Always a Catch!
逃がした魚は大きかったが釣りあげた魚が大きすぎた件 (Nigashita Sakana wa Ookikatta ga Tsuriageta Sakana ga Ookisugita Ken)
- Comedy
- Romance
- Martial Arts
- Episodes
- 12
- Duration
- 23 min per ep
- Aired
- Apr 2, 2026 to Jun 18, 2026
- Status
- Finished Airing
Synopsis
Raised for years to succeed as her family’s duchess thanks to her remarkable athletic talent, Maria “Mimi” Annovazzi suddenly finds herself displaced when a younger brother is born. With no inheritance to claim and the best matches in her own kingdom already taken, Mimi heads to a neighboring nation and enrolls in the royal academy, hoping a fresh start will lead her to a suitable husband. By her side is Aida Amethis—her closest friend and a distant relative—ready to help her navigate high society.
The plan derails almost immediately when Renato di Rubini, the future crown prince and Aida’s betrothed, mistakes Mimi for Aida and dramatically “breaks off” an engagement that never existed. Renato’s intention was to release Aida from an arranged marriage so she could pursue the man she truly loves, but the resulting confusion leaves Mimi anxious about the damage to her reputation. To steady the fallout, she turns to Renato for help finding a suitor—without realizing her bright spirit and formidable strength may have already drawn the attention of the kingdom’s most sought-after match.
Otaku Consensus
Otaku Consensus: Always a Catch! lands as a sturdy, cheerful noble-society rom-com whose best asset is the way Akira Oguro’s direction and Michiko Yokote’s series composition let the comedy warm up after an exposition-heavy opener, with later episodes earning the “cute,” “wholesome,” low-stakes reputation fans attached to it. The common knock is real but contained: the premiere’s stiffness and uneven gag timing make it look more disposable than the livelier, more detailed show it becomes, even though TROYCA’s overall animation and CG integration drew kinder notices than expected.
Why You Should Watch
Watch Always a Catch! if you want courtship comedy with no survival-game cruelty, no villainess revenge loop, and no dense fantasy homework. It scratches a neighboring itch to My Next Life as a Villainess and the lighter side of Ouran High School Host Club: aristocratic etiquette, public embarrassment, and romantic misunderstandings treated as social slapstick rather than trauma. The hook is its heroine flavor: AniList’s tag profile puts Female Protagonist, Tomboy, Ojou-sama, and Martial Arts all in play, so the comedy comes from a polished noblewoman who can physically dominate a scene without the show turning into an action series. Its 12-episode run also helps; after a stiff first episode, the season settles into a breezy rhythm built for viewers who like low-stakes romance with actual comic timing.
Key Characters
- MMaria “Mimi” Annovazzi
A rare shoujo heroine whose tomboy athleticism and ojou-sama upbringing are treated as social assets and comic weapons rather than flaws to be corrected.
- AAida Amethis
Aida functions as the series’ emotional stabilizer, keeping its royal-affairs farce affectionate instead of letting the etiquette mishaps turn cruel.
- RRenato di Rubini
Renato is built less as a brooding prince than as a public-relations disaster with honorable intentions, giving the romance its comedy-of-errors engine.
What Makes It Stand Out
- 1
TROYCA handled the animation production, with Mitsutaka Iguchi credited as CG Director; web reactions specifically noted that the 3D animation came off better than expected for a light romantic comedy.
- 2
The season’s reception has a clear pacing pattern: early comments call the first episode setup-heavy and a bit stiff, while later impressions describe the show as funnier, warmer, and more alive once the ensemble rhythm clicks.
- 3
Its AniList tag mix is unusually specific for a courtship rom-com: Royal Affairs at 83%, Female Protagonist at 75%, Tomboy at 70%, Martial Arts at 60%, and Ojou-sama at 60%, which explains why the show feels closer to social comedy with physical punchlines than a standard academy romance.
- 4
The series is a compact one-cour production: 12 episodes aired from April 2 to June 18, 2026, giving it a clean seasonal shape rather than stretching its mistaken-identity comedy beyond its premise.
- 5
Its scores point to niche satisfaction rather than breakout hype: 7.19 on MyAnimeList from 12,335 votes and 71/100 on AniList, with 360 AniList favourites, place it in the “solid comfort watch” lane described by early viewers.
Fun Facts & Trivia
- Fun fact 1
- The anime adapts an original story by Mayo Momoyo, while Itsuki Mito is credited for the original character designs and Isamu Suzuki for the anime character designs.
- Fun fact 2
- The Japanese title, Nigashita Sakana wa Ookikatta ga Tsuriageta Sakana ga Ookisugita Ken, extends the English “catch” joke into a fishing-proverb gag: the lost fish was big, but the one caught was even bigger.
- Fun fact 3
- Michiko Yokote handled series composition, a crucial role for a comedy whose reception improved once the premiere’s setup gave way to faster character-driven timing.
- Fun fact 4
- The visual pipeline lists Xiaomiao Li as Art Director, Mariko Shinohara as Color Designer, Asami Kawai as Director of Photography, and Shouta Uyama as Editor, giving the series a clearly documented craft team beyond its headline studio.
- Fun fact 5
- AniList’s Male Protagonist tag sits at only 26%, despite Renato’s importance, which reflects how strongly the anime’s identity is organized around Mimi’s point of view.
Studios
- TROYCA
