Mo Dao Zu Shi (The Founder of Diabolism Season 1)

Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Modao Zushi, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, The Founder of Diabolism, Mo Dao Zu Shi: Qianchen Pian, 魔道祖师前尘篇, Madou Soshi

Japanese: 魔道祖师

More titles

Information

Type: ONA

Episodes: 15

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Jul 9, 2018 to Oct 6, 2018

Producers: Aniplex, Tencent Penguin Pictures

Licensors: None found, add some

Studios: B.CMAY PICTURES

Source: Web novel

Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery

Themes: Historical, Mythology, Reincarnation

Duration: 25 min. per ep.

Rating: R - 17+ (violence & profanity)

Statistics

Score: 8.40¹ (scored by 79,307 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #184²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #1053

Members: 230,783

Favorites: 6,763

Available At

Official Site

@mdzsjp

Resources

AniDB

Wikipedia

Synopsis

Xian: the state of immortality that all cultivators strive to achieve. However, there is a dark energy that lies underneath—the forbidden Mo Dao, or demonic path. Through an unfortunate series of tragedies, this is the path that cultivator Wei Wuxian experiments with during his teachings. His rise in power is accompanied by chaos and destruction, but his reign of terror comes to an abrupt end when the cultivation clans overpower him and he is killed by his closest ally.

Thirteen years later, Wei Wuxian is reincarnated in the body of a lunatic and reunited with Lan Wangji, a former classmate of his. This marks the beginning of a supernatural mystery that plagues the clans and threatens to disrupt their everyday life.

Mo Dao Zu Shi follows these two men on their mission to unravel the mysteries of the spiritual world. Fighting demons, ghosts, and even other cultivators, the two end up forming a bond that neither of them had ever expected.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Edit

Background

Mo Dao Zu Shi is an adaptation of the Chinese web novel of the same title, written by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (墨香铜臭).

It won the Gold Award for "The Best Serial Animation Award" at the 15th China Animation Golden Dragon Awards (第十五届中国动漫金龙奖). It also won "Best New Animation" at Xinguang Award (新光奖); the 7th China Xi'an International Original Animation Competition.

Edit

Related Anime

Adaptation:	Mo Dao Zu Shi
Sequel:	Mo Dao Zu Shi: Xian Yun Pian
Other:	Mo Dao Zu Shi Q

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Wei, Wuxian

Main

Kimura, Ryouhei
Japanese

Lan, Wangji

Main

Tachibana, Shinnosuke
Japanese

Jiang, Cheng

Supporting

Midorikawa, Hikaru
Japanese

Wen, Ning

Supporting

Shimazaki, Nobunaga
Japanese

Nie, Huaisang

Supporting

Hanae, Natsuki
Japanese

Lan, Sizhui

Supporting

Tsuchiya, Shinba
Japanese

Jin, Ling

Supporting

Kaji, Yuuki
Japanese

Lan, Xichen

Supporting

Morikawa, Toshiyuki
Japanese

Jiang, Yanli

Supporting

Hayami, Saori
Japanese

Jin, Guangyao

Supporting

More staff

Staff

Xiong, Ke

Director, Storyboard, Art Director

Ma, Chendi

Episode Director

Liu, Xing

Script

Liang, Sha

Script

Edit

Opening Theme

	"Senya Souka (千夜想歌)" by CIIVILIAN (Japanese broadcast ver.)
	"Zui Meng Qian Chen (醉梦前尘)" by Terry Lin (林志炫)

Edit

Ending Theme

	1: "Kiro (季路)" by Aimer
	1: "Wen Qin (问琴)" by Rachel Yin (银临) (eps 1-8, 14-15)
	2: "Bu Xian (不羡)" by S.I.N.G (SING女团) (eps 9-13)

Reviews

Oct 13, 2018

-Heika

Recommended

I usually write reviews either because I hate it or love it. In this case, it’s the latter.
I’m so in love with Mo Dao Zu Shi in general, (not just the animation) and I’ve started reading the novel and caught up on the currently translated Manhua. [SPOILER-FREE]

Story: 10
If you haven’t read the novel or Manhua, (like me—because I started with the anime/donghua) then it might be a bit confusing at first but you’ll get the gist of it. I personally started reading the novel and Manhua, and they give more explanations and you’ll appreciate the story more.
This is a BL/Shounen Ai Story, so ...

Open

Gift

Aug 17, 2020

alquimistablanco

Mixed Feelings

Long ago, the cultivation clans lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Wen clan attacked. Only the Yiling Patriarch, master of harnessing negative energy, could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he went kinda batshit crazy, killed a bunch of his friends and exploded. Now, my brother and I have found the new Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, a lunatic named Mo Xuanyu. And while his fluting skills are great, he's got a long way to go before he's ready to save anyone.

Ok, I promise I'll try to keep the ATLA comparisons to a minimum from here on out, but you ... get the picture. While this series has the bones of a good story and some awesome art and sound, its plot languishes unnecessarily for almost the entirety of the series. All the information in the paragraph above is revealed within the first 2 episodes, and the next 16 or so are exclusively flashbacks retelling those events in incredibly long detail, meaning that there is little actual progress or character development happening in those episodes beyond what is already revealed early on. The end result is that the vast majority of the series (stretching into the second season) is written as its own unnecessary prequel with all the subtlety of a 16-ton weight dropping from the ceiling.

