#yona 197

[ratherhavehopewithyou]

Kashi in chapter 194: Protect Yona, okay?

Il in chapter 197: If one day Yona is left alone, I want to leave someone by her side who treasures her above all else. Someone who will never betray her.

Chapter 254: It's just the two of us now / I won't leave you alone

[under-my-pillow]

Nice!

People normally have different levels of empathy. It's influenced by the people or the environment they grew up in.

Yona and Soo won had different lives.

Soo-won had to worry about so many things. It is only natural he'd become numb to certain things - just goes to show how much more he has experienced in life because just as @soo-won said as a child he is quite sensitive to Il's feelings about him, he adores Yona, and wants to play with her just like any other child his age.

Yu-Hon's death at his brother's hands is a shock! It is not abnormal to ask Yon-hi if she wanted Il to die.

If anything Yon-hi is the abnormal one for not recognising the grief and fury locked deep within her soon-to-be orphaned 9 year old's heart.

Even if she did believe that her husband could've killed Kashi and was killed in revenge by Il— the least she could have done was hug her son and tell him it was alright- She was still there for him.

But no. It was the other way round. And this dame was busy writing a three page warning to the man who killed her son's father.

Soo-won had to grow up a lot earlier than Yona and he was being raised to be King.

Becoming numb to certain things is just a consequence of seeing too much, experiencing too much, and feeling too much but not being able to appropriately express it.

It's not the same as lacking total empathy. He does have empathy, just for different things.

To put it nicely he's a King. To put it bluntly, he's just someone who from beginning till end his sufferings and hardwork have been unspoken and unheard.

do you think soowon is sociopath? i saw some fans saying he lacks empathy and i don't think he does.

Hey Anon! Thank you for the ask :) I didn't expect to receive that kind of question that was the heart of debates years ago, but I'm more than happy to reply!

Very long answer below the cut. Sorry for being unable to be brief, there's nothing that I love more than talking about Suwon and his emotions!

Short answer is no I don't think Suwon is a sociopath, at all.

I've read people say that many times, especially in response to chapter 196, I don't know if that's what you have in mind. From personal experience, I've never seen anyone call him a sociopath know what that word really means or not being a Suwon-anti and I think most of the time people say this in the pejorative "cold and emotionless" way. The manga has shown countless times the range of Suwon's emotions, and to imply he doesn't feel anything is just, wrong (Kusanagi stated it explicitely too). I guess it's understandable for series going on for years like akayona, but I feel like it's a common mistake to read a chapter as a standalone and not something that adds to what was established before. Like, it's not because the diary and castle arc showed new sides of Suwon (through the eyes of other characters on top of that) and in specific circumstances that it invalidates everything shown to us about him before. It's one piece of the puzzle for sure, but nothing less nothing more. I'm no psychiatrist and I'm not qualified to give anyone any kind of diagnostic, but Suwon feels very much, and he feels guilt, is even paralyzed by it at times and it is sometimes an obstacle to him. Suwon is all about discarding feelings, and for that to be a thing, feelings have to be there to begin with. From what I know about sociopathy, this isn't it. And even if he was, that wouldn't make him any less lovable and deserving of compassion to me.

Now on empathy specifically, it's more arguable, but I don't see lacking empathy as something inherently wrong that makes someone broken or cold. What you feel or not doesn't matter in my opinion, it's what you do to care for others. So like, yeah, if you compare with Yona I guess you could say Yona is more empathic than Suwon, but in no way that alone would make her a better person than him(I don't want to make this about Suwon vs Yona, she was just the first character to come to mind).

Lack of empathy is also not exclusively a sociopath thing. Like, everyone feels it to a different degree and there is a lot factors that can be at play.

Suwon feels and thinks differently, his differences with characters like Meinyan, Yona and Hak being the most obvious examples of that, and it's one of the many things that make me see him as neurodivergent in some way. But in the end, whether he feels empathy or not is not important. Or like, yeah, it can be interesting to explore, but it isn't relevant to define him in the slightest.

