Of Swords and Parasols

Yoki Koto Kiku is a oneshot manga  about the Nekogami triplets, Yoki, a graceful dancer, Koto, a handsome but sickly boy, and Kiku, a very cutesy, lolita-ish gir.  After their grandfather's death, they learn that if their older brother, Sukikiyo, doesn't return from the war within six months, one of the four other candidates will inherit the family fortune.  Three of the candidates, of course, are the triplets, and he fourth is Tamayo, Sukikiyo's hapless, eager-to-please fiancee, and the family maid.  Yoki, Koto, and Kiku, of course, aren't about to let ANYONE else get the fortune, not even a sibling, and proceed to spend the rest of the book trying to kill each other, while Tamayo heplessly stands around and panics while somehow surviving repeated attempts on her life.  There are jealous ballerinas, a shinigami who can become a king if he can get Koto's soul, razor blades in handerchiefs, a hapless detective named Gindaichi, and endless supply of handaxes(that also get juggled) rat poison, and many other things.

Essentially, the whole think is a country house murder mystery parody featuring extremely cute chibis doing very dark and evil things in the funniest way possible.  If you like dark humor along the lines of Clue, then this is the book for you.  If you don't like such things or thought Clue sucked, you should probably stay away.  Personally, I could watch Clue once a week and never get tired of it(in fact, I almost did for a few years there.)

 At lunch I went to Waldenbooks armed with 3 30% off coupons.  My goal(which was attained) was Vol 1 of Hikkatsu! Strike a Blow to Vivify.  It has a heroine who was raised by pigeons, a hero who is eternally traumatzed by being chased by a backhoe and a sensei who scolds his student for using karate to fight.  To properly understand why I anticipate this manga so, click here and here.  Also:  same creator as Those Who Hunt Elves(which is not a favorite anime of mine, but one whose amazing OTT-ness I can appreciate)

As I already ordered the new Fruits Basket, Samurai Deeper Kyo and Basara from Rightstuf(may i mention that the ONE TIME this year Waldenbooks gets Basara in, it's the one time I already ordered it elsewhere?) I got Vol 1 of Zombie Loan, about zombies in high school(and what appears to be a rather Mary Sue heroine, but I'll be optimistic) and Yoki Koto Kiku, which is supposed to be a dark comedy cat-and-mouse with chibi demon hunters on a treasure hunt or some such.

Also, apparently my Bleach icons are being popular, which kinda surprises me...

I shall now do a couple silly work things and then blog Hikkatsu! Strike A Blow to Vivify as I read it.
  

ETA: calixastarted watching the Zombie Loan anime.  I AM SO GLAD I GOT THAT MANGA AT LUNCH!!!!  THEY HAVE MORTAGES ON LIFE!  AND THEY SWAP HANDS!  And one can summon a sword to fight zombies and the other a gun.