The Fall 2024 Manga Guide

I Abandoned My Engagement Because My Sister is a Tragic Heroine, but Somehow I Became Entangled with a Righteous Prince

What's It About? 

Leia, a saint of the Kingdom of Elshaid, has her happily-ever-after shattered when her “tragic heroine” of a younger sister accuses her of abuse. Believing the lies, Leia's fiancé breaks off their engagement, leaving her despondent. But a surprise encounter with the crown prince changes everything. Charming and righteous, Prince Erik is determined to discover the truth about Leia's character by having her come live with him in the royal palace?!

I Abandoned My Engagement Because My Sister is a Tragic Heroine, but Somehow I Became Entangled with a Righteous Prince has art by Masuke Mawata with Haduki Futaba acting as a contributor and is adapted from a light novel series of the same name by Fuyutsuki Koki, with English translation by Hana Allan. This volume is lettered and retouched by Danya Shevchenko. Published by Seven Seas (September 17, 2024).

Is It Worth Reading?

There's one in every family even if that family is in a fantasy novel. Or maybe there's an extra high chance of one sibling being evil if you're a character in a fantasy novel, more specifically a light novel. Whatever the statistics, poor Leia has it particularly hard, because her younger half-sister Jill is one of the most shining examples of a dreadful, two-faced sister I've seen in a long while. Jill has made it her life's work to convince everyone around her that Leia is a vicious bully, largely because she seems to feel that Leia unfairly gets more, or at least better, things than she does. It's not entirely clear if Jill just wants those things, which include “job” and “fiancé,” because Leia has them, but I think that may be a safe bet. Somewhere in the depths of her mind, Jill has convinced herself that she's more deserving than her older sister, and that means that Leia must be taken down at all costs.

Poor Leia knows exactly what Jill's up to. After all, she's witnessed the moment when Jill started her campaign against her, which dates to when she was chosen as a saint over her younger sister. From that minute, Jill began doing her damnedest to tell all and sundry that Leia was just so mean to her, with the not-so-subtle aim of pushing her out. And the worst part? Everyone believes her, at Leia's expense. When we join the story, Leia's at her wits' end, beaten down by her stepmother's favoritism and Jill's slimy nature. Being dumped by her fiancé Philip is just the icing on the world's worst cake, and when Philip's friend Prince Eric seems to believe him over her, she hits her breaking point.

I know this sounds very bleak, and it is a lot to take. Jill isn't anyone new in the annals of light novel adaptations but she is a very nasty specimen, one who has engineered her winsome, beribboned looks to appear as sweet and unassuming as possible. She weasels into the cracks in everyone's defenses, to the point where she's got her parents about ready to toss Leia out on her ear. The only bright spot for most of the book is Leia herself: she's angry and hurt, but she's also kept on fighting and doing her job as one of the kingdom's three saints, and when push comes to shove, she does defend herself, even though she knows no one will listen. It's a hopeless situation, but she's still trying to find a light, and ultimately this does pay off for her. Would it have been better if she saved herself rather than Eric stepping in? Maybe, but if you've ever been beaten down emotionally to the degree that she has, it can be almost impossible to pick yourself back up without a little aid.

I'm not entirely sure where this is going, considering that Jill has been more or less taken care of. Eric's brother Dale seems suspicious, and there's also the probability that a romance plot will bloom between Eric and Leia. It's an interesting enough story to merit giving it another volume to see what direction it's going to take, with the bonus of some very pretty art that helps set the stage. If nothing else, Leia deserves better than she's gotten, and I'd like to see her achieve that.

The title for this series is fairly misleading. Protagonist Leia isn't the one who breaks off the engagement with her fiancé. Rather, her fiancé breaks off the engagement. Also, Leia's sister Jill isn't a tragic heroine, she plays at being one.

The set-up for this series is dark, considering the pretty shoujo art. Jill has spent a lifetime making Leia's life miserable by crying about how badly Leia “bullies” her, making even Leia's accomplishment of becoming a Saint unbearable. This is why Leia's fiancé dumps her, by the way; Jill eventually convinces him that Leia is abusing her. It's not until Leia meets Prince Eric that she finally meets someone who cares about her, let alone gives her someplace where she can have some peace. If the series falters, it's probably because the whole affair is executed in a rather bubbly manner, especially considering the dark premise. No sooner does Eric come into Leia's life does he castigate her family and whisk her away to a happier life. While Leia gets to spend time with a dashing, noble prince who slays his assassins, Jill and her sycophants tear each other apart.

There's something extremely indulgent about I Abandoned My Engagement. Still, this series will nevertheless resonate with people—especially people who've had family issues. And at the very least, there's quite a bit of intrigue at work with how Prince Eric is rooting out corruption within his kingdom. The interpersonal drama between Leia and her family is honestly more interesting than the political drama, but that's likely because Eric's swashbuckling hasn't had much time to be explored. Nevertheless, I'm here to see Eric continue to embarrass the venomous Jill at her game. This is a fairy tale soap opera, even if our protagonist is already a Saint and not a Cinderella. It doesn't matter that it's predictable, what matters is that we enjoy seeing Leia vindicated and her bullies punished. Mildly recommended (and maybe a content warning for psychological abuse).

This is definitely a top contender for “story with one of the weirdest titles I've ever seen.” When I saw the artwork and read the back of the volume, I rolled my eyes so hard I think I got a migraine. But thankfully there was much more going on in this story than I originally gave it credit for. Abandoned Engagements, in a lot of ways, is a Cinderella story. We have a literal, pure saintly character forced into a family situation where she is constantly on the receiving end of family gaslighting. In fact, “I Was Gaslit By My Younger Sister” probably would've been a far more concise and straight-to-the-point title for the story.

My God, the main character's sister is probably a strong contender for one of the worst characters that I've ever seen in a manga because the way she acts and goes about doing things is very indicative of some of the worst people that I have ever interacted with in my life. Our protagonist Leia is a hard-working and generally well-rounded individual who has had her confidence and belief in people eroded over time due to her sister being a professional victim, constantly accusing Leia of bullying. Eventually, Leia reaches her lowest point until a literal prince comes in and whisks her way to a better life. This is a pretty straightforward wish-fulfillment story, but I found myself drawn into just how messy Leia's family drama was.

The writer did a good job of establishing the younger sister as a deplorable character that you wanted karma to beat the hell out of. She does get some payback to an extent although there are enough loose ends to imply that more is going to happen later on in the story. The story is standard and in many ways, a little too convenient. I can see a narrative here about learning to take responsibility for believing the falsehoods of others and how we may end up inadvertently ruining other people's lives if we're not careful. I hope that theme gets expanded down the road and isn't just a contrived setup to have Leia surrounded by a bunch of good-looking princely characters. I can recommend this book by virtue of how easy it is to get invested in the drama of it all but after that, it's a fifty-fifty shot as to whether or not that drama will continue to be a driving force for the story, or if it's just an excuse to lean into a more generic direction.