At this point, Mizuho Kusanagi’s work in Yona of the Dawn should be considered a masterclass in, well, everything. Yona of the Dawn Volume 27 is no different. The fantasy shojo series is published in English by VIZ Media under their Shojo Beat imprint. Its English adaptation is by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane and translated by JN Productions. It features touch-up art and lettering by Lys Blakeslee. The series follows exiled princess Yona and her companions as she traverses the country solving its problems.

The last volume at long last ended with a confession that didn’t occur in a way any reader would expect. However, this is perfect for Yona of the Dawn Volume 27. The morning after Hak has exclaimed his love for Yona, Yona doesn’t know what to do. Hak is acting as though everything is normal, except for being openly flirtatious and honest about his feelings. Hak plainly states he has zero expectations (he is still convinced Yona doesn’t see him in that way). It is absolutely brilliant. Kusanagi manages to continue the misunderstandings and love foibles in an honest way for these characters.

What also makes this volume excel is that it highlights a long arc of Hak’s emotions. While he is often the butt of the joke for unrequited feelings, it has never been done in a malicious way towards Yona. Hak’s respect for emotional consent is huge, and unfortunately, not as commonly seen in romance as we’d like. Hak even explains to a puzzled Jae-ha that he feels better having been honest with Yona. He had never planned to say anything because he wanted to respect her as she coped with trauma and grief. Hak doesn’t expect a response from her and clarifies that there isn’t any emotional pressure.

Yona of the Dawn Volume 27 is, as said earlier, a masterclass in showing the pinnacle of consent in the romance between two long-term friends. These characters have so much to deal with: trauma, war, and politics, to name just a few. It is heartbreaking once you dig in further past the initial humor. The Four Dragon warriors, especially Jae-ha, also have growth and feelings around this moment. Once again, everyone respects the concept of emotional consent towards the rest of the cast. It isn’t hammered in our faces, but it is there. It is beautiful.



The other major portion of Yona of the Dawn Volume 27 is that The Fire Tribe is being invaded, and Yona and friends decide to return there. Tae-jun helped them out in the last arc, and Yona wants to return the favor. The politics around these moves are getting progressively more and more critical. The more Yona and the Dragon Warriors appear in key conflicts around the country, the more rumors spread. People are beginning to see Yona as a reincarnation of the Crimson Dragon King, a major religious figure in The Fire Tribe. To quote Keishuk: “Someone is being hailed as the God of our Nation… and it isn’t [Su-won].” There are so many great character moments: Jae-ha truly being the “big brother” of the group, Riri coming into her own agency at the palace, Tae-jun growing up, and even revelations about Su-won.

This is a volume that is building up to a much greater conflict. Kusanagi brilliantly utilizes shadows to create tension in panels. As characters come to realizations, the panel behind their faces will often fade from gray to heavy black in the corner. Also, Kusanagi must be continuously commended for making action sequences clear and easy to follow while still feeling fast-paced and exciting.

Yona of the Dawn Volume 27 focuses on revelations and building to greater conflicts. It beautifully tackles the “love confession” and shows how the series has spent 27 volumes respecting emotional consent and character boundaries. Yona of the Dawn is one of the best manga on the market right now. It consistently gets top scores because it is that good.

I absolutely love Yona of the Dawn and this volume is no exception. The art is still beautiful. The story is still great. I really hope they get around to making another season of the anime...

This volume is a bit slower than the previous with the dragons and Yona retreating to the city to allow time for the dragons to recover. Yona and Hak get a little bit of time to talk about their developing relationship/feelings.

However, the calm is ruined when an army appears on the fire tribe border and the dragons are off again, going to aid against the attack. Their help swiftly turns the tide of battle, obviously. Tae-jun brings his usual bit of comic lightness to the story and there's even a bit of humor involving the general of the fire tribe.

Soo-won and Riri get a bit of page time with Soo-won admitting he's using her to keep serious suitors at bay.

There is kind of a subtle build up of tension in this volume regarding Soo-won and Yona. After all, Yona and the Happy Hungry Bunch are gaining popularity now that people know, roughly, who they are.

Anyhow, it's an awesome continuation and I can't wait to see what happens next!!!

a nice fun and happy instalment, playful character romance development. A lot of remembering of shred history,

While shojo series don't circulate as well in my library as the big Shonen Jump series do, Yona of the Dawn manages to be one that does alright. Volume 27 leaves us in the aftermath of Hak's big confession and fans of the romance of the series are either going to be remarkably frustrated or giggling like crazy. One of the highlights of this volume for me was seeing the interactions between Soo-Won and Riri. Fans of the series will want this and the next volume in the adventures of the Happy Hungry Bunch.

Y'all, it's Yona. You know I love this series. With this volume, we get a lot of time in Hak's head, which is a nice change, especially considering the end of Volume 26. It was a wonderful start to the next arc of the series, and I am so excited for the next volume!

Yona of the Dawn is my favorite manga! Even after so many volumes it is still entertaining and fun!

Hak has finally told Yona how he feels about her and there is awkwardness, but you can tell Hak is glad that he finally confessed. Needing to recover from using their powers, the group travels closer to the capital to recharge. When the Dark Dragon and the Happy Hungry Bunch hear the Fire Tribe is under attack from a Northern Kai warlord, they decide to help. The more Yona and the 4 (well 5) dragons go and fight together, the more the tribes see them as the Dragon warriors and the Red Dragon King. How will Su Won react to this? Looking forward to the next installment!

Thanks to VIZ Media and Netgalley for giving the opportunity to access this ARC. I really enjoyed it and look forward to adding it to my library when it is released!

Yona of the Dawn is one of my favorite manga series. I especially enjoy how the creator is taking her time with the series. Unlike other romance manga series, this one is not rushed. And while there are times I want to hit some characters over the head, I enjoy the more natural relationship between the characters. While the two MCs are my favorite, there is still backstories given to other characters allowing them to be more 3 dimensional. #YonaoftheDawnVol27 #NetGalley

After the previous story arc, this is a bit of a lull between the action, so it's slower than I would like, but still enjoyable.

You can really feel the building conflict between Su-Won and Yona in this, and how the rest of Kohka is just now learning about her and the four dragon warriors.

There's a lot of fluff in this that was pretty wholesome, considering this series can get super emotional and dark at times. It was nice to see it because, again, you can really feel that something big is going to happen soon.

I have a lot of theories about the coming story and the final arc (I think that's what the story is in or getting close to), and there's a lot of subtext regarding Yona, Su-Won and the politics of Kohka that can give you a ton to speculate on.

Side note: we need more Ao content, okay? Ao content is the best content.