That being said, let's talk about what we know. First, what we know for sure, is that he cares! And even if you admit he doesn't have the same level of empathy as others, he tries to help when he can and if it's not in the way of his goals. Whether it's when he was a child comforting Yona and his mother, or reassuring an insecure Lili, or again, trying to comfort a trembling Yona in the way he knows best. It's something that comes naturally to him, something that very much makes him, him. Suwon is someone who wants to help, and who finds joy in making others happy.

He is also intelligent, can understand how people think and feel, and why people act the way they do. He is able to sense very young that Il doesn't like him. He was able to give Yona exactly what she needed when she was mourning her mother. In the present, Suwon understands why Yona or Hak would want to kill him, or how his words would only upset them because he is able to put himself in their shoes. (This, is different than empathy imo. Putting yourself in someone else' shoes is an effort you make to understand others, whether you feel what they feel) It's because he understands how people feels that he was able to come this far and unite the country like he did. He is able to play with how people perceive him to get the upper hand over them too. And he is very aware of the consequences of his colder decisions. Everytime he discards someone, he very much expects their hostility towards him and doesn't ask anything of them again. In my opinion Suwon just doesn't think in term of good vs bad. He can tell between the two in like how it matters to others, but it's not relevant to him, and he rather thinks in term of "is that thing on my way or not". (I think he does struggle to understand the extent of how people feel about him, though. He thinks logically, so it's hard for him to understand things that go against all logic, like Hak and Yona helping him after everything.)

Then I think it's important to mention the part of Suwon that shows a discardment of emotions and empathy, and Yuhon.

Actually, how much of that comes from how Yuhon raised him, the environment he grew up in, or from how he is inherently as a person is interesting sure, but not that relevant either. Whatever the roots of it, he is able to put his feelings on the side and stay composed in dire situations. But again, it doesn't mean he doesn't feel anything. And what the war against Kai shows is that his ability to not be affected by the deaths of his people is the reverse of the determination-turned-desperation to not lose against Kai. "Even death is acceptable"(his own included) he says to himself. The fact this is a thing he had to tell himself to begin with says a lot in my opinion. He was struggling, and had to remind himself repeatedly to not look back, to think about nothing but the war. Suwon has limits, even if he is more composed and determined than most, and when he reaches these limits he needs to cling onto his father's words, because otherwise he would falter and stop being able to think clearly.

Thanksfully this desperation turned back into his usual determination(still kinda fueled by the urgency of his situation) after the events of this battle. But like, Suwon is not at all a character that is a complete facade when he acts as a King and whose cold decisions go completely against his heart all the time. He really is the King not hesitating to take harsh decisions and make sacrifices to achieve his goals. He really is the King not unfazed in the slightest about losing his own castle and capital, and people dying in war for his cause. That's also what makes him, him, and something more than helpful in war where you have to deal with losses and unpredictable events all the time.

Going back to chapter 196, when Yonhi thinks to herself "How can he be so detached?" or when Yuhon's faction is impressed by how unfazed he was about investigating his own father's corpse, in no way it is that Suwon doesn't feel anything about his father or Yona. He so does. He is shown burning with anger, and he is shown not looking the least enthousiastic about killing Il. The situations and ways in which he expresses these emotions are simply not what you would usually expect from a child, but why should there be any rule about how someone is supposed to react and feel? There's nothing scary about that. When you stop to think about 2 seconds, is it that fearsome for someone to cope by taking the lead and prioritizing dealing with the problems at hand first, and being unable to process things emotionally? Like, isn't that pretty common? I can relate a lot to that personally. I guess what is surprising in this case is how Suwon is able to do it so young and to this extent, but it's nothing more than that. When Suwon asks Yonhi if she wants Il to die, and she gets scared of that, Suwon is genuinely asking too. Is that this far-fetched for him to assume Yonhi would want that when everyone else around him does? When revenge seems to be the very reason Il, supposed to be peace-loving, killed his father?

People might say that Suwon lacks empathy and maybe they wouldn't be wrong, but he constantly tries to understand what people want and answer to their expectations anyway. And I think that's what matters the most, even if he fails at it sometimes. He couldn't understand how Yonhi felt about Il in chapter 196, but he still tried hard to be what he thought she wanted from him: a replacement of Yuhon (Again, logical conclusion when that's what everyone else around him encourage). He still did all he could to comfort her, and he gave her strength.

