona of the Dawn: Manga Volume 34 Reaction & Review!
Added 2022-09-09 13:01:03 +0000 UTC**SOBBING and Complicated Headphone Warnings**
Is it possible for a volume to be one of your favorites in the series and also the most tragic?! I love a good flashback in literature and Kusanagi DELIVERS!
This volume explains why Soo-won is shouldering his fathers' ideals and goals, the complex moral grayness of BOTH King Il and Yu-hon, Yon-hi being the most tragic character possibly in this story so far, but also has our dragons figuring out why Yona is acting "strange" and gives our girl Yona time to SHINE!
If anyone can help resolve this conflict moving forward now, it's Yona...right?!
NOTE: It's been requested I re-watch Episodes 1, 2, and 6 before starting Volume 35, so I plan to do that. I feel my thoughts are still scattered with this volume, so there'll probably be a mini-recap at the start of the next reaction -- to sort through everything! :)
LINK TO REACTION: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/hjy3WR9WG4NtLt44CXkA8P?
Thanks for reading with me and for the support!
Comments
Yeah, a lot of the questions I pose with Il and Yu-hon at this point are more me ranting, "Why couldn't you do this?!" hahaha -- Kusanagi does not want us to have nice things, apparently. How one doesn't get emotional with this volume is the big question! I felt so bad for Yon-hi in this. And yesssss, Kusanagi showing us the tragedy of bias and not understanding. I agree, Il isn't my least favorite (Gobi, coughcough) but I do get mde that he just...gave up. Especially when you mentioned that Yona was il-equipped (pun intended). If he knew he was going to die, he could have done so much...but he lost all trust and faith in people and went all in on the divine and fate...and Hak, apparently, because he was all about Hak protecting her...and left nothing for Yona to learn or be prepared with. Maybe he was afraid Yona would become someone who would kill like he had and he deeply regretted it, but STILL. A self-defense course? Mental prep for the loss of a loved one? SOMETHING, Il! ^^ I DO appreciate Keishuk MUCH more after this volume and genuinely felt bad when the other soldiers have called him "useless." :') But still, those soldiers and everyone putting all this responsibility on a CHILD? NOPE. That should not have had to happen. And YES, I'm going to talk about it with the next volume...but Soo-won needs to GRIEVE. To just let it all out. He's bottled it up for so long....and yessss, he looks a lot like a doll in that shot with the too-big crown. It breaks my heart! Thank you so much for the kind words and have a great day too!!
Romaniablack
2022-09-14 11:55:05 +0000 UTCI really appreciate it! Y'all helped me to organize my thoughts in this whirlwind of a series! <3 It's just SO GOOD! :)
Romaniablack
2022-09-13 14:14:13 +0000 UTCThank you so much for your kind words!! And of course my pleasure if you use this comment in your recap š I was so emotional when I wrote the comment after watching your reaction and there is a lot I didnāt write or think of at the moment :) hopefully Mandy did cover the rest of it in her comment š She was gracious enough to edit it to avoid any hint or such!! So cool to have such Yona fans community š
Be Happy
2022-09-13 14:12:32 +0000 UTCI sobbed right with you. I'm never able to not cry in this volume. Yong-hi is such a tragic character. She deserved so much better and seeing her blaming herself for everything that happend just hurts. The question as to why Yu-hon didn't just drive the priests out is, for one like you said, sadly just how he is. And also he said he killed them so no one finds out about her blood. And if they were just droven out they could have spread the word, I guess. So maybe it was also to be safe on that? I think what makes it so good that the priest was really just a priest and why even we, the audience, were fooled is because the last few arcs we had so much of the bad side of religion and bad people like Gobi. Since we saw so much of it we just couldn't see it being different. What Ill said to Soo-won must have stuck with him. This is something that will always affect you. I think why Ill is my least favourite character is because he let everything happen. He had like 10 years to do at least something but he didn't. That's what made him a coward for me. He let Yona be completely clueless to everything in the world, which made it harder for her to adapt after Ill's death. This is probably the biggest thing that makes me mad. I want to believe that Yu-hon didn't do it. We haven't seen any flashback to that and we will maybe never know. Keishuk, I feel bad for him. He must feel so much guilt, not being able to save the man that took him in. His motives just make so much sense. "I'll take father's place." NO! You are a 9 year old child. You shouldn't have to bear so much on your shoulders. You should have a childhood. I'm just wondering if Soo-won ever cried. Did he cry after his parents died? After he lost his two best friends? Knowing him he probably supressed it. I just want him to let his sadness out. So about that picture of Soo-won as a kid from last volume. I just love the symbolism. The crown being too big for him showing how he had too much on him when he was still so young. Him just blankly staring ahead, like a doll. Everything about that image is wonderful. Wish you a wonderful day!!