Story/Characters: 5/10. The story had a lot of possible directions it could go from the start: starting a new life without the baggage of notoriety, hiding one's identity from former friends/frenemies, learning how the art he invented has grown and changed in the years he's been dead, observing the social changes that occurred after the overthrow of both the Wen and the Yiling Patriarch, living as a freelance demon-hunter, etc. etc. The story chooses to explore none of these and instead re-tell what it already told in the opening episodes. While toward the end of the second season we do get a glimpse of things going on behind the scenes, unfortunately most of the episodes are spent telling us stuff we knew from the get-go: Wei really likes his sister-figure. His relationship with his adoptive brother soured. He developed a way to harness negative energy, which makes him a hero to some and a heretic to others. Various miscommunications, misunderstandings and petty partisanship have cast him as a villain when really he is just trying to protect his people. etc. About 10 hours of the series is spent slapping the audience in the face with things they already know, while what was introduced as the main plot (Mo Xuanyu) is abandoned. The length of the exposition steamrolls any nuance out of the plot and twists itself in circles to justify the purity of its characters rather than exploring their flaws. Most of the characters have fewer than 2-3 character traits, one of which is almost always "loyal to family/clan" so the vast amount of time spent expounding on just how justified Wei Wuxian was or how much of a major asshole Wen Chao is was a vast amount of potential for actual storytelling in a fascinating setting wasted.

Minor gripe: the character designs are far too uniform, especially Mo Xuanyu and young Wei Wuxian. I suppose since basically everyone immediately recognized Mo as Wei Wuxian anyway, it's a bit of a moot point, but it felt lazy. I don't know if they were TRYING to make the Wen clan leader look like Fire Lord Ozai, but they did. The ubiquitous sun and flame motifs among the Wen does not dissuade this comparison.

On to the good parts:

Art: 9/10. Docking a point for lazy character design, but the art and animation were incredibly compelling. There's a good amount of noticeable-but-not-terrible CGI interspersed throughout, which works effectively with the storytelling in parts. The art really makes me wish it had a more compelling story to fill it out.

Sound: 9/10: Music is used as both theme and symbol throughout the series, with the guqin and the bamboo flute offsetting each other. Both are traditional Chinese instruments, but their use in the series underlies the difference in tone of their characters: the guqin's music is usually calm and resonant, while the bamboo flute instrumentation is often high-pitched and frantic. It was a masterful way of showcasing the light side/dark side interactions as the characters became closer entwined. Unfortunately, because the main plot spent most of its time flashbacking, the audience gets a very limited amount of the most compelling musical dynamic in the series. The VAs were generally good, although I have a feeling that they gave about five too many people the voice direction "You are an angry but scholarly middle-aged man," though that would arguably be a problem with character design.

Enjoyment: 5/10. I went into this series and loved the first few episodes, so I was incredibly disappointed to spend almost the entire rest of the series waiting for something new to happen. The art and music kept me afloat long enough to reach to the end, but ultimately it never gets far enough away from its starting point for me to have enjoyed it.

Open

Gift

Oct 16, 2021

terwa

Not Recommended

I liked the manga and the novel ,but the anime was a big disappointment
the art and Chinese voice actors were good ,but what the use
As the story filled with ugly and boring fillers , twisted of events ,and skipping important details ,focusing on other unimportant details ,and they made a short past long story (longer than the present) while in the manga and novel it focus more on the present than the past ,and that how it should be
And I don't know why they skipped all the ai shounen light cute love between the 2 mc? it was pure ,funny ,enjoyable and cute ,not to ...

Open

Gift

More stacks

Interest Stacks

That Good Gay Shit

by oliversaurusink

14 Entries · 7 Restacks

Good anime based on novels

by Zm00sp

5 Entries · 1 Restacks

2022 Elenda_

by AutomaticHuman

39 Entries · 2 Restacks

More recommendations

Recommendations

View All

More news

Recent News

'Mo Dao Zu Shi' Reveals Cast, Third Promo, Theme Song Artists

The official website for Aniplex and Sony Music Solutions's Japanese dub of Mo Dao Zu Shi (Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation) revealed 21 cast, theme song arti...read more

Nov 27, 2020 7:08 PM by Aidan | Discuss (20 comments)

'Mo Dao Zu Shi' Japanese Dub Broadcast Announced

Aniplex opened an official website for the Japanese dub of Mo Dao Zu Shi (Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation) on Saturday, revealing a teaser promo and key visual (p...read more

Aug 22, 2020 9:31 AM by ImperfectBlue | Discuss (37 comments)

More discussions

Recent Forum Discussion

Poll: Mo Dao Zu Shi Episode 15 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) valkiriana - Oct 10, 2018	103 replies	by HaruYing »» Mar 24, 2:12 PM
I thought anime/manga from other countries was not allowed on MAL? Kimiko-chan - Dec 14, 2020	5 replies	by senekohan »» Feb 19, 8:06 AM
I'm telling you egosumjohn - Dec 8, 2023	7 replies	by Watch_Kuranado »» Dec 11, 2023 1:35 PM
Poll: Mo Dao Zu Shi Episode 8 Discussion valkiriana - Aug 23, 2018	31 replies	by HagePotPotato »» Sep 13, 2023 8:30 PM
Poll: Mo Dao Zu Shi Episode 1 Discussion Stardew - Aug 8, 2018	43 replies	by HagePotPotato »» Sep 13, 2023 1:14 PM

Mo Dao Zu Shi

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Synopsis

Background

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

Related Anime

Characters & Voice Actors

Wei, Wuxian

Lan, Wangji

Jiang, Cheng

Wen, Ning

Nie, Huaisang

Lan, Sizhui

Jin, Ling

Lan, Xichen

Jiang, Yanli

Jin, Guangyao

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

Recent Forum Discussion

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Mo Dao Zu Shi

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Synopsis

Background

Visit MALxJapan MALxJapan -More than just anime-

Related Anime

Characters & Voice Actors

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

Recent Forum Discussion

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-