December 22, 2014

Akatsuki no Yona [Chapter 100]

While Yona and the guys are still stunned over what they are witnessing, Zeno stands in front of the soldier after being slashed. Soldier A is in disbelief over Zeno’s injury that had suddenly healed itself. He asks soldier B about how is that possible and he also saw it, right. Soldier A says that they must have been mistaken about the sword stabbing him. After convincing himself that it is an illusion, soldier A is determined to really kill Zeno this time around. Yona calls out to Zeno who got stabbed again. Yona holds on to fallen Zeno again. Soldier A tells B to look, he really stabbed him through the heart and this time.. He nervously glances at Zeno and becomes really tense. The wound is healing and soon, Zero wakes up and stands up. The soldier starts freaking out over this. He exclaims what’s up with this person, his wound..his body.. Yona and Yun look quite stunned over this.
Soldier A shouts that there is definitely a trick to this for he personally seen numerous of his comrades being cut down to their internal organs, cut into pieces [/fell apart] then die, so how can possibly be there this complete nonsense. “It is completely impossible for this to happen!!!” And, soldier A cuts off Zeno’s right arm. Zeno is unfazed over his severed arm falling down on the ground. Soldier A holds up his sword again and tells him to look, he is going to slice and dice him. While bleeding profusely, Zeno tells stunned Yona that he’ll borrow her sword [since she isn’t using it anyway]. And, soldier A cut off Zeno other arm. So, while Zeno is now spraying blood from whatever is left of both arms, soldier A nervously says this way.. And he didn’t notice that there is an arm with the sword above him. Trembling in fear, soldier B tries to call his attention. When soldier A turns around, he can only scream as the sword plunges into his heart. Zeno bites his teeth as Yona and Yun look aghast. Soldier B mutters that the arm moved and stabbed him.
As the arm pulled up the sword, Zeno says that if he feels that he’s very scary, then, is it possible that they just return home. As his severed arm with the sword re-attaches to his body, Zeno says that it is because his power isn’t enough so he cannot be lenient with them. “If you men want to harm girl-chan, then, I will kill you people.” Soldier B calls out to the others as to who will come and kill this monster. Haku and the others are surprised and tense over it. The other soldiers start charging towards Zeno. Yona nervously calls out to Zeno who smiles back at her then he rushes towards the charging soldiers on horses. Soldier C tensely asks what that is. He sees Zeno’s other arm re-attaches on Zeno. That is enough to strike fear in soldier C’s heart as Zeno charges, jumps and stabs him in the chest. After Zeno lands, soldier D slashes him by the face. As his head band falls off, Zeno stares at the soldier. Soldier D freaks out over the slashed part immediately healing.
Then, a few more soldiers stab Zeno through the chest. One of them shouts for him to die. Horrified Yona shouts, stop. And the guys are shock to see Zeno’s head flying off after the soldier lops it off. The head falls down on the floor. Zeno’s body collapses. The nervous soldiers ask if he is dead this time around, the head is chopped off, and no matter what is said, he should be dead. And, they are horrified when Zeno’s hand starts to scratch on the ground. They scream in horror as Zeno stands up and his head re-attaches to his body. They asks in the end, what is that thing, why can he still move, why is he still alive!? Zeno tells them that it isn’t easy to encounter [everyone] so, no matter how many times they cut him down, he will properly protect everyone. He charges at them that the terrified soldier shouts for him not to come over. The soldier tries to cut Zeno’s head but he couldn’t cut him down.
As dragon scales are appearing on Zeno’s skin, Zeno tells them that they already couldn’t cut him down. He reaches his hand on the terrified soldier’s face and slams his head down on the ground. The impact was so strong that the soldier’s helmet has shattered and he has gone unconscious [/died]. Then, another soldier tries to slash Zeno again, but Zeno grabs the sword with his bare hand and snaps the sword into two. Then, Zeno gives him a vicious kick on the gut. That is enough to freak out the soldiers around him to start running away, [which isn’t surprising since they are cowards after all who tend to pick on the easy preys.] While Haku is surprised by the sight, some soldiers on horses ask what’s going on. Kija calls out to Zeno. The soldier says that monster is rushing toward this side. To his surprise, Zeno jumps up and lands down on him. The soldier fell from his horse because of the impact. After landing near Kija, Zeno happily asks if everyone is still okay. Somewhat stunned Kija mutters his name. Zeno says that’s very good, for it looks like they are still alive. Kija says that he..actually..
Zeno says that as long as he wasn’t attacked, he is just a burden who completely lack in strength but, each time he regenerates, this body will change into steel. “Right now.. similar with that power of the White Dragon, and the Green Dragon’s jump [and] kick, I can do them.” Towards the terrified Kai soldiers, Zeno asks how about it. “Unlike you people, I’m infinite, so much so that I can fight for several hundreds of years. *looking serious* Come, I have a lot of time.” Yona and Yun are surprised to see the soldiers dispersing. Yun says that they are retreating. Yona calls out to Zeno as she and Yun go towards his direction. Zeno picks up his medallion and looks at it. [<- does it look like it disintegrated? Used to seal his true power?] Yona calls out to him. Zeno asks if she is alright. To his surprise, Yona, Kija, Shina and Yun give him a tight group hug. He tells them that they are still injured. Upon seeing Yona crying, Zeno’s expression softens and says that it is alright, he is still alive. With Ao the squirrel is on his head and the others continue to hug him except for Haku and Jeha who just watch on, Zeno happily smiles and says that everyone is so cute.
Comment: Well, that was good ^^ We didn’t get to see any Suwon saving them. Zeno turns out to be a ‘trump card’ that their enemies shouldn’t mess with. Thankfully, he turns out to be very powerful than he seems. It ought to be really scary to see a zombie/immortal during ancient feudal Asian times. I’m glad that he isn’t just a human shield and he learned ‘martial arts’ that he can already copy White and Green dragon’s fighting skills. Actually, most likely, his whole body is of a ‘dragon’ whereas for the other two, it is just their limbs..maybe Zeno just do not have the natural power so he probably trained all those years? Or it is only activated after being slashed-regenerate so many times? If he got to learn Blue dragon, then he’ll be 3 dragons in one. I guess being an immortal, he tries to be lenient with the enemies because they only have a short fragile life. As he mentioned, he cannot be lenient with them here since the others’ lives are dependent on him. He has to be able to protect them now that they are in a huge disadvantage. Anyhow, somehow I kept on thinking of possible jokes about this now that they know Zeno’s power. I think they can use part of Zeno to scare off people..but then, after being chopped into pieces, he seems to be un-choppable now so, is that permanent? His ‘happy demeanor’ can also throw off enemies and make them belittle him so maybe pull off what Suwon was doing with ‘I look cute, nice and a weakling, but when you let your guard down, I’ll bite ya’.

The blood bath continued here and now, it has severed limbs and head. It is quite brutal and so shounen that I wonder if purely romantic shoujo readers are shock by the scenes here [edit: since this is rarely shown in shoujo]. Zeno, doesn’t that hurt at all? Well, the Kai soldiers have a nightmare to bring back home. They’ll probably not mess with Kouka anymore though I’m not sure if they will associate them with Kouka. Still the stories would be enough to put fear and lower their morale as well as the other soldiers especially since there are many witnesses. They might not go into war anytime soon. I’m wondering though of the possibility that the soldiers will meet up with Suwon and others, and then Suwon would get to learn about Yona and her super strong gang. If I remember correctly, Suwon only knows that Haku is the one who is super strong in her group though I’m not sure how much he saw when they are fighting against the Fire tribe. It is debatable though if Suwon would start thinking of Yona as a threat who should be eliminated since she has the capability to ‘destroy’ him and his plans if she wanted to. Well, the key word is ‘if she wanted to’..or else, they just mind each other’s business. ^^; Yona and the others would most definitely go back to Kouka where their powers are in its fullest potential + no one getting sick. Back to, defending the country, and helping the poor & troubled people? Scans by 红莲汉

Quote of the day:
The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. ~  H.P. Lovecraft, Supernatural Horror in Literature

127 comments:

  1. Thanks for the summary.

    I think it's that he gets the scales after being attacked. I guess we'll see later on if those last or not.

    I'd also like to say that violence in manga isn't limited to shounen. It's generally more common (the generic battle shounen vs the generic romance shoujo), but there are other shoujo manga out there with violence and blood and all that other stuff. It kind of bothers me when people say that, since shounen and shoujo are just demographics and don't always mean anything when it comes to genres.

    Also, I mostly read shoujo, but I was more surprised because it's Hana to Yume rather than because there was this level of violence in a shoujo manga. (I already had that shock with Immortal Rain.)

    When/if Soo-won finds out about the dragons, I figure he will leave them alone, try and destroy them, or try to work with them. I would like to see them work together, but that's just a wish.

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    1. Although, I should mention that I don't recall Immortal Rain having a large amount of missing limbs or body parts. Akatsuki no Yona seems fond of it, though.

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    2. Thanks for reading, Asunder ^-^

      True..or at least, how long before they'll 'vanish'.

      Is that so, sorry to bother you about that.

      True..I guess it has been a long time since I read blood and gore in a shoujo manga. Now that you mentioned it, I do recall Angel Sanctuary to be like that -severed limbs, blood baths and immortals- and that was published in Hana to Yume.. though that was years ago.

      Work together for the country or against some other enemy-type of people?

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    3. It's fine. It's not that big of a deal.

      I think it just depends on what Soo-won plans to do after this. And it also depends on how willing Yona is. Mostly I think it would just be pretty interesting to see them work together.

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    4. Yup, Asunder..though they had already worked together during the water tribe arc. If that happens, I'm curious over Haku's reaction.

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    5. I don't think he'd be happy, but I'm sure he'd do whatever Yona plans to do. As long as he sees himself as beneath her, he won't think of himself having any decisions outside of what Yona does.

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    6. True..it is indeed, most likely that. Though I'm hoping for a surprise..something different ^^

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    7. Where can i see the water tribe arc?

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    8. Ludmilla, I didn't summarize that part but you can look for it here: http://hisazuki.tumblr.com/tagged/Akatsuki-no-Yona

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  2. oh my god is this really a shoujo its so bloody , i think shoujo's are not all cute now a days they are having shounen elements which i kind of like no more girly manga's for girl , girl love blood equal to guys now a days ^_^

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  3. actually I really like this chapter it was shocking to see shounen elemements in a shoujo.
    Anyway so finally the shield appears (but it's strange that Zeno is one of the four dragons and the shield ) that means that we will see very soon the sword /o/ but i'm pretty sure that almost everybody believe that Hak will be the sword.

    I'm hoping to see the development of the story after this chapter.

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    1. True ^^

      That's right..it does seem to be 'cheating' that he is shield and a dragon for he is holding 'two positions'.

      Ya.

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    2. I don't think Hak is the sword since Yona was carrying an actual sword in the first chapter. But, since Zeno isn't really depicted as a strong 'dragon', perhaps him being a strong 'shield' is fine I think.

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    3. I see. Well, if the 'shield' can be a 'person/dragon' so maybe others are thinking why not..the sword is a person.

      It doesn't help that currently Yona isn't that good in swordsmanship. Unless it is a 'magic sword' that can power her up. Or, it will take a longer time for find the sword?

      Hehe, lots of speculations and well..we can only wait to know for sure.

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  4. Oh my, did I say there is no sever limb since its shoujo in your summaries chapter 100? Its seem like I got it wrong. It's not only sever limb, everything SEVER, SLICED! Zeno! Okay, I do think that he is somewhat immortal, chapter 100 prove it and chapter 101 really prove that chapter 100 is just the beggining -_- Blood~ Blood everywhere!

    I think there will be a huge change in Yona after witnessing Zeno like that. She love all the dragon and Hak, seeing a possibility that kind of even may encounter them as Yona choose to continue travelling must be make her rethink about it. Turning point in Yona journey, perhaps?

    PS: Kat, do you realize there is something strange about Shin-Ah in this chapter? He can move after previous chapter he use his dragon's eyes XD Well, lets consider it as the power of love.

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    1. Ya, sangataa. The mangaka wants to prove you wrong. ^^; Talk about emphasis on the point that he's an immortal.

      Hm..do you mean about how helpless she is upon seeing one of the dragons 'killed' - thankfully he's immortal? Possible and that might be connected to 'war is bad'..aside from how the innocent people can be affected by it. Well, I hope this is a turning point of her journey.

      Well, I think he only attempted to use it but collapsed before he can. ^^; But true, Kija and Shina are already down but suddenly have the strength for a group hug. ^^

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    2. Ah, I dislike that part about Yona. I mean, there is so many things that you can't never do even you try so hard. And this circle already repeat for some time. Aren't it about the time for her to realize that her wish to protect them didn't mean she have to be stronger? I mean, who gonna protect who anyway? Thinking about protecting somebody when you can't protect yourself is common disease of manga MC -_- She can choose to take no war way if she want, there is nobody will oppose her. But when she didn't even sure what to do, she choose to go to path that take more pain. It's like what Hak said to her, what is her purpose to continue this jurney? What is her purpose to carve for more power?

