Yona of the Dawn (Akatsuki no Yona) is fantastic. It's a two-cour adaptation of a fantasy story (with some inspiration from Korean history/myth I think?) with some coming-of-age undertones. While it didn't adapt the whole story, what it does have is still excellent.

IIRC it is a shoujo story, with the sorts of attractive male characters and suggestions of romance you might expect. But it's definitely appreciable even if you're not here for those things. There's the politics and intrigue, the drama and adventure of the journey, and the character development.

Incidentally, it actually aired during the same seasons as another two-cour series that partly shares its core premise -- Cross Ange. (And the composer for Cross Ange even wrote one of the theme songs for Yona, specifically ED2.) However, Cross Ange is a very different show, in tone, content, plot, and more. I also (unironically) consider it an excellent show with a gripping plot, but for rather different reasons. That said, if you specifically prefer to avoid sexual fanservice, this probably won't be your cup of tea, despite being a solid story in its own right.