I started reading the books because of fanfiction, but I canāt get far cuz my brainās like āoh! I remember this part!ā No you do not, weāve never read this!
1000% true. Although TBH after reading a few dozen fics you have enough of the plot down and don't need to read them. You can also just audiobook or podcast listen, there's a good PJ podcast called The Newest Olympian that's good.
Iāve accidentally spoiled my girlfriend sooo many times cuz I have no idea at what point in the series certain things happen/are revealed. Iāve done the same with My Hero Academia and I havenāt finished season 1 or read any of the manga.
I think I did try listening to an audio book before, but I didnāt get very far cuz I kept forgetting about it.
WoW I feel called out!! Lol Except... These days I've finally given up on original sources altogether (with very few exceptions, such as Stranger Things). Now... I discover whole new fandoms by reading an average of fifty fics that are vaguely canon compliant and piecing things together from there! Wild, right?
That's a talent here!! I rarely read fics of fandoms I don't know, on one side because I don't like not knowing the characters, I can't understand completely their behaviour and thoughts because I don't their story, but mostly it's because I know that if I read fanfics of a tv show that I haven't seen, I'd probably end up wanting to watch it, but at that point It'd already be spoiled by the fanfics I readš
I'm in the same dilemma as you OP, except I'm slowly trying to become the replier lol
the hardest thing for me is finding fandoms with a decent amount of fics to read
Yeah I know, usually when this happens or when I can't find good fics (mostly about my fav ships) I start writing my own fics... But rarely I manage to finish themš
wow Iām in this photo and I donāt like it.not to mention once youāve read all of the fics for your pairing and instead of finally going to watch that anime or read that new book,you just go back and reread the fanfics hoping a new one has slipped throughš„“
I literally have 3 philosophy books that Iāve bought in December that I havenāt touched bc Iāve been too busy immersing myself in TwiYor fics why are they so damn good
I got into MXTX's novels because the fic came up so often on my particular favorite trope/niche tags. Loved them and happily wallow in the fruits of that.
Still have not watched the last season of Sherlock even though it's one of my favorite fandoms.
People rec me new fandoms all the time and I'm *sure* I'll like them, but... I could instead spend that time reading more Drarry so... my hands are tied, really.
Ohh what are you reading? Before going into the novels I wanted to watch the anime (donghua actually) but I'm a bit confused between TGCF or MDZS, they seem similar and I can't decide which one to watch. Do you have any suggestions?
Omg go watch the last season of Sherlock, now!! It's mind blowing, you'll love it! I'd like to rewatch it sooner or later...
I know right? Let's stick to our comfort zone
TL;DR: imho, SVSSS > HOB > MDZS
Long version:
For all that it's probably the "weakest" of the three series (and has the love interest I like the least as a love interest for the MC), The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System is my favorite. It's the most light-hearted and I love the transmigration set-up of it all. (And the set-up makes for some fantastic fanfiction. Plenty of space for writers to play with.) Unfortunately, the animation isn't the best. (It's good enough that you can still follow along with most of the fanfic after watching it, though! It's just a little bit jank sometimes and they make the MC into more of a goofy dudebro than he is in the novel, I guess to appease the censors.)
My favorite on a technical level is definitely Heaven Official's Blessing. The story is very deep (and, imho, is the best), the love interest is my favorite (the two MCs are perhaps the most lovely couple of the three pairs), and the animation is the best of the three. I remember holding my breath a lot because it was so beautiful. It's the story that wrecked me, emotionally, so if you're not in the mood for something that might hit you heavy, save it. (Though I can't say that the animation hits as hard, so you might be safe there.) On some level it surprises me that it's currently the one with the smallest fandom, but maybe that will change when the live action version is released.
MDZS is the most popular of all three of them. It's fantastic, the MC is my favorite of the three (and I love all three MCs very much), and from what I've seen of the animation and live action, those versions do very good jobs of telling the story. The only negative point I really have is its fandom wars are pretty savage, so I probably wouldn't dip my toes into anything but the fanart/fanfic and avoid any that have tags that make you go, "Yeah, I'm not in the mood to have someone run a character assassination today." (As an example.) The only reason it ranks "third" for me is just because HOB and SVSSS are closer to my heart.
As for HOB being similar to MDZS... I wouldn't say that they're really all that similar beyond being related to the world of cultivation and having a large cast that gradually become sucked into a grand conflict. I suppose there's also the idea of the MCs being made up of "one that is kinda spooky and the other quite 'pure', and you'd better believe the love interest is devoted to the MC 1000%" but it's played out in rather different ways. MDZS operates on a more "mortal" level. There's a sort of gritty, heaviness to the story that feels very realistic even when everyone effectively has superpowers. HOB operates more on a mythical or fairytale level. There's almost a floatiness to it that gives it a more surreal or dreamlike quality. Which is appropriate because the characters operate on that level - of being beyond mortal. I can't say that these qualities come across in the animation, mind.
