Donghua is landing in the animesphere, big time.
Crunchyroll has uploaded the first two seasons of The Master of Diabolism. Following on the heels of Heaven Official’s Blessing, this is another Chinese animation entry - and boy’s love to boot - that looks poised to succeed in the west.
The description of the story from Crunchyroll:
After attaining the state of immortality, Wei Wuxian’s rule descends down the demonic path of Mo Dao. Ultimately, his reign of terror is overthrown, but the tumultuous fall leads to a chance for redemption. 13 years later, Wei Wuxian is reincarnated and reunites with his former classmate, Lan Wangji. Together they’ll unravel the mysteries of the supernatural world and forge an unexpected bond.
If you read Chinese light novels and/or manhua (manga), this description probably sounds familiar. That’s because The Master of Diabolism is actually based on a well-known boy’s love light novel series and manhua series that has been available in translation from Seven Seas for some time.
I’m not sure why they changed the title to Master of Diabolism when the English language novels and manhua were already known as Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, but there it is.
And if you were wondering just how popular this Chinese boy’s love stuff is... take a look at the 4.9 stars from over 7,000 ratings for Grandmaster vol. I. These stories, in English translation, are doing better in the west than Japanese boy’s love stories have ever done.
I’ve added Master of Diabolism to my Crunchyroll watchlist but who knows when I’ll get around to it. I’m still absorbed in the fall season releases, most notably Blue Exorcist, Dragon Ball Daima, and The Prince of Tennis II U-17 World Cup Semi-Finals. Those are my favorites of the season. I’m also slow-watching Blue Miburo and Yakuza Fiance.
It’s been an excellent anime season. In particular, Blue Exorcist has started a very serious story arc with high stakes for the protagonist twin brothers. Dragon Ball Daima is just a delight and PoT II U-17 World Cup Semi-Finals is a welcome return to a nice enjoyable story universe for me.
Even better, the upcoming winter 2025 anime season looks amazing so far. I’ll post about my watchlist come January but I already have a number of picks. 2024 is ending strong in terms of anime and 2025 will be starting just as strong.