      Actually what I mean is Yona for understanding the risk for the other from her choise. All the dragon is faithfull to her, Hak is devoted to her, Yoon will follow her. It's not like I hope Yona will grow to be someone like Mikasa who very powerful to protect the one she love, it just I want her to properly thinking about the purpose of her life and what action to take rather than just go to some town, fix, and gone. She is the one who have power to infulence all member of the dark dragon and hungry bunch but sadly she didn't seem realize it.

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    3. I see, sangataa. True..that is common, and in most cases, doing that while being physically weak, causes more trouble than 'not doing anything'.

      Hm..iirc, at first it is to prevent Haku from getting killed as her sole protector. After that..

      True..something like a bigger purpose/goal with what she have now. So, ya, hopefully, this is a turning point in her journey/life.

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  5. Thanks for the chapter kat ^^

    Not much to comment on in this chapter ,zeno was really cool in this chapter i'm so glad he got fighting skills and it isn't just slice me all you want and i will be fine but he can actually fight .So i hope from now on he will be more active in battles .I have to say that the arms and head being cut off was so not shoujo but more like horror shounen and i like that ^^ even when he got his cheek sliced and his jaw could be seen it was freaky but i liked it .
    Before i forget the thing he put around his head , a headband or whatever it is there was something attached to it and look like zeno picked it up and was looking at wonder if it was something given to him by the first red king ? or maybe it is like you said something that control his powers .

    About his body it is just like i thought when he releases his power it gets covered in scales .You know i also had this idea in my mind that they would freak out when they see that zeno is a freak and they would make a run for it i think you even mention it and i'm glad it turned out that way without suwon coming in to save the day .But them meeting with suwon may still happen .
    About the army it would be very funny if they run away all freaked out and suwon is there all smiles with his army waiting for them but they deserve it .
    You mentioned suwon thinking that yona is a threat before that i wonder why rumors in kouka about the four dragons didn't spread ? for example guys in the fire tribe saw WD big hand yet no one is spreading rumors ? Will suwon consider yona as a threat ? i wonder but what i'm wondering is if he does and tries to take her down will she fight back ? About kai they may think that this group is with kouka so they will no longer try to attack it or if some higher up know that the dragons do exist will declare war to take them ? i recall in GD side story it was said whenever the people outside learned that a dragon was born they were attacked by military people so maybe .
    Now what i hope for is a zeno 's flashback or more insight on his character maybe now that he knows that they still like despite seeing that he is a true freak (the group hug) he will open up to them well i hope he will since everytime something big happen they never talk about it .

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    1. Thanks for reading, sofia ^-^

      Indeed ^^ That's right..in a way, it is nice to do it like that so that it would really horrify the soldiers.

      Ya, I'm thinking of that..but did it disintegrated? Maybe both..given by the first red king to help him control his powers?

      Indeed..actually, it took a bit of time for the 'reality' to sink in to the soldiers. ^^; They were probably okay with slicing and dicing but when they couldn't do it anymore..and Zeno saying that he can fight them for a long, long time.. bye-bye.

      True.

      Maybe, they are told that they are delusional because of the war..I mean, didn't they also think there are tigers [disguised horses] there..^^; Hopefully, she fights back if that happens..well, if not, we have Haku and the others to do that.

      Not sure if Kai will attack again. Assuming that this is what remains of half of Kai's army, they are already weakened..and scared. The other half is busy with whatever is troubling at the North. Not sure they'll do it immediately though..maybe later on? Of course, it really depends if they think that the others are from Kouka because here, they are defending Kai's villages. Not sure if it is okay for the soldiers to report that they are attacking their own villages. ^^; Not sure either if the higher ups believe them. They might even vent their anger on the soldiers for losing miserably. Currently, it seems that other countries and even the ones in Kouka do not believe about that 'fairy tale' about the red king and the dragons.

      True..well, we have to just wait and see.

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    2. Well we will find out if he actually sit down and tell them his story .But since the group don't talk about important matters i don't know .

      Ya seeing a dude get his head cut off and then seeing that head get re attached to the body is enough to make any one lose his will to fight .

      Yup forgot that tiger thing but i also have a feeling that suwon may use the whole thing to his advantage like i said tell the villages that we are the ones who defeated kai to protect you so as to make them go with kouka more easily .

      By the way speaking of suwon you know when you said it seems like he only helped the generals he needed .When i think about it you are right .I mean he helped them so as to impresse them like earth or make it seem like they own him like with fire .It seems like the only reason why he visited the tribes so he can win them over ,the reason he didn't visit wind is because he knows that they are kind of wild and their loyalty is with hak .Of course his goal being get back all what he daddy lost ,and when you think about even yona is doing it not for her dad but because of him it isn't like she gained some awarness as a princess she just wanna correct what her dad did wrong .

      Anyway back to the chapter ,what i get from kai is that although it is called kai empire it is divided they aren't a unit so maybe after this they will unite and attack if a soldier tell them what he saw and they know it is the 4dragons .I just that that maybe the setting for the final arc which i assume is close since the shield meaning zeno is revealed all that's left will be the sword which i hope and think is hak . But at the end of the day all we can do is wait .

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    3. Actually I do think the rumors of the dragons have been spread. There was one chapter where some people were talking about it. I don't remember which chapter it was, though.

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    4. True, sofia.

      Yup, aside from the fact that would the villagers want to be with Kai when its soldiers tried to kill them all.

      Indeed. And, for water, most probably for the excuse for the war.

      True..and there's a possibility that Kai became an empire through war hence, as you mentioned they are divided = the other parts do not really want to be under Kai. Of course that is my speculation. So maybe after they get those under control, they go in a full scale attack..and maybe get the other countries down south to cooperate by spreading news that the dragons are bad news.

      Hm..if the dragons are the 'problem'..there is a possibility that Suwon and others just capture them and 'give' them to Kai. Something like, make them look bad that everyone in Kouka will 'betray' them or at least be forced to. That is if Kouka cannot handle the attack.

      True.

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    5. That's also what i had in my mind something like the divided parts of kai will unite to attack kouka because the dragons are the real deal .

      If those guys are strong i could see suwon trying to win them over by playing innocent like he does or trying to make things right with yona so as to win them over .Since he is pretty greedy guy .

      By the way about zeno does it mean that his power will only appear once he is attacked ? and after what i have seen in this chapter he is no loser but more like the most OP of the dragon .

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    6. Hm..that's possible, sofia. If ever that happens or any teamwork thing, I am really curious about Haku's reaction. Would he leave the group or still be with them because Yona says so.

      I thought it meant that he had to get himself slice and diced to a certain limit before his power/dragon scales appears. The question is is that permanent or how long does it last?

      Indeed, thankfully he is not. ^^

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    7. Me too i mentioned to you before after the bloody meeting of hak and suwon that i was hoping for hak to keep his distances from the group since they considered suwon their ally but it didn't happen and i even told you maybe at some point he will leave them and you said no since his loyalty to yona is too strong well i think you are right ,i think he may team up with suwon if he can't help it and it pisses me off thinking about it and it 's gonna be weird to say the least because unlike yona who has shown no ill will or hatred toward suwon hak has shown a lot of it .

      okay no idea ? again it will be great if he got more spotlight .

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    8. Yona has shown hatred towards Soo-won. In the beginning when Yona was learning to shoot arrows, when Hak was like "what if I was Soo-won" she had shot the arrow with less reluctance than before. Even during Yona and Soo-won's meeting, even though she wasn't able to kill him (keeping in mind that they were childhood friends, it makes sense), it was something she at least considered. During the water tribe arc, Yona was glaring at Soo-won the whole time and very much hated it when he tried to protect her.

      Also, I don't see Soo-won trying to pull anything over Hak and Yona. Both of them would be on their guard, and would probably be able to see if Soo-won tried anything funny.

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    9. True..maybe he'll do it grudgingly. Of course, there is a possibility that next time, it won't be spur of the moment and they'll talk about stuff regarding Suwon. Pros-cons of teaming up and why, etc.

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    10. Yes, Asunder, but she also showed signs of not hating him like the hairpin thing, and just recently, wondering if that didn't happen and they are all friends and everything.

      True, but in the water tribe, she also helped him. I would think that she doesn't want to owe him for saving her so he saved him but then, once again, that was never explained so it can be interpreted that there is no hatred for him.

      I'm not sure if the mangaka is still trying to portray that Yona doesn't know whether to hate him or not. ^^;

      Not sure..if Suwon is clever-manipulating as he seems to be, I think he can pull if off.

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    11. I do not believe Yona has ever hated Suwon. She pretty much admitted this to the priest when they visited him the second time. She told him that she thought she hated Suwon but she couldn't kill him when she had the opportunity to do it. If memory serves me well, the priest even consoled her by saying something like the heart just cannot change like that especially with someone she cared about for a long time.

      Therefore, I got the impression that her head is saying she should avenge her father but her heart/feelings are saying that she still cares about Suwon.

      In the Water Tribe arc I get that she basically acted suspicious of him but that doesn't translate into hatred. So I'm one of those readers who do not think she has ever hated him for a moment in this manga. Fearful and suspicious, yes, but no hate.

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    12. Sofia, I'd be pretty miffed too if I have to watch Hak fight alongside that guy. I hope it doesn't happen. Let the dragons do it instead.

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    13. True, Taylor_E, it does seem to be like that.

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    14. @ Taylor _E and Kat i agree on all what you said guys she doesn't hate him that much is a fact ,the fact that she gave him suspicious glances during the water tribe arc doesn't mean anything .She never did nor will she ever hate him it is to the point where i believe even if he did "kill" hak lol like he told sky general she won't hate him and just like with her father murder find a way to justify

      just imagine them sitting around the fire and saying stuff "yeah we may have to team up with suwon next time so be good guys mainly you hak " what the hell ??? i have been thinking that this may happen doesn't mean i won't rage if it does happen .

      @kat you know how i told you before it made ma angry how suwon is always seen as the good guys and everything seems to always be going his way even yona always help him out i thought at least i hope that this means that at the end suwon will die and pay for all of what his sins . Since yona's dad did why not him ? plus since the beginning the only ones who are having troubles are yona and co and that's not fair .

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    15. Wow, up to that point, sofia. Actually, it might be possible like if Suwon says that it is self-defense.

      Lol, the way you put that, it seems like she's some mommy. ^^;

      Ya, I know what you mean. We will just have to wait and see if the mangaka would do it that way or Suwon will get away with it.

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    16. Yup it is to that point ^^ i mean yona gave me no reason to believe that she moved on from suwon or that she would pick hak over suwon (oops there was this moment when hak went crazy on suwon and she didn't stop him that was a good move on her part) but except that i don't have any reason to believe that yona will come to hate or at least be hostile toward him and i think the fact that she was okay with her daddy's murder is enough of a proof .

      Hehe

      It will be so unfair so lame if suwon get away with it .

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    17. True, sofia..it does seem that her feelings for him or the country, etc is greater than for her own father to at least give him justice. Okay maybe that is a bit farfetched for her now since she is probably worrying about the country that doesn't really care about her and her father, if there is no Suwon, but at least really get angry and throw away the hairpin.

      Thinking of that..it seems also okay that Haku is accused of killing her father and kidnapping-doing whatever to her. Since they travel around, surely, they heard the rumors. Oh well..probably that doesn't fit the story and might be hard to tackle it here. ^^;

      Ya, I know. I'm not sure if this mangaka would do the same thing with Dawn of Arcana and that has some unfair things happened..as well as 'you deserve it' stuff.

      I'm still thinking if there was a series wherein the 'antagonist' would get what s/he deserve when s/he is portrayed as silly and goofing around. I think most tend to be dead serious types. Here, it isn't like that. Based on the series, correct me if I'm wrong, the dead-serious ones like ex-fire general, and guy kidnapping girls ended up dead. The one in water tribe was portrayed silly and I think he only got a punch and a scar.

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    18. Exactly ,the fact that she is trying to do something for the country instead of going emo/vengful is good in a way but the fact that she show no hatred or anger is ughh and i told you before that she doesn't think of being queen not because she can't help people (because to change things you need position) but because she doesn't want to face reality .

      Thank you ,i have always been thinking how come yona is okay with the fact that everybody think of hak as a kidnapper and killer .Even one of lili bodyguard said to hak i heard the princess was kidnapped and killed by you .

      Ya loki dying was cruel to say the least .

      I get your point and i hope you are wrong ^^

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    19. Sofia and Kat, I have been thinking all along that Suwon will in fact get away with everything. I'm still waiting for the long overdue sob story about his difficult life after his father was "murdered" by King Iru. Wait for it and mark my words. Then the mangaka is going to have Hak empathize with him and forgive him. That's what normally happen with these best friends stories.

