Yes, MDZS Is Actually Worth the Hype
There's a reason why Wangxian transcends borders.
Welcome to the inaugural issue of Klaudia's Corner!
Each issue, I bring you 1 piece of media that has captivated my heart and soul lately, and break apart why it is wonderful, why it is (or could be) popular, and why you will love it, too.
All that being said, my first piece of media to analyze is an international phenomenon I am years late to because I knew it would become my entire personality.
drumroll please....
Mó Dào Zǔ Shī, (or MDZS)
by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù
MDZS is a Chinese danmei webnovel by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù, referred to by fans as MXTX. You may know MDZS by its extremely popular (especially in the west when it came to Netflix) live action c-drama, The Untamed. The original novel's official English translation is called Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation. If you've been in any fan circles, you probably have heard of it by the main relationship it centers, Wangxian, which quite literally broke the fan fiction Archive of Our Own one time.
(Here is a good primer on danmei, and MDZS' role in its popularity, for the uninitiated. I suggest reading this first before you go forward!)
There's a lot of danmei, cultivation novels, serialized Chinese webnovels, and costume c-dramas out there. What makes MDZS so special?
I can't actually answer that, because I am not an expert in any of those genres or mediums, and like many non-Chinese speaking people in the west, MDZS was my gateway drug to some of them. So here I'll be talking about the story on its own, with as few spoilers as possible.
Simply put, there are many pieces of media I love, that bring me joy, solace, or meaning, and that stand out as just stellar works of art. But there are a few, a short list, that literally rewrite my brain chemistry. These stories don't just make me feel an emotion in the moment, but change how I walk through the world. MDZS is one of them.
I fully went into MDZS thinking I'd enjoy it for the love story (which is absolutely 100% off the wall phenomenal), and for the fantasy, because I just love a good fantasy yarn. I did not think I'd come out of it a changed person. This might be a product of when I read it (and watched its adaptations), a weird transitional point in my life, but also now having read some of the author's other work (which is great for other reasons), I know it really is special.
First of all, I am a sucker for a misunderstood antihero kind of story. Another piece of media I consider on that short list of "rewrote my brain chemistry and philosophy on life" is Wicked, and ironically, it has many similarities. The Wicked musical starts with "Good news! She's dead!" which is EXACTLY how MDZS begins, too. Good news! The Yiling Patriarch, Wei Wuxian is dead! Fuck that guy! He sucked! (Followed by 5 volumes of why actually he didn't suck, everybody around him actually did.)
The Lotus Pier's hottest club has everything:
Obviously, the romance, which is not only genuinely well written, but complex. And yes, it does have a happy ending (although unlike western capital R Romance novels, it is not required in danmei), but boy, will you suffer beforehand. And everyone around them will suffer. But in between the suffering are some of the cutest, but also heartrendingly beautiful, but also funny as hell romantic moments of all time.
Platonic love held to an equal standard, and depicted with just as much detail and care. The devotion someone would go through for a brother, a sister, a friend, a nephew, or even strangers, is explored with the same depth as the romantic devotion Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian have for each other.
Genre hopping shenanigans, from teens solving a murder mystery with their fun gay uncle, to TWO tragic love triangles, to a multigenerational war between magical clans, to a teen school romance, to the horror of necromancy and zombies, to 5 tragedies of self sacrifice in a trench coat, and so, so much more.
Incredibly complex and interesting side characters, while never having the boring hero problem either. Even characters that appear for small moments have such interesting motivations and personalities. This is something I love about the writer MXTX's style, where characters will react in really quite normal ways to when weird things happen, which isn't always common in genre fiction. Usually, characters in these fantastical situations react in the way most necessary to the plot or characterization, but in MDZS, they often just react the same way I, the reader, reacted - "Why are you talking like that, that's so weird?" or "Does this weird anybody out?" or "Let's think of the most logical way to go about this," or "God that guy is such an asshole."
COMEDY! This story will make you rip your hair out crying most of the time, but it still remains funny as hell at such random moments, kind of like life. This is another testament to MXTX's style, which feels so human and lived in, and despite it being a story about magical cultivators and necromancy, the characters feel so NORMAL. (This is probably why some of the most popular MDZS fanfiction is modern AUs, because these people really do feel like they could fit in any era). Life is full of constant ups and downs, and comedy comes at the weirdest of times, randomly, or as a coping mechanism, or even a form of kindness. A tragic and dark story that can have that perfect balance with comedy will always have a special place in my heart, because it encapsulates the random, wonderful weirdness of living.
Female characters who slay. Since this is a danmei novel about mostly men, female characters are sometimes few and far between, and even though most danmei is written by women, they can be lacking in lots of danmei and BL stories. There aren't a LOT of female characters in MDZS, and much like the male ones, their survival is uh....not guaranteed, but the ones we do have are so incredibly interesting, to the point where in several of the adaptations their roles are expanded extensively. Their relationships with the male characters are complex and interesting, their personalities lived in and their legacies MATTER to the male characters, not just in a fridge way.
A refreshing examination of grey morality. There's not a lot of "they're just a fucking bitch" villains and more "well he actually had a bad childhood" villains in popular media anymore, and the discourse has been truly awful for the past few years. But in MDZS, there's several antagonists, which represent the full range of morality. Some are "just a really fucked up guy," some are "I see where he's coming from but he still shouldn't have done that," and some are "that was justified, he's not a villain at all," with everything in between.
