Spoiler Akatsuki no Yona Spoiler & Chapter Discussion

[@Aylinn]

And "making story better" doesn't equal "advancing plot", so. But IMO, gore would make this story so much, much worse. Less entertaining, if you like this word more.

Exactly, and besides in a shoujo series no one will expect a super complicated intrigue and a great deal of action anyway. If Kusanagi can make an arc with a solid and simple intrigue like in the Fire Tribe, it will be enough.

If I wanted a more complicated political intrigue in a story, I would watch something like Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

Instead Kusanagi can go for deeper characterization (exploring characters' motivation, problems, aims, etc) and making a network of interactions between characters.

At least I would not mind seeing more good scenes exploring characters and showing interactions between them, for example: Mundok & Yo-hon, Mundok & The Water Tribe general, Il & Su-won, Su-won & Ogi, etc.

It is even a good choice for a shoujo story to develop a diverse network of interactions. Shoujo often has a romance, which is all about interactions between two people, so there is a high chance that the readers will be interested in other types of interactions, not romantic, and will most likely not mind lack of action so much.

Isn't this much better than a linear revenge story? This manga was never a revenge story from the very start. That would have been totally boring and there are so many revenge stories out there.

Yeah, there are many revenge stories. However, I would say that a lot would depend on execution. They can be good, but yes. There is a lot of them, so one can get fed up with them quickly, especially if they don't bring anything new to the table.

 

[Trjpyo]

Now see thats the problem with not having an overall story goal and being open-ended, everything just seems important. Im not talking about subplot goals, im referring to main plot goals/overarching story goals which provide compass and direction to the story. Especially now that we’re nearing the conclusion.

If yona, as the red dragon, decides to ‘return to the dawn’ (whatever that symbolism means), can i say that the nadai arc or xing arc was in any way, shape or form essential? I’d say that somethings are still missing like actively pursuing info about hiryuu or whatever. Is her character development geared towards ‘returning to the dawn’? Dunno.
If yona decides to become queen, can i say that the character development was sufficient? No, of course not. But the subplots like the xing arc gave her diplomatic connections for that.
If yona decides to just wander for the remainder of her life, can i say that introducing characters like lili or kouren or tao was needed? Hell no bec anyone will do for that matter. What was the purpose of introducing the problem that the dragons had a short life span or the zeno arc if its not going to get resolved?

Whichever way you prefer, not every subplot, character, character development, element is necesarry or makes the story any better. Some can be left out and some still missing.
If someone will ask me ‘what’s the story all about?’, what am gonna say? That this story is about a red haired girl with dragons friends... who helps people?? Coz amazingly enough, the problems just seem to find her and compel her to help. Is AnY really just about helping people? A story where the main chara just helps people is not compelling at all.

Oddly enough this shoujo just became complicated bec it lacked an overall story goal.

 

[@Aylinn]

Now see thats the problem with not having an overall story goal and being open-ended, everything just seems important. Im not talking about subplot goals, im referring to main plot goals/overarching story goals which provide compass and direction to the story. Especially now that we’re nearing the conclusion.

This is the joy of reading a story that is published in pieces I am afraid. Harry Potter was no different in a way. After reading the last book I thought that Rowling could spare us most of the romantic subplots, especially since they were no good anyway.

Oddly enough this shoujo just became complicated bec it lacked an overall story goal.

I think the argument was that it is not uncommon for a 16 year old girl not to have a clear goal in life.

 

[Mini_kinkin]

If someone will ask me ‘what’s the story all about?’, what am gonna say? That this story is about a red haired girl with dragons friends... who helps people??

Why not though? Another way of putting the above story is....about a girl who was a clueless princess who grew into a caring and assertive individual and wanted to help her country, to the point of becoming a legend in her country.

All of the sub-plots shape Yona's thoughts and decisions - about herself and also about Soo-Won also - which will ultimately also shape her final decision in the end,

Let me also take the example of a sub-plot most people find useless - and that was Shin-Ah's sub-arc, where he was haunted by the spirits of the previous blue dragons. Perhaps that arc helped him accept his powers more, and use his eyes more...and he has now used them on Keishuk. I think even the smallest sub-plots have some relevance to the main plot.

