Recommendations I'm looking for reincarnating/isekai novels

Discussion in 'I'm Looking For...' started by FussyBadger, Apr 11, 2018.

  1. FussyBadger

    FussyBadger Well-Known Member

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    I'm looking for a novel (Doesn't matter if its CN, KR or JP) where the main character is reincarnated,transported or summoned to another world. I've read a lot of the Japanese novels for available here but I was having trouble finding interesting ones outside of most JP novels. I'm looking for the MC to be from a modern world and not from a different fantasy world. I finally read Release that Witch and recently read Everyone was a Returnee and Infinite Competitive Dungeon Society. I was pleasantly surprised enough with these series to lift my self imposed ban against CN and KR novels. Which lead me to trying to read Womanizing Mage and immediately dropped it after 7 chapters because the MC's situation was awful. Also I'm not a fan of cultivating novels either or anything like that since it always devolves into a MC who can hit above his "league". I have plenty of other gripes with this so I'll just skip it and list some bullet points for what I'd like and what I'm not interested in. Thanks for any answers and help I appreciate it

    What I'm interested in:

    MC comes from a modern world
    If MC has a secret from others in the cast the reveal of his story has an impact. A poor example of this is
    Yu Ilhan's reveal of him staying on Earth for his 1000 years which at this point in the novel didn't do much of anything. Even when he told his mother earlier in the story a good time reveal his dropout period had long passed.
    The reincarnation, summoning or transportation plays a big part to the story
    I'd prefer a unique setting but I'm not against having something overused or over saturated
    Good to great world building

    What I'm not interested in:
    MC transporting from a fantasy world to another fantasy world as part of the character's background (like mentioning Womanizing Mage above)
    A story where the MC being summoned is basically useless. A good example of this is Summoned Slaughterer
    Cultivation novels. I enjoyed reading Tales of Demons and Gods but I need a break from the tiered level ups and I think that they're just poor writing.
     
  2. Lil K.O

    Lil K.O [Loki]

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  3. Relken

    Relken Unknown Member

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  4. FHandsome

    FHandsome Well-Known Member

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  5. Ophis

    Ophis 『God Slayer』 『Dragon God』 『Harem Seeker』

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  6. Conviter

    Conviter Well-Known Member

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    are you not reading the OP? he specifically stated that he does NOT want cultivation novels. sigh.. sometimes i wonder why these people even bother recommending stuff if they dont read properly.

    As for the novel recommendation, i can only think of Instant Death and Main Character hides his strenght right now.
     
  7. KurobaYuki

    KurobaYuki Active Member

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    Crossing to the Future, it’s Not Easy to Be a Man
     
  8. Alucard DCLXVI

    Alucard DCLXVI Well-Known Member

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  9. Cenarous

    Cenarous Well-Known Member

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    The Death Mage Who Doesn’t Want a Fourth Time
     
  10. Robbini

    Robbini Logical? Illogical? Random? Or Just Unique?

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    Basically you want something similar to a JP isekai, but if it's CN it can't be cultivation .

    Mechanical God Emperor ( less than 15% translated, but hey it's what, 1700-1800 chapters ?)
    King of Mercenaries maybe (less than 1% translated, and it's a time travel to the past, but hey)
    World of Warcraft Foreign Realm Domination (50-60%+ translated)
    Wortenia Senki (70%+ translated I think)
     
  11. Mangikop

    Mangikop Observer from the Fourth Wall

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    Amber Sword

    Bringing The Farm To Live In Another World

    Garudeina
    Dungeon Defense
    Skeleton Knight in Another World
    Gourmet of Another World
    I Said Make My Abilities Average!
    I Have a Mansion in the Apocalypse
    Main Character Hides His Strength(from above^)
    Experimental Log of the Crazy Lich
    I Was a Sword When I Reincarnated
    In a Different World with a Smartphone

    Isekai Mahou wa Okureteru
    Knights and Magic
    Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear
    Kumo desu ga Nani ka
    Overlord

    My house is a magic power spot

    Ore to kawazu San no isekai Hourouki

    Otherworld Nation Founding
    Parallel World Pharmacy
    So What if it's an RPG world

    Valhalla Saga

    Lazy Dungeon Master
    Death March Kara Hajimaru
    Tsuki ga mitsubiko
    Kyuuketsu Hime was Barairu
    The Guild's Cheat Receptionist

    Not sure if I spelled them right, hope this helps.
     
    Last edited: Apr 11, 2018
  12. FussyBadger

    FussyBadger Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for all the replies really appreciate it everyone.

    I was waiting for more chapters to pile up for now. I feel like his stories start out strong and significantly decrease in quality as they go on.

    I've already read all of the ones you've mentioned and even about 20 chapters of Shinka no Mi MTL. I probably should edit my original post to say I've read a lot of JP novels

    Thanks for reading through the whole post. I guess I don't mind cultivation if there is a good story behind it but I honestly don't see it happening. I've read most of Instant Death and I don't think I'll read anymore as I'm not really a fan of it.

