The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation or Mo Dao Zu Shi is a donghua (Chinese anime). It is often titled as the “best dongua” to have been produced till date and it deserves this title. This anime is extremely beautiful and has one of the best characters that I have ever seen.
Without further adieu let’s look at “15 Donghua like The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation”.
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Table of Content
Chinese Anime Similar to Mo Dao Zu Shi
Table of Contents
15. Swallowed Star
| Similarity | Character Writing | Plot | Animation | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
7/20 |
8/10 |
7/10 |
6/10 |
28/50 |
This story is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the RR virus (reminds you of covid, doesn’t it?) has taken over the world. It is capable of turning organisms into man-eating beasts. These beasts have a hierarchical system where they are ranked from king, general, captain, major and so on.
The demons get stronger as their cranial capacity (basically intelligence) increases. When pushed to the corner humanity decides to fight back. The best of the fighters are called “warriors”. Our protagonist, Luo Feng, aspires to become one. Our protagonist struggles financially and is deciding on a career path. The story then follows him supporting his family and him protecting Mankind from those beasts.
14. Psychic Princess
| Similarity | Character Writing | Plot | Animation | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
10/20 |
8/10 |
5/10 |
6/10 |
29/50 |
Psychic Princess is about our protagonist, Qian Yunxi, who is the eldest daughter of Prime Minister Mansion and she is a psychic (if you already didn’t figure it out from the title of the show). Because of her strange ability, she is forced to live on a mountain on her own.
Her father arranges a political marriage with Prince Ye instead of her younger sister. They did this to maintain peace and harmony as Prince Ye was an enemy to her father. He doesn’t care about her and sends her away to a haunted house. However, throughout the series Prince Ye develops feelings for her.
13. Drowning Sorrows in Raging Fire
| Similarity | Character Writing | Plot | Animation | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
8/20 |
7/10 |
8/10 |
7/10 |
30/50 |
In this donghua, there are humans who possess certain powers that most humans don’t have, such powers are called special abilities. An organization by the name of “National Anomaly Prevention and Control and Special Species Management Office ” keeps them in check and makes sure that they don’t misuse their powers.
This donghua has two main characters, the first MC is Qi Zheng Emperor Sheng, who has reawakened after a thousand years and our second MC is Xuan, who has newly transferred to the “Reparation Division of Deviant Control Office”.
The best thing about this donghua are the characters. I would recommend going in blind for this series.
12. Antidote
| Similarity | Character Writing | Plot | Animation | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
8/20 |
7/10 |
8/10 |
8/10 |
31/50 |
Our protagonist, Cheng Ke, comes from a rich background, however, he is exiled from his family and meets Yu Jiang, who happens to be a gang leader. Cheng rents an apartment and it just so happens that Yu Jiang is the landlord. Cheng is unable to do the most menial tasks and needs to rely on Jiang for such tasks.
Their friendship progresses throughout the series into a beautiful bond that cannot be broken. They are both haunted by their past lives and there are mysterious parties involved as well that follow their every move. Cheng and Jian must support each other to overcome these obstacles.
11. Beryl and Sapphire
| Similarity | Character Writing | Plot | Animation | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
7/20 |
9/10 |
8/10 |
7/10 |
31/50 |
“Beryl and Sapphire” is about Beryl and Sapphire and every episode has a different setting. In one of the episodes, it’s about Sapphire writing a book in ancient China, in one of the other episodes Beryl and Sapphire are in modern China where they are the leaders of two different firms, and so on.
Sapphire is timid, careless and he is an idiot whereas Beryl is calm, careful and sharp. Both of them complement each other really well and it’s fun watching them mess around with one another.
If you are not looking for a serious anime, I would recommend this series.