Ofc it's not a perfect story as there have been some loose parts here and there, but like I said I prefer this open world type of story - which slowly builds up to the end. Rather than linear and straightforward good vs evil.

But anyway to each their own I guess :P

 

[@Aylinn]

Why not though? Another way of putting the above story is....about a girl who was a clueless princess who grew into a caring and assertive individual and wanted to help her country, to the point of becoming a legend in her country.

Well, I think that if Yona’s development, etc. is the most important, you can just classify it as a coming of age story.

To tell the truth, while I found it ok most of the time, I wonder it this is going to be very good at this point seeing how the author has been going rather easy on her up until now.

Thus I don’t think it will be the best example of such a story. I am quite sure that it is not going to beat Utena. I suppose that it likely will not beat the Twelve Kingdoms as well.

Of course, in the end it will all depend on how Yona’s characterization/development will be handled in the future, especially in the final arc of this manga, so I will postpone my final judgment until I read the last chapter.

 

[Maryam mohamed]

OOOOOOOMMMMMMGGGGG THE SPOILERSSSS FOR CHAPTER 161, APPARENTLY TAEJUNS MOM AND YONAS MOM WERE FRIENDS, AND YONAS MOM TOLD HER THAT YONA HAS THE PROTECTION OF THE DRAGONS.
WTFFF....IN A WAY I SAW THIS COMING.......AN EASY ALLY FOR YONA, SO BASICALLY YONA HAS THE COOPERATION OF 2 BIG PPL IN THE FIRE TRIBE. AND KEISHUK HAS THEM CORNEREDDDDD.........BITCCCCCH ITS GOING DOWN.....BUT WHERE IS SOOWON?????

 

[@Aylinn]

Yeah, it seems from the spoilers that Keishuk has them cornered. However, does he corner them by the end of the chapter or at the beginning and then they manage to escape?

To be honest, I would like the former more, since firstly, it would show that Keishuk is not stupid and secondly, if he catches them, I suppose it may give a headache to Soo-won, since Keishuk may have orders to deliver them to the Hiryuu castle/Soo-won, so it will force our characters to face each other.

I can imagine Soo-won giving Keishuk an order to bring them alive in the hope that Keishuk will not manage to do it and be like ‘Damn you Keishuk for capturing them, damn you Hak for letting yourself to be caught so easily!’

However, the latter will not be bad either as long as Keishuk will achieve something as the antagonist at some point, rather sooner than later, and will not be the incompetent Gobi 2.0. Besides, narrow escapes can get boring as well.

I would personally go for the first option where Yona and her HHB are caught, because the potential to squeeze a lot of juicy drama out of this situation is certainly much greater.

 

[Maryam mohamed]

naaaaaahhhh, I want soowon to develop be4 he faces them

 

[@Aylinn]

Well, I suppose it can play out like this too, though I don’t think it matters since he would need to take a resolve one way or another. I just think that them being caught now can lead quickly to his character development and some intense interactions between him, Yona and Hak at the very least. Maybe even to a conversation. However, it does not have to be necessarily the last time they meet each other or the meeting when they explain everything to each other.

 

[Mini_kinkin]

Interesting we learn about Yona's mom. Well anyway pretty much confirmed now that Il knew about Yona's and the dragons...and he even called her special in Hiryuu's mausoleum...question is...why did he hide her?

Maybe Il is the one who killed her mom after all? Maybe the mom wanted her to find the dragons and Il wanted to hide her? It would be interesting to see if they had conflicting thoughts about Yona and her fate. If Il never died, Yona would probably never find the dragons after all.

Anyhow, yeah a confrontation would be good. If I were Soo-Won I would make the dragons help with Kai officially in exchange for not being imprisoned (we know they are gonna unofficially do it anyway). After all the dragons are a good resource, and Soo-Won's side would lose far less resources and men with them. Not to mention that the dragons are a source of psychological fear for the opposition. And in this way, he can even escape imprisoning Yona and Hak which we all know he doesn't want to do. But as we know, Soo-Won is opposed to anything magical so her probably won't do that, even if it's a good idea.

 

[Y-min]

How about this
Maybe keishuk want to puts hand on monsters so i think he cannot handle them so he will abduct yona to control them.