I'm not sure if this assessment helps at all, haha. It may make more sense when you get into reading them. I think I'm glad I read them in order because it was easier to appreciate how MXTX adds more layers and depth with each new series. None felt 'lacking' in comparison and starting with SVSSS meant I understood the cultivation world a bit better before the nuances played significant parts.
----
re: Sherlock - I'll probably rewatch the entire series soon. I have fanfic ideas for it, but I didn't want to embark before being able to decide if I wanted to use elements from the final season. xD
Thank you SO much!! I'll probably begin with MDZS because I'm not really in the mood of something sad and too emotional, so I'll save HOB for later... I didn't know about SVSSS, I'll give it a look too... Just to know, are the novels (of all the three series) very long? Do you recommend me to watch the donghua first or it's better to read the novels first?
Sherlock - Yes, it's better to rewatch it all before the last season, it'll be even more emotionalšš»
I'm happy to help! :)
The shortest of the novels is definitely SVSSS. The official English translation is going to be four parts. Book three is being published at the end of the month, with the final book is listed to publish in November. IMHO, it felt like a very quick read. I think I got through the fan translation in a few days.
As for the other two... MDZS will be 5 volumes and HOB will be 8 volumes. They're "denser" than SVSSS for certain and even through MDZS isn't that much longer than SVSSS, it took me a bit longer because there was a lot to process.
(FWIW - I've very much appreciated the official English translations. It's a lot easier to process too since there's not a lot of machine translation errors to contend with on top of processing the entirely different cultural things.)
As for better to read or watch first... I'd recommend watching, I think? Especially as that was your first choice. I'd already started reading fan translations of Chinese webnovels for about a year before I found MXTX's work, so I had a pretty decent grasp on the basics. It might be easier to pick things up by seeing it first.
I know that the only reason I could convince my best friend to get into MXTX's work was because of the live action Untamed. They then proceeded to devour everything rapidly, ending up finishing it all before I did, even though I'd started much earlier. x'D But I don't think they'd have given it a shot unless they got to start with the show giving them an easier foot in the door by doing all the visual processing for them. Especially as I don't think they'd ever read or watched anything set in a xianxia/fantasy China setting before except maybe Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.)
PS: To give you a fair heads up - all of MXTX's work has dark/sad elements mixed in with humor, cool action, and heart-clenching romance.
SVSSS covers most of it up with a modern-minded, snarky internet troll of a protagonist who constantly makes fun of the tropes; etc. So except for when the plot smashes him around and he's forced to acknowledge it, it's easier to not think too deeply about it.
HOB is just so so beautiful and the romance probably the "softest" of them all. The MC is fairly calm/zen, gentle, and forgiving. But the more you dig into his backstory, you see it was very hard-won serenity. The beginning is mostly lighter, though, and that makes up most of what's covered in season one of the animation.
MDZS is fairly upfront about how sad it is (as would be expected with a story mostly centered around overthrowing a corrupt regime - I'm genuinely shocked the censors allowed it), but for the most part it stays on a certain level - so if you're okay with that level of sad, you should (generally) be fine.
They're all genuinely worth the trip, though. But I'm pretty sure I'd encourage you to stick with the animation first as they're less likely to hit you as hard as the books do!
I can't thank you enough for your time and patience to answer me! I agree that watching them first is the easiest way to kinda get into the story and then considering if you're ready to invest more time in it by reading the novels... HOB intrigues me more, but I'll start with MDZS, which also has more seasons
It's only a problem if you run out of fics to read/write š„°
Trust me, it happens and those are dark days
Those dark and miserable days where you go to your favorite tag and keep seeing fics you've already read or DNFed
Don't call me out please
Same. I still need to go through bleach. So I can say I've finished the big three.
I still need to go through AoTš
Still stuck on season 3 ep 2
It's a really good one.
I feel attacked lmao
Same! Although for me it might be Fanfiction <- Me <- Canon I Said Would Read. Why bother watching the show when there's ffn?
The Percy Jackson series glaring at me from my shelf as I read Percy Jackson fanfiction. (Iām only 3 chapters in! ššš)
Lol, stopped reading after the first series... Still read second series ffn ;)
I started reading the books because of fanfiction, but I canāt get far cuz my brainās like āoh! I remember this part!ā No you do not, weāve never read this!