      As to Yona, I find she speaks her mind more candidly with Haku. She never hesitates to tell him she hates something about him. Do you guys notice that? Honestly, sometimes I get so annoyed that a guy like Haku puts up with her condescension (like when he was leaving the Wind village) but I know it's a fact that he puts up with it because of his feelings for her. I do like her but I get impatient with Haku's complete devotion to her.

      About Yona being okay with Haku being accused of kidnapping her, the problem with this manga is that we don't know much about what these characters are thinking unless it's ogling after Yona or dealing with the plight of others. We know about them having feelings for her but the characters hardly talk about things that we want to know especially Haku. I really want to know what his thoughts are about what happened. I know his rage but what does he really think.

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    20. @Taylor_E i also got that feeling but i can't help it deep down i hope he would die lelouch's style at his death bed he will be forgiven by hak and yona then it is fine but if he gets forgiven and live on then it is a problem .But long story short i won't get my hopes up for suwon dying .

      Good point she even brings up suwon in a rahter insensitive way but at the end of that day that's another proof that's the guy that suits her unlike suwon in front of whom she can either fangirl or give him cold glances .If you think about from the thing we 've seen yona and suwon never shared a real conversation yet she call it love ....sigh....facepalm
      i also find it very annoying that a dude of hak's caliber put up with this little girl but i guess he is in love can't help it ,i would love seeing him act cold toward yona but it won't happen

      Another good point i already mentioned it about how the group doesn't talk about important matters like suwon or what happened with hak or a clear honest heart to heart talk between hak and yona about suwon so we don't know their thoughts or feelings add to this the lack of plot and the other flaw and it is like how could the author waste so much potential

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    21. True, sofia so without that intense negative reaction at least for a short period of time, it really makes it look like she is okay with the death. 'Doesn't want to face reality'..in what way?

      Ya.

      Yup, and also how that Arabian prince got the throne by using the snake Ajin..he got away with it.

      Hehe..hopefully.

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    22. Lol, Taylor_E, now that you mention it, that will most likely happen.

      Ya, I noticed that. Is that good in a way, that if it is him, she is that way? ^^; Well, Haku is probably 'trained' already..aside from love feelings. I assume that he has been babysitting her for many years. Of course, in this arc, it is good that he can insist on a point and go against what she wanted. Curious though..what would you want Haku to do instead? Think more of himself?

      True..I agree with that.

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    23. Hehe, sofia..in a way, from that, doesn't it seem like Haku is what..a 'shoujo hero whose world revolves around the heroine and nothing else'? Of course, it would be nice if there is more to it, he has a bigger role, etc. So far, it hasn't happened yet..maybe in the future?

      True..in a way, the other time I encountered this kind of story that do not have much 'talking on important issues' or 'internal monologues' is VK. I'm not sure if it is a 'storywriting technique' because I got the impression that it helps in making 'twists' later on like it turns out that Suwon is this and that contrary to what he is doing..it is actually for..etc/ insert sob story. As I mentioned before, it also brings up a lot of speculations from the readers that it is this and that.

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    24. So.. What do you guys like about Akatsuki no Yona?

      I know I said in the little thing on the side that you can keep complaining, but I really don't see a lot of positive comments here (more so as the conversation continues) and since I didn't seem to think of this before, I would like to ask why you guys even come here to discuss Akatsuki no Yona if most of the time I see a lot of negativity about it.

      Mostly I mean that there's a lot of comments that "the story will probably be like this, and that's disappointing," "Yona is (something negative about her)," "Hak doesn't get enough attention" and other things like that.

      So, besides the things that you dislike about the story, what do you like about it? What about the twists excite you? Or do the twists excite you at all? Who's your favorite dragon? After this, I think it's Zeno for me.

      I might as well pitch in my personal theory that Zeno may have sought Yona and the dragons out. I don't know if I believe he just happened to come across them. Possibly he really did, but it seems like too much of a coincidence.

      Also @Taylor_E, keep in mind that Akatsuki no Yona has a large cast of characters and it's not the easiest to constantly know what they're thinking. And at some moments, it's not really super critical to know what the characters are thinking. Other times it's used on purpose, such as Zeno mostly being the mysterious guy up until now. And there's Soo-won too. After he saw Yona the second time, he started a sentence about Yona, but then didn't finish it. And that was probably intentional. As for how Hak thinks, that'll probably be saved for later.

      As for Kija, Shin-ah, Jae-ha, and Yoon, I think their inner monologues and expressed feelings aren't required too often and when they are, they're there.

      I do think it's just a writing technique. Whether it's effective or not I suppose will depend on what happens later on in the story when/if the mysteries are revealed.

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    25. @sofia, I think it's also important to keep in mind that most of Yona and Soo-won's interactions haven't been shown. They've been friends for 10-ish years or more. Plus there were the flashbacks that showed Yona, Hak, and Soo-won all talking, and it was about pretty meaningful stuff. Yona is also a teenager, and feelings of infatuation are often conflated with love at that age. She didn't have any sort of epic love, so it's not like she'd have known. I do think it's also possible for her to have love for him, but more in a friendship kind of sense.

      I'd also like to mention that Yona saw her father get murdered. That's pretty traumatic. I think it makes sense for her not to talk about it since she probably doesn't want to. It would probably do her good to talk about it, but when people go through something traumatic, they usually don't want to talk about it with others. Of course it depends on the person, but I think in this case it's just her not wanting to talk. Hak didn't really want to talk either when (I think) Kija asked what Soo-won was like. So it's not just her, too.

      Also, Kat, I'm not sure why you compare this with Vampire Knight so much. I think it would be more accurate to compare it to NG Life, just since those are both by the same person.

      I also will admit that I suppose Yona does not "hate" Soo-won, but she probably has some pretty complicated feelings.

      Mostly, it's not so much that I think it's bad to talk about the less than perfect aspect of Akayona, since of course it's not perfect. It's just more so that I could probably go back and look in the previous chapter summaries and I'd see much of the same things being said there as well. I would think that kind of thing would be boring.

      Also I admit to being a bit childish on the conversation thing on the side (I figured I was approaching things wrong), but it also does not change that I find it a bit tiring to see the negative comments here. Considering the story is probably not going to end for a while, I think it would be better to just have an open mind on it. It could end up surprising you. Or maybe not. I don't really know since the story hasn't ended.

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    26. I like the series for Haku. I would like Yona to be a 'warrior princess/queen leader' type like how she is portrayed in the first chapter. So far, that isn't happening yet. I like Haku and the others' funny interactions and teasing. I love the action scenes. I like the cute art.

      I summarized this series to discuss it with sofia and others - the series, characters, different viewspoints on what's happening and complain about what we think are flaws and 'what could have been' for the series to become excellent instead of just 'good' which it seems to me.

      I compare it with VK because of the similar feeling that it is gives me particularly based on the flow and nature of the discussions and expectations of the series. That is the series that I have in mind. I am just telling her about it. And, I didn't read NG life.

      Yes, I have an open mind. Lol, I even have a wishful thinking that both Haku and Yona would be a power couple-fighting together type, after I saw a certain colored picture. Many chapters after...and...^^; I still hope the series will delightfully surprise me. For now, I have lowered my expectations in order not to be too disappointed if the nice surprise/twists didn't happen.

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    27. @ Kat yup

      Ya and how nakaba ended all happy while loki had to suffer all his life at least if cesar died at the end but no she got everything and it was like damn...that's unfair

      I agree the fact that he is all about yona is very shoujo ish , i hoped cause i no longer do that his background will be revealed that his role maybe way bigger but sadly not his fate is follow a little girl in whatever she is doing .

      True in a lot of ways AnY is alot like VK and that's scary .It does make good twists but in AnY case it doesn't not only is there no plot but the fact that we have so little insight on feelings and thoughts of the characters make it hard to get attached to them i mean the dynamics between yona's gang are funny but not touching or deep well there were some cute moments between hak and yona but that's it .At the end of dau AnY is a manga with great potential but sadly most of it isn't being used it 's like the 100 time i said that ^^

      @Asunder we have seen plenty on of their interactions ,and it could me summarized as follow " yona all blushing and going gaga over how sweet he is and suwon fake smiling and saying how beautiful her hair is and yona blushing even more" that's what i have been saying yona's feelings aren't love like she think it is more like deep admiration /deep friendship

      It seems to me she got over it since she is fine being with suwon .I know that but at least hak told yona i will never forgive him , i don't understand nor do i want to understand him and the scene at the water tribe speak volume about his feelings .






      @Asunder

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    28. True, it's unfair for Loki. Hm..Nakaba, not really..she lost Loki..but then, I felt that she didn't appreciate the guy too much until the end when he left her so.. ^^;

      Ya, that seems to be his fate. More so if he turns out to be the 'sword'.

      Ah, so you also saw the similarities. True..both has great potential. AnY still has some hope for it, maybe after this arc, there's a turning point, there's a goal, etc. The same with the heroine..Yona still has hope as long as she doesn't have the sword yet. I hope I won't be as disappointed as I was when I thought Yuuki would be amazing after she turned into a vampire. ^^; Nevertheless, I noticed that in both series, comments-discussions are lengthy and fun because of the wild theories, jokes, complaints and etc. =P

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    29. I guess you can complain about what could have been, but I personally find that a bit pointless since complaining doesn't change what the story is.

      I think comparing Vampire Knight to Akayona would be like comparing Olimpos by Aki to Pandora Hearts by Mochizuki Jun (which I haven't read yet, but I plan to). Olimpos and Pandora Hearts are both often described as being philosophical, interesting, and just a bit confusing. They both take inspiration from European sources: Olimpos takes from the Greek gods while Pandora Hearts takes from Alice in Wonderland. But that doesn't really mean the stories are super alike. Especially since Olimpos is much shorter than Pandora Hearts. I think it really depends more on who the writer is, since even if two people have similar concepts, or even similar writing styles, they can take the stories in different directions.

      @sofia, no, that's actually just the first chapter. Maybe I'm missing a flashback or two, but I don't remember seeing any lengthy moments of her blushing over Soo-won that much aside from the first chapter. I was more so referencing the flashback where Yona, Hak, and Soo-won were all playing in the snow and got sick. And if blushing is your problem, Hak and Soo-won were being all blushie over each other in chapter 60/61.

      And yes, I know you're saying that Yona thought it was love but it wasn't. I'm agreeing, but I'm also saying that she's a teenager and teenagers do that all the time. I'm saying that it's normal.

      And Yona put up with being around Soo-won since it's not like she could really do much else. If she made any sort of scene, that might draw attention to her group and herself, who are supposed to be undercover. Plus he's the king, and attacking the king probably wouldn't go well.

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    30. Kat and Sofia, it is true that Haku is like a shoujo heroine. Good point. His entire character revolves around Yona as do the others. Still, I feel like if we at least knew his thoughts his part in this story would be more in his own right. Is this what they call character agency or lack thereof? We would at least understand him better in terms of his part in the story.

      Also, about Yona's candid responses to him, I think it has been that way since they were little kids. I suppose she responses to each guy according to their personality. Since Haku is more frank/blunt, I guess she responds to him that way. Since the other guy is soft and gentle, she responds to him that way. I still Haku is the better man by far.

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    31. Asunder, I am sorry that you feel that we have nothing positive to say about the story. My post below did say that this chapter was interesting. If it bothers you that I do not praise this story like all the other fans in other places on the internet, it's probably because I had very high expectations for this story. You see, I watched the anime and I really liked the premise of the first four episodes (I haven't even watched the latest two episodes) so I went and read the manga and let's just say it didn't quite live up to my high expectations.

      I do have a problem with not knowing what the characters are thinking. Without it the emotional impact and connection is diminished. As Sofia pointed out above, the interactions are funny but superficial because they lack depth. Even if Yona doesn't want to talk out loud to anyone about her grief, there is the benefit of knowing her thoughts but that's not really used well. We don't even know what she truly thinks about the murder of her father or even what she thinks of the accusation that her father murdered Suwon's father. I mean, come on, these are important issues. Why don't we know? I'm not saying that she should have an answer about it but we don't even see her thinking about these things even for a tiny bit. I personally think it's absurd. Here's an opportunity for us to know her better, see her thought process as she struggle to find the answers for her issues, etc...see who she really is and we don't get that opportunity. Knowing what a character's think, how they struggle in their thoughts to make the right decisions...how they struggle with confusion over one thing or other is important to connect the reader to the character and understand the depth of the character and their motivations. I just finished reading From Far Away and because of character thoughts the readers understood the heroine, hero and the important supporting characters better. We understood their fears, doubts, confusion, struggles, etc. The hero was a strong guy but it was so refreshing to see him struggle over the fear and confusion he felt over what was happening to him. It made me empathize with him really well because the mangaka showed us his thoughts and who he is.

