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MDZS is the perfect intersection between mystery, romance, Chinese historical drama, and tragedy.

Plot (10/10)
MDZS is based off of MXTX’s novels of the same name. This author has a gift for weaving complex worlds and storytelling between past and present. I liked the structure of the 3 seasons - it made it easy to follow for such a complex story. That said, I will admit I had a notebook of all the characters and places (each character has both an official character and courtesy name). It may require a little bit of effort on the viewer’s part to keep track of everyone, but again this ... is because the world building is complex and layered - making it totally worth it. It’s largely centered around a beginning mystery, but as the characters get further along the world is expanded to one of feuding clans, love, and betrayal.

Characters (10/10)
Characters, main and side, are fully fleshed out with many even going into their backstory. There’s many cunning, crafty characters with unique personalities and motivations. In perfect juxtaposition to that, there’s selfless characters who readily embrace their flaws.

Animation (9/10)
The animation was great overall. I loved seeing the scenes where demonic/cultivation powers were animated. But knocking off a point for the weird but funny ads added in.

Romance (8/10)
This isn’t really the anime’s fault, but rather the censorship that was placed on the production company. The BL romance tones are heavy, but nothing is explicitly animated. In that sense, it doesn’t do justice to the original novel.

Soundtrack (10/10)
Loved the OSTs and soundtrack music.

The Story of Saiunkoku isn't what I expected...While labeled as a "romance" its strengths like in its historical drama, not a romance.

**Spoiler Warning: Soft spoiler for Shurrei's career path. I didn't go into any explicit details on any plot points, but I did touch on the romance plot that is evident from the first few episodes. I don't think it *really* contains spoilers, but I put a warning there just in case.

Plot: 7-8
There were some arcs that were pretty good and, at some points, would have raised my ranking to an 8. The last major arc in particular had many twists and turns ... that weren't present in the first few arcs and was super enjoyable! I didn't expect the outcome and loved the arc. That said, the first few arcs felt slow and sometimes arduous to get through, so I'm not sure if it was worth forcing through the first half to get to the second.

Characters: 7
Many people enjoyed Shuurei as the main character. For me, I felt neutral. Pros are that she's strong-willed and intelligent. Cons are that everything ends up falling into place at her feet, so sometimes it felt like her wins were more plot-driven rather than character-driven. The most interesting character IMO was Sakujun Sa. The other two mains (Seiran and Ryuuki) I would net as positive neutral.

Romance: 4
This, for me, is what fell flat. As someone who enjoys shoujo and as an anime advertised as a "romance" anime, this is what I disliked the most about it. First, it's soft reverse harem style which can be a bit annoying as a viewer if done poorly. The main character herself is very adamant about having no interest in a romantic life, which is what made all romantic prospects feel forced. And as a character that is upheld for being so strong-willed and paving the way for female characters (in the anime being the first female elected official), it felt disappointing to watch her repeatedly let men make moves on her despite explicitly expressing a lack of interest.

Sound: 9
Great intro and outro songs, as well as background soundtrack.

Animation: 8
I enjoyed it. It won't compare to animation of this time, but I think it was good for when it was made.

Overall: 7
I think what was most disappointing is the clear build-up between the leading romance that was just left out to dry for the rest of the anime, save for a few irregular pining moments. There were redeeming qualities in the plot which (from my understanding) continue to build in S2. That said, as far as anime for this genre (romance shoujo) there are much better options out there. As a historical drama, I haven't seen many myself, but I would reckon it's good but not a standout in comparison to others.