Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 43

暁のヨナ [Akatsuki no Yona] #43

by Mizuho Kusanagi

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!

Yona’s attempt to reunite with Jaeha and Sinha takes a horrible turn—both dragon warriors have turned into dragons, and Jaeha even vanishes before her very eyes! Back at the Kohka camp, Sinha fights for his life as the soldiers fearfully attack the rampaging dragon before them…

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels, Shojo, Adventure, Young Adult

192 pages, Paperback

First published February 20, 2024

About the author

KUSANAGI Mizuho (草凪みずほ) used to work as an assistant for Yoko Matsushita.

Circle(s): JAKE

Loves: drawing and considers herself to have a 'super fetish' for voices. As such, she loves seiyuu (voice actors) but also actors with good voices.

Favorite Food: Ramen. Prefers vegetables to meat.

Favorite Movies: Anything by Miyazaki, whom she loves! Also, The Sound of Music and Lord of the Rings.

Reviews

[Ainara M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zeno, when I catch you Zeno 😭

[Anja · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume ripped my heart out.

[Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far one of the most brutal reads of this manga… I am so so sad, but I am really hoping that things turn around and everyone reunites like I genuinely need there to be a happy ending… when Zeno said the happy hungry bunch is no more and Yona needs to forget about the dragons… like Zeno wtf!!!!!! I need it to be June 5th for the new chapter AHHHHH

Also I thought about it more and the fact that the opening of the entire manga was a prophetic dream is actually insane… I always thought at the beginning it was Hak talking to her but the fact that it was Joo-Doh and it’s a potential future of her as Queen… I’m curious as to whether she even wants to be Queen, especially if the people she loves aren’t by her side. And her conversation with Hiryuu he basically spoke to his future reincarnation giving her his blessing to decide the fate of the dragons. My prediction is that she will find a way for them to live out the rest of their lives as humans and possibly put an end to the cycle of dragons. Aghhh idk and I have no theories on a resolution for soowon and the crimson dragon illness.

I cannot believe i read like 40 volumes in less than a week… oof

[Estíbaliz Montero Iniesta]

el TRAUMA

[Martu (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bring my family back together!! Let's go back to the happy hungry bunch days!

[Khadija · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far the most devastating volume. The amount of whiplash I got

[Keiko, the manga enthusiast ♒︎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zeno?! Why lie you old man? Uh-oh. I... Don't even know what to think...

[Skrivena stranica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can we get to the interesting part already? This political part is incredibly boring, romance is not really progressing and it is annoying me. It's been like... 10 years.

[Nea Poulain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me encanta la complejidad con la que Kusanagi eligió contar la historia entre Soo Won, Hak y Yona. Aquí brilla, sobre todo, Soo Won y como ve a Hak y al revés. Impresionante. Por lo demás, el resto me puso muy nerviosa y no estoy segura hasta donde llega este volumen pero oh boi.

[Siham · Rating 5 out of 5]

You won't be able to pick yourself up off the floor 😩💔💔💔💔

[Amalea · Rating 5 out of 5]

PANICKINNGGGG

[Laura Pandorabooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Si con el anterior me dolía el alma, con este me han acabado de destrozar.

Ay, madre mía.

[Omnya Ali (Free Palestine) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love them I love them I love them 😭😭😭😭💗

[jana ☆]

the angst.............. please free me

[Hoppipolla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Madre mía, madre mía, madre mía...

[Libbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5✨

The way my jaw just dropped at the ending of this volume. This was a rough and brutal read 😭

Zeno if I catch you... I 😪😭

[Briana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not crying. you're crying. You know what, I am definitely crying.

[tahaslibrary · Rating 5 out of 5]

put me in between the two on the cover. they could fix me.

[melhara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the slowest volume of the series and probably the most emotional one too.

I'm really worried about the direction the story is taking and I hate what's happening to the dragons!! I really hope the story picks up at the next volume.

The afterword included behind-the-scenes tidbits about Kusanagi's art exhibition that was held in Osaka last year, where they even made 3D life-sized models of all the main characters!