      Regarding the large cast in AnY, I know a much larger cast in a shoujo manga that was handled incredibly well. That manga had over 20 something characters and by and large they made a lasting impression on me because their parts were written really well. We didn't need to know what they were all thinking because the mangaka was that good. Perhaps this is why I don't see a large cast presenting an impediment to knowing the characters better. Well, really, I don't need to know what the dragons are thinking but I'd like to know what Yona and Hak are thinking because they are the ones who were most affected by the abrupt change in their circumstances and the betrayal of their childhood friend.

      Anyway, all I can tell you is you don't have to read any criticisms in our comments. I think we're probably the only readers who don't just praise AnY to the sky so don't be bothered by the exception. I personally am only reading this story because of Haku. He immediately made my favorite character list on myanimelist. I have to follow his story through since I started it. I don't like to leave things unfinished unless it absolutely repulses me and I still love Haku to pieces. I just wish he was used better but I give the mangaka credit for creating him and making me fall for him. lol

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    32. Sofia, now and again I've thought that Yona and Kyouko's first love were pretty much the same except that I suppose there is some basis for Yona to like the boy she did because he supported her and was kind to her after her mother's death. Kyouko, on the other hand, is more complicated because of her reasons for pinning all of her hope on Shou. I've seen some well thought out analysis on the reasons why Kyouko was so devoted to Shou, most of which were quite interesting to read. In any case, I suppose the way they react to the betrayal of their first love is different because of their respective pasts. I believe Kyouko snapped and hatred replaced her devotion because subconsciously she probably knew that she had built up a fairy tale around Shou. I mean, the guy has hardly ever done any kind thing for her and maybe she was excusing that all along. Yona, on the other hand, I suppose she still holds on to the memories of the way that guy was genuinely kind to her when they were kids.

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    33. Kat, I reiterate that I am so glad that I stayed far far away from Vampire Knight. I have only heard terrible things about the story and the characters. I heard the girl was whiny and indecisive and I figured I didn't have the time to waste on something that I ultimately wouldn't like. Hey, after reading lots of manga, there comes a time when quality matters more than quantity.

      That's another reason why I appreciate Skip Beat so much. Okay, I know I keep going back to Skip Beat but I think it's because as a reader I can actually see that the mangaka put a lot of thought into her story and I appreciate that immensely. It's so cool to see how the little things that seemed inconsequential in the early chapters of the manga suddenly take on a bigger role much later on. It shows that the mangaka had a plan all along and it comes together so nicely but most importantly, in an interesting way. The bottom line is, the story lives up to my expectation and I trust the mangaka implicitly to the point that if she does something that I find disagreeable, I know it's for a valid reason and it serves a purpose. :D

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    34. @ Talor_E i agree wih everything you said .

      Hak is indeed very shoujo-ish in a sense that his whole being revolve yona and that's a shame because he is a character who if given proper attention could be just wow i mean he is already the best but he could be so much more than a groupie and this may sound mean/rude but at least if yona was a girl worth being devoted to but she truly isn't let's take SB as an example ren is very devoted to kyoko and the girl is the best heroine in shoujo history yet ren has a life of his own a goal of his own while hak life and goal is yona and that's the only think i hate about his character .

      Ya good point since suwon sweet talk her about having beautiful hair and blah blah she is very polite and sweet her while hak on the other hand tell her stuff like you aren't sexy he is very blunt so she is quite rude with him .Though she is less rude to him now .

      This is exactly how i feel i had high expectations for this manga and i truly believe that it contains great material but for god 's sake it is chapter 101 and nothing really happened ? yona yeah she is no longer an annoying princess but just what is she now ? just what did she accomplish ? i really believe that all the praise that the readers and character poured into yona isn't deserved ,yeah she can shoot arrows and glare at people is that so amazing ? you want character growth look at kyouko who began to change since chapter from a brainless fangirl to a terrific/crazy actress she found a clear goal work toward it became super skilled at her job .Unlike yona who is still into suwon kyouko made her hatred clear and was driven to get justice for what she suffered .

      Another good point, the lack of focus on the emotions /feelings of character of course let's talk about yona from chapter 1 to chapter 101 her thoughts are mainly focused on suwon "that's why you became king" " suwon is a good king for kouka" suwon is that suwon is that even hak gets annoyed when she does that .OR " i want strength" stuff like that and at the end of the day it makes me think " god she is freaking annoying always suwon suwon suwon and i want strength" if you want physical strength be strong in your mind and heart first ( i kknow it sounds corny )

      Let's compare this with SB ( which i also do a lot because SB is the perfect package) in this manga we got so many chapters that were so deep for example when kyouko started falling for ren and we see the locks on her pandora box starting to open and she explains her fear of loving ren and losing her self like she did with shou . or ren's struggle with his past self kuon and his fear of being with kyouko or kyouko's fear at being rejected because of what she lived with her mom .The emotions and feelings are really well described so much that you can't help but loving the characters . I mean SB more than being about showbiz .It is the story of two people who were hurt deeply in their past (kyouko the one who hurt her truly is her mom not shou at least that's what i think) and who try hard to overcome their past to reach not only happiness in their love life but also their career and all along the way they help each other grow and heal .They do it in a touching ,deep and most of the time very funny way .That's why i love it :)

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    35. Again i agree ,we have to be the only readers who don't " AnY is the best shoujo and yona is the best heroine " .I read because of hak ,the actions are nice ,the dynamics bewteen the characters are fun but do i read it for yona or the plot well there is none the answer is HELL NO .also the art is cute i'm just like you i can't give up a series i started unless it turns out that the manga is sickening . Like kanjo something i think the title in english is sweetheart i lied about loving you the main couple made my eyes bleed whenever they were involved in scenes and even if it was pretty realistic and had some nice character i couldn't bear it though i do check it out from time to time .Another manga that makes me sick is the world is still beautiful at first it looked epic but then the manga is as follow " a naive girl who think the world is still beautiful is forced to marry a younger guy who think the world isn't beautiful so her goal is to make the guy think that the world is beautiful " that thing turned is so childlish that i couldn't find any better way to explain it .

      The reason why kyouko loved shou is the same as the reason why she into fairies because of her mum . I mean her mom was always cold and harsh and cold with her so she needed something to make her feel better thus she pinned her hopes on shou because she thought he would be the prince that would give her happy ending but we all know that shou is a frog not a prince but her love for ren is actually love because not only did she see all of him and accepted even dark kuon but because he always pushed her forward and supported her while shou was keeping her down .
      Yona it is like you said because he was sweet and was there when her mom died and i explained why it isn't true love she doesn't know the guy true colours yet claim to love him LOL also when you read kyouko's monologues you clearly see that she has a great deal of maturity when it comes to life ,love and relationships in general which yona doesn't have .

      Don't even get me started on VK T_T .I understand your feelings on SB it really feels like an epic story .

      Claps for all what you said ^^


      @Asunder Taylor_E said perfectly all what i wanted to say at the end of the day i hope you aren't offended by our opinions but that's how we see things and if you want to read postive comments about AnY you have come to the wrong praise .

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    36. As I mentioned before, I think the reason Yona doesn't think about it is because she doesn't want to. I guess this just goes down to personal experiences, since I deal with pain by trying not to think about it. I don't need any sort of explanation on how she feels about her father's death since I think we've seen enough. I figure she doesn't want to dwell on what happens, and to me, that says more than a bunch of introspection would.

      Also, I'm not really sure why you guys seem almost surprised that Hak is so devoted to Yona. Even though they were childhood friends, they have a master-servant relationship and that's been established from the beginning.

      @sofia, I also don't know I can understand the complaints that not much has happened in 100 chapters, since Skip Beat is pretty darn slow and you seem to love it. At around chapter 60-70 in Skip Beat, Ren had only just realized his feelings for Kyoko. Kyoko didn't admit her feelings until about 110-120 chapters after Ren. At chapter 100, Ren's past had only barely been expanded on.

      I suppose it's different since Akayona is an action series and therefore should have a faster pace, but it doesn't, really. I think it has a faster pace than Skip Beat, but it's still kind of slow.

      Also I think it's better to keep in mind that Yona and Kyoko started at different places. Yona was a pampered, spoiled princess. But Kyoko was already able to support herself at the start of the story. Kyoko was already ahead of Yona from the beginning.

      I do admit that I think Yona could have more development, but I'm glad to at least see some development.

      I suppose I don't have to come here to read your comments, but since hisazuki doesn't get her summaries done before Kat does here, I came here to read the summaries. I guess I shouldn't have bothered with the comments, though.

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    37. Also I'd make the argument that Mafuyu from Oresama Teacher and Kanoko from Koi dano Ai dano are just as good shoujo heroines as Kyoko.

      Kiri from Beauty Pop is pretty cool too. And Yukino from Kare Kano. Kuchiki from Conductor is probably also pretty cool, but I have yet to read it so I don't know for sure and I'm just trusting what someone else has said.

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    38. Yes SB is very slow paced to say the least but it to me it has never been boring or annoying or dragged out the way the relationship between kyouko and ren grew as well as their own growth was done in a very good way very .It has plenty of actions .Also like i said SB is the perfect package there are other things to look forward to excpet the romance which is more than i can i say about AnY.

      you are right when you said kyouko was ahead of yona from the start .

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    39. If you think that the only think worth looking forward to in Akayona is the romance, I suppose that's just a byproduct of not liking it. Personally, I'm more interested in seeing Zeno's back story, why King Il killed Yu-hon (if he even did), why Yu-hon sent Ik-soo out of the castle, why King Il was chosen as king over Yu-hon, what Soo-won plans to do next, how he'll react to the dragons, how Yona's mother died (as in the whole situation), how Yona is the red dragon when she's a part of the sky tribe, why Zeno seemed interested in Soo-won, whether the one kid (I forgot his name) looks like Hak for a reason or if it's just because of the art style, whether Yona will become queen or if she'll just be a nomad, and maybe some other stuff that I can't think of on the spot. I think there's plenty to look forward to.

      The romance is already a done deal, so I don't care too much for it.

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    40. Asunder, you made the first comment on this chapter and guess what, I haven't read it. I haven't read any other comments on this chapter but sofia's discussion with Kat. Therefore, I don't really see why other people's comments should bother you because you don't have to read them. It's a very common thing in any fandom to have dissenting opinions and I think AnY is very fortunate in that I hardly see any criticisms of it unless it's on myanimelist which has an very large community...at a minimum 100,000 anime members.

      I seek out Sofia's discussion with Kat because their discussions interest me. You mentioned the other person's summary and I do read her scans sometimes and I can say that person definitely is an enthusiastic fan. However, that's not the way a lot of bloggers summarize. I used to read summaries for Saiunkoku Monagatari and just like Kat, that person used to summarize and comment and even though she liked the story, she made very good criticism of the story or characters that provided good discussions for commenters. The same with people who blog anime and manga that i have read. Most of the time because those people how watched and read a lot of anime and manga, their comments are not fangirling. They are often more balanced even if they like their story.

      Personally it's the same way I feel about AnY. I have watched so many anime and read enough manga that it's very hard for me to be surprised or excited unless it's mindblowing. Like last chapter I saw a lot of squeeing on Tumblr because Zeno survived a sword thrust to his chest but I didn't get that rush because I actually took Zeno at his word that he was tough and that taken together with theories I read, I had already believed that he was immortal. So good, he's immortal, let's find out about his past or whatever else he can bring to the table. Honestly, I think I was "most" impressed with Zeno's direct confrontation with Yona about her plan and whether she intended to unseat Suwon. That was made such an impact with me because everyone was dancing around the matter and here is this guy that basically got right to the point. Ever since that I was hoping that he would be a voice of wisdom in the group but that didn't pan out.

      Regarding your mention of the other aspects of AnY, Sofia, Kat and I (although I came later) have discussed them a lot. We have discussed and speculated on why King Iru's father chose him, why King Iru might have killed his brother, if that is even true, and if so, what was his reason. We have discussed why Yohon drove the priests from the castle, why Yona's mother was supposedly killed by rebels, were those rebels associated with anyone else in the story, etc. We have also discussed why Zeno looked at Suwon the way he did when he first met him. I personally feel that there is no mystery there because I simply think that Zeno recognized who he was and he probably knew that this guy murdered the king. It can also be because Zeno has the ability to smell the air and maybe he smelled murder on him just like he smelled Hak's bloodlust. We have also discussed whether Yona will ever be interested in the throne and whether the clans would accept her since she's a woman. We have also spoken about whether she has the capability to lead a country or if she's even interested. Will she just live like robin hood or does she have a purpose. In comparison, I think our discussions have talked very little about romance. Most of any love we have talked about is the way Yona still loves Suwon after witnessing her father's murder. I even said that the love triangle here, in my eyes at least, is King Iru, Yona and Suwon.

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    41. Asunder, you are obviously fine with not knowing how the most tragic event that has happened to Yona has affected her on a "personal" level. I am not so I guess that's another thing we do not agree on.

