https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/emperor_and_the_female_knight/
This is completed! MC is not pretty or feminine. She's average looking and later due to enrolling to a Knight academy she becomes more masculine looking. 100% she won the king(ML) and many fellow knights trust, respect and love with her mere power, wit, charming personality and combat abilities.
https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/miss_not_so_sidekick/
Completed. MC is pretty imo but, somehow EVERYONE in the story (including ML when they first met) thought and believes she's too plain to even talk to or interact. Like lowk some characters had a mental breakdown and went into their villain arc because they cant compute why a plain looking girl is loved by one of the high spec handsome guys in the kingdom and has her own business and allies.
https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/inso_s_law/
Ongoing. Not completed. Very slow burn but has over 200 chapters :/ MC got isekaid in a novel as a side character. Somehow her inability to cope or take seriously the drama/cliche of the world of novels, caught the eye of main cast of the of novel aka the popular guys ~ Y'know the " she's not like the other girls she sees me more than a hot guy" trope. Anyways imo she's quite plain looking. Just like the first one everyone is hating and even bullied her because she's friends with the popular guys in school. Her attractive qualities? She's funny, brutally honest and flawed. Contradicting yes but, flaw charac with high and lows are well written and interesting imo.
I can recommend only these.... The majority in the manhwa (Korean webtoon) genre are the ugly duck cliché aka ugly/plain in the prologue then they turn pretty 90% of the story. As for plain or average looking heroine throughout the story there are more of these in mangas. Example...
https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/fruits_basket/
https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/seijo_no_maryoku_wa_bannou_desu/
https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/koi_dano_ai_dano/
https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/kengai_princess/
https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/gakuen_alice/
YOU ARE MY HERO omg thank you so much, i can’t wait to check these out! <3 so excited
straight manhwas with a genuinely average looking, or even below average, FL whose “attractive” qualities come from her abilities and/or personality pls pls pls?
like there’s an abundance of plain ass male MCs so WHERE are the female MCs? </3
any recs?
bonus points if she’s intelligent and well-rounded mentally <3
don’t get me wrong, i love these drop dead gorgeous fls with all my heart but just wondering where all the women empowerment goes as soon as it comes to looks yk?