Apothecary Diaries anime - airing 2023
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Lakan... seems very excited at playing a game with his daughter...
Ahh, Jinshi has a bad feeling about the mystery vial that Maomao pulls from her sleeve. There's a chance it might not be poison, after all!
That liquor must be strong indeed if Maomao's cheeks are flushing after only two cups! Lakan never stood a chance...
And now we pause the series in progress for a quick flashback to The Monocle Chronicles!
To be fair, while he may blame himself, most of what happened wasn't Lakan's fault. Fengxian chose to have him impregnate her; It was Luomen's disgrace that got him sent away from the capital; The letters that might have brought him back in time were not forwarded to him; Fengxian's pride prevented her syphilis from being treated in time.
And the answer of how they were going to have enough content for episode 24 has been answered: They bulked out Lakan's backstory, then chopped off half of Balsam and Woodsorrel to go into the last episode alongside the Volume 2 Epilogue.
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That was a painful spot to end the episode... I really needed the resolution to this part... But to someone who hasn't read the books this probably isn't nearly so bad...
And really Lakan and Fengxian are both fairly broken people, it's not really surprising they took the paths they did... But both their fates were ruined by the birth of Jinshi and the 'other imperial child' who would go on to pass away. Hence the disgrace of Lakan's uncle and Lakan being sent away to destroy Fengxian's hopes.
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He touched Maomao's shoulder three times! Revenge must be sought... Lakan isn't going to let not having raised Maomao stop him being an overprotective dad, it seems!
Of course, there's one question I don't think the novels ever answered - why was Grams willing to keep Fengxian around for so long even after all the trouble she caused, and so resistant to selling her when someone came around who actually still wanted her? It can't have been because she didn't want to sell to Lakan, because if that was the case, she wouldn't have sold him anyone - or been implied to be willing to sell him Maomao if she was ever indebted enough...
"If that monocled face came at you and told you 'Call Me Papa', how would you react?"
Jinshi chooses violence... and I really can't blame him...
Maomao: "Who knows?"
Jinshi: "You do."
š¤£Naturally, asking about the Ox Bezoar requires a romantic-moment-style leadup š
Naturally, the meeting with the super-high-ranked Eunuch is the perfect time to be playfully tugging on Maomao's cheeks, Guiyuan...
And we end the only way a series like this should end - with a card confirming that they've greenlit a second season š
https://forums.j-novel.club/topic/6701/omnibus-builder
https://forums.j-novel.club/topic/5745/ascendance-of-a-bookworm-omnibus-editionsThe Primal Desires: Food, Sleep, Sex, StroZero, Hypnotism, and Awayuki Kokorone.
Item Diaria Apothecaria legi debent.
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They nailed the dance scene. It was good in the LN, but in the anime it was a hit straight to the heart. From the way she moved into the dance, to her admitting she wasn't sure if she'd remember it, right down to the glow of the pleasure district in the background.
Lakan's reuniting with Fengxian was another hit straight to the feels. Will have to go back and see if the LN mentions tears coming to his eyes, but the anime makes it very clear just how much he cared about her.
...Cats are the proof of a higher purpose to the universe.
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@kuali said in Apothecary Diaries anime - airing 2023:
Of course, there's one question I don't think the novels ever answered - why was Grams willing to keep Fengxian around for so long even after all the trouble she caused, and so resistant to selling her when someone came around who actually still wanted her? It can't have been because she didn't want to sell to Lakan, because if that was the case, she wouldn't have sold him anyone - or been implied to be willing to sell him Maomao if she was ever indebted enough...
I think 'Grams' feels Lakan ruined the life of a woman she considered a long time friend/younger sister in Fengxian. She probably felt he would never except the current Fengxian, regardless of what he claimed, and so it was better if she were to take care of Fengxian until she passed.
That said, we don't get a lot of characterization of 'Grams' in the novels to begin with... So that's purely my take on the few things we do get.
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@NakamiJun Well, since you seem to have read the novels (mild spoilers for vol 3 / season 2)
https://forums.j-novel.club/topic/6701/omnibus-builder
https://forums.j-novel.club/topic/5745/ascendance-of-a-bookworm-omnibus-editionsThe Primal Desires: Food, Sleep, Sex, StroZero, Hypnotism, and Awayuki Kokorone.
Item Diaria Apothecaria legi debent.
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This and Frieren were my two favorites of the season and both make my all time favorite listāI was a bit surprised that Apothecary Diaries had the better finaleā beautifully tragic. I guess the Madam was the villain in all this āor at least had more opportunities to give the lovers a chance at a better end. My first impulse is to say the actions of those involved didn't make sense and seemed forced to make the love story tragic, but I know thatās really not true āI have known very bright people to make self-destructuve choices out of arrogance, stubbornness, spite and greed. Anyway, I haven't read what happens later, but Lakan appears to have been very well-intentioned, tragic character. It seemed a little weird that Maomao seemed to understand her father but was not warmer towards him.
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@kuali I think the easier answer is just that much like the 4 Princesses see Maomao as their younger sister, Grams sees Fengxian the same way. Even Grams isn't cold enough to throw away someone she cares about (though she might sell them into what looks like a better situation as far as she's concerned). The clearest picture of what that might be is the way Grams takes a broom to Lakan.