10. The Emperor’s Strategy
| Similarity | Character Writing | Plot | Animation | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
13/20 |
6/10 |
7/10 |
5/10 |
31/50 |
The setting of this donghua is set in ancient China and mainly focuses on the two neighboring countries of Chu and Xian. Our protagonist, Chu Yuan, the emperor to the Chu kingdom, makes every move carefully as a moment of inattentiveness could cost him his kingdom and his position. However a civil war starts in his country as soon as he ascends to the throne. The old guard are keen to see how Chu Yuan, the new emperor of the Chu kingdom, will put an end to this.
However, Duan Baiyue,the young Xinan King, resolves the civil war on his own. With this act, his popularity increases and outshines Yuan. Chu Yuan must win back his respect and his popularity as the emperor of the Chu kingdom.
The story is great and the characters are likeable, however the animation is awful. Had the animation been better this donghua would have been much higher on the list.
9. Dinghai Fusheng Lu
| Similarity | Character Writing | Plot | Animation | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
14/20 |
6/10 |
7/10 |
7/10 |
34/50 |
The world was in turmoil and the masters of the world were eager to take action. Our protagonist, Chen Xing, an exorcist, was entrusted with a mission by his master, Baili Lun, to leave Mount Hua, where he was initially residing and move to the world of humans in order to put an end to this turmoil.
Following the instructions of his master, Chen Xing climbs down the mountain, however, he doesn’t know where to go or how to put an end to this chaos and destruction. That is when he thinks of asking the only person that he knows of for help. That person was the “Guardian God of War” and he was in the city of Xiangyang. Xiangyang was a city that he used to dream about.
It is now up to Chen and the guardian god of war to save the entire world.
8. Battle Through The Heavens
| Similarity | Character Writing | Plot | Animation | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
14/20 |
7/10 |
6/10 |
7/10 |
34/50 |
Our protagonist, Xian Yan, is a Qi master. He has been practicing Qi ever since he was 4 years old. He reached level 9 of Duo-Qi at the age of 10 and at the age of 11, he broke through a level 10 Duo-Qi. However, his Qi levels keep decreasing for years.
When he turns 15, he is tired and has given up on the fact that he will get stronger. Then, a spirit by the name of Yao Lan appears from his ring and tells him that he kept stealing his powers for years to get stronger. Later, his family gets assassinated and he sets out on a journey to avenge his family.
The plot along with the MC keeps getting better in the successive seasons so I would really recommend this series.
7. Legend of Exorcism
| Similarity | Character Writing | Plot | Animation | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
12/20 |
7/10 |
8/10 |
8/10 |
35/50 |
Kong Hongjun is half god and half demon. However, he is a good natured person. His father, Zhongming, was defeated by a black dragon 200 years ago and ever since, he hasn’t returned to the world of the mortals. If the black dragon isn’t defeated, the demons will rise and the mortal world would be plunged into misery and chaos.
To put an end to this, Kong’s uncle (his uncle doesn’t care about him, so it doesn’t matter to him if he is dead or alive) sends him to the world of the mortals to defeat the black dragon.
6. Spirit Pact
| Similarity | Character Writing | Plot | Animation | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
14/20 |
7/10 |
7/10 |
7/10 |
35/50 |
You Keika is a fortune teller, and he is awful at it and doesn’t take it seriously. He used to be an exorcist however that did not workout for him. Everyone in his family was a famous exorcist but he isn’t cut out for it.
One day, when he is at a dump site, he finds a silver-haired man, Tanmoku Ki, fighting against a girl who is an evil spirit. You Keika wakes up to discover that he was killed in a traffic accident (it is always truck-kun) and he has become a spirit.
The person who gives him this news is Tanmoku Ki, who is the 13th Youmeshi of the Tanmoki, the highest-ranking exorcist family of China. He then offers to form a pact with You Keika: he will protect him from humans and in return, You Keika will become his spirit shadow, and protect him at all times. This donghua is really funny, you should check it out.
A few things have been left out in the anime so I would recommend reading the source material.
