Of Swords and Parasols

I read the first few volumes of this a good while back, then got woefully sidetracked. (You may see me saying that a lot over the next bit.) It’s about an amnesiac boy who gets rescued by a whip-wielding girl named Ririka, who names him Rose, and whose caretaker, Eiri, is actually the kingdom’s head scientist, and had cloned him from Idea, the now-dead ruler of the world. There’s rival clones, evil scientists, angsty eye loss, angsty eye exchange, pirates, mysterious men who live in gothic mansions with fairies, crossdressing, android bishounen, Mysterious And Significant Accessories, and more! I think there may have been some pretty cute romance mixed in somewhere, but I’m not sure. It’s quite fun and endearing, and as much as I love my often incomprehensible, sometimes brainbreaking scifi shoujo, I can’t help but think there should be more licensed short scifi shoujo that doesn’t require a diagram. Or alcohol.

( brief spoilers )

In the 26th century, the world was in chaos until a man named Idea came from nowhere, united the world, and became emperor. And then one day, he randomly died. (No, really, it was random. He just flopped down and died!) The palace, a teensy bit worried about the return of anarchy, asked Idea’s best friend and scientist, Eiri, to make a new one. Eiri told them he could clone Idea, and even age him to the right age, but that he couldn’t recreate Idea’s experience, so the clone wouldn’t be able to control things.

The palace, of course, ignores Eiri and clones Idea, and then goes “oh hey, wait, this guy is nothing like Idea!” So they try to kill him. Thankfully, the clone escapes and is found by Ririka, the whip-wielding foster daughter of Eiri. They initially think he has amnesia, and Ririka names the clone “Rose” because of the flower shaped scar on his forehead. Rose is so happy to have a name that he doesn’t worry about being given a girl’s name too much. Ririka also figures out pretty quickly that having a guy who looks like the emperor around results in free food. Ririka is smart.

( more with some spoilers )
For those who skipped the cut, or just want a shorter version: Post-apocalyptic shoujo. Clones. Amnesia. Whip-wielding heroine with Clamp-esque hair. Promise of eye trauma. BFF means trying to kill you. One eyed scientist. Stolen bodies.

I swear, I kept looking to see if Naoe Kita was a former member of Clamp.

I love you, CMX box.