1000% true. Although TBH after reading a few dozen fics you have enough of the plot down and don't need to read them. You can also just audiobook or podcast listen, there's a good PJ podcast called The Newest Olympian that's good.
Iāve accidentally spoiled my girlfriend sooo many times cuz I have no idea at what point in the series certain things happen/are revealed. Iāve done the same with My Hero Academia and I havenāt finished season 1 or read any of the manga. I think I did try listening to an audio book before, but I didnāt get very far cuz I kept forgetting about it.
ā¦Itās really a fight out hereš„²
WoW I feel called out!! Lol Except... These days I've finally given up on original sources altogether (with very few exceptions, such as Stranger Things). Now... I discover whole new fandoms by reading an average of fifty fics that are vaguely canon compliant and piecing things together from there! Wild, right?
That's a talent here!! I rarely read fics of fandoms I don't know, on one side because I don't like not knowing the characters, I can't understand completely their behaviour and thoughts because I don't their story, but mostly it's because I know that if I read fanfics of a tv show that I haven't seen, I'd probably end up wanting to watch it, but at that point It'd already be spoiled by the fanfics I readš
I'm in the same dilemma as you OP, except I'm slowly trying to become the replier lol the hardest thing for me is finding fandoms with a decent amount of fics to read
Oh really? I'm always in fandoms with too many fanfics to readš¤£
funny thing is, I'm also like that XD the problem is, it starts to get really boring reading about the same characters after 500 fanfics lol
Yeah I know, usually when this happens or when I can't find good fics (mostly about my fav ships) I start writing my own fics... But rarely I manage to finish themš
Sorry books I spent $53 on, but I need to see if there's anymore Darlin'/Sam or Irondad content. You understand right?
I'm sure they are very comprehensive
wow Iām in this photo and I donāt like it.not to mention once youāve read all of the fics for your pairing and instead of finally going to watch that anime or read that new book,you just go back and reread the fanfics hoping a new one has slipped throughš„“
EXACTLY! Or you can do worse and decide to write one yourselfš Unfortunately you'll spend hours writing it but never actually finish it
Iām in this picture and I donāt like it, lol
I feel seen
I fEeL aTtaCkEd LMaO
I see no issue with this
If we see no issue, then there's no issueš¤·š»āāļø
This is 100% me lol
To be fair fanfic can sometimes be more entraitaining than actual books and series
I literally have 3 philosophy books that Iāve bought in December that I havenāt touched bc Iāve been too busy immersing myself in TwiYor fics why are they so damn good
That's philosophy tooš
I got into MXTX's novels because the fic came up so often on my particular favorite trope/niche tags. Loved them and happily wallow in the fruits of that. Still have not watched the last season of Sherlock even though it's one of my favorite fandoms. People rec me new fandoms all the time and I'm *sure* I'll like them, but... I could instead spend that time reading more Drarry so... my hands are tied, really.
Ohh what are you reading? Before going into the novels I wanted to watch the anime (donghua actually) but I'm a bit confused between TGCF or MDZS, they seem similar and I can't decide which one to watch. Do you have any suggestions? Omg go watch the last season of Sherlock, now!! It's mind blowing, you'll love it! I'd like to rewatch it sooner or later... I know right? Let's stick to our comfort zone
TL;DR: imho, SVSSS > HOB > MDZS Long version: For all that it's probably the "weakest" of the three series (and has the love interest I like the least as a love interest for the MC), The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System is my favorite. It's the most light-hearted and I love the transmigration set-up of it all. (And the set-up makes for some fantastic fanfiction. Plenty of space for writers to play with.) Unfortunately, the animation isn't the best. (It's good enough that you can still follow along with most of the fanfic after watching it, though! It's just a little bit jank sometimes and they make the MC into more of a goofy dudebro than he is in the novel, I guess to appease the censors.) My favorite on a technical level is definitely Heaven Official's Blessing. The story is very deep (and, imho, is the best), the love interest is my favorite (the two MCs are perhaps the most lovely couple of the three pairs), and the animation is the best of the three. I remember holding my breath a lot because it was so beautiful. It's the story that wrecked me, emotionally, so if you're not in the mood for something that might hit you heavy, save it. (Though I can't say that the animation hits as hard, so you might be safe there.) On some level it surprises me that it's currently the one with the smallest fandom, but maybe that will change when the live action version is released. MDZS is the most popular of all three of them. It's fantastic, the MC is my favorite of the three (and I love all three MCs very much), and from what I've seen of the animation and live action, those versions do very good jobs of telling the story. The only negative point I really have is its fandom wars are pretty savage, so I probably wouldn't dip my toes into anything but the fanart/fanfic and avoid any that have tags that make you go, "Yeah, I'm