I'll preface I've only read the manhua/webtoon adaptation so far, but godDAMN is Sangwoo (the protag) autistic. Other characters may canonically call him "OCD" rather than autistic, but it's so on point for autism that's what I'm going with. He's called robotic, likes routine to the point that Jaeyoung (the male lead) is super easily able to figure out ways to annoy him, he's a loner, bad with people and communication, and simultaneously very intelligent and incredibly oblivious. The more I read this story the more evidence it provides me on Sangwoo's autism, it's baffling to me how anyone could read this and not see it.  ... more>>

it's not quite as blatant, but Jaeyoung gives me fairly strong ADHD vibes. He has issues with being late and with deadlines, he's creative, thrives off of getting reactions out of people (positive or negative), fidgety, messy, spontaneous, and is easily bored. <<less

The main couple are both hands-down an Autistic/ADHD love match. Wei WuXian has every hallmark of a textbook case of male ADHD, and Lan Wangji is very very autistic.... more>>

WWX - he's known for being incredibly smart but an utter nuisance because he can't stop fidgeting, chatting, bringing up things that interest him or running off to do his own thing. He's the classic, stereotypical ADHD kid and if MDZS happened in the modern world he'd have been diagnosed right away once he entered formal education. He also gravitates the strongest towards Lan Wangji out of anyone else around him despite their clear differences, mirroring how neurodivergent folks irl are often drawn to each other even if they're different neurotypes that have very different needs/symptoms/presentations, as they often still have more in common with each other than with neurotypicals at large. Liking change, new things, and disliking routines and structure.

LWJ (and in some ways, the Lan clan in general) - Some classic autism traits. Rigid, overly-literal or "black and white" thinking and strong adherence to rules when compared to others. Doesn't understand a lot of social dynamics and doesn't form relationships easily, but still longs for deep, authentic connection. Doesn't emote in a way others typically pick up on, but is actually fairly expressive once you learn how to read him. Takes a while to understand his own emotions and shifts in them, but once he does he won't back down on them. Strong sense of justice and righteousness. Liking routine and structure and disliking change. <<less

Chu Wanning is so astonishingly autistic it's not even funny. Also, protagonist Mo Ran has a lot of trauma and ends the story with more... more>> neurodivergence than when he started. <<less

Sigrid, the protagonist, is absolutely absolutely very autistic. Rigid thinking? Struggles with socialization? Sigrid mu*ders innocent people and drives away any would-be friends or allies... more>> because she sticks so strongly and stubbornly to her own internal code of conduct, and it's precisely these traits that make her a perfect political patsy when the emperor betrays her prior to her return to the past. She remarks on having been hurt by the lining of her old clothes after she buys new ones - a classic autistic complaint. She struggles so much with change that she is reluctant to give up her decrepit, cheap apartment even after after she buys a house.  <<less

The female lead of this cute manga/anime series strikes me as very ADHD - she's the funny, unpredictable, spontaneous, rule-breaking & genius inventor type like... more>> Wei Wuxian. <<less

Cale, the protagonist... He's not a character like Sigrid who stood out to me right away as maybe being autistic, but after getting through 500+ chapters of his story it's dawned on me that a lot of his traits can be interpreted that way.... more>>

Cale has a strong sense of justice/integrity despite claiming not to, doesn't give a sh*t about social hierarchies (and hates participating in them unless it gives him an opportunity to be a little shit), and instead has more abnormal goals and interests (e.g. becoming a slacker, scamming people, constantly endangering himself). He also doesn't emote to the same level or in the same ways most ppl around him do, does things in ways that surprise and befuddle the majority of the ppl around him, and has issues with consistently being misunderstood when communicating with the general populace. He also hasn't had any s*xual or romantic interest in anyone this far in, so I think I can count him as being on the aro/ace spectrum, which is more common among ND folks.

So ijs I think my reasoning is pretty solid on this one. <<less

Liu Qingge... Fighting? Simple, satisfying, real good at it. Socializing? Frustrating, complicated, terrible. Would rather flee into the woods and fight monsters, tyvm. Bit of a weaker headcanon on some ways but I stand by it.... more>>

The main character, Shen Yuan, can also be argued to be ND-coded as well. <<less

The main character refers to himself as having OCD several times, but besides that, he's very autistic-coded in his role in the story. He's got... more>> a stone-faced, aloof and unsociable persona, and he consciously plays up the icy beauty kuudere stereotype by mostly wearing white and using only ice magic (even though he could use other types). Internally? He's a big ol' a goofball, dense and socially awkward. He reminds me of Shen Yuan from SVSSS in a lot of ways.  <<less

The main character is really autistic coded: she has a flat effect, social difficulties, a special interest in fighting and leveling up, and her story... more>> primarily focuses on misunderstandings and her struggles to find a place for herself. The anime is very good! <<less