      Sofia, best heroine, best shoujo? I am guessing that a lot of these readers do not have a wide exposure to shoujo manga. In any case, I suppose all fans feel that way about their favorite shoujo. I know the fans from Kaicho wa maid sama probably feel that it is the best shoujo out there yet I couldn't finish the anime and I couldn't get past chapter 7 of the manga. Well, that's probably because I am more interested in serious shoujo than romantic comedy. I think that's the reason why I was drawn to AnY. It started out so seriously and then, well, it just didn't live up to my expectations. One of the things that I found seriously disappointing is how boring the villagers were so it made the arc kind of boring. I guess it's because if you are going to make an arc about a village, please make me interested in them and their plight. Otherwise, it's hard to care. I also do not find the villages diverse or the characters in them diverse. It makes it so much more interesting when there is something to draw the reader's interest in the villagers since they were part of the focus. Anyway, it is what it is so I can only hope for something more interesting going forward although I have tempered that hope.

      Honestly, my favorite heroine in manga is Kyouko. Sure I have read Kare Kano and some of the other ones you guys mentioned but Kyouko is the only female manga character that made me fall hard for her. I'm not attracted to heroines solely based on strength though because I am a female and I know women are diverse and should be diverse. I think what I like about Kyouko is the way she is written and who she is. She is an extremely hard worker, she's determined, she learns from her lessons, she doesn't get bogged down with people's ill opinions of her, she's forgiving, she stands up to bullies, she stands firm in the face of challenges, etc. I also like that we know her thoughts so we know all about her weaknesses. She's also so hilarious. Iol I'm laughing at the time she saw Ren standing outside the elevator and she let out an awful scream. lol Kyouko is so complexed, smart, seriously delusional, and so many other things. Honestly, I love her a lot. Tsukasa, who was also created by Nakamura sensei is very interesting too and funny but Kyouko is the one I love the most out of all heroines I have read in shoujo manga.

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    42. I said the only thing i'm looking forward is romance because it is chapter 101 and this manga will not go up to 200 chapters that's for sure and we still know nothing of why and who did what to who ? all the things mentioned (why suwon's dad kicked out the priest ,yona's mom ,the background of the red king )stuff like these i doubt they will be given any sort of focus in the manga .That's why i have been saying again and again that this manga has wasted some great material .

      She could've revealed all of those mysteries slowly throughout the story yet she didn't and if she is gonna reveal all of them at the end and shoved in our throats at once then it is gonna leave a bad taste in my mouth .So at the end of the day if there is no plot ,there are no character that attract you except hak what's there to look for except romance and evern there it is quite lame i guess .

      Taylor_E you said the villages were not interesting i agree we are already this far in the story and there was no village or character that moved me or interest me it is always yona and gang come in there help them yona takes credit for it the person they help like lili become yona's fanboy/fangirl and everything is over .The only moments i feel excited is one hak is involved .It is to point where if any of the dragons or yona or anyone else except hak were to die i wouldn't feel a tiny bit sad or moved or anything .Just like when zeno "died" i was shocked with the blood since this is a shoujo but had he died i truly couldn't care less

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    43. Ya kyouko for the win for example in shoujo when a girl likes a boy and said boy treated her like trash she encourage him and stay him blushes and fangirl over him and you start to wonder how the hell do mangaka/japanese view women as worthless being without any dignity ?But kyouko when she learned of shou's true colours yeah she was hurt yeah she cried but she quickly got on her feet and moved on .Speaking of humour in SB oh god there was so many funny scenes i laughed so much when i read /re read it ^^ like when they were playing the heel siblings and ren had a breakdown and she had to sleep with him but she couldn't was she blushing no she was counting fairies while she turned into stone and her body started to crumble .When shou kissed her on VD did she start to cry and oh no it is my first kiss ? she pictured a war game in her mind while trying to get shou off her and she went into full rage mode when she recalled the kiss instead of crying blushing and fangirling the way she reacted to those cliché situations is epic and always refereshing

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    44. Sofia, somehow I feel it could make 200 if there is in fact a plan. At the moment I'm not sure what it is because no main antagonist has been introduced so it's difficult to speculate on how far it could go. There is also the absence of a primary goal so again, it's difficult to imagine where all this is headed. If we perhaps knew what the goal is we could at least speculate on what it would take to get there. Maybe something very critical would happen that can actually introduce a goal. I really do find it unusual for a fantasy story to not have a goal. They usually do and I'm not limiting it to manga because Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, etc all had a goal.

      I also agree with you that it would have been nice if tidbits of the mystery, if there is in fact one, was revealed along the way. That would have created suspense to keep us guessing along the way. The problem is, because any hint of mystery behind the brothers' story is completely ignored, it doesn't create any suspense because it is fully speculation on our part. We are just assuming that a mystery exists because of the deaths that occurred but it is not necessarily the case because the story doesn't actually hint that there is one.

      Everything is given to us straightforward. The only contradiction is that we saw Iru grab the fire boy's sword and like Hak, we therefore concluded that there is more to the king than the label of "coward". As far as Suwon's story about Iru goes, there is nothing to contradict what he said. As the story continued, we see that Iru really was a derelict king and was most likely an unfit king for the country. We are the ones who are speculating that there is a reason why he was giving up land. There is no hint that there actually is a reason other than the one stated in the story, which is he was giving up land as a concession for peace. In other words, what I am saying is that our speculations are not really supported by the story. They're just speculations because there are no real hints in the story that support them. So then I'm thinking that maybe we are setting up ourselves for disappointment.

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    45. Yeah, about the village arcs, it really highlights why I find it incredulous that fans call AnY epic. I know the word has lost it's true meaning but the dictionary defines it as heroic, majestic, impressively great, a legendary adventure, centered upon a hero, in which a series of great achievements or events are narrated in an elevated style. Quite honestly, there are very few books, anime, manga, and movies that I have watched that I would call epic. Epic for me does mean something vast, grand and lofty...pieces of work that has large ideas and noble truths for any walk of life. For me Lord of the Rings epitomized epic because it was vast and grand. There were various cultures, peoples, places, languages, folklore, etc. Most importantly, however, the ideas and speeches that were expressed in that story were truly grand.

      Manga-wise and shoujo wise, I think only one manga I have read that had that vastness and grandness about it. No matter where the mangaka took the reader, the people were interesting and their stories were interesting. The ideas expressed by the characters too were solid and a lot of the times I marveled because of how truthful those statements/opinions were in light of the situation or their circumstances. When I think about it I still can't believe that a mangaka, and not a novelist, actually wrote something so grand and diverse. I also think epic would apply to a story that is bigger than the hero/heroine...like for instance, stories of revolutions or stories where various peoples are working toward a single major goal...in other words, a goal on a grand scale.

      Still, that is not to say that there aren't incredibly good or fascinating manga out there that I wouldn't classify as epic. I think Skip Beat fits that but I wouldn't call it epic because it doesn't have a grandness or legendary feel to it. Skip Beat is also not a fantasy and I am more inclined to classify stories in the fantasy genre as epic because they come closer to the true meaning of the word epic.

      All that said, I still like AnY, though I kind of think it's mostly because Haku is in it. With Yona, I like her on a superficial level because she's not annoying and she tries her best. I empathize with her when she cries over her father. However, because I don't know her feelings on anything but a superficial basis, my affection for her remains superficial. I also tend to want to relate more to the heroine than anyone else and we don't really know what Yona is thinking as far as her personal issues are concerned so it limits my empathy for the character and my personal connection to her.

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    46. Hisazuki doesn't really even give any sort of commentary on the series. And I think that's fine, since people don't always have to go super in depth on what they like or dislike about something. Since she just does the summaries, it's not really like she has to give some kind of critique on it.

      Also on MAL Akayona has been received fairly well. While it's not really that big of a deal, the score has been gradually rising, and in the discussions there are mostly positive comments.

      I made the last comment as a direct response to Sofia. I know you guys have been talking about it.

      It's not that I'm okay with not knowing how she feels, I'm saying that I can tell how she feels without being directly told.

      @Sofia, while I can't say definitely why it is that most romance shoujo seem to be that way, part of it is because of Japanese culture. Japanese people (and probably especially people within the otaku culture) like cute things. Blushing is cute. Therefore, there's lots of blushing.

      Women also tend to be treated as unequal to men, but that's been slowly and gradually getting better. I think it's just that the whole blushing and fangirling thing is just considered cute, though.

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    47. Let me explain why i'm saying we are near the end ,first the prophecy it is almost done the 4dragons are here ,darkness has fallen ,shield is revealed all what's left is the sword and for the red dragon to be restored for the dawn .Yeah i know it took 100 chapters for the shield to be revealed so it could take another 100 chapters for the sword but there is another reason i think it is the end it is because they have visited all the tribes except sky which is the royal city or something like that and they can't go there .Also from this chapter we know the dragons can't get out from kouka except for zeno so what are they gonna do ? to me everything indicate it is the end and if it goes for another 100chapter it will feel really dragged .About the goal if it appeared now out of the blue it would be super weird yup fantasy are supposed to be epic stories but this one is far from it .

      Exactly ,it seems like it us reader who made up this brother mystery out of nowhere since there is zero hint that there is like you said an actual secret .

      Good point there maybe more to yona's dad than what meet the eye .

      True and i've learned my lesson with VK so with this one i tried to keep my hopes really low because it look like the ending will leave a bitter taste in my mouth .

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    48. True you did make a good point it 's been a long time since i've watched or read a manga that impressed me ,most of the works are super cliché and with time it is very boring .

      Lord of the lords is the best fantasy novel/movie that much is obvious ^^

      I don't like yona already stated why as for the other characters i told you that if they all died and i wouldn't even be moved of course if it is hak i may rage no i will rage ^^

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    49. @Asunder i also think it is a culture thing because they do in shouen and shoujo all the time and it is really annoying .

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    50. Asunder, I just said I noticed that the other person who summarizes appears to be an enthusiastic fan. She also does scans and not summaries per se so I don't expect her to offer much commentary. However, since she is an enthusiastic fan, I don't really expect her to highlight things that are unfavorable to the story either.

      I haven't watched the last three episodes including today's so I don't exactly know what's going on on MAL. However, it just re-iterates my comment that AnY has been fortunate in that it has very little criticism. It also re-confirms my opinion that if there is any unfavorable opinion, it will be on MAL because the membership there is very large and it is a fact that dissenting opinions will appear there. I know the last time I saw the score AnY was ranked at 1,000 something. If it's score has improved I guess it might have fallen below that.

      Since you can tell how she feels without being told, please tell me how she feels about Suwon's murder of her father and how she feels about the allegation that her father killed Suwon's father. I'd really like to know. Thanks

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    51. Fantasy doesn't have to be any sort of epic. It just commonly is.

      @Sofia, maybe it would be better if you went into a different genre then? If you think things are super cliched in most of the stories you read, then it might help to go into a different genre.

      Haikyuu is a great sports manga.
      Oresama Teacher and Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun are great comedies.
      Choku is a weird, but in my opinion oddly cute, romance.
      Olimpos is very philosophical. You might not like it though, since it's pretty plotless (which is the point and it enhances the story).
      Conductor and Shinrei Tantei Yakumo are both horror/mysteries.
      I enjoyed Ilegenes for its focus on cloning.
      Immortal Rain has an interesting take on mortality.
      Kamisama ga Uso o Tsuku, Ozaki Koari's other work, is a good romance/drama.
      Horimiya is a cute romance.
      LLLL is another cute romance.
      Kimi to Boku is a lovely slice of life manga/anime.
      World End Garden, Kon no Ki Konoha, Scrap Heaven, and Hitoribocchi no Kuni are all one-shots I enjoyed.
      Coda was another comedy I liked.

      I don't really know what you've read, though.

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    52. Sofia, I'd hate to think this is it. Is this really it? Nothing really happened yet. Okay, tell me this, what do you think might happen after the sword is found?

      Oh yeah, I forgot to comment on the Skip Beat and AnY comparison in terms of story progress. While Skip Beat might seem slow, if we think about it, only a year has passed and a lot has happened and a lot has changed. Vampirecat does a timeline on Mangafox and currently that timeline just shows a year since Kyouko was dumped and entered showbiz. So, don't you think a lot has happened in a single year to Kyouko in terms of her growth both in her professional and personal life?

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    53. Fantasy doesn't have to be any sort of epic. It just commonly is.
      -----------------------
      Who said Fantasy "has" to be epic? Nobody said that. What I said is that fantasy is the genre that is usually epic just by the nature of what epic means.

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    54. @ Asunder i read all types of manga

      here is what i read : kuroshitsuji , ao no exorist ,attack on titans ,one piece , bleach ,magi ,seven deadly sins ,kuroko no basket (though it ended but there is a new series so ) i enjoyed claymore as well those are all shounen the shoujo that i read are SB AnY and kobayashi sometimes i check others . All those manga have different genre ,action ,mystery ,supernatural adventure .Recently i started shokugeki-no-soma and toriko which are pretty good .

