History YMMV / MoDaoZuShi

** Be careful to not call the novel and some of its adaptations "''The Untamed''", which is the title of [[LiveActionAdaptation the live-action drama]]. Whether you did it by mistake or not, fans will quickly remind you why that's something you should avoid doing, especially since while ''The Untamed'' is mostly loyal to the novel's plot, it still took plenty of liberties that sets it apart from the source material.

** While no one's going to disagree that Jiang Fengmian was anything but a good father, there are some fans who tend to demonize him and talk about him as if he spent every day making Jiang Cheng's life miserable and being the root cause for all of his son's and Wei Wuxian's problems, as well as burdening Jiang Yanli with the sole responsibility of being her younger brothers' emotional sport. His passivity and his transparent soft spot for Wei Wuxian did leave everyone with some issues, but those same fans are quick to forget that his wife is equally (or depending on your opinion, even more) responsible for contributing to the DysfunctionJunction that is their entire family.

** Consequently, Jiang Fengmian is rather divisive in the fandom. No one's going to argue about the fact that while he's not a ''bad'' person, he's in no way a good ''father''. However, there are some who argue as to whether he's still likable in spite of his poor parenting skills or the other way around. And then there's the debate of whether he's worse than his wife or not, which can turn into a lengthy discussion.

** Played with between Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng. While there are only very few fans who do ship them romantically or sexually, everyone else simply enjoys watching the scenes that hint or show how they mutually hate each other but do not see any BelligererentSexualTension in their animosity.

** While no one's going to disagree that Jiang Fengmian was anything but a good father, there are some fans who tend to demonize him and talk about him as if he spent every day making Jiang Cheng's life miserable and being the root cause for all of his son's and Wei Wuxian's problems, as well as burdening Jiang Yanli with the sole responsibility of being her younger brothers' emotional sport. His passivity and his transparent soft spot for Wei Wuxian did leave everyone with some issues, but those same fans are quick to forget that his wife is equally responsible for contributing to the DysfunctionJunction that is their entire family.

** The casting of Creator/TatsuhisaSuzuki in the Japanese dub of the audio drama. It's a fact that he's Mo Xiang Tong Xiu's favorite Japanese voice actor and her preferred choice for Wei Wuxian; but there are a fair number of fans who believe that while Tatushisa Suzuki is a great voice actor, he's tragically miscast for the main role.

** While they're not exactly [[{{Scrappy}} scrappies]], Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan are two of the most controversial characters of the novel. Even then, it's hard not to feel sorry for them when they got killed by the Wen Sect, with many fans saying while they're horrible parents, they didn't deserve to die the way they did. Granted, there are some who, while they don't take any glee in what happened, don't feel sad about it either and only find the tragedy in Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng's reactions to their deaths.

!! Tropes that apply to ''Mo Dao Zu Shi'' in general

!! Tropes that apply to the ''donghua'' and audio drama

* FandomEnragingMisconception: Be careful to not call the novel and some of its adaptations "''The Untamed''", which is the title of [[LiveActionAdaptation the live-action drama]]. Whether you did it by mistake or not, fans will quickly remind you why that's something you should avoid doing, especially since while ''The Untamed'' is mostly loyal to the novel's plot, it still took plenty of liberties that sets it apart from the source material.

* CompleteMonster: Jin Guangshan is the closest thing to one in ''Mo Dao Zu Shi'', which is saying something when a human is considered the most diabolical being in a world where ferocious zombies and evil spirits and monsters exist. His constant infidelity to his wife is merely the tip of the iceberg to how lacking in morals he is. There's how e abused Jin Guangyao, one of his illegitimate sons; took in another of them (Mo Xuanyu) solely to keep Jin Guangyao in line and used him as his henchman, and continuously have him false hope regarding earning his approval -- and this is before the son overheard him talking to some women about how it'll never happen and how he found him and his mother too much trouble to give any more charity to. Of course, he's also the main source of the many tragedies and deaths that took place in the story because of his goal to acquire the Stygian Tiger Amulet, Wei Wuxian's most powerful invention, to become the Chief Cultivator and dominate China. In accomplishing that goal, he turned the public's opinion against Wei Wuxian and helped fracture the latter's relationship with Jiang Cheng by preying on Jiang Cheng's inferiority complex, then he uses his own son's death as an excuse to lead an siege/ambush against Wei Wuxian and the innocent refugees he's been sheltering. He also would order the extermination of any sect who would speak against him. Even summarizing these events on this page is far from enough to impart to the reader just how much of a power-hungry scumbag he is.

