Of Swords and Parasols

I have just finished volumes 7-8 of Apothecarius Argentum, aka, the last volumes of the series published by CMX before DC discontinued the line. They were excellent and reminded me of why I love the series, and they ended on a cliffhanger that I didn't see coming, thus further increasing my sorrow at the discontinuation.

I know that most scans teams stopped translating the CMX titles when they were licensed, but does anyone know if volumes 9+ are available anywhere, since it's extremely unlikely that another US publisher will pick them up? (I'm pretty sure that this, From Eroica With Love and Young Magician are the only CMX titles I follow that hadn't completed their US runs before the discontinuation, but I'm also behind in reading a number of them.)

Ok, manga, lets talk. Why is it that, on the rare occasion a shoujo manga has a setup where not do I think endless angst and “Woes! We cannot be together touch! Our love is forbidden!” is not only warranted, but is something that I would enjoy, am I not indulged? Did you have to listen to my complaints about other manga (and such things) having so much of it that it kills my interest? Must your characters be quite this mature and logical?

She is a princess determined to be a great leader! He is a slave and his blood and touch are literally poisonous! She learned how to fight so no one would get hurt protecting her! He’s an assassin and a healer! The potential! Not, mind you, that’s it’s completely wasted by any means. Or that I do not appreciate the fact that Primula will clearly eventually logic and reason Argent’s body into being non-poisonous.
( spoilers )

And so begins a string of posts about semi-obscure CMX shoujo.

Argent is a Basilisk, a member of a race of assassins conditioned from birth to withstand any toxin or poison, while their skin and blood both become poisonous. The more toxic your body is to others, the whiter your hair, and Argent’s is almost pure white. As a child, Argent was purchased by the king of Beazol to be a food taster for the crown princess, Primula, with the understanding that he would be executed if he ever touched the princess. Eventually, however, poisoned food made him sick and Primula decided to help him escape so he wouldn’t be at risk for her anymore, and kissed him. This, of course, made her sick, and after he stayed behind to save her (in her defense, I should mention that they appear to be about 8 and 10 at this point in time) he was arrested. When he was about to be Executed, Primula rescued him and told him to run away and never come back, and declared that she would grow up strong and not need anyone to risk themselves for her again.

This is, like, 7-10 pages of flashback cuteness in the first chapter and a half.

Anyway, Primula grows up to be a swordswoman well able to spot attacks on her, both subtle and obvious, and Argent stays nearby in the woods, trying to protect Primula from the shows, eventually becoming an apothecary, his resistance to poisons allowing him to make medicines others can’t. When Primula (now 16 or so) learns he’s still there, she has him brought back as the Court Apothecary. Argent, despite not thinking it’s an incredibly good idea, agrees because he’s been in love since they were kids it’ll make Protecting the Princess easier. Plus, better facilities. Primula’s father, however, is happy to have him back because he had much bigger plans for a Basilisk than just being a food tester. Argent also requires (against his will) an apprentice, Soda, who is already casting them as a great and epic love in his head.

Even though Argent chose to use his unusual body to heal people, neither he nor the king has forgotten that he spent his childhood being trained as an assassin, and he’s very willing to use (and has used) those skills to protect Primula, even to kill. Primula manages to be tough and convincing as a swordwoman without being overwhelming tomboyish, or even without giving up being girly. Then you have the whole princess/commoner(actually slave) angst being complicated even further by “Oh yeah, and if we touch, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll die.” I’m not in love yet, but it’s pretty good so far. Though I can almost smell a “Primula is engaged and the future of the entire kingdom relies on her marriage” plotline.