An extremely relevant and important main theme about the subjectivity of truth. Does the truth really matter, if what people believe is what counts in the end? This question powers the entire story, and every character's motivations. As someone who used to work in news, this theme always hits home for me - it doesn't matter what the truth is, if Fox News and the New York Times and Joe Rogan say it's the truth to enough people, they'll believe it, and then it doesn't really matter. And sometimes it doesn't feel worth it to fight back with the facts, or with what is right, because the popular opinion will always win. But what this novel, and stories like it that I love, say, is that even if you are alone in doing the right thing, you should still do it. Even if you suffer GREATLY because of it, even if everyone wrongly hates you for it, you deserve happiness in the end, and it's always worth it to do the right thing, but especially to speak about about the truth. It's this that makes Wei Wuxian so special to me personally as a character.
A fantasy story where several people are like "I'll allow being gay, but I draw the line at being gay for THAT GUY."
A story that encapsulates the real life randomness of cruelty, unlike in stories. Tragedies aren't always concocted by some villain, nor are they completely random accidents. Sometimes they're just shitty people doing petty shitty things. Sometimes someone is just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sometimes an accumulation of sorrow COULDN'T have been avoided, or maybe it could have, but the answer is never clear.
At least 3 plot twists that you REALLY do not want to be spoiled for because even me, resident neurodivergent with pattern recognition who can see a plot twist a mile away, did not see them coming.
So, how do you get into MDZS?
It's been translated into many languages, and the official English translation, which is 5 volumes, just finished publishing. It's become so popular that many libraries have the physical print volumes and/or ebook versions on Libby/Hoopla. (The books are beautiful, but can get expensive, and have a ton of beautiful art in them, which is why I recommend trying your library first, or going the ebook route to purchase).
Note: If this is your first danmei or cultivation novel and/or you are not a Chinese speaker, the glossary in the back is pretty helpful. I'd avoid reading the character guide because that has spoilers, but brush up on all the honorifics because they DO matter. It's also helpful for when you watch other versions of the story, because the less than stellar subtitles will often translate just the person's name, while the character is actually saying that person's name with a specific honorific or suffix or prefix that matters to their relationship. (Like how Wei Wuxian's sister Jiang Yanli calls him A-Xian versus Wei Wuxian).
2. Watch the donghua (the animated series), translated in English as Founder of Diabolism.
It's on the WeTV website, and also on YouTube, but after the first few episodes it is paywalled, so you may need to do some...🏴☠️. There is no English dub, so just watch it in Chinese with subtitles if needed. Currently, this is my favorite adaptation, but that is because I am partial to animation. The Final Eyes Summoning in the Yi City arc is exactly the way I imagined it reading the book.
Note: Yes, because this is mainland Chinese media it will be censored a bit in some way, but every adaptation finds clever ways to get around it (in the donghua, for example, keep an eye on the blood pool scene where they mysteriously change into red wedding clothes).
3. Watch the chibi animated series, Founder of Diabolism Q.
They made this mini series in conjunction to the donghua. I love it very much, and it made me cry even though it is supposed to be funny. It's free and each episode is very short.
4. Watch the iconic live action c-drama, The Untamed.
Streaming on Netflix in most countries, this version changes a bit about the story, but takes a ton of time to give certain moments and characters more room, and does some really cool things to work around the censorship. The ending is a bit different from the original story in the novel, unlike the donghua, but it's iconic for a reason. They did incredible things on a shoestring budget, and the actors absolutely RAN with the story, with some career starting performances.
Note: If you are a kdrama or Thai drama fan and usually used to shorter series, just be warned that c-dramas tend to be longer and this is over 60 episodes. It's worth it though!
5. Read the manhua (the comic).
The English translation just started publishing. You can also check if your library has these volumes or request them, since MDZS is so popular, just like the original novel. It is also one of the most uncensored versions, except the explicit scenes, which the artist very helpfully drew anyway and posts on Twitter occasionally. (This fan posts translations of them once they go up, by the way. They are, obviously, very NSFW.) This story really lends itself to the comic format, and I love the character designs and range of expressions a lot.
6. Message me about it.
I have many thoughts and memes to send you. 😎
Content warnings
necromancy, death, blood, gore, dead bodies
stabbing, dismemberment, whipping, corporal punishment, torture, and weirdly, a lot of violent stuff with eyes
discussion of sexual assault occurring, but no actual depiction of it. (There is a depiction of sexual harassment in at least the animated series I believe)
some scenes of dubious consent, especially involving drinking, but nothing extremely serious. It's actually a topic that's explored a bit in terms of what certain characters are ok with
suicide and self harm, both depicted and mentioned, especially connected to homophobia, and familial abuse
SOME in universe and internalized homophobia, but it's not excessive (and often played as a joke)
Overall, what makes MDZS so rich and meaningful is that it feels balanced in every way. Balance between romantic, platonic, and familial love, balance between tragedy and comedy, balance between epic fantasy and intimate, hyper-characterized human moments, balance between extremes of huge themes. You'll come out of it feeling like you ate the perfect 10 course meal, but not like you're disgustingly full, and be perfectly satisfied on all sides. (Although, MXTX is notorious for leaving some things unexplained, but they end up not mattering that much in the end. Either way, you WILL want to read the fanfiction though, because it is impeccable).
This balance means there's something in there for everyone, so Of COURSE it would appeal to so many, and become an international sensation. (Extremely loveable main characters, and a major plot point being a beautiful song that each adaptation gets stuck in your head, doesn't hurt either).
Thank you for reading this VERY VERY long email, and if you'd like to chat about MDZS or have any questions, reply, or message me on social media (@ kaludiasays on all the platforms). See you next issue!