The Apothecary Diaries (Japanese : Kusuriya No Hitorigoto) is a palace intrigue anime based on light novels of the same name. The first season aired from October 2023 to March 2024. The second season of The Apothecary Diaries recently aired in the start of 2025.
This series caught my attention because of its memes. On watching it, I can only say that I was beyond pleasantly surprised.
You can catch it here.
The Apothecary Diaries: Plot Overview
The story is set in a fictional country taking inspiration from Imperial China during the Tang Dynasty.
We are introduced to a young apothecary who lives with her adoptive healer father, Maomao. She and her father help prepare medicines for the courtesans in the red-light district. Given her upbringing, she is an intelligent, realistic girl who is world-wise beyond her years. She also has zero interest or faith in love.
She gets kidnapped and sold to the Imperial Palace as an indentured labourer. There she tries to keep her head low. However, unable to ignore a series of mysterious child deaths, she investigates. This leads to her catching the eye of Jinshi; a beautiful eunuch managing the inner palace. He has a hidden origin story that is slowly revealed over the episodes. He is cunning and doesn’t shy away from wielding his beauty as a weapon to his advantage. At his behest, Maomao ends up solving many more mysteries for the Imperial Court.
Maomao: Not like other girls
This is the best ever depiction of an eccentric female character without being the pseudo not-like-other-girls caricature. Maomao is intensely passionate about poisons and experiments. She is intelligent and ruthless. However, it is perfectly balanced with a reluctant yet helpful nature. It’s a hilarious depiction of an unwilling hero being dragged by their curiosity and sense of justice.
Not to mention, she has grown up around courtesans. The unique aspect, however, is that she does use her background to her advantage instead of fighting against it or hiding it. For example, she quickly becomes a favourite of the consorts because she teaches them some techniques to please the emperor!! The whole setup is hilarious when you consider the fact that Maomao is a relationship-challenged person.
However, the thing that sets her apart from other “eccentric girls” is that she doesn’t look down on other girls. She ends up being friends with quite a few of them throughout the course of the show.
Romantic relationships
On one hand, Maomao is very rational about romantic relationships. In stark contrast, the creators have also created some darkly hopeful sub-plots of romance blossoming under adverse circumstances.
The creators have shown Jinshi as a pretty man. While Maomao acknowledges it, she never allows that to blind her. Not to mention that their banter is actually playful and cute instead of insulting. The couple gives black cat-golden retriever energy.
The show hints at Jinshi having some feelings for Maomao. Their interactions are fun and Jinshi’s normal reactions in juxtaposition to Maomao’s almost ridiculous ones always elevate the scenes to absolute comedy.
Another cute aspect is the absolute trust Jinshi has in Maomao. He trusts her decisions and supports them fully even if he is not aware of the reasoning.
Story Themes
Having a pleasure house and the Imperial Palace as the story’s background provides a unique set of characters and situations to be explored.
The show talks about the dark side of desire, pleasure and power without it overwhelming the comedic tone. The side characters have their own quirks and they are all depicted in a way that compliments the central plot of the story.
The mystery aspect is also fabulously done. The setup of each case allows Maomao’s intelligence to truly shine, without making her seem all-knowing.
The Apothecary Diaries: Animation
The clever use of reactions to enhance the comedic effect is amazing. If you watch this series, it will be very obvious to you, as to why it is such a gold mine for memes.
The creators have used Japanese language with a traditionally Chinese imperial palace setup. Not to mention, the language also uses English loan words, and sounds super modern. It is a mix I never envisioned but it fits perfectly with the story setup.
Final Thoughts
It has been such a joy recently to watch brilliantly written strong female characters like Maomao. She has become one of my favourites over the span of just a few episodes. She is refreshingly eccentric and the show uses these tendencies to introduce some original, iconic moments.
With the second season available to watch on Crunchyroll and online, I can’t wait to watch more of Maomao’s, and Jinshi’s shenanigans.