Yona of the Dawn

Episode 20

This week on Yona: SVU, Yona and Yun plan to infiltrate a human trafficking ring that specializes in selling beautiful young women across the border to the Kingdom of Kai. Despite the fact that I'm fairly certain that this was essentially the plot of last week's episode of Law&Order, it's actually a pretty major moment for a couple of the characters, and while it's still part of the extended build-up to taking down corrupt politician Kumji, the episode sets Yona up to really come into her own. Freed from her most stringent protectors, Hak and Gija, Yona has the opportunity to feel that she's doing something meaningful all on her own, which she really needs at this point to fully flesh out her character. She's been helped for as long as she could: the next step she takes needs to be on her own.

Now that Gigan has completely accepted Team Yona into the fold, the business of taking down Kumji takes center stage. Jeaha and Yona learn the capture point for the human traffickers when they go to check out Awa Port, so the next step is to infiltrate the operation. Since Kumji's minions are interested in pretty girls, that basically makes the only person who can successfully pull off an infiltration Yona. Naturally this does not please her protectors, with Hak and Gija predictably being the most vocal. When Gigan points out that they would have to cross-dress in order to go with her, all eyes (except theirs; they seems weirdly confident that they can pull off “beautiful female”) turn to Yun, who looks like he's wishing that he hadn't boasted about his beauty quite so much. Be that as it may, the plan is made, and by the episode's end, it has officially been launched.

Even more important than the plot, however, is the interaction between Yona and a couple of the other characters. The most striking is her conversation with Gigan. The pirate captain has become both a mentor and a maternal figure for Yona, who doesn't remember her own mother. While we do not know if Gigan has any biological children of her own, it is clear that she would have liked a daughter with Yona's courage and intelligence, and the moment the two spend together emphasizes the importance their relationship has for both of them. In Gigan Yona has someone who cares for her but doesn't stop her from doing things, and that is a person she has been sorely lacking in her life. Gigan gives Yona confidence, which will allow her to grow as a character and makes us admire her as a heroine. Hak, on the other hand, is having serious issues with this new Yona. In a classic shoujo hero move, he slams her against a rock face (ouch!) and tries to stop her from going through with the plan. While we can see from his constant facial expression that lies somewhere between “mutinous” and “murderous” that he has been unhappy the whole episode, his frustration perhaps could have been expressed in a less violent way. Yona, on the other hand, handles the situation very well, telling him that he has to let her go. While she certainly means “stop pressing me up against this rock wall,” she also seems to be telling him that he has to allow her to do things, to stop protecting her so closely. It's an important moment for them both, and as Hak watches her walk away from him, he seems to appreciate her in a new way. (Though his facial expression is still kind of alarming.)

Yona is finally really getting the chance to come into her own and carry out a plan of her own devising with her own two hands. I look forward to watching her mission pan out next week as she continues to grow into someone who is more than just a stereotypical strong heroine. That the squirrel cross-dresses better than Gija (anyone else have Fushigi Yugi flashbacks?) and Junko Minagawa's impressive vocal performance as Yun/Yunko are also a part of this episode is just icing on the cake.

Rating: A-

Yona of the Dawn is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation.com.

Rebecca Silverman is ANN's senior manga critic.