(Misunderstood) villain MCs being actual adults
(Misunderstood) villain MCs being actual adults
Title says it all lol. As much as I like the misunderstood villain trope, it seems to be saturated by h**ny teenage fantasy, while I want male protagonists a bit more mature.
Novels here grouped by genre, in no particular order.
Fair warning, I like BL and also some of these MCs are just straight up evil bastards.
Novels here grouped by genre, in no particular order.
Fair warning, I like BL and also some of these MCs are just straight up evil bastards.
62 Followers
Created: Oct 4th, 2024, Updated: Oct 4th, 2024
Created Oct 4th, 2024
Updated Oct 4th, 2024
43 Chapters Every 20.4 Day(s) 10935 Readers 195 Reviews 09-27-2024
I loathe harem but this one gets a pass due to everything else it has going for it. A textbook example.
523 Chapters Every 0.9 Day(s) 8190 Readers 55 Reviews 07-29-2025
Guy just wants to retire life but the world said "nu-uh no way fam" so he ticked everything off his bucket list instead. Very good... more>>
195 Chapters Every 39.5 Day(s) 3813 Readers 28 Reviews 12-30-2023
Trying to clear up misunderstandings and his evil tyrant past, but is still innately tied to evil itself. 100% trying to survive his newfound hell.
207 Chapters Every 6.7 Day(s) 5362 Readers 26 Reviews 07-27-2025
Has a special place in my heart. Less "villain" at the start but then the hidden lore came along and slapped him in the face.
297 Chapters Every 2.2 Day(s) 5849 Readers 21 Reviews 07-24-2025
A bit on the younger side for MC maturity, but from what I remember it's still ok.
92 Chapters Every 103.9 Day(s) 7705 Readers 124 Reviews 01-30-2025
Not everyone's cup of tea. It's basically the dark underbelly of fantasy otome games, and it very much embraces it.
101 Chapters Every 43.1 Day(s) 8669 Readers 60 Reviews 05-06-2024
Morally corrupt, ethically bad, and damn I like it. Dude got severely traumatised by his own death so now nothing can dissuade him from becoming... more>>
119 Chapters Every 59.4 Day(s) 2842 Readers 39 Reviews 03-04-2023
Completed Adult Adventure Comedy Fantasy Historical Mature Mystery Psychological Romance Shounen Ai Supernatural
The romantic relationship is well done, so well done that I wish it wasn't very realistic. My metaphorical heart hurt too much when the MC's... more>>
456 Chapters Every 53.3 Day(s) 10999 Readers 123 Reviews 06-14-2023
Less "villain" and more just misunderstandings galore.
143 Chapters Every 33.7 Day(s) 6261 Readers 48 Reviews 04-26-2024
Misunderstood villain: sci-fi edition!
143 Chapters Every 3.5 Day(s) 1025 Readers 7 Reviews 07-26-2025
Leaves questions unanswered to make others imply wrong info about himself, not necessarily a villain per say but he plays a lot of them.
64 Chapters Every 14.1 Day(s) 2102 Readers 7 Reviews 05-14-2025
Evil and happy to be evil, being evil also includes tricking "teammates".
456 Chapters Every 68.8 Day(s) 7404 Readers 69 Reviews 10-15-2022
Technically villain but also maybe not, but there's a forced communication problem so definitely misunderstood.
0 Chapters Every 1306 Day(s) 4197 Readers 40 Reviews 01-01-2022
Dude straight up chooses to act as background NPCs (i.e. villains), he makes the misunderstandings and is proud of it.
236 Chapters Every 4.1 Day(s) 3608 Readers 12 Reviews 07-25-2025
Kinda lighthearted, but from what I remember MC has a set mature behaviour and doesn't regress.
Comments (5)
How about Theatrical Regression Life?
the MC started of by possessing a villain (the terrible company bossy boss kind of villain fated for death) and tries to build up a better images of himself which sometimes unintentionally creates misunderstandings he inevitably has to play along with.
And he's 40-ish year old and certainly thinks like one! The guy aint evil, but his morality's also not the best either which may be interesting for you?
Thank you for this list!!! Misunderstood/evil protags are so much fun to read :) and i agree, I'm done with school, I don't want to read highschool shenanigans,
Have you read Sick Beauty [rebirth] ? I think it's more on the side of misunderstood protagonist who is treated like a villain, but I really love how evil EVERYONE is, and while it's def a ridiculously complex angst fest, it was a really satisfying story for me! Plus the ML is DEFINITELY evil, which is nice ;D
(sorry for the late reply, I had no idea I forgot)
Oooh I don't think I've read that one yet, I'll have to give it a shot sometime! When I'm next in the mood for some good angst I know what I'll be reading lol
@bgrif78
Late replying myself to say: you might like my Cataclysmic Charmer List XD it's all reviewed/complete novels & I specifically have a tag for the Villains, a couple of your recs ended up on there! Especially "NPC" :) I love Ren Lifei so much