Akatsuki no Yona OVA

We journey into the world of Yona of the dawn directly from the end of the original series and even though in this three part OVA they didn't get very far in their overall journey it still serves as a great addition to the Yona of the dawn story-line. The sad reality is unfortunately this is the last time we'll get to enjoy the Yona of the dawn story in animated form. After these three episodes, you'll have to read the manga if you want to continue this truly epic story-line.

This OVA is going to convey a lot of emotions as you watch these ... three episodes. You'll feel humour, remorse, tragedy, love, sadness, and by the end your going to feel a sense of enlightenment because by the end of this OVA you'll fully understand the four dragon warriors and their unbreakable spirit. When the main series ends you almost feel a little cheated because every dragon warrior had their story addressed for the most part minus the yellow dragon warrior Zeno. He appears in the very last episode of the series but not much is really known about him. You don't even get to see what his powers or his story is. However, in this OVA two of the three episodes focuses on Zeno and his story as it relates toward his journey with regards to being one of the dragon warriors. His ability is probably the most powerful out of all the dragon warriors but it comes with a lot of baggage which in his life is completely unavoidable. This OVA also shows the history of the first set of dragon warriors and how they have more of a connection to the present group of dragon warriors then the average viewer may think.

The OVA tricks you from the very beginning. Yona and her merry group of warriors stop at a hot springs resort where they can finally relax. Your first thought when you see this, oh so they're making this kind of OVA which is probably going to focus on some kind of gratuitous fan service which would be totally expected from any seasoned anime fan, but you couldn't be farther from the truth. The first half of the very first episode focuses on hot spring shenanigans but it's not necessarily about the fan-service but it's more about the playful banter that the four dragons have towards each other while including Hak and Yun in their shenanigans. The second half of the first episode delves a little deeper into Ki-ja's past especially as a child when he first obtained the white dragon's power.

The animation is still as beautiful and detailed as what it was in the main season of the anime and the second episode of the OVA has it's share of bloodthirsty battles in which it's not afraid to show quite a bit of blood and violence. At the end of each OVA episode you get a different ending song for each episode and it's an excellent listening experience because each musical track matches the tone and mood of each ova episode. Unfortunately in this OVA, there is no opening song or opening credits.

Unfortunately there is very little time with Yona throughout this three episode OVA, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I think deep down the purpose of this OVA is to give some deeper insight into the history of the dragon warriors to make sure throughout the end of the main season of Yona of the Dawn and OVA that the viewer has a deep understanding of each dragon warrior, their powers, and their motivations but in order to do that you absolutely must watch both.

Such a crying shame we'll never get to see more of this story in anime form. It truly is a compelling series.

This Yona OVA wasn't too bad overall and I believe anyone who has seen the anime and enjoyed it would get some enjoyment out of these three extra episodes.


The first episode is a typical hot springs with a bit of fanservice and some piece of backstory concerning the White Dragon, Ki-Ja. Delving into the backstory of one of the dragons filled up something that I believe was missing from the Yona series, and makes them feel more fleshed out as characters. Especially seeing more of the Green dragon's actions in this particular episode made me enjoy the OVA, since he's my favorite of the four ... with the most compelling personality. Seeing how he handled the situation added some character depth. The misunderstanding present in the episode was humorous enough, and I enjoyed seeing the party interact with one another.


Especially the second and third episode provided a decent amount of backstory concerning the four dragons' origins and Zeno himself that's missing in the anime. The anime stopped at quite an unfortunate point in the story, and this makes up for a little bit of that, at least. So if you were interested in learning more about the original dragons and Zeno, I can really recommend these two episodes. It paints a much more dramatic and sad picture of such a cheerful character and I was surprised to see such a backstory for him.


In any case, these OVAs are a fitting bonus for those who have seen the anime.

Cutesy.

So basically this OVA for me is mainly for fan service purposes only.
Will not satisfy your craving for the anime.

Though I must say that it sort of opens your heart more with the green dragon and makes you a bit more curious about his back story as well as the yellow's since we all know they had tiny bit of back story compared to the first two dragons.

What I like about this ova is the fact that clearly the whole gag is getting along well, and I just can'twait to see more brotherly interactions of the 4 dragons.