“It’s pretty gay” ah yes, the donghua based off of a danmei novel in which the two main characters end up as a married couple is gay. In other news, water is wet.

The show is made from a Chinese bl novel which means its supposed to be gay, the extras are somethings else soo. Have fun(don't wanna spoil)

"the show is...pretty gay" the show came from a boys love novel lol, they actually toned the gay down a lot 😅

Tbf, men in Asian animation (especially in Boys Love productions) tend to be drawn with many androgynous features. Just a choice of style, I suppose. I personally didn't find Wei Wuxian to be particularily feminine-looking, but maybe that's because I'm more used to the distinctions of character design in this genre.

Well it's source is outright danmei / BL so although it's censored, the romance is there lol, specially this 3rd season, and the characters might look similar but it's cuz you're not used to them, and they all have similar features (sometimes it's even mentioned that certain sects have similar looking ppl in terms of beauty), at the beginning it's very hard to tell them apart, most ppl use clothes to distinguish characters, smth that gets hard when talking about ppl from the same sect, but really, when you consume more of it, you can tell everyone apart veryyyy easily lol, maybe I'm saying this cuz I have consumed every bit of adaptation of the OG novel and know what distinguishes each character, cuz it's little details that makes them different from each other in some cases, and I guess you can say everyone looks feminine cuz the men are very much described as "beautiful" and that's just the style of the studio lol, Wei Wuxian in particular is described to be reborn in a more feminine body than the one he had when he was alive. About the long names, you just have to get used to it, you'll see this in these genres a lot so 🤷‍♀️, it's a cultural thing. The animation and story was rushed in 2nd season cuz time limits but it's still beautiful, the 3rd season rn has amazing animation and although it's gonna be rushed cuz it's only 12 episodes, the passing is nice, coming from someone who has read the novel, and yeah, 3rd season is prettyyyy gay, idk how they're getting away with it considering the censoring, but I'm thankful hhh, so keep it in mind, it's not just "fanservice", in the novel the protagonists get married and all.

MDZS is, in my opinion, has one of the best tragic stories I've ever read. It's one I constantly recommend to others because of just how insanely well-written everything is

I watched because it's BL/gay and stayed because this story is really good. From the novel, to the donghua and to the Live Adaptation. Everything in MDZS is a masterpiece and I am so proud of my Queen author MXTX that all her novel was adapted into donghua. MDZS has a massive fanbase so... we are so happy that this donghua exceeded so many expectation. Love Love Love..

It’s supposed to be that way it’s BL… that’s the genre.

I'm genuinely impressed with how you explain the setting and context, sounded like you really did your research. You even got the pronunciations of the names right (I'm crying I can't cringe at another video butchering the names anymore)! Donghua is still pretty new to international audiences so appreciate the effort. Edit: Okay, some names were still off (e.g.Mo Xuanyu) but good effort.

Feminine men are a plus in my books not a minus.

Ok, for future reference, referring to characters like Wei Wuxian simply by "Wei" or "Wu" sounds wrong because that's only one random syllable from their name. It could be shortened to Wuxian, or Wei Ying (Wei Wuxian's birth name. It's a thing) his sister calles him A-Xian, which is pronounced Ah-Xian. The 'Ah' part is an affectionate diminutive, usually used for children. Jiang Yanli also called him xianxian, which is just the last character of his name twice. He couldn't really be called Ah-Wu, or Wuwu, because again, that's weird, but he could be referred to as yingying, or A-Ying. As you can see in the donghua, his brother called him by his full name, which is Wei Wuxian, his surname and given name. Lan Wangji called him by Wei Ying, which is much more intimate. I'm fairly certain his adopted father called him by A-Ying, but I could be wrong. His friend Nie Huaisang called him Wei-xiong, or brother Wei. It's the Mandarin equivalent of just saying 'bro.' Similarly, Lan Xichen refered to his brother by Wangji, which is the familial use of Lan Wangji's formal name, while Wei Wuxian, being the improper troublemaker that he is, calles Lan Wangji by his birth name, Lan Zhan.

few points: - the character designs and storytelling came from the novel and they changed some detail from the novel (such as WWX wearing Jiang sect color all the way up until his fall to demonic ways) - Wei WuXian has to pretend to be lunatic, because if he's not he's too suspicious and will be lynched again. - it comes from Boys Love novel - if you think this is good story, there are other writers in cnovel domain that writes even better adventures and life story!

