The Apothecary Diaries is a bit of an unorthodox series to me in general, and not in an unappealing way
Nov 5, 2023 • Subscribe
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Kusuriya no Hitorigoto
Plot: Maomao, an apothecary’s daughter, has been plucked from her peaceful life and sold to the lowest echelons of the imperial court. Now merely a maid, Maomao settles…
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 – 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 – 07
Considering Maomao openly suspected her father of selling her off, she too is very nonchalant about this reunion.
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 – 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 – 10
Maomao is definitely wading into extremely shark-infested waters by looking into all this baby stuff with Ah-Duo.
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 – 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 – 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
「里帰り」 (Satogaeri) "Homecoming" Shouldn't Mao Mao's family have been more worried about her?
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 – 13
「外廷勤務」 (Gaitei Kinmu) "Serving in the Outer Court" Welcome back Mao Mao (or rather, Xiao Mao)
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 01
「猫猫」 (Maomao) "Maomao" Maomao is a modern scientific mind in a pre-modern world.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 15
Lakan is a tough one to puzzle out.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 16
I must say, Kusuriya no Hitorigoto has an easy charm about it that I find very winning.
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 – 08
「麦稈」 (Mugiwara) "Wheat Stalks" Even on vacation, Mao Mao doesn't get a break
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – 06
Palace politics are a bitch, no question about it. It seems to transcend time and place.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto Season 2
Plot: Using her wit and vast knowledge of medicines and poisons alike, Maomao played a pivotal role in solving a series of mysteries and conspiracies that plagued the…
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – Episode 40 Review
「巣食う悪意」 (Suku'u Akui) "Festering Resentment" Well, that was the equivalent of a large order of double whoppers
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – Episode 25 Review
「猫猫と毛毛」 (Maomao to Maomao) "Maomao and Maomao" Knowledge is power.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – Episode 27 Review
「冬人夏草」 (Tōjinkasō) "Corpse Fungus" This series ties a bow tighter than a department store at Christmas.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – Episode 39 Review
「氷菓」 (Aisu) "Ice" Ice ice baby
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – Episode 41 Review
「狐の里」 (Kitsune no Sato) "The Fox Village" Apparently Suirei and Indiana Jones have one thing in common.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – Episode 34 Review
「怪談」 (Kaidan) "A Ghost Story" The broken telephone chain game nature of folklore is precisely why I find them fascinating.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – Episode 26 Review
「隊商」 (Kyaraban) "Caravan" In true Maomao fashion, it doesn't take long for her to sniff out trouble
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – Episode 36 Review
「華瑞月」 (Ka Zuigetsu) "Ka Zuigetsu" You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – Episode 37 Review
「湯殿」 (Yudono) "The Baths" Such seems to be the nature of Kusuriya no Hitorigoto, the wavelength of the storyline consisting of crests and troughs, and this was a…
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – Episode 33 Review
「先帝」 (Sentei) "The Late Emperor" It is the mixture of shades on the palette rather than one individual pigment that define the strokes for which a person is…
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) – 38
One of the strengths of The Apothecary Diaries is that it doesn't seem to have extended troughs.
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) – 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) – 35
We passed the point a while ago where Xiaomao's cluelessness about all this stretches my credulity.
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.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) – 29
Not for the first time, I'm struck by how unconventional this show is structurally.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) – 30
I would say it was pretty atypical episode in a number of ways.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) – 39
This has to be complicated for Loumen (though not only Loumen).
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) – 40
This show is usually better when the stuff that's happening matters.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) – 28
I've found that "there are no coincidences" is a pretty good working assumption where Kusuriya no Hitorigoto is concerned.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) – 41
When it comes to The Apothecary Diaries, Chekov's gun is an entire artillery brigade.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) – 37
A new season, a new OP and ED for Kusuriya no Hitorigoto.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) – 36
He's just glad to see you.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) – 31
When Maomao figured this out, it was such an aha moment that I actually shouted "Aha!".
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) – 26
If I chose one word to describe this series' narrative style it would be "languid".
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) – 27
Again, it's Jinshi and Xiamao manoeuvring each other like chess pieces that provides the real interest.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) – 33
Much will be made of this story, surely.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) – 23
You know Fengxian was pissed when she gave Lakan the finger.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) – 34
If I've learned anything after 34 eps of this show it's that the more "one-off" something seems, the more you should be paying attention.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) – 22
We're faced with a three-pronged fork of a question here.