The Netflix Fantasy Martial Arts Series Is The Best Binge Watch In Ages

The Untamed follows Wei Wu Xian, who is a powerful but immature cultivator who always pushes against boundaries. Unfortunately, due to his following of demonic arts, he ends up killed. However, his story isn’t done, as he is resurrected 16 years later. 

Now, he must find a way to make up for his past wrongs and stop danger from coming after the people he loves yet again. Unfortunately, the only person willing to trust him is the man who once loathed him — Lan Wang Ji. 

The story started as a web novel that became a five-part book series by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu called The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation or Mo Dao Zu Shi. At some point, there was also an animated series as well, which has three seasons. 

The Untamed is a Xanxia Chinese drama TV series. For those that don’t know, this is a subgenre of the Wuxia genre and is a high fantasy story with elements of Taoism, folk religion, magic, and traditional Chinese martial arts. It’s also a Danmei, which are stories involving romance elements between two male characters. 

In short, this series features fights, magic, tragedy, and a bit of romance — though not as much as the books have. 

Zhan Xiao (The Youth Memories, The Oath of Love) plays We Wu Xian, while Yibo Wang (War of Faith, Gank Your Heart) plays Lan Wang Ji.

Zhuocheng Wang (Divine Destiny, Love Like the Galaxy), Lu Xuan (Fairyland Lovers, Who Rules the World), Ziyi Meng (Royal Rumours, Parallel World), and Haikuan Liu (Mirror: A Tale of Twin Cities, The Song Ballad) are some other names you might recognize if you’re a fan of Chinese dramas. 

Having read the books and watched The Untamed, there are many things I like about both versions of this story.

The cast did a great job in their roles, playing the characters perfectly, especially Zhan Xiao and Yibo Wang. There are, of course, some major differences, especially when it comes to the romance between the two main characters, but overall the emotion and story behind the TV show is similar to the book. 

My biggest complaint, if any, is the way they ordered the story. In the books, the past and the present are intertwined, which keeps the story exciting. However, in The Untamed, the story provides a few episodes of the current timeline and then starts at the very beginning. 

While this does make the story easier to follow, by the time you watch all of the past, you’ve pretty much forgotten what happened at the start of the series. Also, it makes the story a little slow in some places. 

REVIEW SCORE

Still, this complaint is minimal. I love this series, and it’s easily my favorite Xianxia story I’ve watched so far. I have to give The Untamed a 5 out of 5. Anyone interested in stories involving fighting fate, tragic storylines, and martial arts must give this series a try. 

Ready to watch The Untamed? This 50-episode series is available to watch on Netflix. And don’t worry, if you are still eager for more of these characters after the series ends, there’s the animated series to watch and five books to read.