I really enjoy hearing what people have to say about MDZS that havent read the novel yet or that arent usually into bl/donghua.

There is actually a live action version of this show called "The Untamed".

mdzs was what got me falling into the xianxia/danmei rabbit hole. the plot/characters/writing was so well done that it got me craving for more and so i read and consumed all adaptations of all of mxtx’s works, scavenged for more danmei works, took every single recommendation for donghua/manhuas/light novels and im still pretty into this genre. nvr gonna escape and i dont want to😅 cant wait for future works and if u r thinking of watching this or any other of mxtx’s work, i highly recommend u read all!! it’s definitely a very emotional reading experience and u wont regret it for a second promise🤙

They didn’t kill him, he was killed by his own power. At least that’s what he himself said.

The Donghua hints and the gay relationship between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji (the two main characters) but because of Chinas censorship, it is only hinted at. However, if you read the book it is very clear. The book is explicit. Like, the relationship doesn't get in the way of the story, it fits perfectly... But they do also fuck in a bush.

Did you just complain about the Chinese animation being done... In Chinese?

If you liked mo dao zu shi, you should see tian guan ci fu (also called the heaven official's blessing). It is from the same authoro and it is really good, one of my favorite Chinese donghuas along with mdzs

I really love this story. I remember stumbling upon this novel even before the first season was released. I forgot to check out the tags and just dived into it since the reviews were good and boy am I glad. It is one of the best light novels I've ever read despite being a BL, a genre I am not a particular fan of. Donghua is good as well. Well made with nice music and it more or less follows the original plot of the novel (with minor differences) The only thing I did not like is that the MC looks identical whether it is the past or the present. Why? I've seen a lot of people getting confused because of this. If you are interested in other donghuas try watching other two from the same author (Scumbag System and Heaven Official's Blessing). Scumbag is a comedy (be aware though that it is CGI animation and not the best one. But the story is still quite enjoyable) while HOB has kind of the same flavor as Mo Dao. I would also recommend Luo Xiao Hei Zhan Ji (movie)

The story itself is much more deep than rust your normal resurrected-for-revenge story. The mc was perfectly fine staying dead. The story also highlights issues such as desire for power, fear of unknown powers and manipulation of societal views.

I’m a little late but long hair back in Chinese history is suppose to represent the intelligence of a man. You see, the beauty standard (if you can even call it a ‘beauty standard’) in China back then was intelligence and to show to women that your a scholar. Men would grow out their hair and this goes for the most of the dynasties, but the hairstyles were different in each dynasty. That is why in most Chinese anime or manga the men would have long hair to show their intelligence. For example, Nie Huaisang has shorter hair compared to the other characters, in MDZS is it implied that he is dumber and therefore he has shorter hair (for the ones who know the entire story you know that his hair is a red herring). And depending on which dynasty the hairstyles will be different (as stated before) so traditionally men would either tie or braid their hair. My Chinese family has explained this to me and I watched too many Chinese shows and operas growing up, so I’m pretty sure this essay I typed out is pretty accurate. (probably) It was kinda bothered me when you said that all the guys look like that they were all women.

As a Chinese, I only got into Donghua recently (only because being scarred by bad animations and stories previously). Link Click gave me faith in Donghua, and the second show I watched was Scissor Seven. I cannot praise Scissor Seven enough. A great mixture of slice of life, comedy, action and drama. Its second season moved from a “good” show to “wow, I’m seriously hooked” kind of show. I watched it in both original Chinese dub and English dub. It’s probably the only show I would recommend watch in English dub over the original dub (for those who don’t understand Chinese). Recently I watched Scumbag System, which is by the same author of MDZS. It has probably the worst animation I have seen and it’s in freakin CGI. But gosh, the story and the comedy are so strong, I overlooked the bad animation. Although it is still danmei/BL, the romantic tension is almost comedic? It’s a show that you can decide whether you like it or not in the first episode. Definitely recommend it a try as well.

