Mo Dao Zu Shi
Mo Dao Zu Shi is a Chinese donghua series based on the novel of the same name written by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. It is produced by Tencent Penguin Pictures and B.C May Pictures. The series depicts a fictional xianxia world where humans attempt to cultivate to a state of immortality, known as xian. The protagonist of the series, Wei Wuxian, due to certain circumstances, deviated from the conventional cultivation path to xian and eventually created Guidao.
The first season, titled Qian Chen Pian, aired from July 9 to October 6, 2018, on Tencent Video for 15 episodes. The second season, titled Xian Yun Pian, aired from August 3 to 31, 2019, for 8 episodes. A chibi series, titled Mo Dao Zu Shi Q, aired from July 31, 2020, to January 29, 2021, and ran for 30 episodes. The third and final season, titled Wán Jié Piān, aired from August 7 to October 16, 2021, for 12 episodes. The first two seasons were released on Crunchyroll on December 11, 2024.
Synopsis
Despite his efforts during the Sunshot Campaign to bring down the tyrannical Wen Clan, Wei Wuxian was feared by the world for the unorthodox cultivation path he created. Thirteen years after he was killed, he is summoned into the body of a man called Mo Xuanyu, who was rejected by his clan and despised by his family, therefore sacrificing his own body to Wei Wuxian so he would be avenged. It is in the Mo house where Wei Wuxian comes across a dismembered left arm causing death and havoc. His attempts to uncover the mystery of the left arm will guide him to a familiar face from the past with whom he will embark on a journey that will lead them to unravel what lies behind the tragic events that caused the deaths of so many, including Wei Wuxian himself.Characters
Main characters
Wei Ying, courtesy name WuxianVoiced by: Lu Zhixing, Zhang Jie, Shim Gyu-hyuk, Tatsuhisa Suzuki, Ryohei Kimura
Lan Zhan, courtesy name Wangji.
Voiced by: Wei Chao, Bian Jiang, Ryu Seung-gon, Satoshi Hino, Shinnosuke Tachibana
Gusu Lan Clan
Lan Clan of Gusu is a cultivation clan based in the Cloud Recesses, a residence on a remote mountain outside the city of Gusu. All disciples wear a white band across their foreheads. Additional embroidery of the clan emblem adorns the headbands of inner disciples, who are from the inner family.Clan Motto: Upright; Righteous
Clan Emblem: Rolling Clouds
Lan Huan, courtesy name Xichen.
Voiced by: Wang Kai, Jin Xian, Kim Young-sun, Morikawa Toshiyuki
Lan Xichen is the leader of the Lan Clan. Titled Zewu-Jun, he is one of the Three Zun alongside his sworn brothers Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao, the latter of with whom he shares an especially close relationship. He has a warm and trusting personality.
Lan Qiren
Voiced by: Song Ming, Liu Cong, Lee Chang-min, Shingaki Tarusuke, Sakamaki Mitsuhiro
Lan Yuan, courtesy name Sizhui
Voiced by: Qian Wenqing, Chengzhang Taikang, Nam Doh-hyeong, Yūsuke Kobayashi, Shimba Tsuchiya
Lan Jingyi
Voiced by:, Wang Chenguang, Jeong Joo-won, Hiro Shimono, Soma Saito
Lanling Jin Clan
Jin Clan of Lanling is a cultivation clan based in Golden Carp Tower, Lanling.Meng Yao, legitimized as Jin Guangyao
Voiced by: Jiang Guangtao, Yang Tianxiang, Lee Ho-san, Akira Ishida
Jin Ling, courtesy name Rulan
Voiced by: Li Lanling, Su Shangqing, Lee Kyung-tae, Ayumu Murase, Yuki Kaji
Jin Guangshan
Voiced by: Xiao Tan, Li Longbin, Park Sang-hoon, Sho Hayami
Jin Zixuan
Voiced by: Liu Mingyue, Gu Jiangshan, Kim Hyun-wook, Hiroki Takahashi, Kenji Akabane
An outstanding talent, Jin Zixuan initially disdained the betrothal he had to Jiang Yanli, whom he viewed as unremarkable, but he gradually grew to love her after understanding her true character. He died when Jin Ling was still a toddler.
Qin Su
Mo Xuanyu
Voiced by: Tong Xin, Zhang Jie, Shim Gyu-hyuk, Nakayama Kazuhisa, Ryohei Kimura
Qinghe Nie Clan
Nie Clan of Qinghe is a cultivation clan that resides in the Unclean Realm.Nie Huaisang
Voiced by: Qi Sijia, Liu Sanmu, Kim Myung-jun, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Natsuki Hanae
Nie Mingjue
Voiced by: Feng Sheng, Guan Shu'ai, Lee Hyeon, Kenjiro Tsuda, Hiroshi Shirokuma
Qishan Wen Clan
Wen Clan of Qishan is a cultivation clan based in the Nightless City. The clan was destroyed during the Sunshot Campaign, where some survivors, specifically Wen Ning and Wen Qing's family branch, were taken under the wing of Wuxian.Clan Emblem: the Sun, meaning to compete with the sun and to live as long as the sun
Wen Ning, courtesy name Qionglin.
