8.4 C
New York
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Advertisement

Yona of the Dawn: Part Two (TheaterByte Blu-ray Review)

yona-of-the-dawn-p2-blu-ray-post-insertIn part one of Yona of the Dawn and what has turned out to be one of the better period fantasy/adventure series to come along in recent years, Princess Yona was hurled out of her happy existence as a sheltered and somewhat naïve teenager living in the castle with her father, the king of Kouka, while under the protection of her bodyguard Son Hak. Her love interest and childhood friend Su-won betrayed and killed her father, forcing her and Son Hak to flee Kouka. After a stay and Son Hak’s grandfather, they went to seek an oracle who told them of the legendary dragons who once ruled and united the kingdoms, and suggested they set off to find the dragons’ ancestors in order to defeat Su-won and once again unite the kingdoms.

Now, in part two, Yona search for the dragons continues, having already found and converted two to her cause, three more remain to be found and convinced. In episodes 13-24, the remaining dragons not only present a challenge to Yona and Son Hak, but so does Su-won’s army that is still in hot pursuit of her. There is also a growing romance budding between Yona and her once bodyguard Son Hak, although he is loath to admit that he could ever have those sorts of feelings for the girl he still considers his princess.

These remaining episodes raise the action quotient for the series and also grow the character of Yona into a very strong, though still at times unsure leader, just as it would be in real life. Watching Yona struggle to become the leader she needs to be under extraordinary circumstances is part of the enjoyment of Yona of the Dawn, but so is the very beautiful animation style. While I wouldn’t describe it as groundbreaking, I would call it very artistically appealing with a fine attention to detail in the backgrounds and character designs, creating an ancient world in its own universe.

Part one of the series ended on an open question, and part two does resolve much if not all of what developed in the first half of the story arc, in a satisfying way.

[envira-album id=”90967″]

The Video

The AVC 1080p encodement of Yona of the Dawn part two looks very good. I spotted just a little more color banding in a few places, perhaps because there were more scenes in the dark that highlighted this, such as the big sequence on the pirate ships, but ultimately this is a satisfying release with not much at all to complain about.

The Audio

I can’t say the audio situation improved any on this part two release and it didn’t really expect it to, considering it is the same series and was most likely mastered to identical standards. If you read my Part One review, you’ll know I found it to be lacking in dynamic range and overall mastering level, plus had issues with syncing, but these seem to be ongoing issues with me and Funimation Blu-ray releases only. The Japanese audio is provided in Dolby TrueHD 2.0 and that’s where you’ll find the superior voice performances, but not much of an improvement in sound quality. The English mix is in Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and I’d love to say the 5.1 mix improved on the spaciousness and general engagement of the mix, but with the dynamics so limited, levels so low, and the frustrating lip sync issue, I just can’t. On top of all of that, the English cast is just bland.

The Supplements

Another two commentaries are included in this set along with the promotional material and clean animations.

  • DVDs
  • Episode 16 Commentary
  • Episode 24 Commentary
  • Promotional Videos
  • TV Spot
  • Textless Opening – “Akatsukino Yona”
  • Textless Closing Song – “Yoru”
  • Textless Closing Song – “Akatsuki”
  • S. Trailer
  • FUNimation Trailers

The Final Assessment

A brilliant adventure that is enticingly animated and centered around an amazing female character, Yona of the Dawn is like the anime version of a YA film, only better, much better. Let’s hope this turns into a strong franchise.

Yona of the Dawn: Part Two (TheaterByte Blu-ray Review)
2.9 / 5 TheaterByte Rating
{{ reviewsOverall }} / 5 User Rating (0 votes)
Pierrot/FUNimation EntertainmentStudios & Distributors
Yoneda KazuhiroDirector
Inotsume ShinichiWriter
300 Mins.Run Time
$64.98MSRP
19 July 2016Release Date
1.78:1Aspect Ratio
AVC 1080pVideo
Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 Stereo | English Dolby TrueHD 5.1Audio
TV-14TV Rating
EnglishSubtitles
English Dolby TrueHD 5.1Secondary Audio
The Creative Content
The Video
The Audio
The Supplements
Summary
The open-ended part one wraps up with a fantastic part two of Yona of the Dawn, growing its protagonists, pumping up the action, and continuing the beautiful animation that made the first part a success.
What people say... Login to rate
Order by:

Be the first to leave a review.

User Avatar User Avatar
Verified
{{{ review.rating_title }}}
{{{review.rating_comment | nl2br}}}

This review has no replies yet.

Avatar
Show more
Show more
{{ pageNumber+1 }}
Advertisement

Related Articles

Join the Discussion on TheaterByte!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Stay Connected

301FansLike
0FollowersFollow
184FollowersFollow
1,710FollowersFollow
- Advertisement -

Notice of Compliance with FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 16 CFR Part 255

In accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR part 255 guidelines, this website hereby states that it receives free discs and other theatrical or home entertainment "screeners" and access to screening links from studios and/or PR firms, and is provided with consumer electronics devices on loan from hardware manufacturers and/or PR firms respectively for the purposes of evaluating the products and its content for editorial reviews. We receive no compensation from these companies for our opinions or for the writing of reviews or editorials.
Permission is sometimes granted to companies to quote our work and editorial reviews free of charge. Our website may contain affiliate marketing links, which means we may get paid commission on sales of those products or the services we write about. Our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers or affiliate partnerships. This disclosure is provided in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR § 255.5: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Latest Articles