Toni simi
2022-09-13 12:24:51 +0000 UTCThatās a great way to describe it! Simplerā¦and yet more complicated! But seriously, Kusanagi is SO good. Itās insane how actions with characters that we questions now have a motivation and reasonā¦and YES, itās still not āokayā but I get why he did it! I agree, his conditioning beside Yu-hon and how his upbringing has been SO different than Yonaās I think adds to his detachment; weāve seen how sympathetic Yona has been viewing violence and death, and weāve seen how Soo-wonās reacted to it; they very much mirror their fathers in that regard. Soo-won is definitely a prodigy! And I agree about Il; he didnāt work to do anything during that time to possibly sway Soo-wonās mind that heād be a king that would be worthy of not dying. What I hate is that it seemed he just accepted he was going to be killed and was worthless and just wanted to be reunited with his family and wifeā¦which is a nice sentiment, but itās awful he was inactive in trying to the help the kingdom. Il was a slave to fate to a FAULT, and thatās whatās frustrating about him, which Yu-hon took out on him as well. And that he and Kashi were relying solely on Hak ā itās a lot of pressure, I agree! And with Hak, yes, heās kind of put in to a situation like Soo-won where they have the arduous task of protecting Kohka and protecting Yona ā two opposite sides of the coin. I agree, it comes down to that Il had no faith in people, he had ALL his faith in the divine, and it led to the disastrous conundrum weāre in now; thankfully, I feel Yona is that middle ground between faith in people and the divine and Iām hoping that she can convince Soo-won to listen and Hak to come to the table, too. At least we know Hak will listen to her. :3 I do love that Soo-won has not totally acted like his father would and has still maintained faith in the people over the dragons. YES, he just doesnāt value the religious aspect, but heās not trying to destroy it, either; thatās a HUGE difference from Yu-hon and one I hope will play into future volumes! And RIGHT?! That moment that Soo-won stood up for Keishuk really made me think of his character in a new light. But yeahā¦THIS VOLUME. OOF. I CANNOT WAIT to see what will happen next! And yessss, hopefully once catch up to Volume 40, it wonāt be too long of a wait in between volumes. :) Thank you SO much for the kind words and comment! Definitely going to have to bring your words up in the recap before Volume 35.
Romaniablack
2022-09-12 20:30:32 +0000 UTCI agree, we FINALLY get information on the parents and how we GOT HERE, but manā¦it does indeed hurt! Okay, so Iām probably going to have to incorporate your comment into the recap for Volume 35, because you broke down Yon-hi, Il, Yu-Hon, and Kashi so perfectly! :) Soo-wonā¦hoooooā¦I feel so badly for him, because heās shouldered the burden of his father, his fatherās supporters, and has tried to do whatās best for the kingdom above all else, even if it meant betraying his only friends. I feel so badly that heās used the mission to keep his emotions at bay ā Kusanagi, LET SOO-WON GRIEVE, PLEASE. And yes, he tries to act like Yona and Hak donāt matter, but weāve seen how he was when he thought they were lost (which makes SO much more sense now how he reacted so seemingly emotionless but we knew he was hurt), and he NEEDS Hak and Yona, because - like you said - they just treat him as HIM, and donāt put him on a pedestal like the others. Ugh. I want Soo-won to live for himself, and not the duty and mission he thinks he has to upholdā¦especially alone, because heās not alone! :3 Ugh, we canāt have nice things indeed. You made so much sense and I canāt wait to bring this back up in the discussion for Volume 35! :) Thanks for the kind words!!
