If I had to sum Always a Catch! up in the easiest way possible, I would say that it's May I Ask for One Final Thing? but with a heroine who is as goofy as possible. Like Scarlet, Maria “Mimi” Annovazzi is as strong as she can be and has an incredible skill for punching people, but she lacks Scarlet's social and emotional baggage. Mimi is a force of nature and fully aware of it…and so is everyone around her. She cheerily trains with knights, attempts to rescue kidnapped village girls (or should that be “kidnapped?”), punches bandits, and does whatever else needs doing. She's cognizant of the fact that her upbringing isn't quite what a noble lady's is supposed to be, but she doesn't resent that fact, nor that her younger brother Teo's birth removed her from the line of succession. Mimi marches to the beat of her own drum, and she does it with aplomb.

That's the greatest charm this series has. Mimi is never anyone other than herself, and while she worries that it might cause some trouble for her powerful new fiancé, that just provides her with another way to do her best. She may rather be training, but she'll still do her absolute best to learn to dance like a proper lady, even if she thinks high heels look like weapons. That Renato recognizes that she is, as the title says, a catch is only the icing on the cake.

After volume one's basic setup of the world, this story takes place in Totally-Not-Italy-I-Swear (it's even boot-shaped on the map) before unification, and Mimi was raised to be her father's heir; she and Prince Renato meet and fall in love – the focus shifts to actively getting Mimi and Renato together. This means that Mimi has to be formally introduced to the rest of the nobility in Renato's kingdom, and he needs to do the same with the Annovazzi family. Naturally, this cannot happen too smoothly, and volume two has Mimi taking care of a little bandit problem on her way home for a visit. Later, in volume three, she puts herself in charge of rescuing a missing villager before returning to Renato's side. Volumes four and five detail their visit to Mimi's family.

While the story does have a fairly smooth flow, it's also clearly divided into chunks based on setting and inciting incident. This can be a little jarring, especially when it's mentioned that by volume five of the manga, we've covered two volumes of the original novels, giving the impression that they must be packed with plot. In manga form, the shorter amount of space lends itself to this sort of storytelling, ably aided by the art, which is a highlight of the books. Kaki Nagato has a flair for action scenes, especially when Mimi is dressed as a lady. Layers of skirts swirl around her body as she kicks with a flowing, frothy look, and she always looks perfectly comfortable and adept at whatever she's doing. Where many artists wouldn't consider the weight of petticoats, Nagato does, and we can see Mimi using that to her advantage as she moves. It's a triumphant melding of costume and action.

There are plenty of chances to show it off, too. There are multiple fight scenes per volume, which is also part of the series' charm. Mimi throws herself into everything she does with enthusiasm, and the other characters' reactions to her help to highlight how very her every action is. She falls a bit into the “not like other girls” trap, but not to the extent that she feels stale as a character, which is in large part due to her self-awareness. Where other characters, like Placido and Aida, struggle with the discrepancy between what they want and what they're supposed to do, Mimi forges ahead. She is the reason Renato can recognize and acknowledge that Aida and Placido are in love; without Mimi, he would have felt compelled to marry Aida and hurt both her and his younger brother. Mimi's entire life has been outside the norm, and that's made her someone who can be more flexible than most.

This is making Always a Catch! sound more serious than it is. At its heart, this is a romp of a story about an atypical young lady bulldozing her way through the world. Not everyone appreciates that about her, but she either doesn't notice or doesn't care, and every moment spent with her is a delight. No matter what she's up to or who she's with, Mimi is unrepentantly herself – and that more than makes this series worth it.