He became the ideal King most of the generals and Yuhon faction wanted, and a lot of the issues in his relationship with Yona and Hak come from the fact he behaved in front of them as the Suwon they (used to think they) wanted. He cared for them genuinely, but he couldn't show the rest of him because it would go against the idealized image they had of him. Just like he can't show all of himself in front of his supporters either, because what they want is for him is a perfect, never faltering King, following Yuhon's footsteps. When it became impossible to be these two ideals at the same time, he discarded one. Suwon cares and loves, and this has nothing to do with empathy. He is both the caring friend and the pragmatic king and can't discard either.

Suwon might have less empathy than others, yet he is the one who acted to better the lives of his country's citizens, in contrast to Il, that sure, might be more empathic (except when it comes to Suwon visibly) yet barely acted on it.

I'm gonna stop here but I could go on forever. I hope it's not too much all over the place. Sorry I can't help it.

TDLR : no I don't think he is a sociopath, mainly because he feels guilt and regards what people think a lot, and all he does is never for his own personal benefit. But empathy or not, he cares and does his best. There is so much to explore about him, and basing the morality of a character on empathy is just not it. I think the fact he has such a different way of thinking compared to the rest of the main cast is what makes him so fresh and interesting and I wouldn't want him any other way. He doesn't give a fuck and idk it's funny and so cathartic sometimes. We should embrace that.

[thoughtfulstudentsalad]

The reason why Su-Won chose to kill Il on Yona’s birthday

Dunno if I made a similar post before (I’ll check) but if we’re going by the whole notion that Su-Won wasn’t going to “put up Yona’s box” aka prioritize her, then I am guessing that he chose her birthday as it was the only day that guaranteed to kill Il for whatever reason. Like perhaps it was the most efficient way to go about it… and regardless of that day being Yona’s birthday, he didn’t prioritize that.

BECAUSE MY DUDE WAS BLOODTHIRSTY ABOVE ALL ELSE

Honestly this is still for vengeance over everything. Like in ch 197, if you recall, Su-Won tells Yon-Hi:

He could have literally made Il step down without killing him. Dude wanted to personally stab him that night and carelessly left the door open thinking Yona wouldn’t walk in, and he was wrong and then he had to chase her and Hak which risked his entire reign……..

His reasoning is so dumb tho too. He’s like “I cannot prioritize Yona, must make efficient decisions or else country ruined”

But what he really fails to realize is how his biases towards his dad were already coloring his view - he couldn’t fathom that NOT killing Il might have been a lot more efficient than getting revenge… seriously think about it. Killing Il antagonized his friends and allies, whereas forcing him to step down without making enemies (ex: Hak who wants him dead 💀 and the Wind Tribe that was willing to rebel) is literally more efficient.

I just don’t get it. Like if Soo-Won wanted revenge, just force the bastard off the throne and make him watch you marry his kid against his wishes with everyone else supporting it just to spite him. Like that is already more efficient enough and unites tribes.

But noooo, he had to chose the unnecessarily violent path that puts the nation in danger.

Even Judo is telling him to get off his bullshit because he is not acting for the country at all, he is a very hypocritical man:

Yeah, he was overcome with sentiment.

So hypocritical. To Su-Won, anything Yu-Hon does is right and efficient and good for the country and anything related Yona does is “inefficient and prioritizing one person over everything else” and it’s literally the opposite which he only started realizing slowly this arc which is fucking hilarious

like when he tried to kill Mei-Nyan cause “Il killed daddy” to the point of forgetting his mother’s pain:

(Note once again he is trying to separate Yona from the situation) but SHE had to remind him of HIS mom:

And for instance Geun-tae saving Yona:

He’s all “I have chosen” (we know he hasn’t) and it’s Geuntae this time who shows him that he’s being an idiotic daddy’s boy:

And he goes against Su-Won to help Yona out.

“As father taught me” - WHAT A DADDY'S BOY.

Your father taught you not only how to eliminate enemies, but HOW to make enemies dude…. like yes there are times when making enemies is inevitable but you just made enemies for the heck of it….. which is so dumb….

Again he realized this only this arc.