Voiced by: Teng Xin, Shao Tong, Kim Ji-yul, Soichiro Hoshi, Nobunaga Shimazaki
Wen Qing
Voiced by: Shan Xin, Qiao Shiyu, Kim Yul, Chiwa Saito, Ayako Kawasumi
Wen Ruohan
Voiced by: Chen Siyu, Yan Ming, Kim Jinhong, Kenji Nomura, Kenta Miyake
Wen Xu
Wen Chao
Voiced by: Hao Xianghai, Liang Xiaoqiang, Kim Jin-hong, Sugiyama Noriaki, Hiroyuki Yoshino
Zhao Zhuliu, renamed as Wen Zhuliu
Voiced by: Wang Minna, Hu Yajie, Katsuyuki Konishi, Keikō Sakai
Wang Lingjiao
Voiced by: Yan Mengmeng, Qiu Qiu, Gang Sihyeon, Shizuka Itō, Kana Asumi
Yunmeng Jiang Clan
Jiang Clan of Yunmeng is a cultivation clan located in Yunmeng's Lotus Pier.Clan Motto: Knowing it's impossible, attempt to achieve it
Clan Emblem: Nine petal lotus
Jiang Cheng, courtesy name Wanyin,
Voiced by: Peng Yao, Guo Haoran, Jang Min-hyeok, Hikaru Midorikawa
Jiang Yanli
Voiced by: Qiao Shiyu, Li Shimeng, Kang Eun-ae, Ayana Taketatsu, Saori Hayami
Jiang Fengmian
Voiced by: Zhang Zhen, Tang Shuiyu, Seo Won-seok, Kenyū Horiuchi, Kenji Hamada
Yu Ziyuan
Voiced by: Zhang Kai, Ji Guanlin, Jeon Suk-kyeong, Atsuoko Tanaka, Takako Honda
Yi City Arc
During Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji's mission, they arrived at Yi City and bumped into Lan Sizhui, Lan Jingyi, Jin Ling and some other disciples from different clans during their night hunt. From there, they uncover the truth of Xiao Xingchen's death.Xue Yang, courtesy name Chengmei.
Voiced by: Hui Long, Kondo Takashi, Kōki Uchiyama
Xiao Xingchen
Voiced by: Chen Hao, Shinnosuke Tachibana, Kaito Ishikawa
Song Lan, courtesy name Zichen.
Voiced by: Wu Lei, Shinichiro Miki, Takuya Eguchi
A-Qing
Voiced by: Yang Ning, Nie Xiying, Shitaya Noriko, Aoi Yūki
Reception
The series received overwhelmingly positive reviews for its high production quality and storyline, and amassed a notable Internet fandom both in China and overseas. On Douban, Mo Dao Zu Shi rated 8.8 out of 10, making it one of the best received donghua series in China in 2018.The series has since become a worldwide hit, ultimately generating 4.63 billion views on Tencent's streaming platform as of 2022. The series holds a rating of 9.5 out of 10 on both Tencent and WeTV platforms, cementing its status as one of the most acclaimed donghua series in the world.
International broadcast
Outside China, Mo Dao Zu Shi was officially released by Tencent on its official YouTube channel on August 27, 2019. It was also released by WeTV, a streaming platform for overseas users created by Tencent, under the title of The Founder of Diabolism. The WeTV app provides official subtitles in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Thai, and Indonesian, while YouTube provided subtitles for at least 12 different languages for the first few episodes.On September 30, 2019, Laftel's Twitter account announced the donghua's South Korean broadcast, both in dubbed and subtitled format. Season 1's subtitled version aired from November 11 to December 29, 2019. while the dubbed version aired from April 3 to June 14, 2020. For Season 2, the subtitled version aired from January 11 to February 2, 2020, while the dubbed version aired from June 28 to July 19, 2020. The dubbed version starred Shim Gyu-huk as Wei Wuxian and Ryu Seung-gon as Lan Wangji. Mo Dao Zu Shi Q subtitled version aired from December 3, 2020, to February 14, 2021.
On September 7, 2020, a dubbed version of the donghua started airing on the Russian cable network.
In Japan, the subtitled version for Seasons 1 and 2 were broadcast on WOWOW network on September 9 and November 4, 2020, and Season 3 on November 10, 2022. The dubbed version was produced by Aniplex and Sony Music Solutions and starred Ryohei Kimura as Wei Wuxian and Shinnosuke Tachibana as Lan Wangji, with Seasons 1 and 2 airing from January 10 to June 13, 2021. Blu-ray discs for Season 1 came out on April 21, 2021, and Season 2 on June 23, 2021. Both Blu-ray sets include the Japanese dub version as well as the original Chinese audio with Japanese subtitles. Mo Dao Zu Shi Q subtitled version is available for streaming on Rakuten TV. It won 1st place in the Anime Top 5 category during the first half period of Rakuten TV Award 2022, based on the number of units sold from December 2021 to May 2022.
On December 10, 2024, Crunchyroll announced that it would stream the first 2 seasons of the donghua in most countries except for Japan, Korea, mainland China, and Russian speaking territories under the title The Master of Diabolism.