Sturgeon's law: 99% of everything is terrible.... more>>

I know many people say that there are no good novels on this site, and it oftens feels like the top lists are filled with overpowered MC's, undeveloped harems, 2D characters, and lacking plots.

There are some novels that stand out, however, whether that be for their plots, characters, or translations.

This is a list for my personal 1%. It is ranked in order. <<less

Sequence is CN- JP- KR- Fluffy- (Comedy)- Exceptions- To-reads. Not ranked by number. 
My descriptions varies greatly from a gist, polished review, impressions, or explains key points.        ... more>>

[Flexible Preferences] 
A. Protags are somehow mostly male but I read both!- interesting, has compelling qualities, flawed with development
B. Entertaining, Distinct, & Creative
C. Steady premise, no TERRIBLE plot hole 
D. Romance: good execution, pacing, build-up, & evokes emotion; no bullsh!t drama & brain-dead denseness
E. Vital, relevant, fleshed-out characters
F. Comedic & Fun
G. Danger, Wars, Battles, Strategy, Tactics, Trials, Fights, Thriller, Suspense
H. Lore, Culture, Kingdom, Worldbuilding 
I. Political Intrigue, Schemes, Mind Games, Manipulation, Mystery
J.  Pure tragedies rarely - it hurts!
K. No BL/GL(yet?)
L. Can be R-18 
M. Polygamous-like IF great story | even if you're averse consider my recs. ;)

[Criteria]
1. These are (mostly) 4/5 stars in story, translation and enjoyment according to my flawed evaluation that is mainly 3/10 objective, 7/10 subjective.
2. I have perused the novels or adaptation before sharing my thoughts.
3. Writing must be consistent, coherent and engaging and the ending must at least not be sh!t. Clichés to a point are fine however it needs to be purposeful & executed well. 
4. I will keep adding books that are promising, satisfying, translated.  <<less

Caution: bear the risk of having your taste being too sky-high standard.

When the protagonist is an unfaithful loser, do you have the urge to transmigrate into the novel to give him a good beating? If so, I present to you a list of novels I enjoyed with an overpowered male protagonist and no harem. Featuring:... more>>

- overpowered protagonist
- no harem, preferably no romance
- loner, antihero, or evil protagonist (not a guarantee) <<less

A list of novels I like so I don't forget. Not in order. I try to not make this similar to FIEND's and other people's list but there aren't that many decent ones with no romance y'know. ... more>>

Some novels : Since The Red Moon Appeared, The Damned, Supreme Grandpa, Is That A Wisp?, Spending My Retirement In A Game.

P.S. I still haven't differentiated quick transmigration and world hopping so I could be mistaken about some. Thank you for understanding. <<less

A list of memorable stories I read on novelupdates that covers mostly survival stories, reincarnation in non-human beings, second chances in other worlds and novels that felt unique in some way.... more>>

More often than not, stories I included had some grim parts to them. Where I find it necessary, I'll put a warning. 

Some stories are simply positive. Not everything needs to be dark. <<less

An actually good escapism isekai that rewards you with feelings either sad or happiness. (note that this list is still unfinished)... more>>

Please leave feedback in the comment if u have a recommendation(im craving for a good isekai... help) or didn't agree with some of the lists. <<less

These are the novels that make me excited to see what the mc will do next.... more>>

Growth~mythical beings~solo mcs etc. <<less

(Mostly) no harem no BL, male lead on fantasy novel setting with his over protective companions.... more>>

***
Some is tagged Yaoi/Shonen Ai. BUT their relationship is mainly bromance, dense MC, super slow romance and barely had any explicit contents. Save read for those who doesn't like BL, like me.

Note: Some with yaoi tag  still ongoing, I'll update if it's bearable to read or not. <<less

Characters who have self-serving personalities or tendencies, and may or may not show it in interactions, actions, emotions, intent, and thoughts. Or just that the character has a willingness to do things that aren't compatible with our modern and diverse views regarding morals, ethics, principles, and ideals of good. Of course these books have different tones and also handling of this subject.... more>>

The list was created with much subjectivity, as I won't put protagonists whose good qualities overshadows all their impactful grey actions and evil actions, which is important to me regardless of whether they are truly good or evil. -> Different examples of who I won't include are Song Shuhang (kindness), Klein Moretti (principles and heroic actions), Kim Dokja (altruism), and Chen Ge (goodwill and generosity).

Work in progress. Of course I have read these, I will simply state if I did not. Most are good novels but I will add some non-favorites, which is purely my opinion because I have a personal standard of quality.