Seriously speaking too, I don’t even Yu-Hon even wanted his brother dead. Like even someone as twisted as Yu-Hon killed Kashi to protect Il, and he never raised his sword against him either. Which is why I wonder what his reaction would be if he knew Su-Won killed him…

You killed Il not because you had to, but because you wanted to. Let’s make that clear.

The story blurs the lines and people get confused all the time, but no one is changing my mind on this. He put his personal desire of revenge through stabbing over just making Il step down…. Taking that throne may have been for the country, but that stabbing was for personal revenge.

[somegirlsnerdywords2]

Updated Manga: June 2024

19 Days: Ch. 443 added June 1st

Death is the Only Ending for the Villainess: Ch. 149-153 added since June 1st

The Remarried Empress: Season 3, Ep. 177 & 178 (Season 3 Finale) added since June 1st

Boku no Hero Academia: Ch. 424-426 added since June 2nd

Destruction Flag Otome: Ch. 68 added June 2nd

I'm The Queen in This Life: Ep. 84-187 added since June 2nd

Ten Ways to Get Dumped by a Tyrant: Ep. 34-37 added since June 2nd

Tower of God: Season 3, Ep. 197-200 added since June 2nd

Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu: Ch. 25 added June 3rd

Adopted by a Murderous Duke Family: Ep. 13-16 added since June 3rd

The Price is Your Everything: Ep. 21-24 added since June 4th

Akatsuki No Yona: Ch. 258 & 259 added since June 5th

Men of the Harem: Season 2, Ep. 156-158 (Season 2 Finale) added since June 7th

For My Derelict Favorite: Season 2, Ep. 76-79 added since June 7th

WindBreaker: Ch. 145 & 146 added since June 11th

Hotaru no Yomeiri: Ch. 39& 40 added June 17th

Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun: Ch. 115 added June 18th

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun: Ch. 151 added June 22nd

[angrypaperearthquake-tbbb-main]

Yona of the Dawn: Chapter 197 ~ My Favorite Bits (SPOILERS)

Awwww, I’ve missed these babies so much 🥺

Yay, back to the present!

She protected her 😭

She wanted to save Yona too 😭

Lol, gentle

So many regrets...

Good luck with that 👍🏻

“Prophetic murder” is still murder...

Well, maybe you shouldn’t have killed the first time?

I wonder what it would have been like if Yu-Hon did rule

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[fictional-birthdays]

New series added!

AMANCHU! (updated) (12 birthdays)

Bungo Stray Dogs (updated) (57 birthdays)

Cardcaptor Sakura (updated) (24 birthdays)

Clannad (updated) (19 birthdays)

Elsword (updated) (9 birthdays)

Final Fantasy (updated) (115 birthdays total) Final Fantasy VI (updated) (38 birthdays) Final Fantasy VII (updated) (8 birthdays) Final Fantasy VIII (updated) (11 birthdays) Final Fantasy IX (updated) (1 birthday) Final Fantasy Tactics (updated) (51 birthdays) Final Fantasy Type-0 (updated) (12 birthdays) Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (updated) (7 birthdays)

Free! (updated) (16 birthdays)

Hatoful Boyfriend (updated) (15 birthdays)

Kagerou Project (updated) (15 birthdays)

Koihime† (2 birthdays)

K Project (updated) (41 birthdays)

Kuroko no Basket (updated) (91 birthdays)

Lucky Star (updated) (35 birthdays)

Muv-Luv (updated) (116 birthdays)

Nichijou (17 birthdays)

OreGairu (updated) (16 birthdays)

Prince of Stride: Alternative (updated) (33 birthdays)

Prince of Tennis (updated) (197 birthdays)

School Days (updated) (25 birthdays) PureMail (updated) (6 birthdays)

Science Adventure series (84 birthdays total) Anonymous;Code (19 birthdays) Chaos;Child (16 birthdays) Chaos;Head (16 birthdays) Robotics;Notes (13 birthdays) Steins;Gate (updated) (19 birthdays)

Skullgirls (updated) (13 birthdays)

Sweetness and Lightning (updated) (3 birthdays)

Vampire Knight (2 birthdays)

Yona of the Dawn (updated) (18 birthdays)

Your Turn to Die (updated) (12 birthdays)

Feel free to message us with any more series you want to have added and I’ll get to them ASAP!

