All good things must come to an end, and I can’t say this enough about this anime. For these past few months, I’ve been on an emotional and amazing journey with this show, and it really hurt to watch the last episode. But I’m excited to talk about the last episode, so let’s just get to it.
Funnily enough, when they talk about finding the Yellow Dragon, in only a matter of seconds he appears right before them. Because he’s hungry. Yona is butchering an animal they’re about to eat, and a young man appears next to Yona and Yun drooling. They cook up the meat, and he’s happily munching away. The other three dragons are in disbelief, but point out that the random boy among them is indeed, the Yellow Dragon.
His name is Zeno, and he’s just really laidback and adorable. He had already noticed the other dragons, but never made any moves toward them since he wasn’t interested. Sitting next to Yona, he also never got that same blood-boiling feeling that the other boys got when meeting her. He just thinks she’s cute. Since he’s just a traveler, and he’s only been wandering around with no specific destination, he immediately agrees to travel with Yona. And it was anticlimactic too.
Yona: Wanna travel with us?
Zeno: ‘kay
That’s it basically. Everyone is dumbstuck by how easy that was, and even makes fun of Ki-ja for losing the record of joining the group fastest (took Zeno a couple seconds). They ask Zeno what his power is, but it’s left unclear. He says his body is strong, but he’s actually weak. And just…gets punched by Hak just to see how strong his body is, and winds up bloody with tears in his eyes. So it’s hard to believe that he’s the last dragon, but Yona believes so. And finally all the dragons have been gathered. It should be an amazing moment, but for some reason it doesn’t. Probably, like Yun said, because it was so easy. Yun goes over the myth, that when the dragons are gathered, the “shield and sword” will appear before the King. Just what that is, they’re not entirely sure, but they head back to Ik-su.
As clumsy as ever, they find him unconscious and bleeding with everything broken inside. They treat him, and tells them that it’s not time for the “sword and shield” to appear yet, but when it does, they’ll know. It’s when Zeno shows a different side to himself and asks a very important question.
For now, they’ve been following the legend. But now that they’re all together, now what? Storm into the castle, defeat Soo-won, and rule the kingdom? That’s what we all think, or why else would Yona gather them together? For what reason? But could she really rule over the whole kingdom? She can’t just defeat Soo-won and leave it at that. They’re in a bind, but the others drop the subject.
But we get Yona’s answer soon enough. She speaks with Ik-su, and tells him that she met with Soo-won in Awa. She also tells him of the condition of the kingdom when traveling. She knows there must be more corrupted places like Awa, and she wants to help them. Instead of confronting Soo-won, she wants to travel and help others.
That night when everyone is sleeping, Yona is outside in the rain, practicing swinging around a sword. Hak catches her, and they take shelter in a cave. Now let me tell you…this moment really touched me. It’s so obvious how much Hak really loves Yona, too bad she’s too dense to see that. He’s scared of her taking up a sword, because that just means more danger in her way. But he’s also so proud of her. Extremely proud. So proud, that he wishes he could show everyone in the world just how strong she is. How much she was forced to sacrifice, but made it all up by growing. She’s cut her hair, taken up weapons, helped and protected others, and you can tell that he’s just so proud of her. I’m sure Hak really would like to have Yona to himself, but he wants her to shine. Ugh, and that forehead kiss…*wipes tear*
Yona has taken up the sword, so she can really defend herself, and not use Hak as a shield anymore. And so they all set out on their journey, a new journey on a new day.
In the end, I was hoping there’d be a tiny announcement saying there’d be another season in a few months, like Log Horizon did. But nope. It was a nice conclusion, with a good ending. Of course, you feel a little frustrated at the ending because you know there is still much more content. You have the feeling that things are barely getting started, but unfortunately you won’t be able to see it.
Now…Zeno. We’ve seen his face in both openings for all the episodes, and he barely makes his appearance in the very last episode. And honestly, he was only in half the episode. So that’s also really disappointing. We barely know him. We know there’s something more to him. He can be a cute nonchalant guy in one second, then become serious the other, and make solemn expressions like the one above. I want to know more about him, but that would require reading the manga.
And this is what a lot of anime does. They make an anime for a manga, but make a “Go read the manga!” type of ending. Which I hate. I will be sorely disappointed with Studio Pierrot if they leave Akatsuki no Yona like this, since many people have said that there is enough material for another season. But of course the studios do this so the manga can increase in sales and popularity, which isn’t a bad thing. But for people that aren’t keen on reading, or just prefer anime over manga, this can be grating. Watching this last episode, you’re left with wanting more, because when you leave the episode with the main characters starting a whole new journey, you want to see that. Unfortunately, as of right now, there hasn’t been any announcement for another season, but we can always hope, right?
Either way, I loved this show from start to finish, and I’m very sad to see it end. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for another season, but in the meantime, I’ll just get to reading the manga for now. But I won’t write out my complete thoughts on this show here. Instead, I’ll make a separate entry and write out an Overall Review, and give my opinion there. So you guys hold on and look out for that later!
Berry, you have no idea how much I got teary eyed when Zeno showed up. Seeing him especially now coming out of the japanese chapter releases I’m so glad you picked up that there is more to Zeno then meets the eye. He is so important that I can’t even explain right now because the feels are too strong for me today. There is enough for another season the comments of the voice actors on the anime website say they want another season too, but alas you know how this industry works. Plus even if another season is announced it still wont explain Zeno entirely because his story is just now being told.
As for the bigger question about the sword and the shield prophecy well your guess is as good as mines because as of the now that has not been addressed in the manga yet. I’m hoping they are actual inanimate objects and there entrance in the story better be grand because fans have been waiting for far too long for those two to appear.
This was probably the most romantic moment between Yona and Hak. Hak “confession” is so full of love and admiration for Yona that instead of being selfish he wants Yona to shine brighter than anyone and is willing to support whatever decisions she will make in the future. Now that is love. its so often you see love portrayed as selfish and downright abusive in anime, buts its rare to love in all facets of its meaning. Hak is supportive, loyal not only to Yona, but also to his friends too, cares about the well being of everyone, he is not possessive, he is not afraid to admit there are things he is not good at, and he acknowledges the strength in others even if they are not physically strong.
I know a OVA has been announced so you can be excited about that at least. I can’t wait to hear your opinion about the manga!!!!
Totally made that last Zeno picture my desktop background ^///^ even from an anime-only standpoint I think he’s great- I love mysterious, cheerful-with-hidden-depths characters like him haha!
This episode was splendid- it cut out some things from the manga, rearranged them or even changed them completely, but it was all minor and I think it worked to a great effect. The writers clearly wanted to give us viewers as much satisfaction as possible before the end. I especially loved the female vocals inserted at the end- it managed to take a scene from the manga I actually thought was a bit creepy (I know, how awful of me- I just cringe at the thought of someone hugging and kissing *me* in my sleep…) and turned it into something truly sweet and touching. It must be something about the music or the lovely color palette, but this adaption really brings out the tenderness of Hak’s love for Yona. I’ll accept the pairing with ease if I see it animated, so get chopping on season 2 Pierrot!!
GAH! You can’t stop there! Give moar!
Zeno’s mysteries and character development are explored later in the manga, and even the latest chapters from Japan cover his past.
Small hint; he and Wolverine have a lot in common when it comes to age.