** Sect Leader Yao. He's a very minor character, yet is easily seen as a HateSink because no one knows anything about him besides being a brown-nosing bandwagon-rider, a condescending sexist, and having nothing good to say about Wei Wuxian or anything and anyone else for that matter... and that's why ''nobody'' likes him. What's worse is that he's a KarmaHoudini who doesn't even get to at least lose an arm (or his tongue, for that matter), although some fans might find some reprieve in the final arc when [[TakeThatScrappy Jin Ling yells at him to shut his mouth]] when the bastard [[RealMenDontCry chides him for crying]].

* CompleteMonster: Jin Guangshan is the closest thing to one in ''Mo Dao Zu Shi'', which is saying something when a human is considered the most diabolical being in a world where ferocious zombies and evil spirits and monsters exist. His constant infidelity to his wife is merely the tip of the iceberg to how lacking in morals he is.
** He abused Jin Guangyao, one of his illegitimate sons; takes in another of them (Mo Xuanyu) solely to keep Jin Guangyao in line and use him as his henchman, and continuously gives him false hope regarding earning his approval -- and this is before the son overheard him talking to some women about how it'll never happen and how he found him and his mother too much trouble to give any more charity to.
** Of course, he's also the main source of the many tragedies and deaths that took place in the story because of his goal to acquire the Stygian Tiger Amulet, Wei Wuxian's most powerful invention, to become the Chief Cultivator and dominate China. In accomplishing that goal, he turned the public's opinion against Wei Wuxian and helped fracture the latter's relationship with Jiang Cheng by preying on Jiang Cheng's inferiority complex, then he uses his own son's death as an excuse to lead an siege/ambush against Wei Wuxian and the innocent refugees he's been sheltering. Even summarizing these events on this page is far from enough to impart to the reader just how much of a power-hungry scumbag he is.

* FandomEnragingMisconception: Be careful if you call the novel "''The Untamed''", which is the title of its LiveActionAdaptation. Whether you did it by mistake or not, fans will quickly remind you why that's something you should avoid doing, especially since while ''The Untamed'' is mostly loyal to the novel's plot, it still took plenty of liberties that sets it apart from the source material.

** Jiang Cheng. Everyone unanimously agrees that he's a deeply flawed character. What everyone ''doesn't'' unanimously agree on is whether they love or hate him for it. The former find his flaws to be well-written and feel that they add to his complexity as a character; whereas the latter side thinks that he's too flawed to be likable or sympathetic. A third party, however, agrees that they both love ''and'' hate him at the same time because of the aforementioned reasons.
** Xue Yang is one among the villains of the novel. He's either a layered and twisted villain who has a surprising amount of depth and an equally surprising tragic background, or he's just nothing but a vile madman who deserves no understanding or sympathy.

** Wen Ning dropping the bomb about [[spoiler: how Jiang Cheng really got back his golden core]]. Is it emotionally painful to read? ''Yes.'' Is it also immensely satisfying, whether because it's the first time Wen Ning stood his ground on his own terms or because you think Jiang Cheng needed to be taken down a peg? ''Yes again.'' And depending on your opinions and interpretations, you could also see the scene as a big fat middle finger to Yu Ziyuan from the afterlife, given that the scene can also show that everything she did to put down Wei Wuxian ended in an extremely hollow victory for her, even if she's no longer alive to witness it.

** Jiang Cheng. Everyone unanimously agrees that he's a deeply flawed character. What everyone ''doesn't'' unanimously agree on is whether they love or hate him for it. The former find his flaws to be well-written and feel that they add to his complexity as a character; whereas the latter side thinks that he's too flawed to be likable or sympathetic. A third party, however, has the verdict in that they both love him and hate him at the same time because of the aforementioned reasons.

* FandomEnragingMisconception: Be careful if you call the novel "''The Untamed''", which is the title of its LiveActionAdaptation. Whether you did it by mistake or not, fans will quickly remind you why that's something you should avoid doing, especially since while ''The Untamed'' is mostly loyal to the novel's plot, it still took plenty of liberties that differs it from the source material.

* ShipsThatPassInTheNight: [=XiCheng=] is a ''very'' popular ship in both the Western and Eastern fandoms, despite the fact that that Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen never had a proper one-to-one interaction and are only seen standing side-to-side in a few frames ''at best''.