Mod Kou

[mysterycharacterbracket]

Tier 2 Recap

256. 254. Andrew Ryan from Buoshck

255. 216. Nyssa õf Traken from Doctor who

254. 228. Asha from Iji

253. 22. Whisper Schnee from Boldores and Boomsticks

252. 253. Chuuya Nakahara from Bungou stray dogs

251. 18. Mapleshade from warrior cats

250. 190. Andrew Eldritch from real life

249. 120. sans undertale from undertale

248. 219. T-Rex from Jurassic Park

247. 141. Karkat Vantas from Homestuck

246. 53. Rasputin IV from X-Men

245. 20. Hunter | The Golden Guard from The Owl House

244. 7. Kim Dokja from Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint

243. 50. Death from Darksiders

242. 266. Dave Miller from Dsaf

241. 174. Dr. Miranda Jones from Star Trek: The Original Series

240. 274. donquixote doflamingo from one piece

239. 92. Hyakunosuke Ogata from Golden Kamuy

238. 11. Kha'Nel from Dragens Øye

237. 139. George Costanza from Seinfeld

236. 121. Rampage from Beast Wars

235. 62. ε (epsilon) from Mathematics, real life (kinda? Not sure maths qualifies as real life) ) (common phrase: Let ε>0 be any real number)

234. 134. BoJack Horseman from BoJack Horseman

233. 291. Juleka Couffaine from Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir

232. 129. Flavio Rezza (MC Flava) from real life

231. 215. Goodtimewithscar or Scar for short (the minecraft youtuber)

230. 186. Percy Weasley from Harry Potter

229. 170. claude frollo from the hunchback of notre dame (specifically the stage musical)

228. 217. Grian from Life Series (3rd/Last/Double/Limited Life)

227. 168. the submitter from real life

226. 269. Mizi from Alien Stage

225. 96. Robin Stuart from Arc of Infinity (Doctor Who)

224. 172. Tessa Minsky from Imogen, Obviously

223. 267. Ea-nasir (real life copper merchant - 1750 BCE)

222. 37. Kokichi Ouma from Danganronpa V3

221. 147. Rose Lavillant from Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir

220. 135. Fiver from Watership down

219. 251. Keith Kogane from Voltron

218. 63. Cricket from Wings of Fire

217. 146. Adric of Alzarius from Doctor Who

216. 177. Mort from the Madagascar Movies/All Hail King Julian

215. 59. Edward Elric from Fullmetal metal alchemist

214. 290. Jimmy Solidarity from The Empires smp

213. 259. rayla from the dragon prince

212. 205. Starfy from The Legendary Starfy

211. 232. Taako from The Adventure Zone

210. 188. Hatsune Miku from Vocaloid

209/208. 182. Matt Murdock from Daredevil (Netflix)

209/208. 107. Ted Kord from DC comics

207. 86. Juleka Couffaine from Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir

206. 27. Sailor Saturn from Sailor Moon

205. 197. Marc Anciel from Miraculous Ladybug

204. 159. Yona from Yona of the Dawn

203. 220. David Chiem from Danganronpa: Despair Time

202. 125. Tynan from Aurora Webcomic

201. 169. Kid Blink from Newsies

200. 128. π (pi) from Mathematics (as in half a circle of radius 1)

199. 275. Zee from Total Drama 2023

198. 278. Flynn Moore from Echo (the furry vn)

197. 270. Caim Tivh from Mørkalven

196. 195. Grendel, The Grimm General from Boldores and Boomsticks

195. 280. Hermie the Unworthy from Dungeons and Daddies

194. 181. Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way from My Immortal

193. 247. Monkey D Luffy from One Piece

[aylinnworld]

Soo-won, blame and the hilarious chapter 197

I see some people telling that Soo-won fans act as if Soo-won was blameless.

The thing is this chapter just took away a good portion of blame from Soo-won.

Before this chapter I considered Soo-won 100% responsible for Yona becoming an orphan, but after this chapter it is not the case any more. Il was not surprised and unaware as I originally assumed.