I actually really want soo-won to marry yona it will be interesting.
if you remember when they sick Zeno told them its happen cuz they far from castle.

How can they be far from castle why all the monsters is died in yong age because they are far away I think mabay they will figer out then yona will have only one choice
Any way its all my fantasya

 

[Maryam mohamed]

also another theory: what if kashi somehow had a vision of a murder attempt against her husband and shielded him with her body? what if she told him in her dying breath to be wary of yu hon and su won, and maybe thats why il didnt trust both of them anymore?

Kashi's voice in the dialogue in the manga is somehow reminiscent of Iksu when he discussed to Yona and Yoon about the sword and the shield. She seemed to know of Yona's soon-to-be-burdens as soon as she was born.

Also another theory: Kashi is a member of the Fire Tribe. And Hiryuu's hidden direct descendant [Iguni said Yona did have her mother's eyes after all]


WHAT ARE UR THOUGHTS.....I FIND THE FIRST ONE TO BE RIDICULOUS BECS UNLESS SHE KNEW THAT KING IL KILLED YUHON, WHICH WAS AFTER HER DEATH THAN IDK THAT SHE CAN PREDICT THAT SOOWON WOULD KILL HIM. I HAVE SOO MANY THEORIES.

 

[@Aylinn]

also another theory: what if kashi somehow had a vision of a murder attempt against her husband and shielded him with her body? what if she told him in her dying breath to be wary of yu hon and su won, and maybe thats why il didnt trust both of them anymore?

Very meh, if it were like this. In my opinion Yu-hon is a horrible choice for an evil dude who tried to kill his brother and the villain.

I hope that Kashi had no such power that allowed her to tell who is good/bad etc., because if Yona inherited it. It would look like a super weak attempt to justify why Yona is a special snowflake that is right about everything that she ever feels is true without fact checking.

Also another theory: Kashi is a member of the Fire Tribe. And Hiryuu's hidden direct descendant [Iguni said Yona did have her mother's eyes after all]

Possible.

 

[Mini_kinkin]

Very meh, if it were like this. In my opinion Yu-hon is a horrible choice for an evil dude who tried to kill his brother and the villain.

I hope that Kashi had no such power that allowed her to tell who is good/bad etc., because if Yona inherited it. It would look like a super weak attempt to justify why Yona is a special snowflake that is right about everything that she ever feels is true without fact checking.

Never thought about it before but Kashi could actually be a priest.

Doubt Yona inherited those qualities or anything. And the latest chapter clearly shows she isn't right about everything because revealing herself made the fire tribe go crazy. Anyway hate the term "snowflake", I just associate that word with republicans for some reason :P.

 

[Aniela]

Anyway hate the term "snowflake", I just associate that word with republicans for some reason :P.

Hard to be a republican when you don't even live in USA. Politics isn't two parties clashing with each other in an 'us vs them' everywhere (though admittedly, my country has a little of it too. But a third force is growing).

At any rate, I find term 'special snowflake' a useful replacement for 'Mary Sue', one which isn't inherently gendered. It also has a clearer meaning of a person who receives/expects to receive special treatment, without the other qualities that have been associated with 'Mary Sue' that aren't required for a character to be one. I still haven't read chapter 161, but I saw the scans and some spoilers (I'll have to figure out how to block tags on tumblr, it seems), and I understand the disappointment, since it appears that Yona just gained another ally without doing much at all. Also, it's from the Fire Tribe - which was previously thought to be on Su-won's side - but now with both Tae-jun and his mother allying with Yona, that alignment seems questionable. If the two were to sway Kyo-ga - or take over the tribe in another way - it would give Yona three of the five tribes. All for a girl who recently solves problems pretty much by the virtue of existing. This smells of a special snowflake.

--- Double Post Merged, Jul 24, 2018, Original Post Date: Jul 24, 2018 ---

Read the chapter. One good thing - apparently Keishuk is not an idiot. We got a chance for an interesting antagonist at last.