The author of the original web novels has two other big series that they have written. Both have adaptations however Scum Villain Self Saving System has been shown less love than the other two. However the comedy is still top tier and deserves more attention 😭

Yes! Somebody else actually noticed the ATLA similarity. Also the chinese traditional instrument sound effects in the bg remind me so much of ATLA and its so nostalgic

I really really hope by now you watched seasons 2 & 3! The story is phenomenal and the art/animation only get better!

the plot makes more sense and the flow of emotion is better if you read the novel before you watch the anime

I started watching it because I was into the xianxia/cultivation genre, really liked it, started telling a friend about it, and then his girlfriend started laughing and said "you know that's a Boys' Love story, right?" (She's apparently into that stuff.) I actually hadn't figured that out, and I'd watched a season and a half by that point. That said, apparently those elements were toned way down from the source material, excluding literally explicit scenes. I just recommended it because it's one of the most solid xianxia I've run across, and the only solid xianxia I've seen animated. And if you stopped at the end of season one, do yourself a favor and watch the rest of it, because it is a fantastic flashback story of someone going from a rather happy-go-lucky dude to being Cultivation Voldemort while still remaining a rather sympathetic protagonist. BL isn't my main jam, but this is a good xianxia clan struggle story even without that - and the BL doesn't detract from that. (Also, as someone who also gets confused by Chinese names, I'm so happy they color-coded the clan outfits for us.)

Great video! I am glad you enjoyed it, it's a story that got many adaptations and is very loved. You summarized the world-building so well for someone who had 0 contexts, kudos to you. I also strongly suggest you watch the rest of the story because unlike many animes where newer seasons are just "expansion" of an existing story, this is one entire story where later plot will explain things from earlier on to make the full circle. Looking forward to future videos on it!

lmao i love mdzs, not just because its gay (its because its gay) but because of how good the story is! i literally have the first volume in physical form and im saving up to buy the rest lolol

One of the things I like about the relationship between Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan is that they don’t force anything. They let the story be pure and their relationship is just part of the story, it doesn’t revolve around that. And Wen Chao and his girlfriend got what they deserved, they were horrible! I love this show though, it’s absolutely awesome!

First timers are always the funniest. When he mentioned awkwardly that the show is SLIGHTLY gae,I lost my shit. I was full blown laughing and choking. The child looking like he saw something sus was only the icing of the cake. Anyways,did you know that while the show was being animated or made into series with real actors(because it was so famous that there were the novel version,manga version,donghua version and real actors version),it was decided that they had to stop advancing into the gae category so that all types of people could see it? I,myself was real disappointed when I found out about it cause I was looking for this gae shit myself to watch cause I'm a fan.

i noticed the animation is actually very good holy

It’s not “kinda” gay. It’s just gay - the two central characters are in love. That’s canon. They get married at the end. The narrator of this vid evidently had some kind of issue with that, which is sadly too often a male reaction. But the story goes way beyond their relationship. As the video shows, the context is fighting clans, cultivation, magic, ghouls, reincarnation, torture etc. If you don’t care about the central love story, there’s more than enough fun/sadness to be had in the action/adventure elements. (I also had difficulty telling everyone apart - it’s easier when you read the books where everyone does not ‘look’ the same and you can take notes of the names.)

