The best Donghua mystery

Key points

• Uncommon mysterious donghua offer unique new experiences, setting themselves apart from traditional martial arts and cultivation clichés.
• Like the Chinese Donghua
  Siliang Island
  AND
  Drown the sorrows in the raging fire
  blend genres for engaging stories.
• Show how
  Detective of the twin spirits
  AND
  Die now
  they provide intriguing takes on horror and mayhem, making them fascinating to watch.

Chinese donghua they are usually characterized by a very heavy incorporation of traditional martial arts and/or cultivation tropes. This isn't a bad thing in itself, as it distinguishes donghua from other types of animation, but after a while it becomes redundant. Because of this, the rarer tropes that make their way into donghua tend to stand out as truly fresh and distinct.

Take Donghua mysteryFor example. They're pretty rare, but the industry has produced some fantastic and popular shows that perfectly capture the essence of the “enigmatic thriller” cliché that the mainstream media seems to adore. Add in some donghua-specific twists and these shows manage to create a unique, out-of-the-ordinary experience that really works.

7 Siliang Island

Cultivation donghua with a touch of mystery and a very hardcore female protagonist

Siliang Island it's an action-fantasy donghua in line with what donghua are. Obviously it has martial arts and cultivation, but it also has a lot of mythology and supernatural tropes – and also stands out for weaving in a strong element of mystery. What really sets it apart is its female protagonist, Tu Li, who easily surpasses many male counterparts in similar stories.

The story delves into divinity and mythology and explores the idea that even gods are not flawless. They make mistakes, lose their way and can fall prey to corruption and immorality. However, in this world, that earns them a life sentence on a mysterious island designed to keep them locked away for eternity, strip them of their power, and ultimately end their existence. Tu Li, the mortal protagonist, finds herself trapped on this isolated island and must navigate the chaos of these fallen immortals while trying to find a way out.

6 Drowning the sorrows in the raging fire

It has a premise that's slightly reminiscent of Psycho-Pass or X-Men

Science fiction mixed with supernatural elements, mystery and action always makes for an exciting and exciting combination Drown the sorrows in the raging fire it's a great example. It covers all three of these genres and has a very distinct “mystery-filled” premise. It also helps that the show is completely focused on a special unit of the police force and is mostly based on solving cases, kind of like Psycho Pass.

The premise of Drown the sorrows in the raging fire revolves around a special force called the Deviant Control Office tasked with monitoring individuals with “special abilities”. It should prevent these individuals from acting aggressively and causing disruption in the lives of ordinary people in the name of greater power. Things take an intriguing turn when a new member of the team is given the responsibility of dealing with a thousand-year-old man who not only claims to be an emperor but insists on being treated like one.

5 Aiyou's secret room

Escape Room with a more existential touch

For fans of escape rooms and high-risk scenarios who avoid overly dramatic outcomes, Aiyou's secret room it is the donghua to choose. It's a romantic mystery thriller that strikes a perfect balance between its clichés without the themes becoming redundant. The best part is that, despite its very unusual premise, the show maintains a consistent “mystery, conflict build-up, and resolution” format that keeps the audience engaged throughout.

The story revolves around two office workers who decide to try their luck in the city's notoriously challenging escape room, run by someone named Xu Aiyou. Surprisingly enough, the escape room isn't too difficult and the two manage to solve it pretty quickly. However, the disturbing – and downright terrifying – events that follow lead them to dig a little deeper into the owner and her past.

4 Detective of the twin spirits

Paranormal investigators getting Uno's flip

Horror stories featuring unwanted ghost guests haunting a particular character are one thing, but horror where the main characters professionally identify as paranormal investigators and actively go looking for trouble is an entirely different ballgame. Detective of the twin spirits is a donghua that revolves around a pair of twins who do exactly that.

Sun Xiaotu and Sun Xiaohu are a pair of courageous twins who are unfazed by anything related to their work as ghostbusters/paranormal investigators. However, in one of their seemingly routine cases involving another pair of twins, they realize how far from reality they are when the disturbing part of their job somehow backfires on them.

3 The Founder of Diabolism

Flawed Main Character on the Path to Redemption: Maybe?

The Founder of Diabolism is a cultivation donghua with shounen-ai elements that also offers a strong dose of dark mystery and fantasy. Unlike other cultivation stories, this one starts with the main character being a pretty terrible person.

The main character, Wei Wuxian, takes on the forbidden cultivation path – widely feared for its demonic and evil reputation – instead of sticking to the usual “good guy” path. He ends up becoming almost invincible because of this, and is a hideous person who feeds on the terror he instills in his enemies. Of course, this doesn't end well for him, as he is eventually defeated by a rival clan and completely wiped out; but this is just the beginning. Wei Wuxian is reincarnated in the body of someone equally eccentric and is reluctantly drawn into solving the mysteries of his existence alongside an old classmate.

2 Unexplored walker

Psychological survival on an isolated island

Survival clichés, in which characters with different backgrounds and personalities get stranded on a remote island and are forced to cooperate to get home, are not only rare in donghua but in animation in general. Unexplored walker takes this classic survival setting and adds its own dark twist involving inner demons and interpersonal relationships between characters that get darker by the minute.

The show follows two groups of people isolated on a strangely harmful island. Although these people don't get along and are completely different from each other, they must put aside their differences and work together to survive the true horror that is spreading across the darkness of this island.

This Donghua touches on some mature themes and should be approached with caution.

1 Die now

Underground conspiracies come true

Die now it's a donghua that gets its mystery label not because it's about solving clear cases or dealing with ambiguous conflicts, but because of its sheer chaos. It's everywhere – no clear conflict, no tidy resolution and no neat structure – and that's exactly what makes it so fascinating.

It has a completely unhinged premise that starts out pretty mundane, with a series of murders surrounding the main character. During all the chaos, his girlfriend goes missing, which prompts him to start his own investigation. This leads him to a bizarre and sinister gaming community that hosts high-stakes events, where the stakes are literally life or death. The deeper he digs, the more he realizes that behind the scenes there is something much bigger and much more malevolent.