Episode 19 of Yona of the Dawn, titled “The Senjuso Test,” is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and FUNimation for paid members. Free subscribers to both services can watch the same episode six days from now on February 24th.
Yona must go on her first actual dangerous mission and she must travel alone.
Captain Gigan is not convinced that Yona will be an asset when her crew prepares to attack Kumji, who has oppressed the people of the seaside city. Yona got to witness the pain and suffering inflicted by Kumji’s men in the previous episode, with the compound gay jokes between Hak and Jae-Ha aside.
She really lays it on Yona, which is a good thing because she needs to “toughen up” if she wants to avenge her father.
But, the anime makes me question if that is a good thing or not. This is because the late-King Il, Yona’s father, was considered the worst king in history. King Il was not stupid, but he applied his ideal of peace in a wrong way.
A false sense of peace was created at the cost of the country’s identity and financial strength.
King Il’s actions have caused the country to royally go down the f—king s—tter.
The episode’s story was straightforward and got to the point: Yona has to prove herself to Captain Gigan if she wants to participate in the attack on Kumji. She is slowly building herself up, but I wish things would speed up a little bit faster.
I laughed at the recurring humor between Hak and Jae-Ha, with the latter conscious about his appearance.
Yona still has a lot to learn by the fact that she has proven incompetent removing the thorns from her hands, which Hak decides to poke fun at. I mean where is Yun? First aid and other medical stuff lies in the realm of Yun’s special skills.
I love Yona’s reply to Hak’s joking around. I honestly think Yona would have pricked Hak repeatedly with the needle.
I had a “holy s—t” moment when Hak told Yona his story of how he got pricked by needles repeatedly thanks to Mun-deok. It is apparent that Hak got injured a lot as a kid and Mun-deok had to be “cruel” by using needles instead of the “easier” way.
That scene made me cringe because it brought up a memory of getting a vaccine shot in the buttock, which ended hurting because the doctor hit a nerve. I couldn’t walk right for at least three months.
“The Senjuso Test” was an interesting episode to watch.
Yona’s trial of courage is an example that courage is acting in the presence of fear and not the absence of it. Fear is neither good nor bad as long as it can be controlled, which Yona overcame to grab the titular senjuso for Gigan and her crew.
Her sense of fear is overridden by her sense of justice.