    To all those who recommended Van's adventure thanks but I've all caught up even with the raws. Its one of my favorite novel on here
     
  13. Ophis

    Ophis 『God Slayer』 『Dragon God』 『Harem Seeker』

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    I had a hunch you did when you mentioned you've read a lot of JP novels. It would help if you make your reading list public so that we could check it when asking for recommendations.

    Anyway, good luck in finding the stories you're looking for. If you make your reading list public I could try checking for something more later on.
     
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  14. FussyBadger

    FussyBadger Well-Known Member

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    I'd have to make a reading list before making it public. I've been meaning to do it but I just never got around to it but if I had to guess I've read over 250 jp novels at this point.

    I do appreciate the suggestions though since I liked all the ones you mentioned
     
  15. Gin_Hindew

    Gin_Hindew Well-Known Member

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    if you are looking for isekai then is good to start from the progenitors of the modern era, i also include some modern evolutions

    First the two ones that went wrong

    Sword Art Online - this is the one that set the bases for a lame and generic isekai power fantasy, watch the first season because some trash food is good among actual meals, then watch the Abridged Version in youtube to see how the writting improved by making everyone an asshole, or just watch the abridged version
    - For a modern version read any trash food isekai with a black haired and black coated MC who tries to look like a badass in the cover of the book while having a teenager´s face, extra points if they have a black katana, personally i dont mind reading them in manga because its much faster and the pointless slice of life is often cut out

    Re:Monster - the one that started the "reincarnated into a monster and evolving my species", it starts really good but deviates into a jumbled mess of overpowered skills and extreme fast pacing that goes nowhere, read the manga to save yourself the pointless inner thoughts and stats explanations, this story tried to play the "i became a monster so my morals changed" but those morals are all aimed to get a harem, to become OP and to become rich so is more like a regular human with a power trip
    - For a modern and extremely superior version read Kumo Desu Ga Nani Ka? here the MC is a girl reincarnated as a spider who kills monsters, levels up and evolves and there are some cool fights, but as the story goes on the reincarnation aspect becomes heavier as its obvious that the game system was developed by the gods and they want something from the people who uses it, later on the MC becomes powerful enough to change the fate of the world and has to take a stance... but she was not very social in her past life and became even les social in the next one so is easy for her to do what is best for the world at the expenses of humanity, there are also some estandard reincarnators (the rest of the high school class) that give us perspective on how OP and strange the MC will become
    Also, is very amusing to see the estandard reincarnations believing themselves to be OP when the MC can crush them with a slap of her webs... and then she would eat them because she never wastes food, also because they must be tasty, this one really became an intelligent monster instead of a powerful human

    Then the ones that went right

    Overlord - the original "im in another world and i am already as powerful as a god", the story avoids the boredom that comes from having a powerful MC by relying in good worldbuilding, lots of secondary characters and the possibility of other people as powerful as the MC lurking in the shadows of the world, while the story revolves around slowly taking over the world there are plenty of personal interactions between the MC and his servants that inherited the personalities of his friends
    Despite the MC and his servants being estremely powerful the side stories allow for secondary characters to have their own moments of strenght by fighting enemies on their own league to give them moments of struggle and meaningful victories instead of focusing on how powerful the MC is
    - for a modern version read Instant Death, in this story a class is summoned to another world and gets a game system installed on them to make them stronger and turn them into tools for the war of this world, but the MC and others are not compatible with the system and are left to die, the MC reveals that he didnt got the system because he already has an extremely OP power and he can kill anything and everything just by desiring it, this has made him very apatic and while he is interested on surviving and being comfortable he has little intention of killing the people who enslaved the rest of the class as long as they dont mess with him, the story has plenty of world building which is quite interesting and looks like a dystopian version of a futuristic Dragon Quest setting (lets remember that plenty of isekais use Dragon Quest as the basis for their medieval magical society)

    Mushoku Tensei - The original "i reincarnated into another world and lived an amazing life after being a loser" most of modern generic isekai is a mixture of an MC taken from Sword Art Online having a life similar to this MC, but the story constantly focuses on the MC reflecting on the mistakes of his past life and puring lots of efforts into avoiding them, actually the story starts with "i am a piece of shit and is all my fault" which sets the tone for the redemption story to come, every side character is given several years of personal interactions and a life of their own and they grow and age with the MC while developing their own lifes
    The MC is a powerful magician but a squishy one so while at his peak he can blow up mountains and unleash thunderstorms he can be killed with a regular knife or a hit to the head and he needs his friends and family to be the frontliners if he wants a chance to survive a battle against the REALLY OP enemies
    I really liked how important the friends and family were in this story because they cover the physical and mental flaws of the MC and we know for a fact that without them the MC would become a terrible person, much, much worse than he was in his previous life
    Also the MC still has to deal with the regrets of his previous life and the mistakes of the new one so the reincarnation is not just a gimmick to have and earthling otaku as a narrator, this is the story that introduced Truck-kun as the god of reincarnation but after the novel ends we have an epilogue that explains how the reincarnation happened using elements that are introduced and explored during the story, also his reincarnation and the arrival of other otherworlders set the secret powers of the world in movement to get the MC on their side or destroy him
    - i dont know of a modern version because all of them went the Sword Art Online route, the closest may be Sevens but is below Mushoku Tensei and the companions never gave me same the feeling of unity and mutual respect

