Anonymous
6/29/2025, 1:13:54 AM No.280072466
The Apothecary Diaries is a light novel series turned anime (with manga adaptations too) set in a fictional country based on medieval China. Maomao is a peasant girl, trained by her father to be an apothecary, who is kidnapped and sold into servitude at the emperor's palace. She catches the attention of a high-ranking official when she comes up with a solution to a series of mysterious deaths, and he begins consulting her about other mysteries that pop up. Also she really likes poison.
I could talk all day about the deftly handled character relationships; or the clear-faced way the restrictions on women in the time period are presented and how they navigate through them; or the way the show depicts sex workers; or the way small intrigues pile up until you can't help but go, "Holy shit, that was connected to that? It's so obvious now!"; or just Maomao herself, who is one of the most charming, intriguing, and funny characters in any story I've experienced. Add onto that great character designs, great music, and effective direction, and you have a winner.
Season 2 is close to completion and the final episodes have been firing on all cylinders (well maybe not the animation for action scenes but that isn't the point). Every episode has left me on the edge of my seat, and the newest episode that came out Friday was especially a roller coaster. So many different strands coming together, characters showing sides you never expected. It's good stuff.
Which is to say, watch it. Season 1 is on Netflix and Crunchyroll, season 2 is on Crunchyroll. The dub is really good too.
And when you catch up, you can join us
I could talk all day about the deftly handled character relationships; or the clear-faced way the restrictions on women in the time period are presented and how they navigate through them; or the way the show depicts sex workers; or the way small intrigues pile up until you can't help but go, "Holy shit, that was connected to that? It's so obvious now!"; or just Maomao herself, who is one of the most charming, intriguing, and funny characters in any story I've experienced. Add onto that great character designs, great music, and effective direction, and you have a winner.
Season 2 is close to completion and the final episodes have been firing on all cylinders (well maybe not the animation for action scenes but that isn't the point). Every episode has left me on the edge of my seat, and the newest episode that came out Friday was especially a roller coaster. So many different strands coming together, characters showing sides you never expected. It's good stuff.
Which is to say, watch it. Season 1 is on Netflix and Crunchyroll, season 2 is on Crunchyroll. The dub is really good too.
And when you catch up, you can join us
