Any recommendations for light novels where MC is self-aware?

killwrites

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Something like Konosuba's take on isekai, I suppose. Can be stories on this site too
 

Jemini

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Something like Konosuba's take on isekai, I suppose. Can be stories on this site too
Can you define "self aware" a little more? Are you talking like they are aware of their own flaws and short-comings, or that they break the 4th wall and are aware they are in an isekai story?

If it's the latter, that's not called self wareness. That's called genre savvy. If you are asking about a genre savvy MC, I have noticed around 60% of the isekai stories today are written with genre savvy MCs. Personally though, I like the ones where the MC is not genre savvy, but it's a multi-reincarnator/transmigrator story and one of the others IS genre savvy. I just love the idea of the MC staring at this genre savvy side character like they're an idiot, because any normal person would think they are an idiot in this situation even though they are actually spot-on correct about everything they say.

(BTW: I did exactly this in my own isekai story. My side character Rolwen is completely genre savvy and my MC is constantly rolling her eyes at him whenever he goes off on a genre savvy tangent.)
 
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Anon_Y_Mousse

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Do you mean MCs that break the fourth wall...? I think a lot of novels nowadays do that to an extent, specially the reincarnated villainess stories.
If it's the latter, that's not called self wareness. That's called genre savvy. If you are asking about a genre savvy MC, I have noticed around 60% of the isekai stories today are written with genre savvy MCs. Personally though, I like the ones where the MC is not genre savvy, but it's a multi-reincarnator/transmigrator story and one of the others IS genre savvy. I just love the idea of the MC staring at this genre savvy side character like they're an idiot, because any normal person would think they are an idiot in this situation even though they are actually spot-on correct about everything they say.
Well my novel has that type of thing ig, though the MC is a Xianxia protagonist so he actually listens to whatever the genre savvy person is saying, especially when it involves the dao. Xianxia protagonists and Reincarnated JP-style protagonists have a lot of differences, but if there's one thing that they have in common, it's the amount of bullshittery they can produce. Bullshittery that ends up being right.
 

LostLibrarian

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To me, it works best in comedy, because it can lower the stakes in other types of stories. So I would go with Lazy Dungeon Master. Pretty much self-aware all the time and with the resulting wall-breaks.
 

killwrites

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Can you define "self aware" a little more? Are you talking like they are aware of their own flaws and short-comings, or that they break the 4th wall and are aware they are in an isekai story?
What I think of a self-aware MC is something like a middle between the two types you mentioned--someone who's not a completely flat character, not necessary know that they are in a story but acts in a way that defies expectations (like a parody) of said story, if that makes sense. Do genre-savvy stories usually feature such characters?
 

Jemini

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What I think of a self-aware MC is something like a middle between the two types you mentioned--someone who's not a completely flat character, not necessary know that they are in a story but acts in a way that defies expectations (like a parody) of said story, if that makes sense. Do genre-savvy stories usually feature such characters?

Yes, and there are degrees of genre savvy.

And also, genre savvy is very much the proper term here. "Self aware" is a term that also has a very specific meaning. It means to be aware of your own psychology, including personal flaws. Thus the confusion in your use of the term.
 

Kitsura

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The reincarnated into otome games has a lot of these

Reincarnated as the piggy duke
White pig reincarnation
Dukes daughter
Villainess reloaded
Reincarnated as a mob character
Legend of oda nobuna(though this technically is just a historical isekai)

More traditional isekai

Disciple of the Lich
I shall survive using potions

some non light novel but webnovel versions
Isekai noburi nouka
0 believer goddess
 

Mr.Grey-Cat

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my novel, Lost Solace Online's protagonist is like that, with a lot of fourth wall breaking comments, and sometimes thinking about what kind of twist and events may happen to her if she is not careful.
 

