Mo Dao Zu Shi

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]

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

Xiong, Ke Director, Storyboard, Art Director

Ma, Chendi Episode Director

Liu, Xing Script

Liang, Sha Script

Reviews

Feb 6, 2025

starvore

Recommended

I got hooked the moment I started watching the first season when it released, to the point where I chose to read the book it's based on just to know how the story continues.

I've since invested lots of time into Mo Dao Zu Shi/The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation as I've read the entire novel, re-watched both the anime and the live action multiple times, read the manhua and even listened to the audio drama (as much as I could find on youtube).

The animation is stunningly gorgeous, the CGI and 2D flow into each other very well, especially in later seasons. The music is wonderful as ... well, every intro and outro and the music played by the characters throughout the story.
What really stands out to me though, is the complexity of the story and all the characters: every character feels realistic and fleshed out, no one is black and white, everyone has their own life and journey, fears and ambitions and each decision they make feels reasonable and understandable from where they are coming from and who they are. I haven't encountered another anime or story in general that was able to portray so much depth and complexity and growth over rather little time, especially compared to other anime. The story follows an entire lifetime and yet it is only a total of about 35 episodes.

A big point to make though, is that exactly this complexity might not be for everyone: the world is different compared to most anime due to it being Chinese and it might be hard to get into it at first (it was for me). The first few episodes might feel a bit goofy and like nonsense but as soon as the first long flashback comes, it's hard to stop watching. The flashbacks are a topic in itself but I feel like they make sense, they add something to it and while it may seem like an odd way to tell a story, it works wonders here.

If anyone is worried about the BL aspect, it's there but it is subtle (you could think they're just best friends), especially since Chinese series aren't allowed to show this stuff. The main focus is the story and the complex world and characters. It is simply accompanied by one of the greatest love stories of all time (in my opinion). :)

All in all, I can say that this is one of the best stories out there and I recommend everyone to give it a try and see if it captivates them as much as it did me.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Jun 21, 2022

Ajoymurmu126

Mixed Feelings

Ok so this is my first time writing a review

So let's start with things I liked....

1. THE VISUALS :
those visuals are god damn amazing (especially the water).......like U can take a Screen shot of any scenes and it would look amazing. Also the character design was good too

2. MUSIC :
I'm just sucker for classical ... music and I loved the ones it has.....also op and ed are good too

Now let's talk about problems.....

1. DUB :
Now this not something I specifically didn't liked or hated but if U r not comfortable with watching Chinese......then it might be a let down..... (Japanese dub is available......if U can find that)

2. CHARACTERS :
now even though I didn't hate any character......I didn't like most of them either.......*objectively speaking* MC's behaviour sometimes could be felt a little annoying ( if U have a problem with the character trpoe )

*Also side note*
All the character's name are little bit confusing and hard to memories.......

I would still say atleast try first episode ( note that first few episodes are like 30+ mins)

Signing off.......

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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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 ... mention that some of it was deeply related to the story in an important way
And the most important thing they made Wei Wuxian is wrong and being possessed by evil power, which is not!!!
Wei Wuxian is a great character and the writer showed us how he is been accused of falsely sins in the manga and novel , and he would always use any power in his hand to help any person in need through the past or present ,putting anyone before himself ,even if it harmed or killed him ,he seek power to protect not to be great
and all the close people were to him abandons him for power the only one stayed in the 2 times period with him was Lan Wangji
Which also was ruin in the anime by making him stand against wuxian , while he never done that on the contrary he would always take wuxian side no matter what was the other side ,as he was sure of wuxian good intention
AND THAT MY RIEVIEW FOR THE 3 SEASONS AS THEY RUIN A MASTERPIECE
And ruin a great arc which was the left hand body tracking , and made a chaos speedy ver, which was filled with half assed explained events and flashback of important events or ignoring them ,adding silly scenes which doesn't make sense ,like the anime staffs didn't know what they were doing or didn't read the novel or manga thoroughly
This was really a bad commercial for the novel and manga
People who didn't like the anime ,don't judge it and try to read the manga or novel as mystery and cultivation was a masterpiece ,and overall it is a masterpiece

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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'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)

	Poll: Mo Dao Zu Shi Episode 1 Discussion Stardew - Aug 8, 2018	45 replies	by joemaamah »» Jan 15, 7:59 PM
	Poll: Mo Dao Zu Shi Episode 7 Discussion glaceon_cute - Aug 14, 2018	28 replies	by GHostchilde »» Dec 1, 2024 2:39 PM
	Poll: Mo Dao Zu Shi Episode 15 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) valkiriana - Oct 10, 2018	104 replies	by SuhSun4 »» Nov 18, 2024 8:16 PM
	Poll: Mo Dao Zu Shi Episode 13 Discussion Xealias - Sep 29, 2018	21 replies	by Kaydansnk »» Oct 24, 2024 6:42 AM
	Poll: Mo Dao Zu Shi Episode 4 Discussion Stardew - Aug 8, 2018	19 replies	by ScaryOwl »» Sep 28, 2024 7:18 PM