okay, I might just not be looking hard enough, but other then reign of hunters (I only read a bit of it), are there any other web novels or stuff with a female protagonist which does not have romance as a main plot, does not have random people falling in love with her, and is not backed by some form of “this is an otome game I played!” or “rebirth of the black bellied genius Doctor/detective/etc”, even if they do say something like “I realised how evil the world really is and I’m giving up on this otome game thing” TLDR: Is there a story with a female protagonist with little to no mentions of romance, otome games or black bellied genius doctors reincarnating into a weak girl’s body from ancient China who proceeds to slap faces? Which is also not a slice of life or comedy thing
Doomsday Wonderland. There is a bit of romance right at the begining... until he tries to eat her alive. After that; well the apocalypse takes over and what sort of romance can you have while facing doomsday?
is Malicious Empress a black bellied genre? i gotta check on that Edit : nope no black belly wallaberry
The Girl Who Bore the Flame Ring The Girl Who Ate a Death God Dominion's End (sort of....? gender bender)
The more you read of that novel, the more skeptical you are that the MC is Male. The series improve by 1/5 if they remove alot of filler tea parties... there might not have actually have been many but it felt like too much while reading about it.
I’ll Live My Second Life! Kara no Kyoukai Katahane no Riku Mimizuku to Yoru no Ou Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku My Disciple Died Yet Again The Bathroom Goddess The Girl Who Ate a Death God The Girl Who Bore the Flame Ring The Strategy to Become Good at Magic Tilea’s Worries There are a lot more, but most of them don't have an active translator, so I wouldn't recommend starting them knowing they probably won't be finished.
The Girl Who Ate a Death God (and other works by the author) Youjo Senki (though, the protagonist was originally male) (ah damn, others beat me to these) Why are you against the otome genre by the way? Some actually aren't focused on romance, and are instead focused on some other aspect, such as: Akuyaku Tensei Dakedo Doushite Kou Natta. (focus on war, still no sign of possible romance despite 200+ chapters) Common Sense of a Duke's Daughter (focus on territorial management, does have romance but just one, and not a focus for most of the series) Headless Villainess (short story, focus on... screwing the whole kingdom) Here are a few other series that have romance, but are mostly focused on other aspects: Ascendence of a Bookworm (focus on paper-making) Kusuriya no Hitorogoto (a pharmacist girl resolving court cases. Unlike CN versions, this JP take really has minimal romance, which I find refreshing) Oh, and The Bathroom Goddess. No romance at all, surprisingly solid plot. You could also give Qualia the Purple a shot. It's got a LN version, though I read the manga version.
I don’t like the otome genre for a few reasons, primarily because I just felt it a bit weird. I think I just find all stories with a explanation of “this is a story I read/game I played world! Now with my knowledge of the events that transpired, I shall do something unconventional!” Also because I got put off by all those bod stories, and the blurbs, which tend to say “after falling/getting sick/something, I remembered the memories of my past life, and this world is the game I used to play! But I’m the villain/side character a/side character a of the villain!” And stuff. Also, cause I feel like the stories you talked about which do not focus on romance could have seriously just gone without the “omg, this is an otome game but the plot is bad/i stuffed it up” or something
Doomsday Wonderland (keep in mind that the MC's development is slow, so judge it after you have read one or two arcs) Phoenix Destiny (there is romance but it is not the focus) Others that deserve a look: -Dragon Life -Akuyaku Tensei Dakedo Doushite Kou Natta (there is reincarnation and otome game, BUT I can assume by what you said above, you will probably like this) -Kusuriya no Hitorigoto -My Disciple Died Yet Again (it kinda makes a satire about the stereotypes found in reincarnation and cultivation novels)
I second this. She's pretty quick witted and the translation is also pretty good. Though qidian put it on the romance section ...the original doesn't have that tag.
I Was a Sword When I Reincarnated (WN) as you can probably tell from the title the MC is actually a sword, but he's wielded by a catgirl who's pretty much the MC.
Ascendance of a Bookworm Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? Ghost Hunt Kara no Kyoukai Kino no Tabi Majo no Tabitabi Violet Evergarden The Girl Who Ate a Death God Iris on Rainy Days The Wolf Lord’s Lady Demon Girl ~Tale of a Lax Demon~ Kusuriya no Hitorigoto Light Beyond Fire Girl While Killing Slimes for 300 Years, I Became the MAX Level Unknowingly Walking My Second Path in Life The Guild’s Cheat Receptionist Katahane no Riku
Eight Treasures Trosseau There is romance in this, but it's a lot darker. The MC is a strong female character and her actions and the settings are very realistic. Word of warning: this is set in an Ancient China-like setting and very heavy on palace politics. If that doesn't completely turn you away, then give this a try.
Crossing to the Future, It's not Easy to be a Man It's incorrectly listed under romance on Qidian International. There is romance...but that's like nearly nonexistent in the face of the plot and characters (The male lead does't even get to show his face until Chapter 108, he doesn't get to interact fully with the main character until Chapter 250-300ish). There's a lot of other stuff that takes precedence towards any kind of non-platonic love while the main character, Ling Lan, walks her path to become a dominating force in an interstellar space setting. Honestly the best part of this series is that it doesn't start off with someone who brings any OP past knowledge with her? Bc the setting she goes to, anything she'd know, is pretty useless. The only benefit she has is the breathing tactic taught to her during her past 23 years of hospital life (she was sickly) and the 'Mecha King Learning Machine' that was mostly asleep until now. The entire story is basically her growth and the growth of the people around her. It's a bit slow at first, but it picks up ;u;
Definitely Phoenix Destiny! There's little to no romance, and is not in the comedy or slice of life genre.