You can't tell me Myne and Ferdinand aren't neurodivergent. They're both oddballs with very strong special interests and little to no other ambitions beyond pursuing... more>> them. Myne tho is 100% definitely ND. The entire Story is about her oddball special interest in books, which was strong enough to persist even after it literally killed her. She's aroace spectrum for sure, doesn't value social hierarchies or her place in them beyond how they effect her loved ones or her special interests... There's more I can say when I have more time to expand on this. <<less

The MC reads as incredibly neurodivergent to me, in a slightly similar way to Myne from Ascendance of a Bookworm. The man did a sketchy ritual and dropped earth like a hot potato all so he could live his oddball dream life of owning all the books in the world and benevolently manipulating people for fun. He doesn't truly connect to anyone around him and has no close relationships in the usual sense (romantic or friendly), and yet he's content with the therapist/salesman role he plays and his life in general. The MC also ignores the hierarchies and power structures around him, treating anyone who comes into his shop as a customer. He's also such... more>> a homebody that I'm more than 70 chapters in and I think he's left the premises of his bookstore/apartment just 1 time, and that was only because he learned (through hearsay!!) that a good chunk of the city near him was f*cking flattened. This is not how neurotypical people choose to live their lives!!

The novel kinda makes it seem like he's like this because he's essentially a foreigner who isn't accustomed to this world, but I've read plenty of isekai where the MC immediately starts learning & following the "local" social and political hierarchies, develops normal relationships, etc. This MC learned the bare minimum amount that he needed to know to keep himself from blatantly outing himself as "not from this world" and not a drop more. 

The man is also very smart and observant in certain aspects of social interaction and relationships with the people around him, but eternally clueless in other ways. He's excellent at looking at the people who enter his shop and quickly analyzing information about them to get a sense of what their troubles are, because that's what he's interested in, but anything that falls outside his interest (like politics, literal magic and eldritch gods) is invisible to him. He sees himself as being very straightforward and logical in what he's doing (e.g. trying to build relationships with customers and help them so they then grow his business), and assumes the people he encounters generally see him that way. 

He never realizes just how foreign, unsettling, intimidating and confusing his actions are to others because he completely ignores magic and local politics, is only interested in his own niche hobbies, and is actually being pretty upfront about himself with everyone he encounters. If that isn't autistic-neurotypical social misunderstandings 101 sh*t I don't know what is. <<less

(Just to preface - I've read the manhua adaptation rather than the novel) The main character in this struck me as autistic in a similar vein as Sigrid - someone who lived her life once by the book, following all the rules and not understanding that doing so would get her taken advantage of and screwed over. So now, she's got a new chance at life and has to learn how to make friends, find things to enjoy, navigate complex social and political relationships, and stand up for herself. She also has to work on communicating better to clear up misunderstandings where people have assumed malicious intent when she was just ignorant, awkward or even... more>> had the very best of intentions - a classic autistic-allistic communication struggle!! 

Also the main character's father also struck me as autistic as well - he clearly cares for his daughter, but isn't able to figure out his emotions well or how to communicate them to her. He follows the rules and role assigned to him to the T, even when it means executing his own daughter, and then he regrets it, and struggles with trying to work out a better way of doing things. Also, this interpretation supports the protagonist being his true biological daughter, since autism is passed on genetically lol. <<less

I've only read the manhua adaptation of this so far, fair warning, but already it strikes me as a story that's very VERY easy to read through a neurodivergent  lens. The most obvious character is the male lead/romantic interest, the classic tall, dark, handsome & dangerous but caring & straightforward type. He's got germaphobia and a LOT of PTSD canonically, but he also very obviously has some classic autistic traits - he doesn't emote much, he doesn't understand his own emotions, he's incredibly blunt and upfront about himself, and he struggles to read others' faces and emotions. Classic autistic coding.... more>>

The father of the female lead also has a lot of classic features of autistic coding, although he's more of the "good at masking" type than the male lead is. He only cares about and lives for his daughter, obsessing over her to the point of seeming to not have matured emotionally for years. He's cold to basically everyone but her, and even has an ice-themed nickname. 

(MANHUA SPOILERS:)

The female lead also has some kind of issue with dissociated emotions/memories, which is magically enforced by some kind of spell that was cast on her, probably to help her survive bc stress and strong emotions could literally kill her. And she struggles with body coordination, fatigue, food sensitivities, nausea and inability to hold down food, and being unable to do things most people around her can do quiet easily - these are all things a lot of neurodivergent people experience too, even if she herself doesn't give me as strong neurodivergent vibes, she's still very relatable. Honestly, she's one of the better-written disabled characters I've come across so far.

Note: There's a very striking scene in recent chapters of the manhua where the female lead is having that kind "oh sh*t I'm in love with this guy" moment when the male lead is around, she's crying but also blushing and essentially just making a very complicated, but also very easy to read (given the context of the scene) lovestruck-and-shocked kind of look. And the male lead is just like "...I do not know what that expression means. Please tell me. Are you happy or sad? Bc I don't know." and if that's not an autistic AF experience idk what is.  <<less