Here are some pictures I managed to find from the internet (and you can find more the reddit post here):

[Isa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Katie❄️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

What utter devastation from start to finish with no end in sight….

[Chantaal · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT IS HAPPENINNGGGGGG

[Mariah Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m sorry WHAT

[Kaya Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

i am going to remain quiet otherwise I will be gone in a super nova-esque explosion

[Maé · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume was most likely the most devastating of the entire manga, but also easily one of its best. As we reach the end of the story, everything is so much more intense, and it's easy to start wondering if all our favorite characters will survive. And the answer is… most likely not. And that's how we're introduced to the most tragic deaths (?) of the entire story, and I literally sobbed my way through every chapter.

Shinah has always been one of my favorite characters. I still remember watching the anime for the first time, seeing him, and deciding I would go to war for him. Seeing him completely losing control over who he was absolutely broke me. He tried so hard to get back to his friends, but the frenziness of a gigantic dragon is way too dangerous. His scene with Yoon is genuinely one of the most tragic I’ve ever seen, and seeing Yoon so broken trying to plead with him absolutely broke me. But even after everything, above all his instincts, Shinha will always choose to protect his friends, and that will always be the thing making him the most vulnerable.

The storytelling of these past chapters were proper genius. Honestly, every page and panel lead us to that one last page of the volume. I don't want to talk about it openly here to avoid spoilers, but this is one of the best cliffhangers of the entire manga. I’m genuinely terrified to read the next volume.

[María · Rating 5 out of 5]

i am having a horrible time i can’t wait until JUNE just for a chapter that i’ll read in 5 minutes 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

but seriously now i’ve read up to chapter 257 which just came out and i don’t think hak or the “mortal” dragons will die but i do think Zeno will. Also, Hak is probably going to almost die or die and she brings him back so it’s going to be very dramatic, but he is her shield after all, the prophecy says it. I’m not quite sure yet who’s the blade, like, can Hak be both? Or is the king’s blade truly the blade, i don’t know. But kashi or whatever (yona’s mom) asked Hak to protect her when he was a tiny baby so I don’t think he’ll die as in die forever. I think the ending is going to be extremely sad and i have a feeling that when the title of the story comes true and she becomes the red dragon, the crimson sickness or whatever will be cured or something. I honestly think this will have a somewhat happy ending, but maybe I’m just delusional after reading all of akayona in a week.

But who knows, this is ending soon (in a year maybe?) and I’m just so sad. I’ve been a fan for two years already, I can’t let it go.

[Noelle Haycraft · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm actually going to scream. The plot of this volume was fast moving and is leading up to what I assume is the climax of this part of the series. Down below are spoilers for this volume.


-Yun staying behind and helping heal people??? Little baby; he doesn't want to abandon the people but also wants to stay with his friends and it's so sad
-Sinha freaking out and seeing Yona as a safe space and what he was aiming for when he got to the camp; the soldiers attacking him and Yun trying to protect him??? And then Sinha protecting Yun??? WRECKED
-YO fucking Zeno sealing the dragons away?? It was him the whole time for the past few volumes?? Imma hurt him
-I just read the summary of the next volume and I SWEAR TO GOD THIS BETTER END HAPPY


Happy Reading!!

[Emily Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Jaeha, then Sinha, now Gija??? What is Zeno actually planning to do with the chalice???

I also totally thought Su-Won's head was bitten off by Sinha...and then I was upset over it...man, I don't hate Su-Won as much as I used to, huh? But he's still not my favorite.

Gija accidently calling himself White Snake was hilarious though.

This arc has been insane. I'm anxious to see what happens next.

[Jess | jadecanread · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zeno, what the fuck?

I put off reading this volume for as long as possible because I knew it'd hurt me and the wait for the next volume would be painful.

I wasn't wrong.

RECAP: Sinha goes off the rails, Yona locates him, she finds out she's supposed to take over, then Sinha disappears, Zeno shows up, and we find out he had the chalice.

[Martina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Straziante