@jazzyjeoff said in Apothecary Diaries anime - airing 2023:
TAnyway, I haven't read what happens later, but Lakan appears to have been very well-intentioned, tragic character. It seemed a little weird that Maomao seemed to understand her father but was not warmer towards him.
You don't see it in the anime... Yet, it could come later if they continue the series (I hope they do), but if you want to know...
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@jazzyjeoff Grams didn't really have an opportunity to give them a better end either - had she been more cooperative, Lakan would have gotten Fengxian earlier, but her mind would still be gone.
The deliberate choices made that sealed Fengxian's fate were her pregnancy (Fengxian's choice), Lakan's 'exile' (his father's choice), blocking her letters to Lakan (someone in Lakan's household, probably his father again), and Fengxian concealing her illness from Luomen until it was untreatable (Fengxian's choice again).
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@kuali Reading through the r/anime threads, it appears this question was answered on the author's Twitter or some such. I don't know if it appears in untranslated material (or translated material I'm behind on, though I assume it wouldn't come up if it was).
As for the show, whew. I know I expressed some doubts at the beginning of the season, but this adaptation knocked it completely out of the park. Rereading some of the early material, I realized that most of the more comedic things that stuck out to me at first were indeed in the novel, and just didn't have as much attention called to them. The anime nailed the comedic, emotional, and mystery moments. Can't wait for season two, featuring frogs and insects.
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They really ended this season at good spot. I like foreshadowing for next season. :)
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there is a long wait for the second season, but if the quality is going to so high then it would be worth the wait.
The anime brought out great visuals while staying so close to the LNs and even visually elaborated on the things left unsaid. I loved it overall.
I am also motivated to re-read the entire series from the beginning. -
@Travis-Butler said in Apothecary Diaries anime - airing 2023:
Lakan's reuniting with Fengxian was another hit straight to the feels. Will have to go back and see if the LN mentions tears coming to his eyes, but the anime makes it very clear just how much he cared about her.
Lakan is depicted in the anime as way more emotional than the LN. It makes one wonder how he would not have moved heaven and earth to find Fengxian and claim MM when he returned.
@Lisast said in Apothecary Diaries anime - airing 2023:
Plus Meimei as an obvious princess in the making's feelings about Fengxian could have tipped any balance than needed tipping with respect to keeping and protecting Fengxian.
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Not having read the LN but having watched the anime, the break-off point for Season 1 seemed very...odd.
There was an assassination attempt a few episodes ago aimed at Jinshi-sama and absolutely nothing. at. all. has been done to follow it up.
Re. Season 2: the only info Iāve seen is that such a season will appear āsometimeā in 2025.
Thx for any helpful observations, clues, etc. you may have!
A member of the Justus Fan Club
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@NekoInu the arcs in this LN are pretty long..generally 2-3 volumes. The answer to this comes in 2 volumes (if I remember right, I haven't read it in a while). But LN doesn't stop being entertaining though. There are other developments going on. IMO that's what makes the world, the politics and the characters believable and engaging.
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@NekoInu said in Apothecary Diaries anime - airing 2023:
There was an assassination attempt a few episodes ago aimed at Jinshi-sama and absolutely nothing. at. all. has been done to follow it up.
One thing you need to remember about this series is that 90% of it is told from Maomao's point of view, and Maomao is really anal about not stepping above her station. And that includes not inquiring to Jinshi whether they've done anything about it. It's not her problem to worry about it, the court has its own detectives for that, so we don't hear about it (but that doesn't mean it's not happening). The only time we get to hear about stuff like that is when Jinshi decides they need Maomao's expertise and pulls her into it.
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And meanwhile, I'm here to answer the question posed by the narrator at the end:
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@TheGrimLich which also means
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Alright, today's the release of Season 2 Episode 1! We've got a new opening sequence, to start things off! Though all the references I spotted were to stuff in Volume 3...
(Including one shot of things Maomao holds throughout the season... which includes a frog for some reason...)
As I recall, the announcement is that its a two cour adaptation again, so I assume this opening is just for the first cour and the second will cover Vol 4.
Anyway, here we go! Episode 25: Maomao and Maomao!
Gyokuyou: "Looking for something?"
Jinshi: "No, I wasn't trying to get her to look at me as though I was an insect again!"Maomao, looking at Gaoshun: That's what he noticed? I thought maybe he was a closet pervert.
Maomao, looking at Jinshi: ...Like this one is...Maomao, please don't bring up manure when Xiaolan's eating...
It feels so weird seeing Maomao be affectionate to someone. Can't say Xiaolan's a bad pick, though!
Xiaolan: "Are these commonly used words?"
Well, for Maomao they are!Hongniang: "Lady Gyokuyou, no! She'll teach the princess all sorts of nasty things."
Maomao: Puts on a 'busted' face and doesn't even bother trying to deny it.And we also get to meet the other Maomao! And a mysterious nameless woman who totally won't be showing up again later...
Maomao: accidentally describes every way in which she is similar to a cat
Jinshi: "I'm starting to see [the appeal of cats], too."Aw, how cute, Maomao brought Maomao her catch as a present!
So, the progress report! We've covered Books and The Cat this episode, with a line or two of The Caravan as the teaser for next week. We skipped over the Prologue - I assume it'll come up closer to when its used. I'm guessing somewhere around the middle of the season.
