Of Swords and Parasols

Yuzu never knew she had any other family until her dying mother asked her to deliver a message to her grandmother. Kicked out of her apartment for not being able to pay the rent, Yuzu is planning to sleep in the park until a handsome young man named Hassaku finds her and tells her he was sent by her grandmother. Said grandmother being Mitsuko, the glamorous head of the Shirayuki family, who lives in a castle and has a small army of bishounen footmen who double as bodyguards. She doesn’t care about her daughter’s last wishes but decides to have Yuzu trained as a potential heir, and gives the job to Hassaku.

It’s not particularly original, but is fairly entertaining, and doesn’t seem to be going the reverse harem route it initially looks like. Yuzu is possibly the only shoujo heroine who can top Tohru Honda in her fixation on her dead mother, though Yuzu’s fixation tends to manifest itself by spouting her mother’s rules, which seem to include things like “if a man corners and threatens you, kick him in the nuts,” and “if someone grabs you, bash them in the face with your bag.” Unfortunately, the various men so far are largely jerks, especially Hassaku, her apparent love interest, who spouts on about his complete devotion to Mitsuko, hints at a past with Yuzu, and regularly talks about how Yuzu’s wants and wishes are irrelevant in the face of his duty. I’m sure he has some deep, angsty reason for this that fans love to bits. Really, he seems to be the kind of hero that most love. He’s rather…kdrama-ish? But I’m really not interested in the deep, angsty pasts that will make his (and all the other jerks, I’m sure) being a jerk to Yuzu totally sympathetic. Really, aside from Yuzu and Mitsuko (who’s rather cool in a scary way) most of the cast are decorations or jerks, with the exception of one character who seems to be being set up to be the sweet guy passed up for Hassaku.