Other than that... pff. Information seems to be coming in really small tidbits, like the author is dousing it in as little drops as possible. We got two things: Yona's mother's name and that she apparently knew about Yona being Hiryuu's reincarnation. It might be that she was a priest, but she might've heard it from a priest, too. It could tie with why Yu-hon chased them out from the palace. Even if it had happened long before Yona was born, Kashi could be just repeating words that had been spoken to her.

I'm not liking this Yona getting yet another person singing her praise, though. I really hoped this would end after the Xing Arc. I also can't help but give a bitter chuckle when another person calls Yona's gift a 'burden'. Having four handsome men at your orders, what a terrible ordeal!

 

[SamuelDean]

Hard to be a republican when you don't even live in USA. Politics isn't two parties clashing with each other in an 'us vs them' everywhere (though admittedly, my country has a little of it too. But a third force is growing).

At any rate, I find term 'special snowflake' a useful replacement for 'Mary Sue', one which isn't inherently gendered. It also has a clearer meaning of a person who receives/expects to receive special treatment, without the other qualities that have been associated with 'Mary Sue' that aren't required for a character to be one. I still haven't read chapter 161, but I saw the scans and some spoilers (I'll have to figure out how to block tags on tumblr, it seems), and I understand the disappointment, since it appears that Yona just gained another ally without doing much at all. Also, it's from the Fire Tribe - which was previously thought to be on Su-won's side - but now with both Tae-jun and his mother allying with Yona, that alignment seems questionable. If the two were to sway Kyo-ga - or take over the tribe in another way - it would give Yona three of the five tribes. All for a girl who recently solves problems pretty much by the virtue of existing. This smells of a special snowflake.

--- Double Post Merged, Jul 24, 2018, Original Post Date: Jul 24, 2018 ---

Read the chapter. One good thing - apparently Keishuk is not an idiot. We got a chance for an interesting antagonist at last.

Other than that... pff. Information seems to be coming in really small tidbits, like the author is dousing it in as little drops as possible. We got two things: Yona's mother's name and that she apparently knew about Yona being Hiryuu's reincarnation. It might be that she was a priest, but she might've heard it from a priest, too. It could tie with why Yu-hon chased them out from the palace. Even if it had happened long before Yona was born, Kashi could be just repeating words that had been spoken to her.

I'm not liking this Yona getting yet another person singing her praise, though. I really hoped this would end after the Xing Arc. I also can't help but give a bitter chuckle when another person calls Yona's gift a 'burden'. Having four handsome men at your orders, what a terrible ordeal!

Yeah....I mean if Yona s mother should be from the Fire Tribe it would be at least reasonable....But if Iguni and Kashi had been such good friends why doesn t Yona know Iguni? Yona was 6 when her mother died.

I honestly hope that Yona s mother was not some sort of priest...I don t like it for another reason. It would make the story to plain. I think it would be better if they heard a prophecy...This prophecy was part of the reason why the priest were cast out...If the prophecy told the king some bad consequences, he had an excellent reason to throw them out. I would see it not as the sole reason why they were expelled, rather as a convenient excuse to get rid of people who could restrain the power of the king.

Though I agree. I am also tired that Yona gets followers just because she is the reincarnation of the first king who happened to be a god.
Yona doesn t have to do anything to get those results. That is a clear difference from the chapters at the beginning of the story.

 

[Mini_kinkin]

Hard to be a republican when you don't even live in USA. Politics isn't two parties clashing with each other in an 'us vs them' everywhere (though admittedly, my country has a little of it too. But a third force is growing).

At any rate, I find term 'special snowflake' a useful replacement for 'Mary Sue', one which isn't inherently gendered. It also has a clearer meaning of a person who receives/expects to receive special treatment, without the other qualities that have been associated with 'Mary Sue' that aren't required for a character to be one. I still haven't read chapter 161, but I saw the scans and some spoilers (I'll have to figure out how to block tags on tumblr, it seems), and I understand the disappointment, since it appears that Yona just gained another ally without doing much at all. Also, it's from the Fire Tribe - which was previously thought to be on Su-won's side - but now with both Tae-jun and his mother allying with Yona, that alignment seems questionable. If the two were to sway Kyo-ga - or take over the tribe in another way - it would give Yona three of the five tribes. All for a girl who recently solves problems pretty much by the virtue of existing. This smells of a special snowflake.