Romaniablack
2022-09-12 20:12:31 +0000 UTCthis volume is by far the most important volume of the series to this point , story wise, and my God what an emotional roller coaster it was!! Kusanagi rolled her sleeves and decided that, enough, you all deserve to know why this is going on, but man does it hurt!! Those four parents figures are tragic, each in his own way!! Yon Hi : the most tragic of them all, wanting just to be, with no Damocles sword upon her head, but that was too much to ask!! Her whole life she felt guilt, guilt for exposing her family, guilt for being the cause the priests got excecuted, guilt that Yu Hon lost the throne because of her, guilt for the death of Kashi, and guilt that she couldnāt stop her son and that whatever happened in the future she was the first push that got the ball rolling !! Il : he lived a life of fanaticism and his inferiority complex towards his brother didnāt mean he didnāt loved him dearly, and when he found love and wanted to enjoy Kashi and Yona he became king and had to endure people disregard !! but he could never forgive his brother for taking the life of his wife, and he will forever carry the guilt of never telling his beloved wife how much she meant to him , and how much he loved her!! He went bravely to his death , itās even like he was waiting for Su Won to kill him just so he can be reunited with Kashi and Yu Hon!! That letter broke me, how I wish both Yu Hon and Kashi could read it!! Yu Han : the most conflicting of them all (parents) , he did horrifying things to protect his love and is unapologetic about it!! Yes I understood why he did but I didnāt like what he did! But killing Kashi was one overstep over the brotherhood he had with Il that was already shaken from the past!! And although he was ready to be his ally and got over the throne , That ruthlessness was his downfall!! He cared aboug his family and hurt fir Yon Hi Ā“ hurt BUT he disregarded that for his brother when he killed Kashi!! Kashi : the little priestess that saw the future and asked Hak to protect Yona from Su Won and other dangers!! It is so sad that she died thinking Il only wanted her because of Yona, when in reality he wanted her because she is her!! She protected Yona till the end !! And died knowing Hak and the blue/white/green/yellow guardians will keep her safe. Su Won: ok at this point I am sobbing while writing šš I love him so much!! How could he be this calm and collected while his father died and he learned that he was killed and his mother is in the process of dying!! It shows you how unaffected he can be by emotions and only the objective matter!! BUT, those two he love above all and care about above it all are his achilles talon, no matter he tries to ignore it and we saw this through the volumes how affected he is by them (when greater events like his dadās death didnāt affected him like that)!! He was always surrounded by men that believed in him, respect him and his directives even at age 9, they sas him as Yu Hon replacement !! But with Hak and Yona, he was just Su Won! He allowed himself to be what he could have been if all this didnāt happen!! But he has to do what he has to do, and Su Won has always been about duty , just like Yu Hon, and he waited 10 yrs to see, judge and decide if Il is fit of if he will ruin the kingdom!! we canāt have nice things .. can we?! Omg I rambled a lot and I am not even sure I made sense! Thank you so much for the genuine reaction and great discussion .