Mo Dao Zu Shi or The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation was originally the second novel series written by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu or MXTX. MDZS is a Danmei novel series, for those of you who don’t know what Danmei is, it’s basically the chinese adaptation of BL or Boy’s Love. The main character is Wei Wuxian, and the main love interest is Lan Wangji. Wei Wuxian - Courtesy name Wei Ying - Birth name Yiling Patriarch - Title ------------ Lan Wangji - Courtesy name Lan Zhan - Birth name Hanguan-Jun - Title (he’s also sometimes referred to as “Lan-er gege” or “Second Brother Lan” by Wei Wuxian)

Omg this review is amazing. It is SO fascinating to see someone coming in only knowing japanese anime and coming in for the action. You're little note that it's "kinda gay" has me ROLLING. The primary genre of the novel it's based on (as I see many commenters have told you by now) is Danmei (Boy's Love), not even action. But with there being so much censorship in China, it is still kinda impressive that even someone like you that doesn't know that Wangxian is, in fact, canon, could still pick it up means the showrunners did a good job!

This show really made me a fan of donghua and chinese manhuas. Gotta say when u watch this without context it's easy to get confused. But the dynamic, relationship and conflict between the characters, the extraordinary plot and it's intricacy, the tragedy and beauty behind everything wei ying had to endure, the sincerety behind lan zhan's feelings towards wei ying is really heartwrenching and beautiful. The way their relationship developed and every betrayal, scheme, the backstories unfolded as the present and past flashbacks connected was an intriguing way to make the story more exciting imo. Also as an avid fan of Mo xiang tong xiu, the author behind mo dao zus hi, I'll also recommend her other two big work as it also contains lot of great romance and mysteries. Tho this one still remains the best for me. Just for note, maybe im a dumbass but i NEVER guessed who the mastermind was💀💀 heck i even forgot there was smn behind wei yings resurrection and all. Also it's irrelevant but i love lan yuan💗💓 That boy is too good for this world. And i totally believe he's wangxian's love child.

What i love is that even if the mc is shown as overpowered, the people he loves and his moral and emotions really affects his choices. Like sure he can basically defeat most people with a whistle but he doesnt because of his own morals.

I dunno, in Chinese anime the character entrances are just way more badass.

Is funny see when donghua watchers get lost in the plot, I mean, I just read the novel before I watch the donghua so I get some issues with the end of the dongua because at the end everything was so rushed(S3). but I think that's very well for the 36 chapters in which they summarized 111 of the novel... The donghua it's a BL and the novel too... all the works of MXTX are a BL. I recommend you Heaven Official Blessing and SVSSS, I love this both and HOB is an amazing novel

didn’t know anything when this show came out, binge watched all the season available and man did my heart failed a few times im not even here anymore the plot is amazing, if now heart-wrenchingly depressing to say the least

i love that you only mention that it's super gay in the last 10 seconds of the video

Well season 3 just finished and the story is now complete even in animated form which... To say the least is not very common So I think it's definitely worth a watch

You just refered to him as "Wu"?!?

Wow, I've never heard someone's review of MDZS from outside the danmei lense. Very nice insight and I'm glad you found it fun to watch despite not knowing anything about it first hand. When I first watched it I was new to donghua and the chinese language too, so I was so confused on what was happening (ppl having 3 names basically and soooo many characters). I stayed because of the reviews and I'm glad I did because I really love the story and characters.

🤣 Your 1st Chinese Anime experience happens in a "BL" category.

This show was so underrated, it deserves more recognition

I planned to rewatch this golden donghua but found a japanese version so I'm trying it out but heck this is the first time I will say I prefer the chinese version than a freakin' japanese version. Can you believe that?! Chinese donghua was just absolute banger. I also watched a similar donghua which was heaven official's blessing and boy was the animation BEAUTIFUL. Tho the stpryline might be a bit more boring than MDZS but boy the animation is just top-tier, all characters drawn their were GODLY!!

Well, YEAH, it's gay. It's written by a BL author who also wrote Scum Villain's Self-Saving System, and Heaven Official's Blessing. As long as you're not embarrassed or disgusted by it, keep watching. The animation gets better and better.

Kinda gay you say? I'm assuming you haven't read the novel yet. The extras get crazy. A swords gets-

I picked up the first novel on an impulse and struggled with the names and context in the beginning. I had to put the book down and do a little research on cultivation and some of the cultural references. Next thing I knew it clicked and I feel in love with the characters and story. I loved the dongua, and am currently watching the live action. Thanks for giving this series some attention, I'm really going it gets licensed in the U.S.

