User reviews

(I've already posted my review in myanimelist.net, and now I figure I might as well post a review here to share my love for this anime.)

This is undoubtedly the most beautiful anime I've ever seen in my life! It's much better than any other anime in the year of 2018, I would dare to claim. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves anime as I do.

I have mostly great things to say about this anime with a couple of complaints.

First of all, the arts, style, music and character design in this series absolutely amazed me to my "Golden Core" ! (You would know what golden core is if you watch this anime.)

The artistic portrayal of ancient China is breathtakingly beautiful. Every frame seems like a picturesque poem. In fact I would call the animation style in this series as "Visual Poetry".

The music and all the ancient instruments appeared in the series are out of this world. The opening theme instantly brought me into this fantasy world where cultivators can fly so effortlessly on their swords and perform stunning arts of cultivation as one does.

The voice acting is great and gave each character a distinguishable persona and made the characters more relatable. Their struggles and the dynamics of their relationships makes me feel like I'm part of it. On the other hand, I did notice that some of the background characters' faces look more generic, bland and indistinguishable.

The plot of all the 15 episodes in season 1 did not quench my thirst for more content in this fantastic world. I want more stories in this beautifully animated world. I can't wait for season 2. I hope season 2 would be more epic and more ambitious than the first one.

Additionally, some people have classify this anime into the Shounen Ai category, which I beg to differ. For my viewing experience, I didn't even realized this anime is adapted from a Shounen Ai novel until I looked it up on the internet. Since this anime is produced in China, I seriously doubt there would be an overarching theme about Shounen Ai. The Shounen Ai element would be very subtle, if there's any to begin with. I seriously pity those who decided to not enjoy this anime simply because it's labeled as "Shounen Ai".

My only complaints lie with the sub translation. There's a heavy load of info dumped on me when I started the first few episodes. All the names are in Chinese which felt like a heavy task to me, although I did catch on with what is going on shortly after I dived in to the series. When it comes to the mythologies and concepts in this anime, I very much prefer interpretation over direct translation. I would understand many concepts much better and quicker if it were not badly translated into weird English, which also slightly takes me out of this anime's artistic world. With all that said, I still appreciate all the hard work by the fan sub community, without whom I wouldn't have the privileged to enjoy this anime.

Overall I would give this anime a 10 out 10.

This is my first non Japanese anime. And I really hope it can get a second season produced smoothly. I'm very worried about the fate of this anime production since this anime did not go viral around the world as it should be. I honestly don't know what to do if season 2 production doesn't go as planned. I called for more support to this anime. And to all the fans in China, please tell Tencent to give whatever cash is needed for this anime production.

A lovely, yet sometimes melancholy story. Just right for me. I didn't discover this until this year, and I had already read the novel and watched The Untamed. But this took the previously beautifuly-woven story to a new level, really. The voice acting had my jaw drop every few minutes, and the details (such as read ears) were handled perfectly. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were EXACTLY as I had imagined them. BUT! But, in my opinion, the character's faces looked too alike, and I could barely tell Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen apart. However, this is honestly worth a try, and I swear, you shall not be disappointed. Why are you still here? Go watch it!

First review, and I'm really not a deep or artsy person, so I'm not even going to try to break this down into philosophical arguments or anything.

It sounds good. It looks incredible. The characters are so unique and human and sympathetic (except for that one greasy Wen young master and his monster of a wife) and sometimes so infuriating (looking at you Jiang Cheng). The plot is amazing, the backstories well-woven and intriguing. But most importantly, it's just such an enjoyable show to watch.

If someone asks me if I have any complaints, I can't say I don't. Bring back the 40-minute episodes! 20 minutes isn't enough!

Just a few things YSK before watching:

• Season 1 is the prequel to everything. Nothing shown in the first two episodes took place yet, it basically tells the characters' backstories and how Wei Ying got to where he was. I know, I was confused too, especially since Mo Xuanyu's appearance is really similar to (read: the same as) young Wei Ying's.
• There really won't be any BL (gayness) since this was aired on Chinese TV. So people who don't like BL, go ahead and give this series a try, and those who came for the BL, try not to be too disappointed.
• The dynamic between the five clans is very interesting and well-written, but also really confusing at first. I suggest looking up a character/clan-map to keep on the side while watching.

Anyways, anyone who hasn't given Mo Dao Zu Shi a try, definitely should! This show has taken my heart hostage within the first three minutes of the first episode (at the 2-3 minute mark specifically, I've watched that flute+zombies sequence at least fifty times now), and it still hasn't given it back. I thought I was too old to fangirl over a fictional story, but it turns out I just haven't been watching the right ones! Words can't describe how much I love this. It's not really like a first love, but rather an obsessive, passionate love that takes hold of you when you were sure you wouldn't be able to feel such emotions again.

Mo Dao Zu Shi's episodes, released every Friday night, is pretty much the only thing getting me through the week right now. I don't know what I'm going to do, now that Season 1 is over... At least there's two more seasons to look forward to! See you in 2019!