--- Double Post Merged, Jul 24, 2018, Original Post Date: Jul 24, 2018 ---

Read the chapter. One good thing - apparently Keishuk is not an idiot. We got a chance for an interesting antagonist at last.

Other than that... pff. Information seems to be coming in really small tidbits, like the author is dousing it in as little drops as possible. We got two things: Yona's mother's name and that she apparently knew about Yona being Hiryuu's reincarnation. It might be that she was a priest, but she might've heard it from a priest, too. It could tie with why Yu-hon chased them out from the palace. Even if it had happened long before Yona was born, Kashi could be just repeating words that had been spoken to her.

I'm not liking this Yona getting yet another person singing her praise, though. I really hoped this would end after the Xing Arc. I also can't help but give a bitter chuckle when another person calls Yona's gift a 'burden'. Having four handsome men at your orders, what a terrible ordeal!

Sorry but snowflake still reminds me of republicans...not because they are snowflakes but because they use that word a lot for others...so I think you misunderstood me. They keep calling the whole world snowflakes. (not trying to imply that anyone here is republican, just voicing out that I hate the term)

Anyhow....I see no problem with Yona getting the tribes on her side as this was where the story was headed anyway.

And amazing how everyone forgets time and time again that she swayed Tae Jun into a good person by helping the fire tribe and her team discovered the Izumi seeds. Plus she pretty much solved Nadai problem with Soo-Won and actually built a solid relationship with Lili who doesn't care that she is Hiryuu reincarnate. Yona did all that on her own without a roof on her head and as a fugitive. Maybe Xing was the only problem here but everything else wasn't luck and relationships she built and nurtured.

 

[Aniela]

Yeah....I mean if Yona s mother should be from the Fire Tribe it would be at least reasonable....But if Iguni and Kashi had been such good friends why doesn t Yona know Iguni? Yona was 6 when her mother died.

I think this one can actually be explained by the two women not meeting often after they married. Still, it is a happy coincidence for Yona.

 

[SamuelDean]

Sorry but snowflake still reminds me of republicans...not because they are snowflakes but because they use that word a lot for others...so I think you misunderstood me. They keep calling the whole world snowflakes. (not trying to imply that anyone here is republican, just voicing out that I hate the term)

Anyhow....I see no problem with Yona getting the tribes on her side as this was where the story was headed anyway.

And amazing how everyone forgets time and time again that she swayed Tae Jun into a good person by helping the fire tribe and her team discovered the Izumi seeds. Plus she pretty much solved Nadai problem with Soo-Won and actually built a solid relationship with Lili who doesn't care that she is Hiryuu reincarnate. Yona did all that on her own without a roof on her head and as a fugitive. Maybe Xing was the only problem here but everything else wasn't luck and relationships she built and nurtured.

I think we had this discussion a while ago. In my opinion Yona has contributed...but the extent of the adoration is too much. There is just a disequilibrium between the praise she gets and the work she does. At least this sums it up for me.

 

[Aniela]

Sorry but snowflake still reminds me of republicans...not because they are snowflakes but because they use that word a lot for others...so I think you misunderstood me. They keep calling the whole world snowflakes. (not trying to imply that anyone here is republican, just voicing out that I hate the term)

Anyhow....I see no problem with Yona getting the tribes on her side as this was where the story was headed anyway.

And amazing how everyone forgets time and time again that she swayed Tae Jun into a good person by helping the fire tribe and her team discovered the Izumi seeds. Plus she pretty much solved Nadai problem with Soo-Won and actually built a solid relationship with Lili who doesn't care that she is Hiryuu reincarnate. Yona did all that on her own without a roof on her head and as a fugitive. Maybe Xing was the only problem here but everything else wasn't luck and relationships she built and nurtured.

Nobody is forgetting anything. In fact, I reread the Fire Tribe Arc recently, and it only provides all the more stark contrast to what's been happening in the past two years (real-world-wise). However, you're wrong at that Yona swayed Tae-jun. He was hers from the very beginning. He spent 3 months wallowing in pity that he had apparently 'killed' her. He was ready to serve her the moment he found that she was alive. What Yona did was to teach him to be a decent human being. Which is commendable an' all, but she didn't have to win him over.