Yao Shen Ji

In his past life, although too weak to protect his home when it counted, out of grave determination Nie Li became the strongest Demon Spiritist and stood at the pinnacle of the martial world. However, he lost his life during the battle with the Sage Emperor and six deity-ranked beasts.

His soul was then brought back to when he was still 13 years old. Although he's the weakest in his class with the lowest talent, having only a red soul realm and a weak one at that, with the aid of the vast knowledge which he accumulated from his previous life, he decided to train faster than anyone could expect. He also decided to help those who died nobly in his previous life to train faster as well.

He aims to protect the city from the coming future of being devastated by demon beasts and the previous fate of ending up destroyed. He aims to protect his lover, friends, family and fellow citizens who died in the beast assault or its aftermath. And he aims to destroy the so-called Sacred family who arrogantly abandoned their duty and betrayed the city in his past life.

(Source: Goodreads)

Li, Nie Main

Xiao, Ninger Supporting

Ye, Ziyun Supporting

Ze, Du Supporting

Piao, Lu Supporting

An Mo Shi Script

Mad Snail Original Creator

Reviews

Oct 18, 2017

Moonchips

Recommended

This is the first anime that made me look for the manga, then the light novel. The plot is captivating for my preference and easily made me look pass the flaws of the animation. Unfortunately, the author did not complete his story and has decided to drop it... which is severely depressing it'd take years for me to move on.

Animation wise, 7mins episode, this shit is undeserving to the story. 3D animation does look good but not very smooth. Doesn't have unnecessary flashy scenes and keep to the plot, which is something i cannot find in many anime. First few episodes move at a ... very slow pace, since 5min playtime each. However, after completing all 40 episodes. I wouldn't want them to replace the animation since i find it rather appropriate. However, i urge them to standardize an episode to 20mins+

All in all, the animation is weak but the plot and world of this show is boundless. And it was an extremely sad moment to find out the author stopped writing this series from lack of motivation; and started a few other series. I cannot think of any other anime that are similar to this other than Reikenzan, imo 8:10 compared to yaoshenji. There are not many plots that as deep and detailed compared to this in their universe other than Harry Potter. IMHO.

Some animes that i loved before finding this are Overlord, Mahouka Koukou no rettousei, youjo senki and NGNL.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Oct 12, 2017

GimmeDatDonut

Mixed Feelings

Yaoshenji, or Tales of Demons and Gods, is one of those new Chinese anime that I really want to like, but really can't bring myself to. As an adaptation of a popular web-novel and manga, it already has really good plot behind it. However, the choices that the animation studio has chosen have severely undercut this massive advantage.

One of the most glaring problems is the length of each episode. Episodes are around 7 minutes long on average, but if you consider that the opening and ending animations take up 2 minutes, then you're left with just 5 minutes of actual storyline per episode. While this ... comes out to about 200 minutes of total animation (around 10 episodes of a normal length anime), it severely limits the amount of information that can be added in a single episode. As such, each episode is only long enough to last exactly one scene or conversation, and it's impossible for them to fit in any extra narrative or background into the anime.

On the animation side, they've chosen to go with 3d models for everything. While there are good examples of 3d animation, this is just on the borderline. The quality of the models is at the bare minimum acceptable standard, about the same as a video-game. It's very apparent that where ever possible, they've tried to reduce the complexity of the models by using textures instead of actual 3d detail. In addition, the quality of the motion of the characters is also sub-par, as there are very few examples where a character walks properly - most characters have stiff expressions or weird kinks in their walking animation that instantly catch your eye. Overall, it feels like they offloaded all the animation into an in-game animation software,such as Source Film Maker. This might be acceptable if they compensated with an increase in the amount of content, but as pointed out earlier, there's actually less content than a single season of an anime.

On the other hand, it's pleasing to see that they've put in effort into working on special effects for the magic systems in the show. While the character animation may be sub-par, the effects associated with magic activation still look fairly good. In addition, it's also fun to see then using the obvious kinks in their animation quality to showcase unique character personalities on some of the nameless side characters. This is an amazing addition, as the side characters are no longer bland and identical, but actual people with their own unique (sometimes hilarious) walking styles and expressions.

In terms of actual plot, the original story as well as this adaptation both focus on an OP character who was reborn and has a new chance at life. It is honestly fun to see this character, who represents the epitome of the saying "Knowledge is power", destroying people's expectations of him and coming out on top in clever and hilarious scenarios. However, as is the problem with most adaptations, it's very apparent that a lot of that content has to be skipped in order to translate the story onto the screen. This is sadly even more apparent here, where the 5-minute episode length severely restricts the amount of information that can be conveyed to the viewer. Overall, unless the viewer has already read the source materials, they can easily get lost in the terminology, magic and ranking systems introduced in the anime.

At the end of the day, I think it's a cute adaptation of a very fun web-novel, but leaves me sad about the missed potential that it could have had.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Aug 17, 2025

TennoAndy

Not Recommended

Preliminary (10/40 eps)

I really love the novel, but the anime adaptation of Tales of Demons and Gods is disappointing. The biggest issue is the 3D animation — it feels stiff and fails to capture the characters’ expressions, emotions, and powers properly. This takes away a lot of the impact, especially since the novel is so colorful and full of life.

That said, the story itself is strong. While it follows familiar cultivation tropes, it has its own twists and remains engaging. Even if some parts are predictable, it’s enjoyable if you like this genre.

As for the characters, they are well-rounded in the novel — with both strengths and ... flaws — but the anime doesn’t always manage to convey their depth. Sometimes their reactions feel flat or unnatural because the animation doesn’t show enough emotion.

I don’t think the art style fits the story well. The 3D models make intense moments less impactful, and battles that should feel powerful often come across as lifeless.

If you’re a fan of cultivation stories, I recommend reading the novel instead. You’ll get the full experience of the world, characters, and emotions. The anime might work for someone who just wants a quick introduction to the series, but for me, it doesn’t do justice to the source material.

Reviewer’s Rating: 1

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