Most fo them idk yet. ... more>>

No smut, ai, yaoi, yuri.

Almost no harem.  <<less

Includes psychological and mystery stories as well. Some I didn't read fully

Stories that I genuinely liked with interesting characters. These characters have ambition, smarts, or interesting perspectives. I think that every good story must have a good main character, or everything will collapse, so I've only added my absolute favorites.... more>>

The stories are in order, but they are all enjoyable. Some have romance (BL or GB) and others don't.  Some have period typical attitudes (ie, the value of women in a harem setting is not...spectacular). The majority are CN, but a few are also KN. There's...there's a lot of transmigration, admittedly. I have no defence there.

Please enjoy and let me know if my opinions are accurate! <<less

Novels I've completed reading where FL is brave/self-sufficient and ML is smart/supportive . Both have strong commitment and good communication in their relationship. Both undergoes character and career growth.. ... more>>

There were lot of novels out there that have brave FL and supportive ML but they fell flat for me as characters seems OP and there were really no character and career growth (yep, I'm looking for novels with REALISTIC career narrative).  <<less

Translated Taiwanese light novels (physical books). Most are no or minimal romance, focusing on plot and bonds between family and friends instead! The writing style... more>> usually has a comedic undertone as well. <<less

Pristine's All-time Favorites.... more>>

Either the story is addictive to re-read (category A), has a satisfying end (category B), or both (category C).

There are stories with male protagonist, but many of them are stories with female protagonist.

Update: some books that haven't been categorized yet are mostly the recently added ones, but they are no less amazing than other stories listed earlier in this list. <<less

Novels that make you go uwu by selling meng through children, childcare, family love, and friendship. They portray the wholesomeness of family and friendship, and depict the mischief and innocence of children, making you adore them.  Enjoy! :)... more>>

- not ranked in order, fluffy, HE <<less

just random novels i found to be interesting

Being an idol/actor/superstar is hard work on its own, never mind the impending threat of death hanging over your head if you don't succeed in being the best. Follow our MCs as they go through the trials of failures and successes to achieve to be the greatest of their (somewhat forcibly) chosen careers. ... more>>

Includes: Romantic subplot - NO ROMANCE - BxG - BxB

*GOING THROUGH MY SHOWBIZ PHASE AGAIN HELP-

**Also just read the MTLs for these Novels if their translations are unavailable or slow** <<less

The following is a list of the top Japanese gender bender fantasy novels without romance and harem that I have ever read.  Novels with the gender bender genre give a sense of how a man was changed into a girl for certain reasons.  ... more>>

Generally, novels with gender bender will fall into gender identity deviations so that they often fall into deviant genres such as yuri and yaoi.  

However, if the author is sane enough to present plot stories, gender bender novels can be interesting novels because these present the point of view of a man in a girl's body in living his life story without having to be trapped in romance and harem. 

 Therefore, novels with gender bender genre must create conditions in which the MC does not want to be trapped in the deviation of gender identity by engaging in romantic relationships that end in deviation.  

In other words, the MC must be single for life and focus on her life goals. <<less

This list is mostly consists of romance novels I've finished and really liked. Most of them are all sweet-fluffy types with some realistic and friendship... more>> building novels. The order is mostly random except for the top 5 which are made of my favorites. <<less

No description.

Stories containing comradeship between men! Not BL explicitly but some can become one if you squint hard enough. 

Home to the warriors who seek the dao. The journeys of despair, love and self-discovery of those that seek the pinnacle of the martial way.

I really wanted to create a list with novels in which the main character plays some kind of acting role and pretends to be a different person, and also novels with MC, which are misunderstood or all of the above together.
I will sort the novels according to these criteria:... more>>

First novels (#1-10) – MC is female. Then (#11-20) MC is male. <<less

Basically novel I personally love so much I don't want to ever forget them.

No romance, no harem, no marriage, MC just wants to live with his/ her family and his/ her friends

Any recommendations are very welcome! Stories where nothing really bad happens or if they do, there are really wonderful feel good scenes throughout most of the story. Something warm and sweet to read when stressed to make you smile, laugh or just feel happy. It's ranked according to rating which is basically how much I enjoyed the story. It's not ranked on how heartwarming the story is.... more>>

I wish I can put my own tags but I can't so I'll add some here haha:

Family is Important, Feel Good, Family Love, Warmth, Sweetness, Friends that feel like real friends <<less

ahaha basically just some of my favourite novels that I enjoy a lot.... more>>

*Ranked randomly* <<less

List of novels you might enjoy if you want to read novels with that have minimal romance/nonexistent.... more>>

More on friendship, brotherhood, family found stories. <<less

I just like it ahahaha. Can't guarantee the quality for everyone but personally I loved these novels so for me their quality is top notch~

For novels that look like BL but aren't actually. Also for fun.
~
So the real reason I made this is because I thought it was quite interesting how many BL shippers there are for no-romance and minimal-romance novels I've collected in my other lists. As you can imagine, most of these are novels that prominently feature male characters and their relationships with one another.... more>>

Although I do read BL, I'm not much of a shipper myself, so most of the stuff on here is here because there really are people out there shipping the MC with one of the male characters that's not canonically a love interest. Yes, I confirm these ships by searching for fanarts, fanfics, and forum articles asking if it's BL. Think of it as my weird hobby.
~

I'm not going to rate or review the novels here. It's more of a compilation than a rec list. Note that I haven't read many of these, and that it is in no particular order.

There has to be an uncommon degree of fujobait going on. I'm not going to add just any series where male characters have a significant friendship. Although series with exceptionally thirsty fandoms will leak into this list anyways since, like I said, I'm not actually reading some of these. I will occasionally ramble in the description.

I'm well aware that there are plenty of other similar lists out there, so I'll link them below as I find them.
(insert after the "viewlist/" in the URL): 30062, 1733, 64324 <<less

Novels that are plot-heavy with skillful world building... more>>

May involve fantasy elements such as elemental abilities, ranking systems, magical creatures, 

Martial Arts and Wuxia/Xuanhuan elements such as cultivation techniques, arrays

Characters may include Gods, Demons, Sages, Sects, Cultivation Masters, Martial Masters,  Kings and Imperial Family members

Found family & friendship themes are especially dominant amidst trying times like wars, battle between good vs evil, quests on saving the world

Romance may also be included but I don’t particularly like harems.  <<less

I used to read western novels mostly but after the hype of Mo Dao Zu Shi, I got attracted to Chinese BL novels. And recently I have fallen into the BL hole. So, I continuously read Asian BL novels and what I have seen is that many of the BL stories have the following characteristics:... more>>

1. Stories are repetitive in nature with one main character completely obsessed with the other main character. Also, most of them focus mainly on the lead characters. Most of the time, side characters are just there to be the lead characters' lackeys or face-slap recipients.

2. Even the writing style and plot are copy-paste from some older novels of the same genre. 

3. R*pe is highly romanticized especially on Asian BL novels.

4. Toxic relationship is depicted as romantic . 

5. And lets not forget the segregation of 'top' and 'bottom'. 

6. 'Tops' are aloof, cold, otherworldly handsome, possessive and sex-driven.

7. 'Bottoms' are feminine, meek and cute.

Have I forgotten anything else? Feel free to remind me.

There are really only a few stories with proper world building, character development, healthy relationship, intricate and original plot, realistic characters, original writing style, etc.  These are what I personally think are the best Asian BL novels I have ever read: <<less

Let's continue the treasure hunt for novel not ordinary ones but the fantasy ones!