Akatsuki no Yona: Theories From Chapter One and Two

I was rereading Akatsuki no Yona because I notice new things everytime I read it. This time however, I gleaned a lot of things from Chapter 1 and 2. Like, how did I not notice this before? Kusanagi sensei has a habit of hiding things in plain sight and making us forget with bigger incidents. So here we go.

He says "We've been discussing who I'm going to be engaged to." Alert for manga readers. Who is this 'we'? Soowon is not interested in getting married and no offense but I think his mom is dead too. But because of his lack of interest, egagement matters would probably have to be shoved at him by someone of higher status. I don't think it was Kye-Sook, he doesn't have that power. Although he can bug him to get married, he cannot shove marriage interviews in Soowon's face. This means Soowon has other relatives taking care of him that we do not know of. I don't know about you, but that sounds really interesting and fishy.

         

I noticed King Il was really uneasy about Soo Won. In a really sad kind of way. He says "I truly am a cowardly King" as well. The way he said it wasn't normal. If you think properly, it could hint to the fact that King Il really did kill Yuhon and that he regretted it. Either way, he's uncertain about Soowon and I want to know what exactly his reasons are, given that Soowon seems so perfect to everyone else and seems not to know about Il killing his father.

We don't know who chased Yona. In the anime it was depicted as Kye-Sook but in the manga we don't know who it was. Now you can argue that it might have been another one of Soowon's men, but first of all, Soowon wanted to kill King Il not Yona. You can see this when he talks to Yona after he kills Il. Her death was not in his plan, but to make sure no holes were left, he was ready to kill her. Meaning it wasn't one of his men. Another thing that proved my theory was that his plan to kill Il took place five days after this incident. Which imbecle on Soowon's group would ruin this plan? If you look closely, even Soowon is surprised that Yona was being chased. Like seriously, who the heck was trying to jeopardize his plan by spooking the princess and putting her on edge five days before he killed the King? Moreover why chase Yona who was widely known for being practically useless instead of targeting the King?

I noticed their positions and it occured to me that it would have been easier to stab him in the back. I mean they're facing each other and Il's not even near the bed. And then it occured to me. Yona knew her father was in his room, meaning he returned a while ago and yet Soowon just stabbed him as Yona walked in and Il was definitely not in bed. I believe Soowon and Yona's father talked to each other before Soowon killed him. I want to know what they talked about. Moreover, drunk or not, there was no way Soowon could've stabbed him so cleanly. There is a possibilty Il let Soowon kill him.

                     

 

                 

This was a scene that made me think of a lot of things. First, Yuhon was probably killed by Il in his sleep or something otherwise there was no friggin way a war chnampion would get killed so easily by a cowardly King, right? But then, when you think about it, King Junam's wars are pretty popular, why would he chose weakling Il? Whoops! Everyone called him cowardly, not weakling. He was a Prince. There is no way he didn't recieve proper training. We're talking about King Junam here. There are chances that King Il may be pretty good at fighting. He just doesn't like fighting. Then, wait a moment, how did Soowon kill him with a clean chest stab? He let Soowon kill him. And leave Yona? No friggin way! So we'll go with the Yuhon was sleeping and Il killed him theory. What the heck, what'd he kill him for then? Moving on, why did King Junam choose Il? I suddenly remembered, Yuhon kicked out the priests from the palace. Priests were said to have the most influence in the Kingdom (thank you, Zeno. Your influence lasts till date). Iksoo's predecessor was kicked out while Iksoo was still a child, meaning King Junam was probably still King. There is a possibilty, Il was chosen as King because his offspring was prophesized to be the reincarnation of King Hiryuu. Which means, Yuhon seemed like he didn't care that he lost the throne but he may have actually been very unhappy about it. Also, another thing struck me. Yuhon was a person loved by the people. If Il killing Yuhon was common knowledge, Il would've been destroyed. Meaning Yuhon's death was probably a very well kept secret from even Soowon. Which makes you wonder, who told Soowon? Even more, even if someone just tells Soowon he's not the kind of idiot who will believe anything. This means, someone Soowon greatly trusts told him. This is on the level of, 'I trust this person so much that although this may be a lie, I will believe this person'. Going back up to the first point. Soowon's reatives who we don't know must have told him. OK, not a big deal, back then, royal people had huge families. So there are high chances that they were probably invited to Yona's party. This is just a personal theory, but what if, the person chasing Yona was this relative that she doesn't really know?

