SEASON 2 CONFIRMED FOR NEXT YEAR (2025)
Apothecary Diaries, or Kusuriya no Hitorigoto, is a shoujo anime. Set in the corridors of a medieval palace within a fictional realm influenced by Chinese culture, the story intertwines elements of love and intrigue, blending romance with the suspense of a murder mystery.
Credits : Studio OLM, TOHO animation
If you want more Maomao now, consider the official release. They finished at the end of volume 2 of the Light novel, and there are a total of 14 volumes of the light novel, so you can start directly from volume 3. Manga-wise, we ended around volume 8, chapter 40 (there are two manga adaptations of Apothecary, but this specifically refers to the one drawn by Nekokurage, since that’s the only one officially translated atm). Support the official release if you can.
As of now, the cast and staff of this have not changed. The people from season 1 continue this story and adaptation in process by Studio OLM.
More about the Apothecary Diaries ending story:
In the LN/manga, Maomao included a letter with the rose basically spelling out what Lakan needed to do. He didn’t read it, but Maomao knew that Meimei would’ve let him know anyway.
A detail in the letter the madam sent Maomao, from the LN: The letter spelled out exactly whose contract had been bought out, and by whom. It must have been raining or something when she wrote, for the page was streaked with droplets. The anime didn’t really show Lakan and Maomao meeting for the first time. But given Maomao’s face when Jinshi said his name, I think you can get the gist of what happened.
Credits : Studio OLM, TOHO animation
An extra translation tidbit:
One big thing that was lost in translation is the relationship between kamuro and the courtesans they served. Kamuro, contextually translated as either servant girl or apprentice, are serving girls assigned to courtesans, whom they called sister/nee-san. The relationship between these little girls and the courtesans they serve is highlighted in Episode 8 (the one where one of the clients to a courtesan was poisoned). Being a kamuro is the fate of the girls sold to brothels as a child. They are assigned to serve a courtesan who will have 1-3 kamuro. They don’t engage in anything sexual, but they do learn from their nee-san about the ins and outs of being a courtesan. If, by age 13-14, they grow up pretty, the brothel approaches whoever sold them the Kamuro to buy them again as a courtesan. Otherwise, their term of employment is up, and they’re free to go. Sadly, due to the inconsistent translation, it’s not readily apparent that a “kamuro” is something very specific to the red-light district. Episode 8 specifically shows that kamuro are usually very devoted to their courtesan. Episode 18 shows that Meimei was Fengxian’s kamuro, both in a wide shot of all the courtesans (they were standing right by each other) and by calling Maomao’s mother “nee-san”. And yet Meimei still treated him well. That should clue in more attentive watchers that there was more to Lakan’s story. And Meimei being Fengxian’s kamuro also explains why she was so invested in Fengxian finally getting a happy ending.
It was a great season for fantasy anime fans; on Friday, we were enjoying Frieren, and on Saturday, there was Apothecary Diaries. We all hope for a great season incoming for Apothecary Diaries, as it has many catchy storylines following it.
Already TOHO animation released season 2 teaser for this anime, check this out :