Always a Catch! How I Punched My Way Into Marrying a Prince Volumes 2 and 3 Review

Square Enix Manga has been steadily bringing us Always a Catch! since it debuted at the end of 2024. And now the series has been lucky enough to receive an anime adaptation over the Spring season. And with that having concluded, surely there might be some new fans looking to get into the manga, so what better time to review two further volumes!

As we reunite with protagonist Maria, we find her returning to the Kingdom of Muro, where she intends to visit her family and inform them of her engagement to Prince Renato. Said prince is beside himself with the thought of Maria returning home by herself, but having just been attacked at the castle, it may be safer for her to be out of the kingdom.

Maria can, of course, hold her own in a fight, and she soon has to when she and her bodyguards find themselves encountering a bunch of bandits on the way to her home. But that may not even be the most difficult challenge she faces, as upon arriving home Maria is confused to find her father acting out of sorts. But at least her adorable baby brother Teo is doing well, and everyone else seems happy to see her.

It turns out, her father is just worried about whether or not Renato is a suitable husband for his beloved daughter. And she’ll be in another kingdom all by herself (we’re apparently ignoring that her distant cousin Aida lives there) and with people who aren’t even stronger than she is (unsurprisingly!). But hopefully Maria can get through to her well-meaning father before her return trip back to the Kingdom of Rubini.

And it’s Volume 3, where we get to follow Maria’s journey back to Rubini, which of course is filled with chaos. On the trip to her family home, Maria heard about a missing girl whose village is close by, so the group detoured there and discovered that she’s unfortunately still not been found. In fact, the villagers think the count may have kidnapped her and be holding her hostage! They’re all prepared to storm his manor, but Maria steps in and decides to take the lead on the rescue mission herself!

Much like the first volume, these two instalments are action-packed and a lot of fun. Maria is nothing like the kind of heroine you’d imagine marrying a prince (a fact she herself is quite aware of), but that simply makes her all the more endearing. And I still enjoy the role reversal where more often than not, it’s Prince Renato who ends up a damsel in distress – even when he really wasn’t in these two volumes that much! Maria can hold her own come what may, and in a series where there always seems to be plenty of trouble around every corner, that’s really important.

Returning to the manga after the anime has also proved a fruitful experience. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed in the anime, which felt like it was quite slow week to week. And maybe that was due to the pacing of the original light novel. I’m not sure. But it’s far easier to stay engaged with this version of the story. Kaki Nagato’s art is easy to follow and well suited to the action-packed scenes as well as those slower moments where Maria is interacting with her family or the prince.

Volume 3 ends where Episode 8 of the anime ended, and it actually seems like quite a good stopping point for the series in general. I wonder if this might have been where the first light novel ends (sadly, those still aren’t licensed in English). This does give readers a good jumping-off point if they feel they’ve seen enough of Maria’s adventures, but I find myself interested in seeing what kind of chaotic events she’ll get embroiled in as the series goes on.

These two volumes of Always a Catch! have come to the West thanks to Square Enix Manga and have been translated by Nova Skipper, with lettering by Dietrich Premier. Both releases read well and come with colour pages at the beginning. I have read that some physical editions of Volume 3 have production defects where pages are missing or repeated, but the copy I received is perfectly fine, and I imagine the problem stock is more or less out of the retail market now. Still worth being aware of though!

The series is still ongoing in Japan with 11 volumes. Here in English, Square Enix has released Volumes 4 through 7, with #8 currently slated for September. So we’ve done well to catch up and are slowly closing the gap.

Overall, Always a Catch! Volumes 2 and 3 prove entertaining reads and also offer readers a jumping-off point should they find they’ve had their fill of Maria’s adventures. Compared to the anime, I’ve found this is a much more polished way to experience the story too, so I hope others might give this story a chance here in a different form.

Free previews can be read on the publisher’s website.

Our review copies from Square Enix Manga were supplied by Turnaround Comics (Turnaround Publisher Services)

©Mayo Momoyo / Itsuki Mito / Kaki Nagato / SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD