Yona of the Dawn Graphic Novel Volume 8 cover image

Yona lives an ideal life as the only princess in the Kingdom of Kohka.  Her father, King Il, dotes on her, and her faithful guard, Son Hak of the Wind Tribe, protects her.  Yona even cherishes the time spent with the man she loves, her cousin Lord Su-won of the Sky Tribe.  However, everything changes for Princess Yona on her 16th birthday when the king is killed and Hak is blamed.  Soon, Yona is on the run with Hak, but she is determined to reclaim her throne by finding the Four Dragon Warriors.

As Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 8 (Chapter 42 to 47) opens, Jaeha the “Green Dragon” joins Yona's band.  Now, they only need to find the “Yellow Dragon,” but after Yona and company stumble upon him, she wonders what next?  Meanwhile, Lord Su-Won visits General Geun-tae and Earth Tribe, and Geun-tae is suspicious of the reasons for this visit.

THE LOWDOWN:  I like that the Yona of the Dawn manga is a mixture of Chinese historical romance (or at least a Japanese version of it) and quest-adventure.  It is sweet even when it tries to be tart.  It is also a teen romance, and one might mistake it for a high school shojo romance.

Yona of the Dawn Graphic Novel Volume 8 sees some surprises for readers.  Creator Mizuho Kusanagi quietly makes this a volume full of shifts.  “What now?” seems to be overarching questions.  I also like that Kusanagi also shows another side of Lord Su-won, who, at least up to now, has been portrayed as the villain in this narrative.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of historical romantic adventure will want to try the Shojo Beat title, Yona of the Dawn.

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8.5 out of 10