Il knew for years about Soo-won’s plans and DID NOTHING. He could have abdicated, he could have talked to Soo-won. He could have come up with many ideas, but DID NOTHING, NOT EVEN FOR THE SAKE OF HIS PRECIOUS DAUGHTER.

If Il simply abdicated before Soo-won made his move, Yona would still have a father, but he preferred to act like a martyr and likely cherish his little vindictive dream that one day Yona would kill Soo-won. (Do I have to add that this is beyond disgusting?)

Now it is also Il’s fault that Yona is an orphan. This story just turned it into a fact.

[hubblebubblehub]

yona 197 thoughts

Firstly, behold. I am alive. This chapter honestly made my brain malfunction for a good minute or so, I legit had something akin to a stroke. I honestly believe this chapter encapsulates what has gone wrong with Yona’s storytelling. I understand this is a ‘memoir’, but even backstories whose existence is to deliver exposition require decent consistent characterisation, and a balanced mixture of ‘show don’t tell’ mixed with foreshadowing to result in something... bearable. This chapter was legitimately almost unbearable to read because I think Kusa herself has lost the plot.

To organise my thoughts Imma just put some lil subheadings.

Yon-hi

You know what? Ever since chapter 190 I realised that Yon-hi didn’t have much of a character other than that of an exposition clown. So this lame wrap up on her character was bearable to read, because it’s not as if she had the potential to be anything more than a ye old exposition dump. It’s still frustrating to read her ‘acknowledge’ her own faults, which also make no sense since we haven’t seen a proper build up in a change of thoughts. Yes, she acknowledged her husband was a brute to a certain extent, but apart from this chapter I don’t see her recognising the IMPORTANCE of her position and how her passiveness is stopping her from wielding more influence to prevent tragedy that so clearly hurts her. Sure, she notices that as a country bumpkin amongst nobles she stands out, but even 10 years after the genocide of the priests she never once confronted her husband about it. Or anyone really. Why the change of heart now? The excuse that her husband and Kashi (whom she wasn’t really friends with in the first place?? Honestly I think she was just attached to her out of guilt for what happened) are dead doesn’t explain why she would suddenly have the urge to take some sort of action since the past decade proves she thrives in complacency.

Additionally her relo with her son... I don’t even understand it anymore. She claims she loves Soo-Won but then she writes a letter to her brother-in-law basically asking him to ‘watch out for him’ like MA’AM HE IS YOUR SON. What happened to the role she devoted herself to, as a MOTHER?? I honestly give up trying to understand it.

Il

Oh boi. I thought Yon-hi and Yu-hon had an awful characterisation but Il really takes the cake. I thought I could accept Il’s cowardice since it his duality has been hinted at throughout the whole manga, but honestly it makes close to no sense here. I’m surprised no-one decided to assassinate him the first few years into his reign. I would’ve done it tbh.

This chapter just brings more questions into his passive nature. Why the HELL did he just sit and wait around for something to happen after hearing about the future? Yes, as a religious devotee, he probably accepted the future as fact, but why didn’t he do ANYTHING about it? It seems like he banned weapons out of guilt of his murder, not to actually stop Soo-Won (since he ‘accepted’ that destiny of dying by his nephew’s hands). 

If he knew that Yona would not only face hardship from her position as a reincarnation, but her own freaking family, why didn’t he take counter measures? I don’t understand why he wouldn’t try to empower her so that when he would eventually leave her, she would be able to take care of herself. His attitude to Soo-Won also makes no sense too. If he already accepted he would die by his hand, why didn’t he ban/prevent him from visiting the castle? And if he already accepted his fate, why didn’t he just let the marriage go through anyway? He could clearly see that Soo-Won didn’t detest Yona and would care for her, Yona would be happy with him (provided the murder wouldn’t happen lmfao).