UNRANKED

Let me not bother about my face and recommend my list for top quality novels I've enjoyed:  https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/16488/ <<less

I hate harem. Why? Because most of the time it leads the story to a direction that's not pleasing. And most of all I don't... more>> fantasize about having thousands of girl on my lap.  Hell I'm not even interested in romance . Anyway this list contains novels that have zero harem and maybe it will have novels that have romance, but almost all of them are not focused on romance
So enjoy (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*.✧ <<less

A list of novels where the protagonist engages in s*xual activities. Why doesn't novelupdates have a s*xual interc**rse tag, but has random sh*t like outdoor s*x tag? I don't know, but this is why I am making this list. Warning not all novels are yet translated to the seggs part.... more>>

Pt1 is here https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/44108/

If you know of any novel not in pt1 and here say it and I will add it. Particularly lacking knowledge on KR and CN novels. <<less

GENRES: either Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Historical, Horror, Martial Arts, Mystery, Psychological, Sci-Fi, Slice of Life, Supernatural... more>>

A compilation of my favorites (CN, JP, KR) in alphabetical order.
*read the comments for additional recommendations (original novels)
*will update when I find and read new interesting ones <<less

If you are interested in my list, please leave a comment.... more>>

If not, I'm sorry for you wasting your time <<less

I really like ✓unique (world building/game rule/setting), ✓logical development, ✓solid plot, ✓all character in the novel have a life of their own that not serve for the purpose of the plot and finally a ✓logical MC. If there are at least two of these qualities, LINNIL APPROVE!!... more>>

I like to read various genre I don't care if it's ✮shoujou, ✮shounen, ✮yaoi or ✮harem, if only there is my require qualities~

This list order by my like, it not depend on the novel quality though. >wOb <<less

I have read more than 500 novels until now. Here’s my List of best 50 novels. No specific genre. Some of them are Original which i read ... more>>

TBATE - my first Reincarnation novel really good but very slow release 1 chapter per week. - S .

Shadow s*ave - Really unique system and story. - S

Mother of Learning - Classic Novel .Time Loop and Magic - S+. One of the Best

The Sinful Life of the Emperor - Great Smut novel with really good story and action , really liked this - S

Along with this i will list about 50 novels from 500 which i liked the best. <<less

you have been looking for this.... more>>

here's a list of op mc Korean novels you have been looking for

(the first few descriptions of the novels are not mine, they are just comments I copied of NU, also please note that while most novels here are Korean not all of them are)

here are some other lists I made: https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/46420/ and https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/47255/  check them out if you're interested <<less

*in my opinion... more>>

Kinda but not really in order. If you've got similar taste, rec me stuff in the comments! 

I read a pretty wide range of genres, but in general I avoid harem, bad-end/tragedies (real life is depressing enough lol), and yandere (they creep me out). You might find some of the above on this list, but they'd have to be really good.

Updates whenever I read something good (fairly often bc I read an insane amount), but I'm pretty selective about what goes onto this list specifically. Check my reading list for the others that aren't quite at the this level. <<less

Chinese Cultivation novels, from Coiling Dragon to Against the Gods, were some of the absolute earliest novels listed on Novel Updates. Japanese isekai novels have... more>> been around the block for quite awhile, too, with middling popularity before Novel Updates even existed. ... And we <<less

Stories I have or will read that contain an Evil Main character or a character similar or within the evil theme(None of these are in... more>> order). Also feel free to recommend or give your own review of a story in the comment section. <<less

The GOAT novels for me on the website. Only my personal cream of the crop. The top 10 are in order of my favorites, the... more>> rest are more or less in order. <<less

Novels that I liked with descriptions that will hopefully draw you into them!

Novels which have been deemed to be excellent in some regard, irrespective of genres and themes. While not exhaustive in any way, this list will be periodically updated as I read more. Note that erot*c content might also be included. To better understand why I chose certain series, check out my reviews!... more>>

Note: I am biased towards reading more CN, and I have stopped reading any novel related to QI since the controversy with WW. Thus, you might find this list to be particularly biased, so take it with a pinch of salt. The order/numbering is not indicative of anything. <<less

This list a mishmash of all kind JP novel, hope you find good stuff to read, rank doesn't matter

IN THE PROCESS OF FIXING THIS READING LIST! C= C= C= C= C=┌(;・ω・)┘... more>>

this list has the novels for those who want:

- romance novels (comedic undertone, light reading, lots and lots of FLUFF) 

- no romance novels (where romance doesn't bu*t into an amazing plot and makes you want to dry heave)

- misunderstanding novels (specifically ones that evoke laughter or amus**ent)

warning: all of these novels have (or will have) my opinion and terrible descriptions !! 

i hope you have fun reading 

(*￣▽￣)b <<less