Ugh...my brain is messed up from all this thinking. But like I said, this is all just personal observations and theories. You're free to see it however you want to.

Carrots and Horses~

Akatsuki no Yona: Why You Should Watch/Read It

I recently recommended Akatsuki no Yona to one of my close anime watching, manga reading friends. She lives in Thailand so I didn't get the chance to tell her until recently. She agreed to watch it and today she told me she didn't make it past the second episode because Yona annoyed her because she was too weak, Soowon made her want to scratch her screen into pieces and the only worthwhile character was Hak. Needless to say, if the anime was only two episodes long I would agree. But there is a reason why Akatsuki no Yona is called one of the strongest shoujos we've had in years. When one watches the Opening or sees a poster or fan art, one might think this is just a historical reverse harem. But that's not true. This is a show meant for those people really looking for a good plot and story line without cliches and stuff. It doesn't revolve around the romance like most shoujo and if the main character wasn't a girl and the show was still rather girly, it could quite as easily become a shounen show. I was surprised to see that a lot of people have actually started watching Akatsuki no Yona and have given up just like my friend. So here is a post on why you should watch/read it.

1) The Characters are Amazing!

Well that's no big surprise, every fan of a show says this. But trust me, if you've only watched the first two episodes or read only the first two chapters, you're in for a surprise. Kusanagi sensei is an amazing author who does some of the best character development I have ever seen. She enjoys taking characters that are weak and slowly letting the viewers watch them mature. Yona started out as really weak but slowly matures to the point she kills a person to save an entire city. She doesn't want to be protected anymore, she wants to fight next to everyone else. Hak at first refuses to trust after Soowon and doesn't believe Yona can become stronger but slowly, he lets down those walls and understands. The dragons all seem to be a part of the reverse harem but there is so much more to them. Kija fights the opression of his anscestors, Shinah learns to overcome the fear of his own powers, Jaeha fights his destiny of being a dragon warrior and Zeno will do anything to protect his loved ones even it means dying a hundred times over. There's also Yun who sticks out like a sore thumb in their group. He's stepping out from his shelter for the first time in years and fighting for what he truly believes in.

If you're looking for complex characters, search no more, Soowon stands in front of you. To those who refuse to actually look into it means they only look at him through Yona and Hak's eyes. Saying anything here spoils everything. But if you like characters in Tokyo Ghoul or other animes and mangas where there are grey characters who are niether good nor bad. You've got Soowon, the perfect King who will do anything for the people, but he killed the previous King and usurped the throne. Trust me, there's more to Soowon than the eyes see.

Kusanagi sensei's 'Akatsuki no Yona' as I mentioned earlier, makes weak characters mature and grow stronger. And most of those characters are characters that are around Yona's age or will take a higher position in society later. One of those characters is An Lili, the daughter of the An Joongi, the leader of the water tribe. She started off as someone who talked big but couldn't do much. But as you watch her mature, she almost dies trying to save Yona. A person who loves the people of the water tribe dearly, she is someone who will become an able leader in the future and also possibly someone who will become Soowon's romantic interest (friggin finally because Soowon doesn't understand romantic love for the life of him).

Kang Tae Jun is one of Kusanagi sensei's weak to mature characters. Wait. Am I talking about the guy who tried to steal Yona from Hak, almost kill Hak and force Yona to cut her hair? Yup, I'm talking about the same guy.

This guy goes from annoying person who you want to push of a cliff to adorable 'what the heck are you doing, you idiot'. He's made to see the harsh reality of his own tribe because of Yona and then changes for the better, making clinics for villages, helping them farm and get food and helping the old with their needs, even washing the clothes of sick patients. Plus, he is now one of the few that know what Yona is up to. Trust me, the old people should step down, Yona's generation is doing a fantastic job at running the country.

There are plenty more fantastic characters, but these are the ones that I personally believe are really important.