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    55. Sofia, I watched the Claymore anime years ago and I thought the story was very good. I don't remember it now except the name Claire but it left an impression on me that it was a very good story.

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    56. Taylor_E i know how you feel but it 's seems like this is how it 's gonna be . Well for a final arc i thought there would be a battle but this time the one to get invaded will be kouka and maybe during this time it will be obvious to everybody that the 4 dragons are alive and the king they follow is yona and maybe at the end yona will turn into a dragon and fly inro the sky LOL something like that .

      Hell yeah Taylor_E i have never seen a character that has grown as much as kyouko both in mind heart and skills .

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    57. Oh, I like Attack on Titans too. At one point I was collecting the manga but the profanity was increasing and so I stopped. I still have volumes 1 - 10 or so but I haven't collected any volumes after that.The story was very interesting though and I hate that I had to stop reading it because I really wanted to know what was up with Claire and the other two guys...what were their motivations, etc. That ape like giant-man fascinated me too because at the point I stopped things were still a mystery. Anyway, Attack of the Titans is well received like The Walking Dead graphic novels. I think the series almost neared One Piece's sales volumes this year in Japan. I find that incredible.

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    58. Sofia, oh, sort of like Yona and her dragons save the day and is acknowledged as king. About Yona turning into a dragon, I'm curious, why would that happen? I have seen something like that mentioned somewhere. I know the original king was powerful but he seemed to have limited his power because he wanted to live like a human. He didn't save himself when the humans turned against him.

      I hope that if the final arc has an invasion the invading country would not be used as a plot device. I just don't like when an enemy is just a plot tool and it's blatantly obvious.

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    59. There wasn't an airing episode today because of New Year's festivities. The ranking has gone up, as well. I don't really think it matters too much about how many members there are as much as it matters how many people have the series on their radar. Which right now, is about 40,000 members.

      I figure she's probably angry about it. Soo-won seems to get her riled up a bit. She probably can't completely hate Soo-won because he was her friend. Soo-won killing her father scared her, and may have even made Soo-won seem scary when previously he had seemed like a warm and welcoming person. Not just what he had done, but his change probably scared her. Since in the more recent chapters she doesn't seem as scared of him, she probably has gotten over that fear, at least a little bit.

      I do think she might still be scared a bit, though. It might be because she doesn't really know what she would do if she accepts the loss of the warm Soo-won from her memories. I think she acknowledges that Soo-won killed her father, but the implications of that aren't something she may want to think about because in her mind, that would mean having to make a decision on what to do about it and she may not be ready for that possibly life-changing event.

      It especially makes sense for her to feel that way since she's been pampered her whole life. Up until now, she hasn't really had to make any serious decisions. Her whole life was planned out for her, and as far as she knew, she was probably going to marry (hopefully Soo-won), have some kids, her husband was going to handle all the leadership stuff, and she was going to grow old and die peacefully. And she was going to have both Soo-won and Hak by her side the whole time.

      She hasn't really made a huge decision yet. She was told to search for the dragons, so she went and did that. Since she had already gotten a taste of helping villages out, she continued to do it after the dragons gathered. She chose to take up weapons, but that's not really a big life-changing decision.

      I suppose that even if she thinks about what she'll do about Soo-won and really decides not to do anything (going along with her just coasting), it would still require her letting go of the warm Soo-won from her memories. And that means really letting go of the dream she had in the past. I think that would be a life-changing decision, but on a much more personal scale.

      I don't really think she has genuinely really processed her feelings. I don't know, maybe in the end we still won't really see her make a huge decision (and has therefore really taken control of her life), and in that case I would find it disappointing. But as it is, I'm hoping that she'll eventually come to some kind of conclusion, whether it be a serious, big scale call for action or a much more personal one.

      As for how she feels about her father killing Soo-won's father, I'm not too sure. I do think it might be possible that she has considered the possibility of it, considering she hadn't really known the condition the country was in. I think it just goes back to her not really processing her feelings though. I don't think she really thinks about what Soo-won said.

      To try and explain why she hasn't, it's kind of like something bad happens to you, and you just don't have an opinion on it. You might think about it, but the emotions may come muted, or they may come strong. It's not really like you can say "oh this emotion is (blank) and I feel this way about it." For various reasons, you might decide to try and not think about it. It might be there in the back of your mind, but it's not like you really want it there. In the worst cases, you might outright forget what happened, until something triggers you and you remember. That's kind of how it's like. It's a coping mechanism.

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    60. @Taylor, as for the fantasy thing, I thought either you or Sofia said something about fantasy being epic. I don't really remember where I saw it, though. If I got it wrong, then I apologize.

      @Sofia, why not try something that's less well known? You might get something less cliched, then.

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    61. ya claymore is pretty good so is AOT as for the walking dead i never watched the series nor read the novels but i plan to do so in the future .

      Well her turning into a dragon was a joke ^^ but maybe the actual red king would appear in his dragon form once peace return to the land who knows

      he didn' save himself because he loved humans i think

      I have no specific hope ,i just want to end in a way that will not make me feel like i wasted my time reading

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    62. The manga that i listed aren't cliché well some are like magi but what's mainly cliché are the characters not the story like guys being super naive and idealistic and girls being uselss and fangirls (mainly in shounen) i read other works less known but i don't remember every single one of them .

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    63. Asunder, thanks for the well thought out explanation on Yona. I agree with a lot of what you said. As you seem to think, it really could be that she just doesn't want to think about the tragic event and what it means for her and her relationship with Suwon. I still think it would have been great if we had some insight into her thoughts even if it showed us that she was running away from any conclusion. I really do wish we knew. I think a lot of empathy and understanding could be gained from knowing.

      Take for instance a post I saw on Mangafox where someone was saying that she is tired of fans hating on Yona because she doesn't return Hak's feelings and I think that is a side effect of readers not really understanding Yona's internal struggles. I think if we were privy to her personal feelings (not romantic), it would give more depth to her character and fans would be way more patient with her as she grows and struggles to survive and move on with her life. Since they don't know what she feels about her personal issues and the toll the tragedy took on her even psychologically, some fans just see her as ungrateful and selfish because they are only reading her through her actions whether it's through grasping that hairpin and looking melancholy or always picturing Suwon when somebody brings up love. I firmly believe that if we actually knew what she was thinking it would help to understand her emotional struggle and fans would be more sympathetic towards her.

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    64. @Sofia, I see. Well all right. Feel free to check out the manga I listed anyway.

      @Taylor, I suppose that may help. But that's not how the story is. I don't really know how else to respond to what you said, though. Sorry for the short response.

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    65. Sofia, oh, it was a joke. lol I didn't realize that.

      By the way, those SB scenes you mentioned were hilarious indeed. I often wonder where Nakamura-sensei comes up with these scenarios. I especially laughed a lot when Kyouko was counting those fairies. So hilarious. Then the battle warriors that appeared when Shou forced the kiss on her was funny but I think my anger overshadowed the hilarity. I wanted to punch Shou so bad. Grrh. Equally funny though was Yashiro's reaction to seeing the kiss. I was downright funny.

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    66. Asunder, you responded. You said that that's just how the story is.

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    67. @ asunder i do plan to check Haikyuu Oresama Teacher and Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun ^^

      Yup the author has a great sense of humour ^^ there was also that scene when the cain siblings went shopping and kyouko asked ren to buy her a demon outfit that was so funny or when stupid shou got jealous and turned into a demon or when kyouko had monologues with ren's dolls so many funny scenes i think it is impossible to list them all just the faces she makes are hilarious .yashiro is also very funny ^^

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    68. Yeah, I said "how else" to respond. Like I meant I didn't have anything else to say besides that, which was short.

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    69. @Sofia, well that's good. I think if you like the humor in Skip Beat, you'd like Oresama Teacher and Gekkan Shoujo. It's bit of a different kind of humor, but it has the same quirkiness that SB does.

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    70. Sofia, I always get the volume of Skip Beat the day it's released so I usually end up reading it during my commute and I'm always laughing out loud and the passengers are probably wondering what's so funny. There's always something that makes me laugh. I laughed so much during the special chapter where Kyouko presented the life-sized doll of Ren to Maria. I mean, Ren's eyes almost popped out his head as did Maria's, Yashiro's and Kanae's.

      I really enjoyed the Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun anime but from what I heard the manga itself doesn't have a story that actually progresses. I found the opera singer and the basketball player the funniest. lol I do wonder if it's something like the way Gintama is done.

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    71. The manga is 4-koma, and it's kind of slice-of-life-y in a sense without any sort of serious plot in it. It's primarily a comedy, and that is the forefront of the story.

      I haven't seen/read Gintama, but I suppose that it's similar.

      Oresama Teacher is a bit different. It's mainly a comedy too, but it does have a slight plot. And it's not done in 4-koma style.

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    72. Also I meant to ask this and almost forgot, but why is it so important to you guys that a character has a goal, or that a story has a linear plot? Some manga, I think, don't really need it to be good.

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    73. Asunder, I think it's a basic principle for any story to have a goal generally speaking. Whether it is to achieve something or resolve a conflict, I think this is necessary to any good story no matter what genre. However, since I'm no expert, I will leave it to others who know something about the composition of stories. I found this guy's explanation through google search. I must say that I find it so funny that he basically said that without a story goal it leaves the reader wondering what is the point of the story because I've been saying to Kat and Sofia that I don't quite see the point of AnY because the goal is unclear.
      --------------------
      The Story Goal: Your Key To Creating A Solid Plot Structure

      By Glen C. Strathy*

      The first and most important element of any plot is the Story Goal or Problem. This is the organizing idea around which the entire plot of your novel will be based.

      Without a goal, a plot becomes just a haphazard series of events with no meaning or purpose – one that will leave the reader wondering, “What was the point of that story?”

      With a clear goal, the reader has a context that lets him appreciate the relevance of each event in the story. It allows the reader to become emotionally involved in your novel and to care about the outcome. In brief, it makes the story meaningful.

      So what is a Story Goal?

      Fundamentally, the story goal is “what the story is about.” However, we need to clarify that a little because a story can be about different things, depending on your viewpoint.

      For instance, if you were to ask a literature student, “What is Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, about?”, he might say it's about “Ambition,” or “Fate versus free will,” or “hubris” or “Good government and divine kingship.”

      That's because literature courses often teach you that a story is about its theme.

      Theme is, of course, an important element of a story. But it's not what we mean when we talk about the story goal. To understand story goal, you must imagine you are asking someone who has no background in literature. If such a person had just seen Macbeth and you asked him what the play is about, he would more likely say something like, “It's about a Scottish lord who commits murder in order to make himself king.”

      This is very close to the basic format for a story idea, which we discussed in How to Write a Novel Part 2: Finding and Choosing an Idea for Your Novel. That format, if you recall, was “somebody does something.”

      But there's a difference. When we talk about the story goal, we are talking about WHY our protagonist does what he or she does. Macbeth kills the king because his goal is to become king. (In fact, he wants to found a new dynasty so his descendants will be kings as well.)


      So, put simply, the story goal is what the protagonist wants to achieve, or the problem he/she wants to solve.

      - See more at: http://www.how-to-write-a-book-now.com/story-goal.html

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    74. But in this case, I think the story goal is "The Dawn of Yona" so to speak. It's vague, but there is a goal. Yona herself may not be constantly talking about what she wants to do, but the story and the title indicate that there will be a point of her "rising." If there isn't or it isn't handled well, then I suppose that's on the writer. But we won't know that for sure until the story is over.

      Also, books aren't really like manga. Even in series, books usually will have their own subplot that is completed within the course of the book. Since manga go chapter by chapter, things like slice of life stories and pure comedies can thrive fairly well. Plus, there's probably the cultural differences too. It doesn't really apply to AkaYona since the story isn't either completely a comedy or a slice of life, but I already think it has a goal, however vague.

      Unless you mean you don't like slice of life or comedies just because they might not have a "goal."

      Although, actually I do recall having read a slice of life type story when I was younger. I don't remember what the title was, but it was pretty much a story that followed a group of kids and showed their encounters, or the encounters they would have had but didn't. I don't remember it having any real "goal" or anything. It was an award winning or nominated book, though.

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    75. I'm not exactly sure what Yona of the dawn means. It's quite vague to me because it can be interpreted in different ways. The problem that I have with AnY is that it's 101 chapters now and I am still unsure of the story goal is. It's like the person said above...having a story goal gives the reader context and helps the reader to become emotionally invested in the story. Of course not all readers necessarily care about this but it's important to me as a reader because I like solid stories.

