It’s time to discuss the late but interesting arrival of Kusuriya no Hitorigoto / The Apothecary Diaries—with a focus on its well-fitting creative team, but
Oct 28, 2023 • Subscribe
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The Anime I re-watch over and over again #WeebProblems
As I reach the tender age of 24 for this year I have officially been watching anime for 8 years now and as I still continue to update…
Hyouka’s Ingenious Cinematography and Aesthetics
Expositions are boring. This was how I used to think for the longest time. I mean, who really wants to watch characters talking while sitting in a cafe…
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 18
There was a veritable tidal wave of new information here, though much of it came as confirmation rather than revelation.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 13
As I speculated two Sundays ago, it would be impossible for Maomao to simply return to her old position as a lady-in-waiting.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 10
「蜂蜜」 (Hachimitsu) "Honey" A taste of honey, or how about let's not
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 15
Lakan is a tough one to puzzle out.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 08
「麦稈」 (Mugiwara) "Wheat Stalks" Even on vacation, Mao Mao doesn't get a break
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 12
「宦官と妓女」 (Kangan to Gijo) "The Eunuch and the Courtesan" I think one of recurring themes is that there is no such thing as freedom- you’re ultimately always bound by something…
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 10
Maomao is definitely wading into extremely shark-infested waters by looking into all this baby stuff with Ah-Duo.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 02
「無愛想な薬師」 (Buaisō na Kusushi) "Chilly Apothecary" Mao Mao's new job is a bizarre, yet fabulous example of the intersection between one’s skills and interests and societal needs.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 09
「自殺か他殺か」 (Jisatsu ka Tasatsu ka) "Suicide or Murder?" Sometimes it's nice to do away with the bow
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 04
I must say, visually speaking this all worked far better for me, though I'm resigned to a return to the premiere's style.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 07
Considering Maomao openly suspected her father of selling her off, she too is very nonchalant about this reunion.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 05
「暗躍」 (Anyaku) "Covert Operations" MaoMao is in high demand
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 03
「幽霊騒動」 (Yūrei Sōdō) "The Unsettling Matter of the Spirit" Just in time for Halloween
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 04
「恫喝」 (Dōkatsu) "The Threat" As much as Mao Mao wishes to be left alone, the Imperial court doesn’t.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 09
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto has a pretty flexible moral compass, which the protagonist personifies.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 12
My track record with LN adaptations is checkered to say the least, but it's obvious that Kusuriya no Hitorigoto is no mass-produced model.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 17
One way or another I think the dynamic of things has changed, and Lakan is surely at the heart of it.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 06
Palace politics are a bitch, no question about it. It seems to transcend time and place.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 11
「二つを一つに」 (Futatsu o Hitotsu ni) "Reducing Two to One" The tangled thread of fate slowly becomes untangled centimeter by centimeter.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 07
「里帰り」 (Satogaeri) "Homecoming" Shouldn't Mao Mao's family have been more worried about her?
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 16
I must say, Kusuriya no Hitorigoto has an easy charm about it that I find very winning.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 08
It's not as though I can point to any single extraordinary element of that episode, but it was one of my favorites so far.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 11
I thought I had this puzzle more or less figured out, but my theory is wrong on at least one part - we're one baby short.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 13
「外廷勤務」 (Gaitei Kinmu) "Serving in the Outer Court" Welcome back Mao Mao (or rather, Xiao Mao)
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 06
「園遊会」 (Enyūkai) "The Garden Party" Don't mess with MaoMao
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 05
The Apothecary Diaries is a bit of an unorthodox series to me in general, and not in an unappealing way
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 14
I suppose there's a certain irony in a virgin being the one to instruct imperial consorts in the ways of seducing and pleasing men.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 01
「猫猫」 (Maomao) "Maomao" Maomao is a modern scientific mind in a pre-modern world.
The Making of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!’s Opening
Here’s a cool video for all you animation lovers. Crunchyroll uploaded an interview with a man named Abel Gongora, who directed the viral opening to Keep Your Hands…
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) – 19
I've learned that with the anime version of Kusuriya at least, you never make assumptions about what sort of episode you're looking at.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) – 23
You know Fengxian was pissed when she gave Lakan the finger.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) – 21
If I've learned anything in following Kuuriya no Hitorigoto for five months, it's not let its moods deceive me.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) – 22
We're faced with a three-pronged fork of a question here.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) – 20
Once more the theme this week is coincidence and conspiracy, and a detective's ability to spot the difference.
First Impressions – Kusuriya no Hitorigoto
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The Otakusphere: Bad manufacturing, inner lives and a whole lot of spiky hair
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First Glance: The Circle of relatives Cases of the Abnormal Witch
Alternative title(s): Dekoboko Majo no Oyako JijouManga Adaptation by A-RealStreaming on Crunchyroll
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) – 24 (Season Finale)
Credit where it’s due - this is a really good adaptation of what’s clearly a good source material.
The Curse of Knowledge: I Know, You Know, Anime Know.
The Curse of Knowledge makes it hard for people to communicate. It doesn’t matter if you’re writing an anime blog post or an academic journal article. We know…
Episode 581: Dying Over and Over and Over Again
Anime Pulse has finally made it out of the previews for the Fall season, meaning we're back into reviews. We start off with Joseph burning an old computer…
Forbidden Deductions – Crime cases and one epic detective
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[One] Over and Over Again
A little over three and a half months ago, I found myself lying awake in the middle of the night in a hotel room on the other side…
Overtake! – 10
「ネバー・セイ・ネバー -It`s gonna be a long race.-」 (Never Say Never: It`s Gonna Be a Long Race) "Never Say Never: It`s Gonna Be a Long Race." Now's not the time to…
Overtake! – 02
There's a lot of personal investment behind this project, and it absolutely shows. Read more