2) The Plot is Pure Genius

Once again, this is something people will say about their favorite anime/manga. But trust me, Kusanagi sensei builds this from ground up. It may seem simple at first but when they start incorprating prophecies and reincarnations and you start examining things, it gets complicated. Plus, Kusanagi sensei enjoys hiding things in plain sight. Each time I reread the manga I find something new. It's honestly perfect (in my opinion at least, don't take my opinion for granted!). And unlike most animes with magic, not everything is possible in this, the characters are susceptible to dying (except for one...). In things like Naruto and Fairy Tail they try not to kill people, no such thing in Akatsuki no Yona, Yona even kills people.

3) It's a Genre Heaven!

What genres do you like? Drama, comedy, romance, fantasy, historical, shoujo, gore, mystery, suspense and whatnot? You've got it here. And the best part is, it's all balanced, but if you really want to see the gore and watch the plot really unravel, read the manga. There is so much more in the manga. The anime ending leaves you craving for more, trust me. You want to know what happens next. Dunno, if this stuff isn't on your preffered genre list, oh well.

4) This is perfect for mythology nerds.

Do you like Chinese Dragons, powers and prophecies? You've come to the rightplace, like seriously. This is probably the best place for people who are looking for realistic fantasy, when I mean realistic I mean it follows a set of rules. It doesn't make anything possible, like Noragami, this is a no nonsense show.

5) If You're a Girl You Should Watch/Read It.

Not saying guys shouldn't check it out, one of my closest otaku friends who's a guy adores this show, and he's the kind of kid who will watch any show like Deadman Wonderland. Are you the kind of girl who likes action, strong female characters, shows that let you think up theories, likes it when the romance isn't the main focus, the kind of girl that loves a piece of art like Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood? Seriously check out Akatsuki no Yona. On the other hand-

if you're the kind of girl who like really good looking guys, romance, shipping yaoi couples, flower petals and you know, that stuff, trust me, they're all good looking guys, the romance is real, Jaeha and Kija are there for you to ship into oblivion, Flowers, petals and sparkles are available around Jaeha whenever you want and you want different kind of guys, seriously, theres a whole list of them.

There's a lot more to say, but they're either all spoilers or I forgot to mention them, check out Akatsuki no Yona, you will not regret. Teehee...

"People are mirrors. If you smile, a smile will be reflected." - Zeno the Yellow Dragon (Also my favourite character)

Noragami: Chapter 68

So, I've decided to do a section in which I discuss the latest chapter and such because I need to voice my opinion. This is late and I know I'm starting on the wrong chapter but here goes. After a long, long time (well it was long for me), the latest chapter was scanlated! Yay! I was dying for this. Anyway, I'll just applaud the art for this chapter. Recently the art has been really eye catching, urgh and for the most nerve wracking arc of all things. This chapter was funny, heart touching, chilling, awesome, but also really sad. Which trust me, is a really good thing, it keeps the readers hooked. Going on-

I absolutely adore it when the supposed bad guy just turns out to be an adorable idiot. Yeah, I didn't like Takemikazuchi at all at first. First of all I thought he was in cahoots with Fujisaki and on top of that he killed Ebisu. Yeah, I excused him for the Fujisaki thing early on because Nora seems to be using a lot of kamis. But the fact that he killed Ebisu. Holy cow, I wasn't going to forgive him for that, no siree. But this guy honestly thought it was justice. So, oh well, I can't do much. What I loved about this scene is Yato and Takemikazuchi fighting each other like idiots (it kind of reminded me of Naruto and Sasuke's last battle when they completely ran out of energy, way to be stupid you guys), they're really alike if you look at it. Why the heck are they fighting with bamboo? Oh right, cause they don't have shinki supporting their fight anymore. I also noticed, Bamboo has a lot of symbolism in Japan, so there might be an internal joke, but I cannot spot it, meh...The reason why I find this scene so important is the fact that no matter how hard the two of them fight, they can only exhaust each other, while Yukine and Kiun are seriously discussing serious matters at hand. It also symbolizes that kami are nothing and cannot function without their guidepost (reminding us of when Yato said he was 'butt-naked without a shinki' after Tomone quit). Of course they're plenty strong and whatnot, but their guidepost are essential, which is hauntingly echoed in the very last page, we'll get there.

Also can I just spazz, because we have new good looking males added to my list? Kiun smiled, like honestly smiled! Oh my kami! Also Takemikazuchi looks very, very good with his hair down. May I say cute? My new personal dose of long hair and ponytails. Although, Takemikazuchi can do without the ponytail, I don't know how he does it, but he looks atrocious with the ponytail. Another flag here. Takemikazuchi and Kiun  will have very important roles to play from here on. Anime and Manga rule states that once a character starts looking really good in the good kind of way, he's going to be around the protagonist for a very long time. It means he's coming to the good side (not that Noragami has a good side...erm...Yato's side??).