NiKlaus826

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What I think of a self-aware MC is something like a middle between the two types you mentioned--someone who's not a completely flat character, not necessary know that they are in a story but acts in a way that defies expectations (like a parody) of said story, if that makes sense. Do genre-savvy stories usually feature such characters?
Ah i know exactly what you mean. Just so we are on the same page, you mean "MC is aware of common tropes and clichés in fantasy stories, and adopts them to navigate the world" right?. Like for example, he can play the part of mysterious "Hidden Expert" to intimidate an enemy stronger than him, or convincingly act like "Profound Teacher" and spout some nonsense to awe a genuine Genius disciple who follows him.. etc etc.
The other part of it is that he can spot a fantasy clichés around him and then acts in a way that takes advantage of it. Like for example, he sees a weak guy being bullied by three rich arrogant jerks, but somehow later the weak guy gets stronger. He can immediately sniff out the common cliché of "MC is crippled and bullied but through his determination and bullsht cheat he will rise" so he doesn't dare to make him an enemy, or if somehow he earns enmity , he uses ridiculously absurd amount of resources to uproot that death flag. You get the gist of it. Also, there are alot of hilarious 'misunderstandings' theme present.

I'm a sucker for those kind of novels. Other books i have so far encountered are in the extremes of the scale of "protagonist being aware of cliche/tropes and plays the part villain/heroetc*occupies one role only throughout the book* and the other extreme of the scale is"the protagonist is aware of the cliches and tropes but he is a background character and prefers to support the Male/female lead. Either by spotting death flags and such or having awareness of future events coz he reliving a novel/played the game before"..Other books takes on a serious tone, the protagonist gets too absorbed in all these and it all ends up coming across as edgy. All those novels - CEO, otome game, transported to a novel, regressing back in time.. etc- just miss the mark somehow in a subtle but significant manner. What you are looking for occupies the sweet spot in the middle of the scale i mentioned. (the protagonist is aware of the clichés,isnt tied down by the knowledge of impending doom, isnt forced to play one 'role' throughout the book and also isnt a background character playing support.) The novel doesnt take itself too seriously and delivers the story in a lighthearted manner at the same time not missing some heart-felt moments

Unfortunately though,this type of books occupies a very niche spot among countless others. They are very very rare. So rare, in fact, that i have spent close to 3 months just scouring the internet for a similar kind of book, with no satisfying result in sight. Part of the reason for it is that the personality type of authors writing this kinda novels are not many in this field of proffesion. Those kinds of people are mainly found in proffesions like Acting and such.

I rarely sign up for accounts on online sites during my casual browsing sessions , but i came across your query and decided to reply coz I was quite pleasantly surprised that im not alone in this 'quest' lol.

Anyway, I only know of one novel so far that perfectly fit your recommendation request. Its a webnovel on royalroad and its called, "Arrogant Young Master Template A Variation 4".Yes,the author clearly has a very ironic sense of humor choosing that title lol. My favorite kind!.

There are some novels that are on the same line as this theme, but they dont explicitly mention tropes or cliches. One thing common among them is 'misunderstandings' that are very funny. I can mention a few off the top of my head like "I really am not the Demon God's lackey" and "Overlord". You might like the popular "Lord of Mysteries" but that one is a slow burn and not particularly comedic in nature. Its more like what someone like me would probably write (as you could tell i come across as the introverted scholarly type)

Anyway , im curious what your thoughts are on this whole matter-
 
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killwrites

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Ah i know exactly what you mean. Just so we are on the same page, you mean "MC is aware of common tropes and clichés in fantasy stories, and adopts them to navigate the world" right?.
Oh yes, you worded it much better than me! I really enjoy reading novels that feature that sort of MCs because imo this kind of stories really drive home the comedic parts for me lol. Kazuma in Konosuba and Ainz in Overlord did a pretty good job, but as you said they're those kind of stories that doesn't explicitly mention tropes or cliches (Konosuba destroys them completely instead), which isn't exactly what I'm looking for. The kind of Mc I like to read about is the one that knows how certain thing will (or should) play out based on past life knowledge or something, and then utilises that to their advantage and be like 'my goals are beyond your understanding' (or end up misinterpreting the whole situation and it becomes a comedic mess yay).
Part of the reason for it is that the personality type of authors writing this kinda novels are not many in this field of proffesion. Those kinds of people are mainly found in proffesions like Acting and such.
I think it also boils down to the fact that webnovels in general are written by 'amateur' writers like myself, and usually authors would write webnovels based on what they read beforehand. As you said, stories with such specific self-aware MCs are rare to come by, so I guess it isn't a surprise that not many ppl will know how to write that sort of stories and choose to follow more conventional plotlines that they're comfortable with.

