Fiancée of the Wizard is obviously a fantasy romance based on the title, but it’s also an isekai! Because why not?!
The premise here is that this girl dies and is reincarnated in a fantasy world as Filimena via Adina and fated to marry the hero wizard of the story, Egiedeyrus (nicknamed Edy). So you got this edgy wizard boy with magic so strong he’s kind of an outcast, and you’ve got our beautiful, noble heroine who wants to learn magic but struggles.
They become childhood magic-study friends, but then one day he accidentally burns her with a spell, and it wounds her pretty badly. As a result, he has to marry her (because no one else would take her with the wounds he caused). However, neither one of the characters minds the arrangement at this point anyway.
We’re rushed through their childhood interactions and told they have to marry each other, but then they’re separated for years. They obviously can’t get married until they’re older, so Edy goes to a magic school while Filimena just stays home. They occasionally mail each other letters, and Edy is going through his own stuff at the school, but Filimena doesn’t really do anything except panic about their barely established relationship.
Fiancée of the Wizard‘s story needs more than just being a fiancée
When they finally meet again after all these years and they’re all grown up, Edy straight up says, “You haven’t changed at all. How disappointing.” It’s brushed off as him hiding his shyness and screwing up, but honestly he’s more right than he knows.
She’s supposed to be our protagonist, yet she doesn’t do anything except think about Edy. Filimena is way too dependent on a very distant relationship. Even with his return, he’s always busy with work and mostly standoffish towards her. She’s accustomed to dealing with it, though, and accepts it as subtle ways he shows affection.
Here’s the thing: the art here is decent. Aside from that, there’s not much more to positively say. Towards the end, we see a rival love interest that might make this something more, but as it stands here, this story is just bland. Their relationship, while portrayed happily, feels unhealthy at times but mostly awkward. While it tries hard to show their attachment, it’s hard for me to be attached to anyone here. This is for homebodies that like pretty art and not much else.
If you want to check out Fiancée of the Wizard yourself, it’s available now.
Title: Fiancée of the Wizard, Vol. 1
Publisher: Yen Press
Release Date: August 25th, 2020
Type: Manga
Author: Masaki Kazuka
Original Story: Syuri Nakamura
Character Design: Keiko Sakano
Translation: Karen McGillicuddy
Lettering: Elizabeth Kolkman