5. Scumbag System
| Similarity | Character Writing | Plot | Animation | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
15/20 |
8/10 |
8/10 |
6/10 |
37/50 |
Shen Yuan gets isekai’d as a young farmer, Shen Qingqiu, and he is the teacher of Luo Binghe, the OP MC from a novel called “Proud Immortal Demon Way”.
However, Shen Qingqiu is actually the villain of the novel and he is destined to die at the hands of his own disciple, so he tries to prevent his own death. However, he is monitored by a system and he can’t act too out of character to avoid deviating from the actual plot of the novel.
I think this story is amazing but it’s a little too generic, however the execution of the story is really good.
4. Fox Spirit Matchmaker
| Similarity | Character Writing | Plot | Animation | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
15/20 |
8/10 |
8/10 |
6/10 |
37/50 |
Humans and Yaoguai (spirits) are at war against one another, however, a few Yaoguai and a few humans fall in love with each other. Humans can’t live for very long unlike Yaoguai so they make a pledge of love at the Kuqing tree and use a special item as their Pledge token in the presence of the Tushan Fox Spirits.
These fox spirits help the reincarnated humans remember their past lives so they can reunite with their eternal love. Our MC, Susu, is a clumsy young fox spirit and is an aspiring matchmaker. Bai Yuechu is a Daoist who loves food, money, and trolling the Yi Qi Dao League. Susu and Bai set out on a journey to help humans and Yaoguai reunite.
3. Thousand Autumns
| Similarity | Character Writing | Plot | Animation | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
16/20 |
9/10 |
7/10 |
8/10 |
39/50 |
Shen Qiao is the chief disciple of Mount Xuandu and is challenged to a duel which was scheduled 20 years ago at Mount Xuandu. The fight starts off in his favor, however, during the fight, his Qi gets affected and he falls off a cliff.
Yan Wushi is a martial art expert and his disciple finds Shen Qiao at a waterfall under Mount Xandu. He decides to save him because he thinks that Shen Qiao can become a great rival for him.
And so begins the story of Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi. This series has really nice action scenes and if you’re fine with CGI, you should check it out.
2. Soul Land
| Similarity | Character Writing | Plot | Animation | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
18/20 |
8/10 |
9/10 |
6/10 |
41/50 |
Soul Land is about our protagonist, Tang San, who is a part of the Tang Sect martial art sect’s prodigious disciples and unparalleled in the art of using hidden weapons. The sect’s elders believe that he has a bright future ahead, however, Tang decides to forsake his life in order to obtain the sect’s forbidden lore.
Tang is then reincarnated into a strange world where he is a blacksmith’s son (he basically gets isekai’d). He then takes part in the spirit master ceremony at the age of 6, where he gets a spirit by the name of “Blue Silver Grass”, which happens to be his mother’s spirit (the blacksmith’s wife).
The art style might not be for everyone, however, I would really recommend this series if you’re into action and adventure.
1. Heaven Official's Blessing
| Similarity | Character Writing | Plot | Animation | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
20/20 |
9/10 |
8/10 |
9/10 |
46/50 |
800 years ago, there existed an ancient country called Xian Le. Xian Le prospered in culture and natural resources. The most notable thing about the country was their crowned Prince Xie Lian, who happens to be our protagonist and was extremely talented.
During a local event called “Offering to the gods” parade, he saved a child who fell off the city wall. Later, when he was wandering in the southern part of the Yellow River, he defeated the spirit that was causing chaos and destruction in the mortal realm at the Ye Nian bridge.
He had multiple accomplishments from that point. People spread stories about his accomplishments as well. When he turned 17, he overcame the heavenly trials and was granted immortality. However, after three years, he was demoted from heaven and became a mere mortal. When heaven felt remorse for what they had just done they took him back.
The rest of the story follows him trying to gain back his respect and honor that he lost during those three years.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this list. Which series are you going to start next? Do let me know in the comment section. I also hope that you found something that suits your taste. Each one of these resembles Mo Dao Zu Shi in one way or the other. See you in the next one!
