The Prince’s Keeper Volume 1 Review

Square Enix Manga is home to a number of fantasy romance titles, but what if you take those and add cats into the central premise? That’s the question raised by the new title The Prince’s Keeper, which aims to delight fantasy and cat lovers alike!

Our story begins in the royal capital of the Kingdom of Aurelia, where we meet the apprentice witch Miranda, who works at a small store selling magical potions and enchanted items. Her master has left her to fend for herself, and that’s fine except for the fact she’s found herself in a spot of trouble.

After attending a tea party at the royal palace, Miranda finds herself followed home by a stray cat. But this isn’t just any cat; this is the third prince of the kingdom, Heinrich, who has been put under a curse that’s forced him into this feline form. Luckily for Heinrich, Miranda has another kitty familiar called Bern, whom she uses her magic to turn into a human for several hours a day to help her around the story. Bern tells his master all about Heinrich’s plight, and she quickly transforms him into human form as well.

Heinrich asks for Miranda’s help breaking the curse cast upon him since, unlike Bern, he is originally a human. But as an apprentice, Miranda doesn’t feel comfortable breaking such a complex curse – particularly one cast upon royalty. Instead, she and Bern promise to do everything they can to investigate who cast it and hopefully figure out a safe way to dispel it. In the meantime, Heinrich decides to live with Miranda, where he has ready access to her ability to temporarily return him to his human form.

Based on a web novel by author Oto Nagatsuki, The Prince’s Keeper is a cute fantasy story that in a few ways reminds me of Hi, I’m a Witch, and My Crush Wants Me to Make a Love Potion. Both Miranda and the protagonist of that series are lacking in confidence and find themselves questioning their abilities. I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole reason Miranda’s master has wandered off somewhere is to try and give the girl a bit of confidence in herself. But she probably didn’t anticipate her apprentice having to deal with a prince turned human…

The other problem that Miranda faces is that the prince is very handsome, and to turn him into human form, she must kiss his forehead and then find herself close-up with his attractive features! This doesn’t bother her as much with Bern, who is actually a cat and takes the form of a small child when transformed, but Heinrich is another thing entirely! It does not help that prior to establishing a familiar contract, Heinrich always ends up entirely naked when he first transforms.

The story is brought to life by mangaka Himako Neko (who has one other series in Japan, but nothing else here), who successfully portrays the charms of the human and cat cast alike. Generally the pages can feel a little empty, as there’s not always a great amount of detail when it comes to backgrounds and the setting. But I think Neko does a good job showing the emotions of the cast, as well as knowing when to use larger panels for the important scenes. Rather than being overly cutesy, the cats are drawn in a fairly realistic manner, too.

Generally I think this is a series that will appeal more to the romance fans than it will those looking for a new fantasy story. It’s just a bit too light on details when it comes to the setting and even Miranda’s character to really offer anything else. This is a lot more focused on the budding relationship between her and the prince, which is certainly sweet enough for what it is. I’m hoping that as time goes on we’ll learn more about him and Miranda, but certainly for a first instalment I came away thinking the two had good chemistry.

As mentioned, The Prince’s Keeper comes to the West thanks to Square Enix Manga and has been translated by Meredith Singer with lettering by Dietrich Premier. On the whole the release reads well with no issues. Like many of the Square Enix releases, there’s a colour page included as an extra.

The series is still ongoing in Japan, where there’s a second volume currently available, but it seems to be on a fairly slow release schedule over there. Volume 2 was released in 2024, and there’s only been one chapter further since then, so I find myself somewhat concerned about if it’s on an extended hiatus. Here in English, we’ll be getting that second volume in July and then will be waiting alongside the Japanese fans for more. This title is also available to read on MANGA UP! if you wish to read ahead.

Overall, The Prince’s Keeper is a little light on substance in this first outing, but it has all the right pieces to give us something fun. For now at least, if you’re a cat fan and find yourself looking for a new romance, this will certainly scratch that itch.

A free preview can be read on the publisher’s website.
Our review copy from Square Enix Manga was supplied by Turnaround Comics (Turnaround Publisher Services).