Where do I even begin, there's so much I love about this show! All of the characters are extremely well designed and dynamic. Even characters that had considerably small amounts of screen time breathed into life with layers of personality built on a simple sentence or their expressions and even gestures. You can't help but empathize with the characters because they come across as very authentically human and relatable. The voice acting is superb as they are able to convey these characters in very realistic and human ways. There are also so many deep analogies through imagery such as contrasts in the background or deeper meanings reflected in nature which really goes to show the superb directing abilities of the producers. Many of the messages delivered in this show are extremely subtle that compiles into a bigger picture which is what makes this show so re-watchable because you can always catch something new that you haven't realized before. This story is a deeply enticing one that explores the themes of honour, sacrifice, love, family, and the cyclical nature of human life. The art itself is of extremely high quality, the movements are very fluid, and the music beautifully transitions and sets the tone for important moments. This is a powerful story that will leave you to continuously think about as it continue to explore the subtlety in love. For those who may have heard of the BL elements in this show and want to avoid it, it's so subtle you almost have to look for it. The storyline itself is very intricate and weaves many complex emotions for all of the characters. It's a beautifully crafted story where the protagonists happen to develop romantic feelings rather than having an absentminded romantic plot that is just dropped on the audience. Afterall, love is love is love, who cares what form it's in? Strongly urge everyone to give this show a try!

This show portrays traditional Chinese drama perfectly - in animation form! The director made the plot simpler by putting all the flashbacks into one season, instead of the way the novel did it. All the characters are elaborated perfectly. Would've had a 10/10 if they kept the relationship between Lan Zhan and Wei Ying... But we all know that's not possible since it's China :/

By far one of of the best anime (donghua for chinese animation) i've seen all year. I've watched it twice. Absolutely loved this series with my whole heart.

First, this is certainly NOT a shounen anime that is geared towards teens. It's rated mature at R 17+ on MyAnimeList, as it should be.

The scenery truly stands out as unique, and breath taking. Chinese animation has developed their own style with very detailed; exquisite landscapes that looks like poetry. The character design was refreshing. I really enjoyed the more mature looking characters.

The voice acting in this deserves an award. The emotional parts were so believable. The emotions really came through in a way that it didn't feel like acting.

The writing in this series is top notch in my opinion. I found it to be well written, with plenty of plot twist and mystery in terms of story line.

Although, the majority were fine to me, my only criticism is that SOME of the fight scenes could have looked smoother. Also, Chinese is spoken very fast, and the subtitles fly by. I cant read that fast. Not sure how this could be remedied for us English speakers, but I had to rewind many times to catch up to what was going on.

Everything in this series can be described as beautiful, and I highly recommend this series. 10/10

Great story with beautiful art and music ! Although the animation did not follow the novel precisely (especially the romance between the two main characters has been "hidden", the anime still has plenty to offer.

I didn't know this animation in the first place until someone mentioned in a MV that this animation is so popular. So, I started to watch it.

At first, I must admit that I didn't like it because maybe, the first episode doesn't have the story line. But the more I watch, the more I fell in love with the story. I have already watched all episodes of season 1 a thousand times and still want to watch again and again. Because of the season 1 and 2 is one year apart, so, I started to read the original novel.

For normal condition, I don't read the original novel that much because my Chinese is not that good although I know a little about Chinese language to watch Chinese films. But reading novels, it takes me a long time to finish. I read it anyway.

It's the love story of two homosexuals. So, it kind of made me disgusting at first. No offence. But the more I read the story, the more it makes me to love the story. It gets interesting and interesting. By the way, I also listen radio drama version too because I totally love the story.

Back to the animation, the animation is basically good. But I wish they could do 3D animation, it'd be better.

All in all, everything is great. If I could recommend animation to watch, I'd definitely recommend this one. It's totally worth spending time. As for me, I'll be waiting for the upcoming episodes very impatiently.

Animation is very great and art are also very beautiful and the best thing the storyline.It impressive!

I watched this anime because it was rated as highly as my favorite "Soul Land" (Doulou dala) on WeTV, just find out how mediocre it is compared to Soul Land.

The story is clichéd, the pace slow, the jokes common. The characters don't have a variety of techniques with cool names like those in great Mysterious Fantasy films.

Visually, characters' faces are completely identical to the point is hard to tell them apart.

The main character is undoubtably a "good person" but almost all other characters keep hating him and yelling at him for hard-to-understand reasons. All enemies sound so unreasonable, illogical, and thus irritating.

The sense of time in this anime is messed up badly. It starts the first 2 episodes in present time, then it flashes back for 20 episodes... It felt like forever until I could return to present timeline. Then it frequently flash back to the past, and then to the past of the past...

In the end, I stopped at Episode 26, couldn't finish 35 of them. Too boring, too slow. If Soul Land is perfect in very way, 10 out of 10, then this show is just 5 of 10, mercifully.

Best Animation, Perfect angles in action scenes, Amazing music, Overall Beautiful animation with an amazing Story Line.

Everything is good but there are many events missing in animation which are there in Novel. It's kind of confusing for many people in the starting because they couldn't differentiate between two different timelines.

Backgrounds in this anime is just fabulous. Mountains and rivers and greenery is animated very well. There are not many anime with such a beautiful animation of nature.

Story line is also good. I did not feel bored at all even for a second. The story line successfully hooks viewers till the end.

Its a great anime.and the story is mind blowing.waiting for season 3

This donghua is an adaptation the novel by the same time. They put all flashback in one season,instead of novel's non linear narrative. I also really loved the voice actors .Despite the fact this adaptation makes the relationship between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji a deep friendship instead of a romance(it is China and in China depicting LGBT couples on screen is forbidden)you can really feel their chemistry and how much they really care about each other. They are very playful and trusworthy with each other and it is very sweet to watch. I do also advise people to read the book or if they want to watch The Untamed too.8/10.