Oh and also, if he knew all these shitty events were going to happen? What was his excuse for not taking care of the country, leaving more than hundreds to starve, live in poverty and die? ‘I’m a placeholder and my brother must not become King. Also I leave everything to the gods’ divine will because I’m a really great religious follower uwu’. Not ‘I’ll properly communicate with my brother, nephew and court to make this country a better place while I’m here to prevent the mistakes of the past.’ He acknowledges he’s not a great King. Why doesn’t he acknowledge and humble himself asking for advice from his advisors. Like whAT

Il & Kashi

Poor Kashi lmfao. Kusa in this chapter really trying to convince us they had a loving relationship and Il was simply just trying to avenge his wife. Sure, let’s say Il did love Kashi. He did a really awful way of expressing it, to the point Kashi genuinely believed he only married her to make the designer baby that is Yona. And I don’t see proof of otherwise tbh. I guess you could argue that Il  & Kashi had some chemistry during the garden scene with Ik-Soo... but also Kashi was a ‘kid’ apparently so call the FBI lmfao. There are honestly no scenes or buildup that convince me that Il loved Kashi without the involvement of the divine. Kashi, maybe. I think she admired him but I see none of that from Il. Even when he flat out murders his brother, his defense isn’t ‘YO THAT WAS MY WIFE YOU JUST MURDEREDDD’ It was ‘THAT WAS THE MOTHER OF THE RED DRAGON’. I think these are self explanatory.

Also to that anti-Soo-Won translator who was saying how this line by Il basically disproves everyone who thought he didn’t love Kashi- it really doesn’t. If anything it just shows how terrible the writing has been for this arc because it’s nowhere near believable enough to accept as truth. Show me scenes where Il is actually.... showing affection and being in a loving and equal relationship with his wife smh

Romance

Il’s reliance on ‘love’ also makes no sense as well, and also highlights how problematic romance is in this series. Considering how ‘girl power’ this series is with Kouren, Lili & her bodyguards, Yona and even Kashi to a certain extent, it makes no sense that Il would choose to leave everything to a man who simply ‘loves Yona and will never betray her’. Like,,, did the events that transpired TEACH HIM NOTHING?? 

Sure only men can become Kings but it seems Queens have a significant position as well. And since Yona is the red dragon... wouldn’t like,, everyone know and respect and hold her on a higher level regardless lmfao like WHAT IS IL THINKING?? He knows that Yona ended up as a superficial spoilt princess as she grew older, but what did he do to rectify that?? n o t h i n g, except attempt to throw another man (Hak) to help solve the (future) problem.

A great grey point this manga has made since the beginning of the series is ‘Prioritising one individual will cause an entire Kingdom to fall to ruin’. So this is why I don’t understand Il’s actions. Yu-hon committed genocide for his wife, whom he loved (also a really poorly built up romance but this chapter ain’t about them), and APPARENTLY murdered Kashi too (dang it... such a weak and predictable outcome, I’m disappointed in you Kusa). Il killing Yu-hon caused Soo-Won & all the Yuhon stans to seek vengeance (although he also did kinda murder him for the sake of Kouka, but nonetheless her adored his father). SO WHY ON EARTH DOES IL THINK LOVE FROM ANOTHER PERSON IS GONNA SAVE HIS DAUGHTER. MAYBE FOR SOMEBODY ELSE BUT CERTAINLY NOT THE ROYAL DAMN FAMILY.

Also just because Hak clearly was devoted to and had affection for Yona, did not mean that Yona would feel the same way, which is arguably is ANOTHER IMPORTANT FACTOR IN A RELATIONSHIP. It seems like Il doesn’t give a damn about his freaking daughter honestly. But maybe who knows, Il has 500 IQ and decided to be passive so Yona would develop feelings for Hak. It was all part of his master plan, while he left most of his kingdom to suffer, no biggie.

Writing

This was such a painful arc to read. I swear Kusa tried to engage her fanbase by constantly making plot twists every chapter. Yu-hon is a good guy. SIKE he’s not. SIKE Il is kind of worse. SIKE Yu-hon bad and should never be one the throne. Il is an okay guy. SIKE he’s borderline religiously fanatic. SIKE Yuhon the crazy one. SIKE Il weird af because he marries Kashi to have baby dragon Yona. SIKE he actually loved Kashi he just DiDn’t MAkE HiS FeElings KnoWn.

Honestly that doesn’t even cover how inconsistent other characters like Yon-hi are either. Bleugh

Predictions for 198?

Maybe Yona will take it upon herself to rectify the wrongs done and pull herself together. Perhaps also do something more substantial than have a deus ex machina bunch of books deliver to information right into her hands. Also maybe show what Soo-Won thinks of this memoir? Surely he’s read it... if he hasn’t then like bye. This series is honestly breaking my heart with every monthly update I swear.