** There's no denying that Yu Ziyuan genuinely loved her children and had understandable grievances with her husband for his distant relationship with their son. But any compassion that can be invoked from that is outweighed by her extremely horrible treatment of Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng, which makes her come across as hypocritical. Not to mention, the last words she imparted to Wei Wuxian did more lasting damage to her son than she would have ever anticipated. Even those who aren't exactly fond of Jiang Cheng's character acknowledge that they could see where his more unlikable traits came from.

** There's no denying that Yu Ziyuan genuinely loved her children and had understandable grievances with her husband. But any compassion that can be invoked from that is outweighed by her extremely horrible treatment of Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng, which is only putting it mildly. Not to mention, the last words she imparted to Wei Wuxian did more lasting damage to her son than she would have ever anticipated. Even those who aren't exactly fond of Jiang Cheng's character acknowledge that they could see where his more unlikable traits came from.

* FandomEnragingMisconception: Be careful if you call the novel by the title ''The Untamed''. Whether you did it by mistake or not, fans will quickly remind you why that's something you should avoid doing, especially since while ''The Untamed'' is mostly loyal to the novel's plot, it still took plenty of liberties that differs it from the source material.

** The fact that Mo Xiang Tong Xiu had stated that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are the only characters in the story who are interested in men [[note]] There's also Mo Xuanyu, but he dies at the start of the novel. [[/note]]. Many fans don't really pay attention to this much and ship who they like (something that the author even shrugs off), but there are those who can get testy about the topic, especially when topics related to the LGBT+ community are involved.

** Wen Ning dropping the bomb about [[spoiler: how Jiang Cheng really got back his golden core]]. Is it emotionally painful to read? ''Yes.'' Is it also immensely satisfying, whether because it's the first time Wen Ning stood his ground on his own terms or because you think Jiang Cheng needed to be taken down a peg? ''Yes again.'' And depending on your opinions and interpretations, you could also see the scene as a big fat middle finger to Yu Ziyuan from the afterlife.

* AlasPoorScrappy: While they're not exactly [[{{Scrappy}} scrappies]], Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan are two of the most controversial characters of the novel. Even then, it's hard not to feel sorry for them when they got killed by the Wen Sect, with many fans saying while they're horrible parents, they didn't deserve to die the way they did. Granted, there are some who, while they don't take any glee in what happened, don't feel sad about it either and only find the tragedy in Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng's reactions to their deaths.

** Wen Ning dropping the bomb about [[spoiler: how Jiang Cheng really got back his golden core]]. Is it emotionally painful to read? ''Yes.'' Is it also immensely satisfying, whether because it's the first time Wen Ning stood his ground on his own terms or because you think Jiang Cheng needed to be taken down a peg? ''Yes again.''

* AlasPoorScrappy: While they're not exactly [[{{Scrappy}} scrappies]], Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan are two of the most controversial characters of the novel. Even then, it's hard not to feel sorry for them when they got killed by the Wen Sect, with many fans saying while they're horrible parents, they didn't deserve to die the way they did. Granted, there are some who, while they don't take any glee in what happened, don't feel sad about it either and state that what's more tragic is their children's reactions to their deaths.

** Yu Ziyuan. One third of the fans like her for being an IronLady and a powerful ActionMom; another third aren't as fond of her because of her hatred of Wei Wuxian, which also led her to constantly lash out at either him, her husband, or her son; and the last third see her as an interestingly complex character but also have reservations about how she deals with her family. Everyone does agree, however, that she's not going to win the "Mom of the Year" award any time soon.

** Jiang Cheng. Everyone unanimously agrees that he's a deeply flawed character. What everyone ''doesn't'' unanimously agree on is whether they love or hate him for it. The former find his flaws to be well-written and feel that they add to his complexity as a character; whereas the latter side thinks that he's too flawed to be likable or sympathetic.

* LesYay: There are some who ship Yu Ziyuan and Madam Jin together. It helps that they were close friends and had a poor relationship with their husbands.

** Simply put, the fans who grew up in the West are likely going to have a lot of problems with the novel given the difference in standards and opinions of how to raise a family, the importance of full consent in a relationship, referring to a same-sex married couple as "husband and wife" [[note]] Which isn't technically inaccurate as in this case, the characters 夫妻 generally translates to "married couple", but when translated separately 夫 translates to "husband" and 妻 means "wife". [[/note]], and several other reasons. While understandable at times, one should be cautious of when the discussion gets excessively heated.