Been reading various series for a while and have noticed that an obscenely large number of them are about either skinny pseudo-ninjas or some kind of wizard/battle-mage and I've really gotten a bit sick of it. So this thread is for finding any series with a proper man's man of a protagonist. I'm not talking hamming it up or a parody of masculinity but rather characters that are just proper warriors whether it's knights in shining armour or barbarians wielding axes, heroes or villains, only real preference is that the character can't use magic (magic can exist and he might be in a group with some but personally he can't). Edit to make it more clear since that seems to be an issue. By Manly I'm referring to traditional masculine roles/values for an example in western media you could look at the characters from Game of Thrones. Ned Stark, The Hound, Khal Drogo would all fit under the umbrella. I'm not looking for a series that revels in how strong a character is just one where the MC would fall under the traditionally masculine archetype. The magic thing was just to exclude series where the character does stuff like augment themselves with magic to some insane degree that usually ends with them still being a faster than the eye can see dragonball z style fighter
not sure about what you want, I got confused there, anyway, try: Conquest, TAS, LCG, Da Tang Shuang Long Zhuan
Manly~? >>>My Wife is a Beautiful CEO >>>Hero Manufacturing Machine >>>Himekishi ga Classmate! >>>Kininaru Kanojo wo Totokon Okashi Tsukusu Hanashi >>>Sougen no Okite >>>If You Got the Power of Flight, Invisibility, and Teleportation, What Would You Do? >>>Asuka of the Scarlet Sky
im not exactly sure how you see manly i find a guy who protects the young but is weak still manly a guy who is normal does his things good and bad and even goes and fucks some whores manly i think what you want is understandable serious strong protagonist who isnt acting hypocritical does good things and at the same time bad things that would be a manly protagonist i cant think of mature protagonist who instantly fit in that but i got a story or two that would probably fit in there savage divinity Swallowed Star zhan xian im not sure why this story appeared in my mind but that protagonist is just likeable and manlier than many others Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear(except for the pov chapters of other characters 10/10 story)
Re:Monster. And basically a lot of Xianxia like Martial God Asura or Against the Gods and the like. But these guys in Xianxia are ruthless self righteous bunch in a world of strong oppress the weak and full of arrogant people.
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/conquest/ This also has the added benefit of being one of the best stories on NU.
Question: is it just magic in general or just limited to magic spells? Like in: "Mahou Sensei Negima!" magic power can be used to strengthen the body instead of using it as a spell.
So something like this? The first one that came to mind was Conquest. That's probably the one that suits the most. Barbarian hick from the countryside blows everyone away with his strength and joins the army. Another one might be the main MC from A Step Into the Past. He's a modern-day Special Forces officer that travels back in time to the unification of China under Emperor Qin Shi Huang. No magic, no immortal cultivation, just martial arts, espionage, political scheming, and warfare. Or you could try Wicked Soldier King, which is about martial arts cultivation among the gangster underground. Hmm... the MC of Shen Yin Wang Zuo might also suit you. He's a Knight who lives very strongly by the code. Though he also happens to be extremely young, so his body may not be the muscular sort of man you're thinking of. But the attitude is there, and his power grows.
Shen Yin Wang Zuo Wu Dong Qian Kun True Martial World I Shall Seal the Heavens Sovereign of the Three Realms Xian Ni The Desolate Era World of Cultivation The Strongest Dan God
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/oukoku-e-tsuzuku-michi/ MC is former child gladiator slave that was educated by noble women. Now on a quest to create a kingdom with his own hands, Conan the Barbarian style. Definitely likes the carnal pleasures of being with women (but doesn't try to rape them, except for POWs). 18+ for gore (likes using large 2-handed weapons to cut things apart) and explicit sexual interactions. https://mike777ac.com/hardcore-op-ness/ MC is the only player in a VR MMO game world similar to World of Warcraft. MC does gain access to several magical abilities but typically acts as the tank (two handed sword style) for his female party/harem members that are glass-cannon damage dealers (and one healer).