5:51 Not people with good taste, of course 🙌

bro u explained this so good. smiled throughout the whole explanation. seriously thank you so much and keep it up. also if u thought season 1 was gay, season 3 is probably the gayest. it seems like it was because they were rushed because their relationship is suppose to be more subtle.

"Another thing about this show is that Is pretty gay" the way you said it i was so confused, i was like duuuuh is pretty gay because is gay lmao but compared to the book this is nothing

So fun fact this show is just one of many adaptations. So going from most gay to least you have the novels, the webtoon, the anime, and the live-action version (it's called The Untamed).

I fkn love this chinese anime or donghua. FKN LIT The action scenes are so fkn smooth man 10/10

5:43 well the main characters got married and have a child in the novel so yea...very much fruity

I thought it was an amazing story and the frenemies gay love story is amazingly done! If this show doesn't cure homophobia I don't know what will... The only criticism I have is the opening soundtrack which I didn't like, and the female characters could have been more and better, but of course not the fault of the show.

I'm a year late but if you haven't go watch season 2 and 3 bro shit gets TOUGH. Every other month I go through a phase of obsessing over one particular character that was behind Wei Wuxian coming back from the dead and him meeting back up with Lan Zhan, as well as throwing them into solving a murder mystery. That particular character literally takes up my entire being rn that's one of my favorite character types. The type that you don't think much of but turn out to be these crazy masterminds.

You surmised the plot of season one really well but it got me so confused for a moment cause I forgot there are two more seasons. And I’m like. That’s not the whole plot… the story is actually a murder mystery I’m not even joking. It really good tho 😌

If I remember correctly Danmei literally means pretty men, so it became the a way to get around censorship laws in China .

I feel like I’ve heard a mobile game about this before

"Flying on swords is actually a common thing in Chinese novels, it’s just that I haven’t read any" could straight up be a quote from Philomena Cunk

2:20 I just wheezed like a tuberculosis patient

well never had an issue to say who character and whom was and i knew clearly what was about since i read the novel... yes is GREAT, even oif is a tad rushed, i can glue stuff from novel, donghua, manhua etc and the full story comes to life

theres also tgcf(tian guan ci fu)(heaven officals blessing) by th esame author also made into a donghua

Haha, I really like mdzs! Especially the novel, I love it sm. I wasn’t really into the donghua though, like it’s really well made but idk why- and I guess they appear feminine because of the long hair, which in ancient Chinese men and women have long hair so it makes sense

Wonderful summary and explanation, your praise gives me lots of 2nd hand happiness 😆

i have watched the donghua, read the novel, watched the Cdrama, listened to the audio drama and read the manhua. am i obsessed? nooooo

great channel cant wait for more 7DS videos and castelvania and much more. great qaulity content maybe a bit longer videos if u have the time

You were wrong about some stuff, mostly the reasoning about stuff, and then I found out you only watched season 1. It makes sense right now you only have the view point of the stories told about him in the cultivation world which get the reasons wrong, don't worry it's purposefully done by the writer

Fog Hill of Five Elements (Wu Shan Wu Xing) is another great one. Albeit it only has 3 episodes so far. However the animation and art style is absolutely amazing. And it has a great story setup I think. I really do hope they finish the series

I see Wei Wuxian, I click.

Btw in the daily life of the immortal king, the same idea on cultivation to be more powerful is present too

Such an amazing story! 🔥❤ Great video! 🤗

I remember this it was good but if you're not paying attention it can get a bit confusing in the middle

You should get into more donghua and especially Chinese novels! I’d like to recommend Lord of the Mysteries and Reverend insanity. Including all anime, manwha, and stuff like that- I’d say they’re some of the best stories I’ve ever seen- easily topping popular anime like Onepiece for me and berserk. Though it’s hard to compare when they’re quite different stories from eachother. Both these novels have extrmely hype scenes tho

I love hearing from people that they watched the show and found out only after that the main characters are actually gay lmao

Yeahhh it's insanely gay just because of the show being made by a Chinese company they censored a bunch of it but yeah if anyone ends up reading the novle or smt then you'll see why the needed to censor alot

Mo Dao zu shi the animation is censored cause of laws in China, but if you read the novels it's 18+ at some parts mainly the extras. There is a Manhua as well.

