No Harem, Overpowered Male Protagonist
No Harem, Overpowered Male Protagonist
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:
- overpowered protagonist
- no harem, preferably no romance
- loner, antihero, or evil protagonist (not a guarantee)
- overpowered protagonist
- no harem, preferably no romance
- loner, antihero, or evil protagonist (not a guarantee)
243 Followers

Created: Apr 12th, 2020, Updated: Mar 12th, 2023
Created Apr 12th, 2020
Updated Mar 12th, 2023

40 Chapters Every 272.7 Day(s) 7070 Readers 184 Reviews 12-14-2018
Literally my favorite novel.

485 Chapters Every 1 Day(s) 2960 Readers 28 Reviews 12-01-2023
Why is this novel low-key better than Lord of the Mysteries...? It has the same steampunk/Cthulhu setting, and the two novels are surprisingly similar in other aspects.... more>>

113 Chapters Every 521.7 Day(s) 12466 Readers 371 Reviews 02-06-2019
Edit: Alright, I'm going to be honest. Klein isn't overpowered at all - there's too many background forces for it to ever happen. That's why I never actually finished the novel (lol) and why I've decided to not read the second one.... more>>

24 Chapters Every 17.9 Day(s) 1025 Readers 10 Reviews 06-05-2023
Edit: Great writing as usual, but a huge disappointment for me in terms of plot. Read the review for Lord of the Mysteries to understand me.... more>>

744 Chapters Every 9.1 Day(s) 2971 Readers 39 Reviews 11-02-2023
The quality of the translation is worse than MTL. Don't even attempt to read it.


39 Chapters Every 114.5 Day(s) 2775 Readers 52 Reviews 03-29-2019
I know, I can see the slice of life tag, but it doesn't count.

38 Chapters Every 214.7 Day(s) 1109 Readers 43 Reviews 03-27-2020

20 Chapters Every 37.5 Day(s) 292 Readers 9 Reviews 05-18-2022
A new novel from the author of The Legendary Mechanic! The first world is amazing, but the second world is a martial arts one (and,... more>>

336 Chapters Every 80.1 Day(s) 5593 Readers 33 Reviews 05-07-2022

159 Chapters Every 15.1 Day(s) 2237 Readers 24 Reviews 11-23-2023
This is much better than all of the other behind the scenes and fourth natural disaster novels. It's very well-written, and the author is experienced... more>>

70 Chapters Every 100.6 Day(s) 1095 Readers 22 Reviews 10-22-2019

577 Chapters Every 11 Day(s) 755 Readers 10 Reviews 07-13-2023
I enjoyed reading about the first world (Naruto). The protagonist is very evil, and I love Naruto fanfictions that are about being a member of... more>>

17 Chapters Every 171.1 Day(s) 18177 Readers 250 Reviews 02-17-2019
Yes, I actually think this is the best Korean novel (but not the best manhwa haha). No judgement, please. I don't care much for the... more>>

45 Chapters Every 20.6 Day(s) 247 Readers 1 Reviews 11-08-2023
I've read 1200 chapters of this novel. That's quite impressive, at least for me. ... more>>

456 Chapters Every 12.9 Day(s) 9730 Readers 107 Reviews 06-14-2023
This novel is a little overrated... ... more>>

#17One Man Army
205 Chapters Every 37.9 Day(s) 6780 Readers 56 Reviews 12-12-2022
One of the first novels I came to enjoy on NovelUpdates.


38 Chapters Every 16 Day(s) 661 Readers 10 Reviews 07-26-2021
Fits all of the requirements in the description. A rather short novel about revenge. I'm loving the protagonist. He's handsome and always giggles like a... more>>

0 Chapters Every 0.5 Day(s) 7648 Readers 183 Reviews 09-30-2018

40 Chapters Every 658.1 Day(s) 9217 Readers 288 Reviews 06-01-2016
RIP

12 Chapters Every 231.2 Day(s) 11466 Readers 88 Reviews 09-29-2020


465 Chapters Every 44.6 Day(s) 6077 Readers 60 Reviews 02-18-2022
Action Adventure Drama Fantasy Horror Martial Arts Mature Mystery Psychological Supernatural Tragedy Xuanhuan
It’s really good and unique at first, but you’ll eventually get tired of it.

