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Objectively Great Stuff.
Objectively Great Stuff.
This is a list of things I have read which I think are great from the perspective of 'quality of craft' & 'quality of story'. In general those will be great reads for everyone as well, but will less include 'because I like this' focused listings of other 'great so long as you like this' stories.
That said, there are only so many 'objectively great' stories, so farther down the list I will put caveats (etc.) with less 'full measure' stories- either 'just good', or 'great if you like this', etc. I moved all the anri-social protags to another list.
If you know of something I should add to this list, feel free to comment a suggestion or PM.
I have written quite a few reviews for most of these and other works- feel free to check them out, and vote them up if you find them helpful. Thanks!
That said, there are only so many 'objectively great' stories, so farther down the list I will put caveats (etc.) with less 'full measure' stories- either 'just good', or 'great if you like this', etc. I moved all the anri-social protags to another list.
If you know of something I should add to this list, feel free to comment a suggestion or PM.
I have written quite a few reviews for most of these and other works- feel free to check them out, and vote them up if you find them helpful. Thanks!
19 Followers
Created: Sep 24th, 2020, Updated: May 11th, 2025
Created Sep 24th, 2020
Updated May 11th, 2025
345 Chapters Every 523.1 Day(s) 25312 Readers 362 Reviews 09-25-2017
This is quite simply a brilliant work.... more>>
20 Chapters Every 188.8 Day(s) 19567 Readers 382 Reviews 10-19-2017
This gets surprisingly good. I'll say right off you have to weather more than 100 chapters of 'The MC is a prat', before the author polishes his skill and begins to evolve the MC into one of the better protagonists out there.... more>>
110 Chapters Every 263.3 Day(s) 9504 Readers 50 Reviews 01-10-2025
From a solid story, to a solid manga, to a somewhat Ok anime- this story does a bunch of stuff 'just like the others', only to go to the same goals in a very different way.... more>>
764 Chapters Every 108.1 Day(s) 28086 Readers 216 Reviews 01-30-2022
A pretty interesting story with a cutesy (but reasonable) manga adaptation. Very much a 'weak to strong' journey, with some twists towards the end.... more>>
478 Chapters Every 24.5 Day(s) 30444 Readers 350 Reviews 07-01-2025
One of the more intricate, detailed stories with a host of evolving characters, and a lot of world design. Also, the MC is very OP- but is more clever and laid back than a lot of other MCs.... more>>
29 Chapters Every 157.3 Day(s) 5717 Readers 14 Reviews 05-21-2022
This one is both over-rated and under-rated for different reasons. It's very light and fun, and very detailed and architected- and if the MCs weren't so perfect (and OP), then I think there'd be no argument with it getting a higher rating- BUT even so, it's a favorite of mine. The anime is in particular a pretty good adaptation, though I like a lot of the third novel best (so far).... more>>
85 Chapters Every 95.9 Day(s) 25055 Readers 467 Reviews 06-05-2025
Completed Action Adventure Comedy Drama Fantasy Mature Mystery Psychological Sci-fi Seinen Supernatural Tragedy
This is probably the best implementation of 'design a world' structure where 'plot armor' and 'deus ex machina' are acceptable parts of the story, and 'oh yeah- let's make pop-up events normal too' - because that's what this story is, and it is very good despite it.... more>>
113 Chapters Every 561.3 Day(s) 17290 Readers 379 Reviews 02-06-2019
*NOT 'completed' as listed! Vol 1 is completed, and ends on a cliff. Vols 2 & up currently untranslated & ongoing.*... more>>
830 Chapters Every 17.8 Day(s) 20071 Readers 237 Reviews 10-25-2024
Starts out kinda dumb and very cliche, but somehow sneaks up to be pretty smart and very good in quite a few ways.... more>>
20 Chapters Every 88.7 Day(s) 3311 Readers 61 Reviews 12-09-2021
This starts out with a kludgy introduction which might as well be a prologue- forcing a back-story which is pretty shallow and forced. Don't drop yet- that's the worst of it, and the story immediately develops into a quite enjoyable read after that.... more>>
17 Chapters Every 210.7 Day(s) 19586 Readers 254 Reviews 02-17-2019
On the plus side, this is interesting, pretty well plotted, and has a great manhua adaptation.... more>>
20 Chapters Every 98.2 Day(s) 2699 Readers 34 Reviews 08-11-2021
Although called by many 'yet another cultivation knock-off', this is actually pretty interesting despite not really being exactly a cultivation story (It's really almost a fantasy/cultivation hybrid with horror elements).... more>>
315 Chapters Every 148.2 Day(s) 11712 Readers 164 Reviews 08-16-2019
This fantasy story (skinned as a prehistoric adventure) is surprisingly solid despite it not being exceptional in any area, (& also slightly weird at implementing it's core ideas).... more>>
393 Chapters Every 168.7 Day(s) 17547 Readers 201 Reviews 08-19-2018
This is a (mostly) comedic novel with very non-standard plot & pacing. It's quite good, but you have to invest because it builds over hundreds of chapters.... more>>
25 Chapters Every 437.4 Day(s) 21047 Readers 236 Reviews 11-02-2015
Probably the best of the 'Saturday morning cartoon' style of stories, this work encompasses a LOT of growth and 'ally growth/nurturing' as a focus with the MC not just selfishly worrying about his own strength, but doing the best he can for his friends, family and city as well.... more>>
50 Chapters Every 45.8 Day(s) 311 Readers 10 Reviews 09-01-2023
For a novel about cultivation, with a 'generic self-involved MC with cheat' protag and generic 'mu*derhobo allowed/fear the strong' society, you really don't expect as... more>>
#18Douluo Dalu
345 Chapters Every 170.2 Day(s) 13594 Readers 109 Reviews 05-03-2020
Pretty much a landmark franchise, it's the 'Saturday morning cartoons' of wuxia, and probably the best known title.... more>>
520 Chapters Every 93.5 Day(s) 23178 Readers 194 Reviews 11-24-2021
Goes downhill 'Extra'. This was pretty good, interesting, and gave hope for better development- for a while. It never degrades to 'bad', but becomes quite forced at points. I have taken a break from it, but intend to complete it eventually.... more>>
#20Dragon Poor
20 Chapters Every 112.7 Day(s) 3482 Readers 25 Reviews 12-01-2020
Solid plotting and pretty good characters in this 'weak to strong' fantasy. Aside from a few incidents of overdone drama, this is an appreciated variation of an oft-used theme. ... more>>
137 Chapters Every 236.1 Day(s) 1992 Readers 46 Reviews 06-20-2018
Another 'extra' novel added beyond the list. This is one where the early chapters are pretty damn mediocre, and you should probably have a 'wuxia' favoring slant even though this is mostly more of a power based fantasy thing...... more>>
Comments (7)
Off list novels:
#1 Shadow s1ave (Ongoing)
#2 From Thug to Idol:Transmigrating to a Survival Show
Shadow S1ave: "Starts a bit disappointing, but quickly becomes quite the read. Very nice character development and world-building, though I'm not sure where this is going- the journey is enjoyable."
From Thug to Idol: "Surprisingly good considering I normally could care less about Idols. An experiment in 'lets see where the author is going with this', that really pays off in twists and surprises. Nowhere near a perfect story- but way better than one might think..."