The Apothecary Diaries
Short Synopsis: Maomao lived a peaceful life with her apothecary father. Until one day, she’s sold as a lowly servant to the emperor’s palace. But she wasn’t meant for a compliant life among royalty. So when imperial heirs fall ill, she decides to step in and find a cure! This catches the eye of Jinshi, a handsome palace official who promotes her. Now, she’s making a name for herself solving medical mysteries!
Alright I’ve waited long enough for Dog Signal, we’re just skipping it and bringing this season to a close. So! Apothecary Diaries! How was it? Initial impressions are… fine? I’ll admit to not being as wow’ed by it as I expected to be. It looks nice, but not amazing. The characters are cute, but I haven’t fallen in love with them after 3 episodes, and the balance of chibi to regular designs is… not great for me, they often feel out of place. And the setting? Well it’s just the Chinese Imperial Palace. Apothecary Diaries is promising a lot of things to come, the Emperor has appeared looking for Maomao and Jinshi is slowly involving her in his various plots and schemes. It’s very much billing itself as a slow burn. And with 24 episodes promised, it’s going to get plenty of time to fulfill that promise. For now though? It’s another one on my watch list, but I think there are a number of shows this season that were better, and more compelling, by the 3 episode mark than Apothecary Diaries.
Potential: 60%
Yes, it’s a pretty lackluster adaptation imo. Kevin Penkin’s soundtrack isn’t very memorable so far, and the animation is mediocre at best. I agree the switch between chibi and regular designs doesn’t work very well, and in the latest episode the animation was frequently lacking detail too (and more generally, it just doesn’t capture Maomao’s charms very well). Also, Jinshi’s advances are much more creepy in animation. Maybe I’m just spoiled with all the great adaptations going on (Frieren, Jujutsu Kaisen, Undead Unluck…), but I expected more from an an adaptation of one of the most highly rated shoujo series of all time.