Be Happy
2022-09-09 19:53:34 +0000 UTCAhh weāre finally at this volume! It sheds light on so many things and makes it all seem simpler yet all the more complicated haha, Kusanagi you legend! Yuhon and Ilā¦ man, they were both just trying to protect what was most dear to them, but they really went about it in the worst way possible huh? (Edit: Sorry in advance for the incoming walls of text lolol) Yonhiās story is so tragic, and the web of the past along with it, but what I find most interesting about it all is how itās affected the present in soowon and the actions heās taken/not taken. Before this point, soowon was always a character that intrigued me, but I never felt strongly one way or another about him? Like I appreciated that he was doing a lot for the kingdom but the whole thing with him killing Il and discarding yona and hak had me like ehh :/ bUT NOW IT MAKES SENSE AND I FEEL SO SAD FOR HIM š like itās still not okay but now I understand why he felt like he had to do it this way, and the more I think about it the more I feel for everything heās gone through. For starters, we see soowon at age three being kind, adventurous and curious. He reaches out to those around him and openly seeks to form connections with everyone he possibly can. Heās genuinely excited to meet baby yona, to befriend hak, to exchange reading material with minsoo and keishuk, regardless of status or station. He has that capacity for kindness, but was also told at a young age, from his beloved fatherās BROTHER no less, that heās offensive when he hasnāt even done anything wrong, and I think that stayed with him - creating subconscious wariness and distance? And so even though his feelings and friendships are genuine, heās still able to step back and compartmentalize everything into āboxes.ā Plus, soowon was always clever and precocious, very aware of those around him and the expectations he had to live up to. Even when he was just a royal before junamās death, it was still expected that he would ascend to the throne someday because yuhon was so favored. Itās not surprising that he would consider the kingdom box to trump all because of that responsibility, but even at age three he showed genuine interest in meetings of war and governance?? He cared, not just out of duty, even though the growing weight of expectations had to be heavy to bear after il killed yuhon. The things he learned about military maneuvering/violence and whatnot had to be a lot to handle too, but he absorbed it to the point of not batting an eye when confronted with the truth of his fathers death. He even took the time to verify it for himself, not just relying on keishuks account but actually going to see and examine his fathers broken body, and was able to smile for his mother right after. AT AGE NINE. That level of acceptance and detachment is terrifying. The boxes feel like a coping mechanism more than anything else. He takes all of his own grief and anger and injustice, shuts them away, buries them, focuses only on the matter at hand - maximum efficiency, like his father said. Itās because of those boxes that he was also able to take on everyone elseās hopes and fears and desires for vengeance, and even his own perhaps and ask them to wait. To see if Il could yet prove himself to be a good king. And if he wasnāt, then he would be ready, but that grace and level of patience from a nine year old?? Wow. itās horrifying and awe inspiring thatās heās able to compartmentalize like that at all, but heās good at it to boot. Itās hard to not condemn all the adults around him for pinning everything they want for the throne on soowonās shoulders because he was SO young, but at the same time I donāt think he was very impressionable by that point anymore given how he stands up to them about giving it time, and so you really do see why they would think he was perfect for it, even if it still isnāt right. Now, Il. His whole relationship with soowon is also so fascinating. I canāt fault him for wanting to keep soowon from yona, given yonhis letter and everything, now we finally have an explanation! But what I CAN fault Il for though is just ACCEPTING his place as a placeholder king?? I think itās pretty obvious what yuhon did wrong, all that unnecessary cruelty with chopping heads etc so I wonāt get into that, but honestly neglect is also a form of abuseand I think lots of people forget that. Thereās nothing wrong with il hating violence and wanting peace, but he didnāt even TRY to reach the people, to see them and improve conditions for them even a little where possible? You donāt have to wage wars to help the fire tribe with their poverty, Il!! To build them some hospitals or to supply them with extra food! And I get that the people didnāt favor him, but he couldāve WORKED to earn their favor, to change their minds, like yona did time and time again! Thatās why il was a coward, not because he was nonviolent but because he CHOSE to ignore all the problems existing and growing around him. So what if the people didnāt cheer at his coronation, heās just going to abandon them all because of that? Just wait around for the gods and for the prophecy to be fulfilled, no regard for anything else? Because soowon would then someday come to kill him so whatās the point and HE can fix everything instead?? Il just sat in his gilded castle, KNEW