This is a Chinese drama that you have probably noticed around! You have probably also heard about MDZS (Mo Dao Zu Shi) which is the novel The Untamed is based on. The novel and The Untamed differ on some really important characterization and plot points and I still haven't finished the novel so I can't speak directly about it, but both are popular and both are good! I think The Untamed has better femslash potential, but MDZS is allowed to have literal actual zombies and m/m because it wasn't constrained by Chinese television censorship. If you read the novel, you will probably want to skip the sex scene.
Did I scare you off yet? No? Ok. The Untamed is basically about how the main character (Wei Wuxian) fucked himself over and died, and then came back to life to unravel a mystery and unfuck things at least a little. There's MAGIC and FANTASY POLITICS and WAR and FRIENDSHIP and I chewed through all the episodes so fast while weeping. You will be sad and you will love it and you will be very satisfied with the ending! It starts with Wei Wuxian coming back to life, detours into an amazing 30 episode flashback about how he died in the first place, and then returns to him figuring out why he came back to life and unravelling a mystery. You might think that "amazing 30 episode flashback" was sarcastic but it was not, it seriously works and I loved it. The canonical m/m romance from the book is transformed to a somehow even more romantic friendship where they call each other soulmates. The characters are interesting and dynamic and make a bunch of bad but very understandable choices.
Shipping potential: There is great exchange enthusiasm for femslash ships! It's hard to sum them up but one of the main ladies is a doctor and I love her. The show is man heavy and the character deaths end up meaning most of the femslash is best set during the flashback era but the flashback era is great so that's fine.
Where to experience: Netflix and also the streaming service Viki where it's free! iirc the subtitles are a little different between them. Also, I assume you're new to this genre so here is a summary of important terms that will help you understand the basic fantasy tropes and stuff: link If you need the novel just shout into the EAD cnovels channel I guess.
Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood
FMA:B is a 64 episode anime that is SO SATISFYING AND GOOD. Two brothers make a huge mistake that nearly kills them when they're kids and spend years trying to undo it. The older one joins the state military for those sweet sweet military resources and the story primarily takes place when he's like 14-16 and whoops his hunt for the legendary philosopher's stone gets him and his brother into all kinds of trouble. It turns out that the fascist military dictatorship's recent genocide of an ethnic group is only the tip of the yikes iceberg! Several major characters were involved with the aforementioned genocide and the narrative never forgets it or lets them off the hook, so I really think it hits your morally grey/complex characters! Also great examples of loyalty and friendship and not actually horror genre but an amazing option for horror exchange requests and horror prompts imo!
(The manga is also reportedly very good; it's grouped with FMA:B in exchanges so if you'd prefer to read instead of watch just do that! IIRC the stuff about the genocide is given an entire volume in the manga, which is more space than they could give it in the anime.)
Shipping potential: There's a pretty wide cast of fleshed-out characters! Femslash ships include: Hardass Intimidating Ruthless General Whose Men Are 100% Loyal To Her/Sniper Who Participated In The Genocide And Is Loyal To General's Least Favorite CoWorker, Hardass Intimidating Ruthless General Whose Men Are 100% Loyal To Her/Woman Who's A Great Teacher And Once Fought A Bear, Extremely Skilled Engineer Who Makes Cutting-Edge Prosthetics And Totally Gets To Live Her Dreams/Very Very Loyal Foreign Ninja Lady.
Where to experience: Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchy Roll, one of which should have the sub version although the dub is good. Don't accidentally watch the 2003 anime! It's worse, has a terrible ending, and is almost never requested in exchanges.
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The Untamed
This is a Chinese drama that you have probably noticed around! You have probably also heard about MDZS (Mo Dao Zu Shi) which is the novel The Untamed is based on. The novel and The Untamed differ on some really important characterization and plot points and I still haven't finished the novel so I can't speak directly about it, but both are popular and both are good! I think The Untamed has better femslash potential, but MDZS is allowed to have literal actual zombies and m/m because it wasn't constrained by Chinese television censorship. If you read the novel, you will probably want to skip the sex scene.
Did I scare you off yet? No? Ok. The Untamed is basically about how the main character (Wei Wuxian) fucked himself over and died, and then came back to life to unravel a mystery and unfuck things at least a little. There's MAGIC and FANTASY POLITICS and WAR and FRIENDSHIP and I chewed through all the episodes so fast while weeping. You will be sad and you will love it and you will be very satisfied with the ending! It starts with Wei Wuxian coming back to life, detours into an amazing 30 episode flashback about how he died in the first place, and then returns to him figuring out why he came back to life and unravelling a mystery. You might think that "amazing 30 episode flashback" was sarcastic but it was not, it seriously works and I loved it. The canonical m/m romance from the book is transformed to a somehow even more romantic friendship where they call each other soulmates. The characters are interesting and dynamic and make a bunch of bad but very understandable choices.
Shipping potential: There is great exchange enthusiasm for femslash ships! It's hard to sum them up but one of the main ladies is a doctor and I love her. The show is man heavy and the character deaths end up meaning most of the femslash is best set during the flashback era but the flashback era is great so that's fine.
Where to experience: Netflix and also the streaming service Viki where it's free! iirc the subtitles are a little different between them. Also, I assume you're new to this genre so here is a summary of important terms that will help you understand the basic fantasy tropes and stuff: link If you need the novel just shout into the EAD cnovels channel I guess.
Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood
FMA:B is a 64 episode anime that is SO SATISFYING AND GOOD. Two brothers make a huge mistake that nearly kills them when they're kids and spend years trying to undo it. The older one joins the state military for those sweet sweet military resources and the story primarily takes place when he's like 14-16 and whoops his hunt for the legendary philosopher's stone gets him and his brother into all kinds of trouble. It turns out that the fascist military dictatorship's recent genocide of an ethnic group is only the tip of the yikes iceberg! Several major characters were involved with the aforementioned genocide and the narrative never forgets it or lets them off the hook, so I really think it hits your morally grey/complex characters! Also great examples of loyalty and friendship and not actually horror genre but an amazing option for horror exchange requests and horror prompts imo!
(The manga is also reportedly very good; it's grouped with FMA:B in exchanges so if you'd prefer to read instead of watch just do that! IIRC the stuff about the genocide is given an entire volume in the manga, which is more space than they could give it in the anime.)
Shipping potential: There's a pretty wide cast of fleshed-out characters! Femslash ships include: Hardass Intimidating Ruthless General Whose Men Are 100% Loyal To Her/Sniper Who Participated In The Genocide And Is Loyal To General's Least Favorite CoWorker, Hardass Intimidating Ruthless General Whose Men Are 100% Loyal To Her/Woman Who's A Great Teacher And Once Fought A Bear, Extremely Skilled Engineer Who Makes Cutting-Edge Prosthetics And Totally Gets To Live Her Dreams/Very Very Loyal Foreign Ninja Lady.
Where to experience: Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchy Roll, one of which should have the sub version although the dub is good. Don't accidentally watch the 2003 anime! It's worse, has a terrible ending, and is almost never requested in exchanges.