Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 18

I continue to love love love this story. It is my perfect combination of guilty pleasures: manga, fantasy, dragons, a female character who learns how to kick butt, a band of unlikely heroes, well-written romance, life-altering friendships, and all rendered in beautiful art. More people should be excited about the series. This volume covers Zeno's backstory. While his big reveal was at the end of the last volume, this one allows us to see the other characters' reactions to his invincibility, and to see them learn that Zeno is one of the original four dragon warriors. Most of the book, though, is devoted to flashbacks of Zeno becoming the yellow dragon, and his time with the original other three dragon warriors and the Crimson King. While show more all of the current dragon warriors have tragedy in their pasts, Zeno is perhaps the one with the saddest backstory of all. He's had to see all the people he loved get old and die, while he alone remained. However, the end of this volume counters all of that sadness with Zeno being surrounded by most of his new family: Yona, Gija, Jaeha, and Sinha. He pulls them in for a big hug, and that's a sweet way to end this book. The bonus story at the end was also adorable and funny. Another wonderful installment in the series. show less

More about Zeno's backstory and cute party hijinks.