///might rant more later

[wannabe-everythings]

Soo... I found this on Reddit and I think it's pretty interesting!

(Tho, plz read thru to the end)

[thoewe]

I am not crying. You are 😭

Their story is so sad. But it all makes sense now — this is how the three kids back then got here. I’ve always been haunted with curiosity.

I never expected it to be this though.

And, King Il’s implication that Hak will never betray Yona, that he chose Hak to be her protector because of that, then how the two are together now, just hits me so bad.

I want to have a feels party because of the consecutive chapters TT_TT

[sj4iy]

Translation: “Akatsuki no Yona” Chapter 197 Preview (Spoilers!)

Here is your preview of this month’s chapter of Yona of the Dawn. It was really emotional for me to translate this so it took longer than usual. Spoilers ahead!

Il: “Kashi told me”

Il: “That I would father King Hiryuu”

Il: “I felt like this revealed the reason why I was drawn to King Hiryuu”

Il: “I was elated”

Il: “However, I never had any wish to become king”

Il: “But I had”

Il: “A firm resolution”

Il: “That my brother alone”

Il: “Must not become King”

Il: “I would be the ‘connection’”

Il: “Until the next king stands”

Il: “Until Yona eventually gathers the four dragons”

Il: “For now I would do everything in my power”

Il: “For Yona, King Hiryuu’s reincarnation, to grow up in safety”

Il: “I would not allow Kashi’s grief to ever happen again”

Il: “After Kashi’s death, I could no longer trust anyone. Only the minimum amount of people were by our side”

Il: “Yona always seemed lonely and would wait for Su-Won to come”

Il: “But it was difficult to get close to Soo-Won”

Il: “No matter what”

Il: No matter what, he was always strange”

Il: “It was in your memoirs as well, right?”

Il: “Soo-Won won’t scoop up Yona’s box” (*1)

Il: “That choice might be one fate”

Il: “However”

Il: “I know that when I die he will slay Yona”

Il: “I cannot accept this”

Il: “Even though Yona will be all alone someday”

Il: “I want the person who values Yona more than anyone else”

Il: “By her side”

Il: “This person will never betray her”

Il: “No matter what happens”

Il: “Yonhi-san”

Il: “I should be an enemy to you”

Il: “You pray for our happiness”

Il: “Sometimes it feels as if I will be crushed by the dark pressure and sadness”

Il: “In those times”

Il: “I unconsciously think about my brother”

Il: “And I’m a little surprised”

Il: “My brother always gives me his overbearing advice”

Il: “But for some mysterious reason I’m able to reply honestly”

Il: “I always wanted to talk to him this way”

Il: “I wonder why”

Il: “Even though this journal is full of painful memories”

Il: “I look for the traces of people who are no longer here”

Il: “I don’t think I could burn it”

Con’t on 10/20

____ T/N

1. I don’t get what this means, maybe it’s literal, maybe it isn’t. If you do, please let me know.

[cutemangacouple]

"Even if one day Yona will become lonely, I want to place by her side someone who will treasure her more than anyone else..."

[athanora]

im fine

[freewilllife]

Chapter 197

In all honesty, it was the first chapter I have laughed tears. It made so less sense and I just did not believe what I was reading for a while.

I even wondered, if I was just too hard on King Il for a moment, since we were supposed to feel pity for him. I am sorry there was only disgust on my part.

I mean would it not be disgusting to console yourself with the dead person you mercilessly killed, but be mad or hate the little child who rightfully hates you?

He vilified his nephew from day one! Telling a little child that he did not like him, when he had done nothing to deserve it at age two.

He forbid weapons, since he himself has killed his brother...and prevented the people from actually helping the country with this.

Vilifying your brother, but then dreaming about him...like this justification is so vile...Disgusting.

Bringhig misery to his people and hoping a 16 year old girl without the proper education might rescue the country, because...magic!

And if you think that it is normal to never feel guilty that you made your 10 year old nephew an orphan...Consider that Soo Won felt guilty towards Yona and never perceived her as evil for wishing for his death..

[sailorshadzter]