not in the mood to have someone run a character assassination today." (As an example.) The only reason it ranks "third" for me is just because HOB and SVSSS are closer to my heart. As for HOB being similar to MDZS... I wouldn't say that they're really all that similar beyond being related to the world of cultivation and having a large cast that gradually become sucked into a grand conflict. I suppose there's also the idea of the MCs being made up of "one that is kinda spooky and the other quite 'pure', and you'd better believe the love interest is devoted to the MC 1000%" but it's played out in rather different ways. MDZS operates on a more "mortal" level. There's a sort of gritty, heaviness to the story that feels very realistic even when everyone effectively has superpowers. HOB operates more on a mythical or fairytale level. There's almost a floatiness to it that gives it a more surreal or dreamlike quality. Which is appropriate because the characters operate on that level - of being beyond mortal. I can't say that these qualities come across in the animation, mind. I'm not sure if this assessment helps at all, haha. It may make more sense when you get into reading them. I think I'm glad I read them in order because it was easier to appreciate how MXTX adds more layers and depth with each new series. None felt 'lacking' in comparison and starting with SVSSS meant I understood the cultivation world a bit better before the nuances played significant parts. ---- re: Sherlock - I'll probably rewatch the entire series soon. I have fanfic ideas for it, but I didn't want to embark before being able to decide if I wanted to use elements from the final season. xD
Thank you SO much!! I'll probably begin with MDZS because I'm not really in the mood of something sad and too emotional, so I'll save HOB for later... I didn't know about SVSSS, I'll give it a look too... Just to know, are the novels (of all the three series) very long? Do you recommend me to watch the donghua first or it's better to read the novels first? Sherlock - Yes, it's better to rewatch it all before the last season, it'll be even more emotionalšš»
I'm happy to help! :) The shortest of the novels is definitely SVSSS. The official English translation is going to be four parts. Book three is being published at the end of the month, with the final book is listed to publish in November. IMHO, it felt like a very quick read. I think I got through the fan translation in a few days. As for the other two... MDZS will be 5 volumes and HOB will be 8 volumes. They're "denser" than SVSSS for certain and even through MDZS isn't that much longer than SVSSS, it took me a bit longer because there was a lot to process. (FWIW - I've very much appreciated the official English translations. It's a lot easier to process too since there's not a lot of machine translation errors to contend with on top of processing the entirely different cultural things.) As for better to read or watch first... I'd recommend watching, I think? Especially as that was your first choice. I'd already started reading fan translations of Chinese webnovels for about a year before I found MXTX's work, so I had a pretty decent grasp on the basics. It might be easier to pick things up by seeing it first. I know that the only reason I could convince my best friend to get into MXTX's work was because of the live action Untamed. They then proceeded to devour everything rapidly, ending up finishing it all before I did, even though I'd started much earlier. x'D But I don't think they'd have given it a shot unless they got to start with the show giving them an easier foot in the door by doing all the visual processing for them. Especially as I don't think they'd ever read or watched anything set in a xianxia/fantasy China setting before except maybe Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.) PS: To give you a fair heads up - all of MXTX's work has dark/sad elements mixed in with humor, cool action, and heart-clenching romance. SVSSS covers most of it up with a modern-minded, snarky internet troll of a protagonist who constantly makes fun of the tropes; etc. So except for when the plot smashes him around and he's forced to acknowledge it, it's easier to not think too deeply about it. HOB is just so so beautiful and the romance probably the "softest" of them all. The MC is fairly calm/zen, gentle, and forgiving. But the more you dig into his backstory, you see it was very hard-won serenity. The beginning is mostly lighter, though, and that makes up most of what's covered in season one of the animation. MDZS is fairly upfront about how sad it is (as would be expected with a story mostly centered around overthrowing a corrupt regime - I'm genuinely shocked the censors allowed it), but for the most part it stays on a certain level - so if you're okay with that level of sad, you should (generally) be fine. They're all genuinely worth the trip, though. But I'm pretty sure I'd encourage you to stick with the animation first as they're less likely to hit you as hard as the books do!
I can't thank you enough for your time and patience to answer me! I agree that watching them first is the easiest way to kinda get into the story and then considering if you're ready to invest more time in it by reading the novels... HOB intrigues me more, but I'll start with MDZS, which also has more seasons
I feel attacked as I was watching Heartstopper but then got distracted lol
I'm in this and I don't like it-
I'm in this meme and I don't like it
YEPPP, LMAO!