      Books might not be the same as manga but most arguably solid and/or successful manga actually have a story goal or major conflict to solve. Naruto's goal was to become a Hokage and be acknowledged by his village. Gon in Hunter x Hunter goal is to become a successful hunter like his father and also find his father. Luffy's goal is to become the most famous pirate and find the most sought after treasure. Edward and Al's goal were to restore their bodies after they performed forbidden alchemy. Most shoujo goals are centered around achieving romantic love. The protagonists in Attack on Titans goal is to survive and protect their village while unraveling the mystery behind the origin of the titans and ultimately defeating them. I suppose Death's Note goal was the conflict between Light and L like a cat and mouse game to put an end the Light's actions. Those are just a few examples but all these manga have a solid plot and a story goal or conflict that the mangaka builds on and expands to enrich the story.

      I have no problem with slice of life and pure comedy manga but I don't read them because I'm not into manga that goes nowhere or don't have a story to tell. However, that's just me. I like Mushi-shi which is episodic but each episode is interesting and I'm okay with that because that's the nature of the show. It's not about Ginko but about the characters that are introduced each episode. It's their stories and not his and each episode has an actual goal or conflict to solve.

      In any case, this is just "my" expectation. All the manga I collect or read have a story goal or conflict that needs to be resolved be they shounen or shoujo.

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    76. Also, about sub-plots, I suppose those are the same as arcs in a manga but ultimately solid manga has an overarching goal/conflict. I don't know why Monster or Stein Gate came to my mind as I wrote this but practically every anime or manga that I watched or read that after I finished I felt was good, actually had a story goal or conflict. I just can't get invested in stuff that doesn't have a goal/purpose/conflict unless it's like watching Seinfeld or Big Bang or stuff like that.

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    77. Well, that's why it's the title. Titles sometimes can be interpreted in multiple ways. I interpret it as her growing up and possibly seeing her become a leader or the one who brings Kouka out from the shadows (its current run-down state).

      The thing about those examples is that most of them are action-y series. And romance is always about romance, so that's a given. Generally those genres are very straightforward in the way they are written.

      I do think it's also a bit confusing since you seem to be using the words goal and conflict interchangeably. Just so we're clear on the conversation here, I think of a goal as just essentially the way the story ends--the resolution. Or I consider it something that a character is aiming for (which isn't necessarily the resolution). A conflict is everything in between. Like all the obstacles and things that keep the character from getting to the goal or just anywhere, for that matter.

      I think it's possible to have a story with a goal, but not a very big conflict. I do think stories generally need some sort of conflict, but they don't have to be dramatic or huge deals or anything. And I think it's possible to have a conflict without a clear goal.

      I recently read the manga Olimpos, and I thought it was lovely. Even ignoring the art (which is gorgeous), the story itself was good. It was kind of aimless, but I think that was the point. The story was about immortal gods who really had nothing better to do than look down on and mess with humans. If anything, it (hopefully, anyway) brings the reader in to their world, where time really doesn't matter. The conflict stemmed from Ganymede being trapped in Zeus's garden, as well as from Apollo and his questioning of knowledge, existence, and some other stuff. But it didn't really have a clear goal. I don't think it's a manga for everyone, though.

      The book Poisonwood Bible also comes to mind. Maybe I wasn't reading closely enough, but there wasn't really any sort of goal in the story. There was a conflict, but I don't know about a goal. I thought it was a great book, though.

      I also recently read a one-shot that wasn't that great, but I thought it was okay. It's Tasogare Renren (Longing for Dusk) by Kusakawa Nari, if you want to check it out. The MC doesn't really care about her life, and so she contemplates suicide. As she attempts it, she gets turned into a vampire. She doesn't really care, since it's not like she cares about her life at all. In a way, she just got her goal and the story isn't over yet. The conflict (her vs herself) actually stems more from her not having any sort of goal at all.

      I don't think a "solid" (I don't really even know what you mean by this) manga or story need both a goal and a conflict to be good. If you don't like stories that aren't that way, that's fine. But I find it a bit odd to imply that a story without those things is somehow not "solid" (or not very good).

      AnY does have overarching conflict (the one between Yona, Hak, and Soo-won; the one between the old government and the citizens of Kouka; the one between Kouka and the other countries, particularly Kai; and the one between Yona and herself, her inner conflict, regarding her interest in taking up weapons as well as becoming stronger and such) as well as the minor conflicts for the arcs. It just doesn't have a super clear and obvious goal. But I don't think that makes it bad.

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    78. Well actually I suppose the goal for the characters in Poisonwood Bible was along the lines of "live" and "get out of Africa," but things change.

      Also I suppose in Olimpos, Ganymede has the goal of "get out of the garden" and Apollo has the goal of "destroy my existence." But it's not quite the same kind of thing like in the examples you gave.

      I suppose I should say that I don't think a story really needs to have characters that have a goal that's established from the beginning. The motivations can change, too. Also I feel that kind of ignores stories about characters that may have no motivations or little motivations.

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    79. Asunder, in an above post I gave you very simple, clear explanation of a story goal. The guy laid it out as simply as possible. He even said a story goal, put simply, is something the protagonist is trying to achieve or a conflict the protagonist is trying to resolve.

      In sports manga the story goal is most often reaching nationals or becoming a pro. In mysteries it's normally solving a major mystery. In a lot of action adventure it's unusually achieving some goal or resolving some conflict. Yet, a plethora of stories can evolve from such goals. For instance, even though sports manga generally have the story goal of reaching nationals, various stories come out of them. Prince of Tennis, Baby Steps, Kuroka Basketball, Cross Game, Touch etc might have similar story goals but the stories are different. The goal is something that the story hangs on. It's the basic standard for the plot. The storyteller then goes from there and develop and enrich the story with different characters, events and experiences that eventually leads to a resolution on the goal or conflict.

      Another example is Skip Beat. The goal of the story is Kyouko finally becoming an accomplished actress. That's the basic goal but the story develops from there and so many things are added to enrich her journey to becoming an accomplished actress. All the relationships and encounters she have are incorporated into her journey of achieving her goal. It's like how the guy explained above. Events occur that tie back to the story's goal. In fact, the mangaka ties Kyouko's experiences to the development of her acting skills. Lory telling Kyouko that accepting her feelings of love would aid her in her acting and Kou telling Kyouko to observe life and people and used those experiences to improve her acting are examples as well.

      Look, obviously you are fine with AnY as it is. I am not because like I said I'm not sure what the story is about so I don't know how to understand it's purpose. Is it really about the conflict with the three friends? I'm not sure since it's not really addressed much except in sporadic chance encounters. Is it about the dragons saving the kingdom of Kouka from some impending or invading darkness? I do not know because presently there isn't any threatening enemy that has been introduced. Is it about Yona becoming king? I don't know because the idea has remained quite vague and the heroine shows no inclination towards that? Or, ultimately, is this about the adventures of the dark dragon and happy hungry bunch? Only time will tell I suppose.

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    80. I'm not sure why you would conclude that wanting to know a story goal somehow diminishes the appreciation of the journey. For instance, I think everybody knows that Kyouko will become an accomplished actress and some people even complain it's too predictable in that sense. However, those of us who love the story love it for the journey. We also know that it is a given that Kyouko will end up with Ren but the beauty is how will it happen...again it's the journey.

      Yona expressing her emotions is just a detail. That would be in the enrichment part of her character. I think you are jumbling everything and you are confusing the point. A good story has organization around a basic goal/purpose/conflict and then it builds from there through characters, events, experiences, etc. Emotions are part of building the character unless they are robots. Yona not expressing her emotions have nothing to do with the story goal but everything to do with the degree of empathy her character can garner as she is. If you just don't understand what I'm saying we can just leave it at that.

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    81. Also, most people adjust their expectations according to the type of story which, when you think about it is somehow tied back to the story goal. Whenever I want to read a manga or re-read a manga I go for what I am in the mood to read. Am I in the mood to read a mystery or a romance manga or a sports anime? Obviously I am seeking a particular kind of pleasure here when I think of my mood. Do I feel like reading some girl's journey to finding love or some protagonist story of solving an interesting mystery or some kid's journey towards reaching his goal of nationals? Or do I simply feel like watching something episodic like Folktales of Japan that has cute little stories sometimes with a moral or not. Still, at least I know the purpose of those stories and some sense of what I can expect.

      Another thing I would like to ask is why do you think AnY is not a linear story. Did it start in the middle of a conflict and then peddle back to tell how we got to the conflict? I would have been happy with that because at least the story goal would have been defined. Say for instance it started with the murder of King Iru and peddled back to how things got to the point of Suwon murdering him. Another non-linear story tool is telling the story through flashbacks, flash forwards or flash side wards. Maybe like Steins Gate. Well, it seems to me that AnY is as linear as it gets. The story is told so simply because it is only told through Suwon's group or Yona's group. Their journey is going somewhere but we don't know where. All we can do is speculate.

      Compare that to stories that are also linear but much more complex. Stories where a story goal is there but many characters are involved directly or indirectly in the story and enriches it with their points of view. Take for instance Fullmetal Alchemist and all those people who are incorporated into Ed and Al's journey of recovering their bodies. There is Scar and his little group, Roy and his group, Father and his group, Big Sis Armstrong and her group, etc. All of these people had a part to play in the story that eventually culminates to the forbidden place where Ed and Al began. That is a linear but intricately woven story where the lives of many characters became interwoven with the main story goal even if those characters had their own character goals. They enriched the story immensely.

      Anyway, like I said before what I think should in no way influence or affect what you enjoy about the story. This is just my issue.

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    82. It just occurred to me that maybe the story goal is printed on the back of the official volume of AnY. Usually manga volumes on that info there.

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    83. I feel like you just ignored part of what I said. What about the examples I gave for stories that don't have a clear goal? What do you think about that?

      I don't see how I'm jumbling things up. If anything, I'm trying to separate them. A goal isn't a conflict.

      Unless you want to call a story goal a synopsis (which is printed on the back of the volumes as well as printed on the back or inside covers of books), which I guess is a little closer than considering the goal as a conflict.

      I didn't really pay too much attention to what the guy wrote. When writing a story, of course knowing how it ends is important. I hope, anyway, that Kusanagi knows how the story will end. That doesn't mean it has to be revealed to the readers.

      This is the first time I've come across anyone being super into a story goal. Anytime I talked about those kinds of things in school, even when I was learning the basic structure for narrative stories, no one ever talked about the "goal." It was always "conflict," "theme," "setting," "symbolism," and everything else. Granted, I haven't taken any sort of creative writing courses and while I have gotten some books on it, I never ended up reading them. (I gave up on becoming an author.)

      I'm going through the book I have now. I see stuff about character motivations. Yona has the motivation to get stronger because she's seen Hak get hurt because of her. That made her feel guilt. She also wants to improve Kouka because she feels that it's her duty to fix the damage her father had done. Soo-won wants to live out his father's legacy because his father is dead. He felt the need to kill King Il to avenge his father. Hak wants to protect Yona because he feels guilty for not having been able to prevent Yona's father's death. He hopes that, if he protects her now, that will at least somewhat make it up to Yona, who he thinks he failed. The character have motivations, so I don't think that's the problem.

      I see a lot of importance on conflict, which as I stated earlier, does exist in AnY. I see some stuff about the climax and denouement. That hasn't happened yet, so I won't be saying anything about how it's done until it happens.

      I came across the seven basic plots. I suppose AnY would be a mix of Voyage and Return with some The Quest thrown in.

      All I can think that annoys you is that you just don't know how the story will end. And I don't see that as a problem.

      At least for me, I don't care that Kyoko's story is about her wanting to become an actress. It doesn't matter to me. That kind of thing doesn't resonate with me. I can't relate to it. I don't know what it's like to feel so passionate about something and to have a big goal. I like Skip Beat not because of the goal (especially since I think the story will end with a bit of a time skip because I think it would be boring to see her taking a few years to really polish up her acting), but because of her emotions and the conflicts she has.

      I'm not saying that a story doesn't revolve around a conflict. Of course it does. But as I said, a goal isn't a conflict. A goal might cause a conflict, but it isn't actually the conflict itself.

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    84. Take Skip Beat for example. The story's main conflicts are inner conflicts (Kyoko vs herself, Ren vs himself/Kuon, Shou vs himself) as well as the conflicts between the three of them (Kyoko and Shou not getting along, Ren and Shou really not getting along, and Kyoko and Ren falling in love with each other). Once those conflicts are solved--Kyoko may come to forgive Shou, Shou will admit his feelings, Kyoko and Ren admit their feelings for each other, Kyoko accepts herself, and Ren forgives himself--then the story will be over. Of course, all of that will tie into the majority of Kyoko's growth as an actress. But I would be sorely disappointed if it didn't take her a few years to really craft her skill, since if she reaches her goal in about two years (or less, depending how much longer the story will go), that just wouldn't seem realistic. I read and enjoy Skip Beat, not because Kyoko aims to be an actress, but because I like seeing her learn how to love herself and others. And that's how I expect the series to end.