    Log Horizon - I only watched the anime and is really good, this is the earliest story of isekai politics and city/kingdom building i found or at least the earliest to be this good, several thousands of players got transported into a game world and now they have to find a purpose on it or to find a way to go back because surviving is quite easy and not the top priority so the social problems are bigger than the threat of monsters, the MC is a top magician but his OPness comes from his value as strategist and society developer, the stories to come after this one would usually have the MCs just copying stuff from earth and implementing them on the new society to be revered as geniuses and vissionaries but Log Horizon plays into using methods only available in that world by a heavy element of strategy and raids as a way to solve certain problems which are not always monsters coming to invade, the society feels quite alive and frequently they would do stuff on their own and change society by themselves instead of dependig on the MC for everything like the isekais to come after
    There are tons of secondary characters but all of them are given time to show their personality so when in the second season there are dozens of characters on screen is easy to recognize them and to understand their interactions because we have a good idea of who they are and what do they want
    The isekai part is also very important and while the MC & Co. focuses on solving the problems at hand there are also the questions of who transported them to that world and what do they expect to accomplish and the question of how much of their power is guided by the game system and the ways to break the limits of it
    - as i said the modern versions are mostly "i copy stuff from earth and it works everytime" so is hard to think of a good modern version, there was this one about a guy who is summoned to another world to be a king and save the country but i am just reading the manga because it looks very generic to bother with the novel and because the art is good with lots of "plot"
    - Edit: i saw Dungeon Defense and i had to second it, the story is about building an army that actually works from a society that is all among infigthing, for this the MC has to play into the desires and needs of his side to force them into listening and the solutions he comes up with are only functional in that world and setting, pretty much everyone is stronger than the MC so he has to rely entirely on his wits to survive and gather power and he knows how delicate his situation always is because he lacks personal strenght, is like a dark politics story

    This was quite an answer, i think i will make it into a post as not to waste it, where do i post my recomendations for other people to see?
     
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  16. Prosperous_Food

    Prosperous_Food Active Member

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    I have 3 recommendations

    1. Here comes the lady chef - the MC died and was reincarnated to the time when she is 12 years old. She had no unique powers other than her memories from her past life. No power-ups. nothing. It is fun to read because ....*drool* the food.

    2. Strange World Little Cooking Saint - the MC had died and ended up in a fantasy World, as a beggar! Join her as she slowly builds a better life for herself and the other children beggars.

    3. The Feast - the MC died in a freak accident and end up the ancient world as the wife of a prince. She wants nothing to do with the prince or the politics. But somehow, you guessed it.... ;)

    Read them at http://www.prosperousfood.com
     
  17. Darius Drake

    Darius Drake A poster of verbose posts

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    I have a few possible recommendations, at least one of which breaks your "No Cultivation Novels" rule.

    1. Hero without Blood or Tear. VR Novel where the MC plays a single player game on an "challenge" level impossible difficulty due to online bullying about the fact that he didn't think that it was an efficient use of his time. Shortly after entering the game, he's a confident and capable person.
    2. Forty Millenniums of Cultivation. Yes, this the the Cultivation Novel, but hear me out. The MC focuses primarily on crafting, and while he DOES "punch above his weight class", it's usually done purely through the use of traps and high explosives, particularly highly explosive traps. And also, more often than not, the person he is "punching" is heavily injured before he fights them due to reason X, Y or Z. And, even then, they can nearly kill him. MC is also a reincarnation of someone from Earth, but this isn't really a significant part of the novel, just a minor point that's brought up every now and again.
    3. Dungeon Maker. MC is a descendant of the Devil of Greed, whose family has been essentially wiped out and whose Dungeon (a magical fortress that almost all remotely powerful Demons control 1 of) is on the brink of ruin. Due to this, he was brought in to rebuild the Dungeon and bring back glory to the family name. Thankfully, he awakens the Power of Greed, something not done by anyone except the family founder, and can use it to do so.
    4. Valhalla Saga. +1. MC dies from a Heart Attack while in a Professional Gaming Competition. He's picked up by the Valkyries of Valhalla and taken there to join their armies. The soldiers of Valhalla have two systems that empower them, the first is a "Stat Leveling System", which allows them to direct their growth, while the second is called "Saga", which gives them mystical powers based on what they were famed for in life. MC's Saga is based on his MMO game character that he was playing in that competition when he died.
     
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  18. Yolo Swag

    Yolo Swag Well-Known Member

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  19. Raneday

    Raneday Not Rane

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