Man, finish it i swear you won't regret it djfnkvn (i was waiting for the innevitable: "and then i realized it was based on a bl novel" but then i read the description and laughed so hard dksfnv

Thank you for this. I needed some crazy fights.

I wasnt convinced but then you said it's super gay and now im sold

grandmaster is one of the best stories ever, but you should read the original novel about it^^ it is amazing too, the real life version is actually amazing too

If only season 3 was not so rushed. The donghua is really a masterpiece

Ngl the flute part sounds like one of the stories in a book series from malaysia

It's based on a novel, please read it.. I'm sure you'll enjoy that alot too

I'm not sure, but I think the style is called 古代风格， it's like, ancient chinese times, and back in the day they had extremely long hair(which i could never have), and I'm pretty sure almost everyone was wearing clothing that showed no legs- so basically no skin

Its a very complete show, it has drama, action, intriguing tragedy, mystery, suspense, little bit of comedy and romance (it is more like bromance) bc china its very strict with these themes, and hardcore fans have to buy the books to read the juicy stuff. But I think it is a very clever plot in general, and very enjoyable to see for anyone, don't let your google search discourage you.

If you’ve read the novel before watching the anime, the names are not difficult to remember. Plus watching chibi anime, live action drama and reading manhua/manga also help 😅😝

If you want a deep dive into a normal cultivation chinese novel I 100% recommend "I shall seal the heavens" I have read a lot of chinese novels and some do feel a bit like the omg overpowered protagonist cringe isekai but this one , each time I got bored, took a break and came back, I'll be hooked back in no time! This is one of the few I have actually finished (Its hard since Chinese novels can have 4 thousand and more chapters) and I did not feel like it was stretched out, I just felt that rare feeling of loss when you read a masterpiece and after you try going back to read regular stuff you can't be satisfied anymore (that happened ) You don't need to force your self try to read a few chapters and then go at your own pace if you like it!

Their word for anime starts with dong that settled their a nation of dong lovers

have you thought that the Wen clan is not just similar to the fire benders from avatar, but a direct reference to imperial japan and its rising sun flag? You're welcome.

Its called "Mo dao zu shi" there is also a drama of it called "the untamed" have fun watching ❤

it's very gay because they are gay lol😭 is a romance of tragedy and anguish on your journey but the end being happy for the couple they get married in the end and it's a relief because after so many tragedies and the protagonist's death separating them finally they got peace and I think it's cool that when they get together it's not like the world stops even though they have peace wei wuxian finds himself again teaching the juniors (which he's been doing since he came back to life but in the end it's official) Lan wangji continued his work in the Lan sect and they're living happily that's what matters some extras from the novel are 🔞🔞🔞 but overall the adventure, mystery and romance are well balanced sad that because of censorship in both donghua and live action they cut this balance, it's still there but it feels more like fansservise than really a true romance for those who don't know the novel :(( the manhua (hq) designer managed to "cheat" the censor and put the kissing scenes anyway I love this story and all its adaptations despite the censorship

I don’t even know why im watching this, i already read the novel back in 2019, read the comic, watched the show and donghua and grew up engaging with the genre. Great vid i suppose considering how it had me hooked throughout

It's literrally perfect, one of the best novel i've read, one of the best anime i've seen, one of the best webcomic i've scrolled and the best drama i've watched ( yes so many version and you'll always enjoy the whole story )

This story has its hooks in me. The novel series is really good to. I 100% recommend it.

I just finished reading the second novel, and first when watching this video did I get the plot

It's definitely one of the best stories I ever read/watched highly recommend 🙌🏻