      Also I said that AnY isn't linear just because there isn't a huge clue as to how the story will end. It probably will follow the basic plot of Voyage and Return, but it's not a done deal that it'll end that way. I figure that's how it will, though, at least to a certain extent. I just couldn't think of a better word to use at the time. I guess maybe I should have used something like "straightforward in its ending."

      Yes, I suppose if we were to sum up AnY nicely, it would pretty much be an adventure of Yona and friends with a backdrop of politics. I think that all of the things I listed are conflicts. But the conflict isn't the same as the goal.

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    85. Mostly, I don't really understand what it is you mean by the goal. Do you mean the resolution, which is sometimes obvious depending on the plot? Do you mean the character motivations? Do you mean the conflicts (since you seem to put goal and conflict together as if they can be used interchangeably)? I think it's a bit confusing for me to see you use this word the way that you are.

      I know what the guy said it means. What I'm unsure about is what you think it means. At one point you say it's the resolution. At another, it's the character motivations. At another, it's like the conflict. In your last sentence, it's like the synopsis. So which is it? A resolution isn't the same as character motivations, although they can be similar, so I'll give that a pass. But character motivations aren't the same as the conflict. A conflict isn't the same as a synopsis (although usually the synopsis will give some hint to the conflict). So I'm not sure what you mean.

      The thing that's the most confusing is the jumbling of the words goal, purpose, and conflict. Since I don't really have prior experience with goals, I'm going to assume you mean character motivations. Since that seems to be the thing that your example passage said. Characters can change, so their motivations (and decisions) may change and the resolution changes along with it. So I don't really think the goal is the resolution here, but it can be similar.

      With purpose, I don't really know what you mean. My prior experience with purpose is mostly just what the author hopes to get across to the reader. Since things are often written with some sort of intent for the reader. In most cases with narrative stories, the primary purpose is to entertain the reader. So I don't think that's what you mean. If you mean purpose like character motivations, then while I guess it's a bit confusing since "purpose" and "goal" shouldn't always be used interchangeably, at least it's close enough.

      My main issue is with the use of goal and conflict interchangeably. I said this before, but if the goals are the character motivations, the conflicts are something different. Since you said that the goal of Skip Beat is Kyoko becoming an actress, then the story should be just as interesting if it was all just about her. If we took out Ren, Shou, Kyoko's insecurities, and everyone else that continuously, over the course of the story, provides some sort of conflict, then the story should be just as interesting. Because if the interesting thing about the story is her goal--to become an actress--then those characters wouldn't be needed. But that would actually be pretty boring, I would think. Or at least it wouldn't be as interesting.

      Mostly what I mean is that it's possible for Kyoko to have a goal (to become an actress), but it's the conflicts (which I listed earlier) that make the story worth reading. Her goal isn't a conflict because it doesn't provide any sort of clashing with something else. It's just a direction for the story to go.

      Hopefully I explained that well enough. I'm not good at that kind of stuff.

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    86. Also I should explain that the conflict between Hak, Yona, and Soo-won is actually pretty important to the story because it's the reason for why the characters are in the place that they are. Even though they don't meet extremely often, it's still something that influences their decisions and the way they feel and act. The whole story starts with the beginning of their broken and fractured friendship. Just because Soo-won is not a villain does not mean that he doesn't create any sort of conflict. The character motivations I mentioned before hinge on the event that drove them to part.

      In terms of the direction the story will go, that will not be totally apparent until the end, I assume. I figure the dragons saving Kouka will be important, because the prophecy seemed to indicate that. I don't think Yona becoming queen/king will really be all that important as much as it will be a possible indication of her newfound maturity and growth.

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    87. Asunder, this conversation is going nowhere. I posted a simple explanation of what a story goal is and if you had check out the link the person goes much further by giving examples of different types of stories and examples of their story goal.

      I really don't know how much simpler I can explain it to you. I thought Skip Beat was a perfect example and you still don't get it. Skip Beat having a story goal does not eliminate inevitable conflict in Kyouko's journey. It also wouldn't isolate her from relationships and encounters that develop and enrich her character. In what world would she achieve the goal of an accomplished actress in the absence of conflict? It's downright unnatural if that were to occur. The goal gives the story direction and the characters, events and conflicts fleshes out the story in the protagonist journey to accomplishing her goal or settling a major conflict that the story might be based on. I get the impression that you are not applying context to the word conflict. The use of the same word can mean different things according to the context in which it is used.

      At this point I don't see how it is advantageous for us to continue this discussion because I feel like I'm talking apples and you're talking oranges. It's not important to me whether you get what I'm saying because clearly you don't and it shouldn't be important to you how I feel about AnY so don't waste any more of your time on this. I've always been a stickler for good story telling and that's why I get stuck on how good, average or bad a plot is in my estimation. That has nothing to do with you and your enjoyment.

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    88. I did check out the link. But it doesn't particularly matter what someone else says when the conversation I'm having is with you. What someone says means nothing if you do not back up and supplement the reasoning behind what you've said.

      No, I don't particularly think you understand the conflict. If Kyoko's goal is "to become an actress" then what is she going against? What is she "VS"? Yes, it's obviously not going to be a smooth sailing, but a goal does not actually establish a conflict.

      Mostly what bothers me here is the implication that your reasoning is the "good" storytelling, while what I know of it is apparently not.

      But, if you have no understanding of the terms I am using, then I guess we're not going to get anywhere until you learn.

      I think it would be interesting to see how you define a goal in terms of storytelling, with only a sentence, but I guess you don't have any interest in trying to see what I mean.

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  6. Thanks for the summary, Kat. I took a critical financial exam today and fortunately passed so now I can catch up to manga. The chapter was pretty good. Zeno's ability seem pretty interesting. I am glad that it was explored to this extent.

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    1. Thanks for reading, Taylor_E ^-^

      Is that so, congratulations ^^

      Indeed ^^

      By the way, on a side note, regarding the Korean drama you mentioned before, I forgot to asked but the king who took the throne, was he a better king than the former one?

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    2. Thanks Kat! It was hard work and I was praying throughout the whole thing.

      Yep, from what I read, the king turned out to be a very good king for Korea in real life as well as in the drama although the drama focused more on the way he destroyed his family... brothers, nephews, niece and daughter along with everyone who opposed him.There's really no justice in the end because he prospered as a king and I think it's said that he's one of Korea's best king although he could be cruel.

      I suppose the only justice was knowing that he lost his favorite daughter whom he loved a lot. That's only in the drama though...the daughter, that is.

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    3. Great to hear that, Taylor_E ^-^

      I see, so the country benefited from it. Thanks for the info ^^

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  7. Thanks for the summary :)) ... Zeno amazed me by what he is capable more than what I expected,though the flying and the attaching of his head sorta freaks and surprises me out, since like the others I didn't expect it,I don't hate it though....

    I've been reading the comments,and I would like to share my insights about the topic regarding Soo-won... From my point of perception,there will be a time where Yona would ask Hak if he is willing to fight besides Soo-won,I think Yona will be very considerate about how Hak would feel, and I think she will be very troubled on how to ask this when the time comes,and maybe she will receive some advices from the dragons and Yoon,but most likely to be Jae-ha and Zeno..

    And I think there would be a time where Yona would ask Hak if they can consider forgiving Soo-won... Of course there would be a lot of trouble, after all no one hate Soo-won the most rather than Hak,and no one wants Soo-won,with the exception of himself, to be the king rather than Hak (at first and the reason why Hak feel this way).... And I anticipate that Yona will sorta understand the reason why Soo-won choses this path,maybe not only for his father,but also for the sake of their kingdom(which everyone anticipated,I think)... And no one knows Soo-won the best rather than Yona and Hak,so maybe they will consider the fact that Soo-won choses everyone's sake instead of them... It is also shown that Soo-won regrets his actions and didn't plan for Yona to witness it all in the first place, so maybe he wants the three of them to make Kouka a better place,at first (though if that happens its horrible if he lies to her and Hak has a keen intuition so he'll figure it out no matter what)... Also, isn't forgiveness the best revenge, let Soo-won be eaten by his own conscience...hehe

    Well,all in all, I can feel the sentiment,emotion,and the situation they are all in, maybe the reason why I'm attached to this manga, and leave me heartbroken everytime I remember the way the three of them treated each other and play together in the past...hahaha... And I'm hoping to see more development to Yona's feelings towards Hak...hohohoho Can't wait!!!!!...though I might die, see smiling others thinking for no reason, or shouting due to overflowing joy when that happens...hahaha!!

    (This is nothing but my opinion and imagination,hahaha!!!) (There are times when I ship Shin-ah and Yona,hihihi)

    P.S.- Yona should also consider the fact that she's a lot more better person now.. And starts to see Hak in a more different way,since everytime I see Hak control himself, I'm bursting out of mix feelings...

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    1. Thanks for reading, Switchlolly007 ^-^

      Indeed, thankfully, Zeno is. ^^

      Is that so..so they will fight a different 'enemy' together?

      Yes, ideally though Suwon doesn't seem to be eaten by his conscience. Somehow, thinking of it now, I feel that Haku should forgive himself for being 'fooled' or 'trusted Suwon' rather than forgiving Suwon. I know what you mean, about it for the country though the question would still be, to do that, does he have to kill the king? It is probably for the story since that can be done in other ways, but I think it wasn't necessary to be able to do things for the country. It would most probably be for revenge for his father as he mentioned.

      Is that so. For me, I can only relate with Haku's reaction. Yona..not really with that hairpin stuff scenes, etc..maybe I would if I know more what she's thinking rather than guessing why she is acting that way and saying those things.

      Is that so..that's interesting for you to ship that pairing ^^

      Hehe...ya.

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    2. Yup, hak should let go and so that the burden in his shoulder should lighten up..

      I only read blogs and reviews about akatsuki,since my country is not that much updated,so i was wondering,if there has been an explanation regarding the reason why the king killed his brother... I mean how did suwon know and hiw sure he is...hahaha what if it wasn't the king who killed his father...

      Yeah,i guess all that i can say is that mizuho has a creative and imaginative mind..haha!!

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    3. Indeed, Switchlolly007 ^^

      Actually, that is still unknown up to now. Ya, that would be a nice twist and I'm hoping for something similar to it. Some tragic irony.

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  8. Kat chan I Love you so much! I hope you had a nice holiday trip!
    Your Akatsuki no Yona summaries are the best! 1000 thumbs up ^--^
    Greetings from Stuttgart, Germany <3

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    1. Thank you, Mia ^-^ I did.

      Thanks for the comments ^-^

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  9. Btw, I read this chapter that Zeno looked so surprised when he saw Soo Won, why was that? Is it because he recognized Soo Won as his King? Since Zeno's body is invincible, maybe he had lived for hundred years since the original Yellow Dragon... That's why he wasn't feeling his blood boiling inside when he saw Yona for the first time? Maybe because he had seen King Hiryuu before....

    OMG, all this thinking is too much!!!!!!!

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    1. What was Soo Won's intention anyway? I don't get that guy...

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    2. Hehe, Khue..ever since that, there is no explanation for it yet.

      Yup..he most likely did. Maybe..or she isn't the 'original' but still, there is a faint resemblance? Maybe it only happens if she is with the other dragons..something like a stronger aura saying 'we're here, come out yellow dragon'. =P He ought to have seen Hiryuu before since he is an immortal.

      Ya..lots of speculations and thinking from this series ^^

      It depends. If you like him, you'll think it is for the country. If you don't like him, you'll think that he is doing it for himself and it somewhat relates to his father.

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  10. Hey Kat, I have a question. Have you seen Akatuski No Yona Chapter 92? I was looking at an untranslated version, and it looked like Yona and Hak were hugging. Would you tell me what happened?

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    1. Yes, I have seen it, Aya.

      What happened was: Haku told her to go back to the tent since it is getting dark. She recalls Haku going berserk towards Suwon and becomes flustered. Haku helps her with the firewood that she is carrying but she took it back since his hand hasn't fully healed. He takes it back again and claims that it is nothing. She held his hand and said that there is no gripping strength. He squeezed it tight which surprises Yona since he is obviously gravely injured and what is his muscles made of. She sees him smile, and she starts crying.

      She tries to cover her face for she doesn't want him to see her being weak. He holds her close to him and says that he didn't see anything. Yona thinks that he became like this yet he still always worry about her. She hugs him tight and hopes that God heal Haku's wound. That's it.

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    2. Bummer. Really, It's been a while since we had anything in this but war. Ready for a little hope, especially since the dragons (except yellow) will be replaced soon. It's been kind of just sad. I wonder if she even knows she is the red dragon, because it's been a little mute on that subject.

      Anyway, thanks for letting me know. Responding is so cool of you.

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    3. True, Aya.

      Well, if they will be replaced, I think the series will be ending soon. I think she knows because of how they somewhat react to her. I recall the priest mentioned it to her.

      No problem ^-^

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  11. i think it was soo won's father who killed yona's mother

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    1. Yup, I think so, too...or at least, probably indirectly involved.

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