In the end, after about two(?) months from posting this thread I unfortunately have to agree that it's very hard to find such stories (especially JP LNs) :blob_pat_sad: I myself am writing a LN-style story featuring such a MC to fulfill my desire lol. I think in my hunt for stories written by other ppl, I only came across one that I felt satisfied with. The title is 'Fake Saint of the Year' and it's pretty short at around 80 chapters but I feel you'll probably enjoy it too. I'll definitely check out your recommendations as well!
 

NiKlaus826

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Oh yes, you worded it much better than me! I really enjoy reading novels that feature that sort of MCs because imo this kind of stories really drive home the comedic parts for me lol. Kazuma in Konosuba and Ainz in Overlord did a pretty good job, but as you said they're those kind of stories that doesn't explicitly mention tropes or cliches (Konosuba destroys them completely instead), which isn't exactly what I'm looking for. The kind of Mc I like to read about is the one that knows how certain thing will (or should) play out based on past life knowledge or something, and then utilises that to their advantage and be like 'my goals are beyond your understanding' (or end up misinterpreting the whole situation and it becomes a comedic mess yay).

I think it also boils down to the fact that webnovels in general are written by 'amateur' writers like myself, and usually authors would write webnovels based on what they read beforehand. As you said, stories with such specific self-aware MCs are rare to come by, so I guess it isn't a surprise that not many ppl will know how to write that sort of stories and choose to follow more conventional plotlines that they're comfortable with.

In the end, after about two(?) months from posting this thread I unfortunately have to agree that it's very hard to find such stories (especially JP LNs) :blob_pat_sad: I myself am writing a LN-style story featuring such a MC to fulfill my desire lol. I think in my hunt for stories written by other ppl, I only came across one that I felt satisfied with. The title is 'Fake Saint of the Year' and it's pretty short at around 80 chapters but I feel you'll probably enjoy it too. I'll definitely check out your recommendations as well!
Oh wait, i have realized i jumped to conclusions in my previous reply. I misjudged a little about your situation and i was describing my personal taste in novels. What you are looking for is slightly, very very slightly different than my personal taste. Whereas i like good ol' 'bland' novels *just the mc alone being aware its blandness, but makes no effort to change that nature of it *, your version is more like, "the author establishes at the start that mc is aware of said 'stereotypical fantasy , but in this case, he taps into the potential of what he could do with that knowledge/awareness'... I dont know if i did justice in distinguishing the two but I'm pretty sure i guessed right about the issue.

In that case, i recommend the webnovel "Aurora Scrolls" on royal road. Just read the synopsis of it and see if it catches your attention, I myself thought i finally found my 'personal fav kinda book' but i later realized it suits the second type i described above (𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 personal kinda novel in other words).-there is a very thin but distinct line separating them. If you compare the Synopses of "Arrogant Young Master Template A Variation 4" vs "Aurora Scrolls" it becomes abit clear.

The author also has written another book so you can check that out too once you done binging the first one. (gosh im so jealous! When will i find my personal holy grail! Lol)

Its not a necessary but, later, give me a feedback on this when you are done coz i finally want to get a concrete confirmation of this huge theory I'm researching about. Thx
 

Habtamu

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silly song bird, a gamer in south blue, universal villain, most of 90 fanfictions are this kind of thing
 

Lloyd

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I think all well done characters are self aware to varying degrees. Unless it's a crazy / unlikeable character.
 

crystalkalem

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For those new people finding this post, before moving on, Look up Beware of chicken!!!!
 
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