I'm extremely worried about these two. Kazuma has stung Bishamon and Bishamon obviously knows and feels that, and I think she even knows which one of her shinki stung her. I don't understand how and why Kazuma stung her when he's only thinking of her well being. I'll have to go back and check the scene in which Hiyori notices. Kazuma has never stung her and I think that's very important. The fact that he stung her may drive him to believe she is too good for him and he may back out from being not only Bishamon's guidepost but also her shinki. He's already very insecure about Bishamon using Nana instead of him, this might be what snaps Kazuma. I don't really like the direction in which this is going. As I said earlier, the guidepost is essential to the kami.

Alright, let us all just sit back and give Nana a slow clap. I am astounded at how amazing this girl is. She not only over came her name, but she even hurt Nora. This is just...wow. Nana is a really refreshing character with utter devotion to her former master (makes sense cause she was a Hafuri, you know). But in order to get back at the heavens for killing her former master, she submits herself to Bishamon. Meaning, she isn't really interested if Bishamon gets hurt or not. I think it's the fact that she's completely indifferent that she isn't stinging Bishamon while she's grinning about killing the heaven's armies. But this also leads us to the question: "Doesn't this mean Kazuma and Yukine can do this too?". Probably yes if the situation arose. Kazuma could probably do it and Yukine if it was guaranteed that it wouldn't hurt Yato (oh my gosh...that panel in the last chapter when Yukine was like "I won't let you take Yato from me" **sobs**). I think this page is important because it will determine what Fujisaki's attachments to Nora is. If she gets really hurt and he pulls back, he might really care for her which means he only despises kami. But if he doesn't he could probably care less about the entire world and only care about that freckled girl he's so obsessed with. Damn we need more of her. Without Nora, Fujisaki isn't powerless, but he's going to face a lot of problems fighting an enraged Bishamon. Um, may I also state that while I love Nana and she is friggin awesome, I think she's a very unhealthy shinki for Bishamon.

Now, we need to seriously talk about freaky shinkis. I thought Kiun was bad enough, seriously. I thought, oh hey, Shinkis are cool, they're pipes, jewelry, weapons, pens, commerce tools, pot lids (I have no idea how that works), and then Kiun showed up and I was like "You call that a shinki? That's insanity!" Now we got an entire horseman army. Yato, Yato, you've got a long way to go before you become Japan's number one kami. Because, seriously, one shinki, that's practically one person becomes a friggin army with fancy horses and armor? I used to think it was weird when Yukine was two blades, kay? Somebody please get rid of this shinki for me, please?

Freaked out, utterly freaked out. I was chilled by this utter sense of foreboding. Do you guys know what anime death flags are? If not, please check this out (http://goboiano.com/list/5091-12-death-flags-that-will-definitely-get-you-killed-in-anime). This scene was literally screaming death flag, of course, I could be wrong...but seriously. Little Kazuma doll torn at the neck (anyone remember where Kzuma's blight eye is?), tender flashback of Kazuma and Bishamon's inseparable relationship (she can't survive without him, you know). Kazuma's going to die. No! No! No! I just said that out loud! No kamisama no! Adachi Toka, please tell me I'm wrong! Please! Not Kazuma!

And then our last page. There are so many curse words I want to spout...no no, must keep this decent. Remember my first part was about how essential your guidepost is for you. Educated guideposts also feel the same way, so for Kazuma, this is the utter form of rejection even though he knows why Bishamon is rejecting him. But seriously, did you have to push him out of the sky? Who's gonna save him now? Don't say Yato because he has saved Kazuma one too many times. I think this will lead to a serious rift between Bishamon and Kazuma, and I don't think Nana's even bothered ("My heaven army is waiting for me to devour it, let us be on our way, Bishamon sama") Kuraha's face is like "What did you even do?" I really hope this isn't how Kazuma dies, that would really suck...But I want to know what was going on in Bishamon's head when she did that. Another death flag, the last line is 'You can never go home again'. Yato kamisama, save us all.

"Your wish has been heard loud and clear!"