that soowon would find him wanting, and did nothing at all to try and change ANYTHING? Help ANYONE? Even setting the kingdom aside for a sec lol, il knew that yona was spoiled and sheltered and didnāt give her anything to help herself stand on her own two feet when her world would be inevitably overturned?? Except hak?! Which, hak is obviously fantastic but heās still only one person like ohmygod, talk about trial by fire and throwing her to the sharks with only a life raft. Not to mention all the burdens and hurts hak has had to deal with as well. Like, Hak had to put soowonās betrayal in his own āboxā until he was absolutely positive yona would be okay! His own love for her too! And so many things couldāve gone wrong in the interim before they found the dragons for that additional protection, IF they could be found at all and would be willing to follow and protect her. Like, I know il is religious but thatās still a LOT to place your faith in, that everything in the myths and visions would work out with no other guarantees in place. Wouldnāt you want to help skew things in yonas favor? Prepare your precious daughter as much as possible? To arm her with skills and knowledge for basic survival if nothing else? And Yona read so many of those books in soowonās study in 3 days like what if sheād had some of this knowledge or awareness earlier?? Then maybe YONA couldāve taken the throne and soowon wouldnt have found HER wanting and her box and the kingdom box could become ONE BOX so BOTH he and hak couldāve supported her and just why canāt we have nice things sobs. Like, in an ideal world back before the coup there wouldāve been a middle ground where soowon secretly reached out to yona and hak, told them about the state of the kingdom and that people were suffering and something had to be done (since he obviously didnāt trust Il to listen to him/take action by that point). And weāve always asked ourselves why it couldnāt have gone down like that, but now we finally know. Il never wouldāve let soowon marry yona, yona didnāt know enough about the kingdom and how truly precarious their situation was to even begin to know how to fix it efficiently, soowon was running out of time (he really waited as long as he could omg), and even though I still believe soowon loved both hak and yona dearly, I donāt think he ever trusted hak and yona fully enough to expect them not to turn their backs on him either, if il also had to go, so he put them back in their box and cut them out of his plans completely. And I think that comes back to the fact that soowonās seen Ilās betrayal of a brother who seemingly only ever supported him, in addition to that inherent self loathing instilled in him from an early age. And yona I at least partially understand on some level, since she was lovable but ultimately naive, sheltered and unaware, especially if soowon didnāt care about the existence of the gods/dragons, so he had to put her situation beneath the kingdomās but hak?? He didnāt believe that hak, his first friend, his goal, would at least try to understand/find a compromise for him?? To care enough to reach back for him in kind?? Like, hak would be such a powerful ally if nothing else, but soowon didnāt even TRY explaining himself to him, before or after the fact. Itās just so sad all around. What I appreciate most about soowon after this revelation though is how heās dealt with the presence of religion thus far. Heās had to confront the truth of the dragons, that the whole thing with the crimson dragon king did exist, the priests werenāt spouting nonsense and that his father was wrong in that regard at the very least. And it works out because soowon hasnāt absorbed all of his fathers beliefs. He never planned on letting any of that affect him in any manner, neither positively nor negatively. He doesnāt seek to strike down religion or itās hold over others, he merely places no import on it himself, while still acknowledging the power and influence it can have for others. He treats the dragons no differently from any other he meets and regards them with only slight curiosity, not out of a desire to control or destroy them, or even to use them to his advantage. Poor keishuk lol, he must be so frustrated, and thatās something I NEVER thought Iād say. Even HIS motivations make sense now with all the guilt and self loathing and powerlessness he must have felt in yuhons death, the absolute determination heās had in restoring soowon to the throne and making sure nothing and no one stands in his way. What a volume. And now Iāve rambled enough haha, Iām glad youāll be continuing this series for awhile yet and that we donāt have to wait until next March! Cant wait for you to see how things go from here!
Prinn
2022-09-09 19:36:19 +0000 UTCThank you so much for the kind words! WHAT A VOLUME! I definitely need to unpack before Volume 35! :) And no problem -- thank you for the suggestion! I'm EXCITED!
Romaniablack
2022-09-09 13:52:03 +0000 UTCYes!! Finally, THE VOLUME I ve been waiting for !! š„³š„³šš heartbreaking and exciting šš So sweet of you to mention my recommendation ! I hope you will enjoy the rewatch !!
Be Happy
2022-09-09 13:35:37 +0000 UTCThank you!! Sooooo much goodness in this volume!
Romaniablack
2022-09-09 13:28:39 +0000 UTCThank God it's Friday! ā¤ļøā¤ļøā¤ļø
Let Ying
2022-09-09 13:03:08 +0000 UTC
