The Master of Diabolism 3

GleefulViolin★ 10

This final season along with the previous two seasons are truly masterpiece! Mo Dao Zu Shi series is the first donghua I've ever watched, but I knew it's the best donghua ever made. Thanks to Mo Dao Zu Shi, the past several years I have been fangirling over WangXian (Lan Wangji x Wei Wuxian). All started with the first season, then I read the original novel.. And then manhua version (I skip the Untame, because it's the least accurate adaptation of the original novel--and live action version isn't my cup of tea). Compared to the first two seasons, this final season shows more of WangXian's relationships. Notexplicit or anything, because it's donghua.. But it gives huge satisfaction to me who are watching Mo Dao Zu Shi because its BL elements. But worry not for non-BL fan, you won't be made sick because of it. This donghua adaptation is practically stripped the BL element from the original novel, but it doesn't "kill" the flow of relationships between the characters. I suggest you read the original novel, because you will find tons of Easter eggs there. But keep in mind that the novel is rather explicit and heavy theme on BL elements *wink* As this is the final season, all hell break loose here! The climax and the unanswered questions from fans who aren't reading the original novel will be answered here. As for me who read the novel (and remember the story perfectly), I can say this donghua doing a very great job. Like I said in the beginning, this is masterpiece. If you ask me how it is a masterpiece, well.. You better find out yourself! P.S. Prepare some tissue or anything to wipe off the tears and snots before watching this.. You will need it. P.P.S. I will absolutely rewatch this again as I did with the two previous seasons.

Julio_Yifan★ 7

Before ushering my criticism, I would like to register that despite the flaws, this is a well above average show and is worth watching. I particularly like the artwork and overall aesthetic of the show. That being said, I'm somewhat disapointed with the final season. While i would rate the first 2 seasons of this show among the best in anime in the last decade, this final season dropped significantly in quality. Firstly the story in this season is rushed. For the sake of comparison, in the live action version the story in this season accounts for half of the show runtime,while here it is compressed into less episodes than the first season. This leaves significant characters without proper development. Many moments are robbed of their due emotional payoff. Also some of the transitions will be confusing for those who only seem the anime, at parts the characters jump to a new place without it being clear how and why we got there and episodes often end at rather unatural moments. Besides the rushedness, the voice acting is also weaker in this season. Wei Wuxian is annoyingly monotonic, he sounds the same in highly tense or emotional moments as when he's just hanging out and being his typical sarcastic self. I can forgive Lan Wanji being monotonic, as that is part of his character, but not Wei Wuxian. Even the writing itself is weaker and many of the emotional payoff moments fall flat. The soundtrack of the show is functional, there is nothing particularly remarkable, but all in all it is competently done. *** In what follows I'll draw some comparisons between the anime and the live action version of the show. For the first two seasons the anime compares favorably to the live action version, being superior in visual aesthetics, action and even pacing, while being relatevely equal on other aspects. In the third season, the anime is still ahead in visual aesthetic and action scenes. But in the acting and storytelling, the live action version compares favorably. Neither version of the show is well paced, the live action moves too slowly, while the anime moves too fast. To give one specific example of the differences in writing, one particular difference in the order of events robs the anime of one of the most emotionally impactfull moments in the story: **** SPOILERS AHEAD **** In the live action version the Jiang Cheng golden core reveal happens before the final confrontation with Jin Guangyao, this makes it much more impactfull and emotional since at this point Wei Wuxian is not "fully cleared" in the death of Yanli and Zixuan and Jiang Cheng has legitimate reason to behave how he does. In the anime version this is left for the last episode, which makes Jiang's actions appear out of place and the reveal fells more like rubbing it in his face than something with actual emotional impact. To finish the review, overall I give this season a 7, while the show as a whole would be an 8.5 for me. I think this season could greatly benefit from a good english dub, improving on the extremely flat voice acting displayed in the original.