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Reviews tagging 'Body horror'
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (Novel) Vol. 1 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
51 reviews
wickedgrumpy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Pretty solid start for a series. There's a huge cast of characters who have various forms of address so it can be difficult to keep track of everything in the beginning.
The dynamic between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji is hard to describe of only because you don't know the whole history they have yet, nor where it will go in the future. So far, one is basically a class clown/jock type while the other is a stoic nerd type and I'm having a great time with it.
The dynamic between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji is hard to describe of only because you don't know the whole history they have yet, nor where it will go in the future. So far, one is basically a class clown/jock type while the other is a stoic nerd type and I'm having a great time with it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Body horror, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, War, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Outing, Physical abuse, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Bullying
nightivy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, War, Genocide, Violence, Blood, Mental illness, Body horror, Confinement, and Suicide
miraileah's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
4.0. Read after watching the show The Untamed. A good time! I respect the choices the show made in changing from the novels, but I’m enjoying the novels as well! Certainly easier to keep track of things when I can read them though!
Plot summary for my purposes: This volume tracks WWX dying, waking up in Mo Xuanyu’s body, the Mo Manor stuff, Mt. Dafan stuff, going to Cloud Recesses and WWX being a goof, one quick flashback to WWX and LWJ meeting for the first time and general Cloud Recesses era WWX content, subduing the arm, going to the Nie Burial Tomb and finding Jin Ling in a wall, getting the leggies, going to Yueyang, drunk LWJ content, finding the torso at the Chang clan graveyard, then leaving for coffin town.
Plot summary for my purposes:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol and Homophobia
Minor: War
graceskate's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Gore
Moderate: Physical abuse, War, Death of parent, Alcohol, Confinement, Death, Self harm, Torture, Grief, Homophobia, and Mental illness
Minor: Suicide attempt, Outing, Sexism, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicide
r1vana's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Alcohol, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, and Bullying
Minor: Self harm, Suicide, and Homophobia
aromarrie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, and Violence
Minor: Homophobia
kayaks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Mo Dao Zu Shi has had me within its grip for years—I first devoured the live action adaptation and than the donghua & manhua that are out—that was years ago and I still have yet to escape the clutches of Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji.
I did read The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation awhile back using fan translations but never added it to my GR because I honestly skimmed it. Now that I actually have the translated copies I’m taking my sweet time annotating and allowing myself to be fully immersed into the story.
The first volume was a bit slow moving but I liked how it took its time jumping between the past and present. Also, since this isn’t censored we are getting so many delicious scenes of wangxian being wangxian (that is: hopelessly pining idiots who are theoretically smart but absolute dummies when it comes to love). Lan Wangji is down bad, Wei Wuxian remains obvious as ever, and the shared trauma of Wei Wuxian dying & coming back alive paints the majority of their sweet moments with angst.
In this volume we have WWX returning from the dead, WWX putting his foot in his mouth (our guy really needs to stop pointing out when people are orphans…), WWX shamelessly flirting with LWJ, LWJ being just as shameless, drunk!LWJ which is by far my favorite LWJ, some Yunmeng Trio Angst, and finally the Juniors being chaotic sweethearts.
Plot related things happened which were interesting especially once you already know how the story ends but for me, the best thing about MDZS is the complex relationships and dynamics that exist (there is not a day that doesn’t go by that I’m not gutted by Jiang Cheng & Wei Wuxian…Twin Pride of Yunmeng my beloved) so just watching these character run around is more than enough, although I do appreciate the intricate plot.
Anyways, onto the next volume (and most likely another rewatch of the live action…donghua…manhua…endless amount of fics on ao3…I don’t care how you package these characters I will never not love them)
If you ever want to know what sums up the Wangxian dynamic it’s essentially this: one of them being a devoted and pining fool and the other being so dense & stupid it actually hurts. And that’s exactly why I love them.
Wei Wuxian pointed at himself with a wide, happy grin. “What about this one?”
“Mine,” Lan Wangji answered.
“…” Lan Wangji gazed intently at him and repeated, impeccably, clearly, emphasizing the word, “Mine.” Wei Wuxian suddenly got it. He took off Bichen and thought, I pointed at myself just now, but Lan Zhan probably misunderstood “this one” as Bichen on my back.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Gore, and War
Moderate: Homophobia
kellan_writes's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is the first translated work I've read that wasn't for school. I enjoyed it a lot. It is a Chinese Fantasy novel. We follow Wei Wuxian, a powerful Cultivator who went down a very dark path and was eventually killed by those he'd once considered friends and family. Sixteen years after his death, his soul awakens in the body of a disturbed young man who wants Wei Wuxian to exact revenge on his behalf. But the past refuses to stay buried and he must unravel this mystery with the help of his friend Lan Wangji, a very proper and powerful cultivator himself.
This is the first book of five and I loved it. The characters are well rounded, and even the more antagonistic characters are enjoyable. For a story with many dark twists and turns, it is suprisingly lighthearted and funny. The only reason I didn't give this book a 5 star rating is simply that the first chapter was not very enjoyable to read and I almost gave up on the book very early because of it. However once that smaller part of the larger story was finished the book picked up pace and it was very hard to put down. A definite recommend, cannot wait to read the next book.
This is the first book of five and I loved it. The characters are well rounded, and even the more antagonistic characters are enjoyable. For a story with many dark twists and turns, it is suprisingly lighthearted and funny. The only reason I didn't give this book a 5 star rating is simply that the first chapter was not very enjoyable to read and I almost gave up on the book very early because of it. However once that smaller part of the larger story was finished the book picked up pace and it was very hard to put down. A definite recommend, cannot wait to read the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror
justkyliep's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This translation is not especially good, but it doesn't totally destroy the tone. I would recommend seeking out a fan-translation if you want more faithful language. Personally, I think reading a couple chapters from the (now incomplete) ExR fan-translation and then swapping to the 7S translation for the rest is a good balance of accuracy and accessibility. I hope to see a better translation of this novel one day.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Sexual harassment
raypaws's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Gore, Murder, Alcohol, and Blood
Minor: Homophobia, Torture, and War