21 Chapters Every 179.3 Day(s) 16805 Readers 182 Reviews 09-09-2016
Apparently, there's a harem (the tag) and the protagonist's personality degenerates a lot in the latter half of the novel. But I think I've read... more>>
Comments (22)
Yeah, I've heard of Overlord, but I prefer protagonists who look human. I like to picture scenes in my mind.
I've read through a few chapters of TCF in the past, but the protagonist didn't seem that overpowered. Does he get really strong at some point? Like he can defeat everyone without trying too hard?
@Crepescule I wouldn't really say he becomes overpowered because he is (and is conscious of the fact that he is) physically pretty weak. Although, he has the usual transmigration advantage that is "I read the first five novels of the book I transmigrated in" and because of that, he manages to collect ancient powers that make him hella OP but they do have drawbacks so he can't use them like a full-on beast, get what I mean?
So I wouldn't say he is weak, per se, he's overpowered but not too OP. Putting aside the powers he collects along the way, I'd say he's more OP when it comes to his planning/strategizing. He is very much like a chess master, letting his party do most of the actual heavy lifting, but when he does enter a fight, usual it's when he really needs to use his power regardless of drawbacks. (Although I wouldn't call him OP enough to defeat an enemy with a few moves.)
(And the lack of romance is great, honestly. There's no harem or forced romance and fittingly so since the MC feels very much like the kind of person that wouldn't bother with romance, but if you could consider a protection squad as a harem, then I guess it can be one haha)
@Crepescule yes he is, he was just too lazy to use his strength
recommendation: world's apocalypse online, if you like smart mc
Sure!
In this list:
#1: Doom Lord / #9: The World Online - (future knowledge, kingdom building)
#4: Gamers of the Underworld - (NPC protagonist, mostly comedy, less about the protagonist, kingdom building)
#11: Dungeon Hunter - (dungeon master/ NPC protagonist, dungeon building, future knowledge) (literally the dungeon version of TLM)
#18: I’m the Boss Who Modified the World - (NPC-like protagonist, ridiculously overpowered, not cold protagonist)
#36: System Supplier - (NPC-like protagonist, ridiculously overpowered, not cold protagonist) (why is this even in my list? I didn't like this one lol)
...and literally all other KR novels in this list have future knowledge
Outside list:
Gate of Revelation - (NPC protagonist, but wasn't quite OP enough for this list)
I Am A Legendary BOSS - (NPC protagonist, but wasn't quite OP enough for this list)
The Great Merchant in the Cataclysm - (NPC-like protagonist, but wasn't quite OP enough for this list)
Three Meals of a Reincarnator - (protagonist feels like an NPC, but wasn't quite OP enough for this list)
I'm kind of surprised lotm (Lord of the Mysteries) isn't here, since it's so popular in China and overseas--I would recommend it if you haven't read it yet!
I also recommend 'The Great Storyteller' and 'Chrysalis', though 'Chrysalis' has a ant protagonist, and 'The Great Storyteller' isn't as action-packed.
Originally, I ignored Lord of the Mysteries because I noticed the tags and thought that the protagonist wasn’t overpowered enough. Protagonists aren’t usually overpowered in mystery novels because something just makes you feel like they aren’t in control, like there’s some higher being behind the strings. And when I say overpowered, I mean that the protagonist is THE strongest or has a ridiculous cheat. But it seems similar to the Devil’s Cage, so I’ll put it in my reading list.
The Great Storyteller also looks interesting. I hope it’s the same kind of novel as Great Doctor Ling Ran.