Apothecary Diaries anime - airing 2023

arghc

S-Rank Daughter went to 13 episodes, but Apothecary and Tearmoon seem stalled out at 12. A break for the holiday or that's all for season 1s?

kuali

@arghc Crunchyroll has Apothecary Diaries listed as a continuing series in its Winter 2024 lineup, so this one's probably just having a break.

kuali

Alright, start of Cour (and Volume) 2!

spoiler

New opening theme/sequence. Looks like all the scenes I could recognise were from the same book, so I'm gonna guess they're keeping up the 12 episodes a book pacing. (Yay!)

Also, Lihaku's muscles are insane.

I succumbed to the allure of the caterpillar fungus.

Yeah, that's Maomao alright.

Luomen: "Maomao, non-medical staff can't turn up with a bag full of poisons and poison-related equipment. People might think you're looking to poison someone."
Maomao: "...They were for recreational use only..."

Maomao's scene with Luomen was touching 🙂

Aaand Jinshi's repeatedly bluescreening at the sight of Maomao in nice clothes and makeup. Seems he's still not used to being more attracted to a girl than she is to him!

Ooh, and we're getting teased with a man with a monocle!

Suiren: "You must be Xiaomao."
Maomao: "Xiaomao?"
Gaoshun: Couldn't look more innocent if he tried

A woman who saw this would lose herself easily. A man would pounce on him right away. An apothecary would get bored and start daydreaming about poisonous mushrooms.

Lead Court Lady: "Are you listening?"
Maomao: Blatantly still staring at her boobs

Maomao: "Does that man have such interesting proclivities?"
Eavesdropping Jinshi: Hurt by how accurate a description it is

And the new ending also wants us to enjoy a shirtless man, just this time it is Jinshi, not Lihaku...

NakamiJun

Finally got to see the new episode... So much Maomao lightens my heart.

Not sure I like the new Opening and Ending... Though I do like the 2D turned 3D effect used in the Opening...

lol, and I agree with Maomao... Why did Jinshi think she'd ace the exam? She may be smart, but none of the things they test for in that exam have ever mattered to Maomao before... xD

Gamen

@NakamiJun said in Apothecary Diaries anime - airing 2023:

Though I do like the 2D turned 3D effect used in the Opening...

That in particular was neat to me too.

Some of the scenes were in that very episode, like Maomao being confronted by the court ladies and still-waking-up Jinshi, or in the next episode preview like Maomao lecturing the Four Concubines. Though it looks like some parts were actually redrawn, or at least recolored.
That blurred spinning transition between scenes reveals some interesting details on how it's made; if you go frame by frame, you can see which parts of the scene are separate components; which ones are 3d props, like Maomao's podium and lectern, and which are just 2d billboards, like of course the characters themselves, but also things like chairs. ....It also reveals that the software probably wasn't intended for that, or they didn't take the time needed to do it right because it was going to be motion blurred anyway, because those components are all over the place during those high-speed frames.

Drenok

So I stumbled on this anime during the winter break... And because I could not wait for the second part I decided to get the first 2 volumes.

Now I understand why I felt like the first 12 episodes was a complete set... They adapted a single volume over 12 epsiodes, and I guess the second volume will be the next 12 episode. Somehow, the adaptation is richer with this approach. (I wish Season 4 of a certain Gremlin's adventures also get this treatment but I can only dream).

kuali

@Drenok And now you know why the phrase at the end of my post signature is Also, the Apothecary Diaries must be read. 😁 (Though it might be less obvious why its in latin...)

But yeah, they really do seem to be going 1 volume per cour, which preserves so much more of the detail of the work than adapting multiple books into each set. There are some series where the loss might not hurt too much (action series, for instance, can generally do fight scenes rather faster in anime than in prose)... But Apothecary isn't one of them.

Admittedly, Gremlin (7 books adapted in 36 episodes) is not the worst offender I can think of for doing the opposite - That's The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent which covers a full Light Novel every 3 episodes on average. (It's completed the first 8 novels and some spinoff manga material in just 24 episodes...)

NakamiJun

@kuali said in Apothecary Diaries anime - airing 2023:

Admittedly, Gremlin (7 books adapted in 36 episodes) is not the worst offender I can think of for doing the opposite - That's The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent which covers a full Light Novel every 3 episodes on average. (It's completed the first 8 novels and some spinoff manga material in just 24 episodes...)

While I love the TSMP books... The series is... lacking. Much to rushed. I think I've said that before though. xD

1 entire volume was basically striped down to almost nothing and made a single episode... Which was sad as it leads to many later events and ironically when some of those later events happen they just start ignoring anything they didn't show in that single episode and toss big parts (like how she leads a food revolution)...

Lisast

@kuali Unfortunately 3-4 LN volumes per cour is the standard for anime adaptations. Just this last season My Daughter Left the Nest did 4 volumes as well. Even the big series like Overlord or Mushoku Tensei do 3 volumes a cour. Re:Zero did 9 over its first 2 cour season and then barely fit 6 into its second season even with extra long episodes. The worst I've seen is between Genius Prince and Infinite Dendrogram, which as I recall both attempted five volumes over a single cour (it didn't turn out great, though Genius Prince has short volumes so it wasn't as bad).

These days I generally take a slower adaptation rate as a sign of quality for both the anime and its source, as it can demonstrate both confidence in the material right from the beginning and a story with enough actually going on that a volume can't all be cut down and crammed into 3 or 4 episodes. Spider, Tearmoon, Bookworm (Part 2), 86, Eminence in Shadow, and of course Apothecary Diaries are examples of this. Though given I won't tend to check or remember the adaptation rate for series that I never bother checking out in the first place or don't particularly enjoy, that could just be one big confirmation bias.

arghc

@kuali said in Apothecary Diaries anime - airing 2023:

@arghc Crunchyroll has Apothecary Diaries listed as a continuing series in its Winter 2024 lineup, so this one's probably just having a break.

I saw a trailer from a (I can't remember which) Japanese channel and if my uninformed interpretation of the text on screen was correct, this is season 2 (at least on its Japanese 'caster). The entirely new intro/outro pieces seem to corroborate this idea.

wanderer_1204

I really like that a lot of which is left unsaid or left for the reader to interpret is shown visually in the anime. One example is in the garden party episode - in the book maomao just has her mind in the gutter and thinks Jinshi was molested and forcibly given a hairpin. But in the anime we see that Jinshi is wearing the hairpin with the imperial crest and that he was just adjusting his collar himself to get some air.

I prefer the intro and outro music of the first season to be honest. But the visual teasers in the 2nd cour make it seem like nothing will be skipped. So I am glad.

I would love to see Suirei in action. Her character seems to be well drawn. But we need to wait a few more books and their anime adaptation hasn't been announced yet sadly.

kuali

@learn_japanese_ay

spoiler

Though to correct you about the hairstick, in the novels, Jinshi is wearing his hairsticks 3 chapters before Maomao sees him with a loosened collar - he gives one of them to her in The Garden Party (Part One), and his collar isn't loose until After the Festivities. Maomao never thinks that Jinshi had a hairpin forced upon him. (Though her mind is in the gutter briefly...)

Wait—was his collar ever so slightly askew? It was! So that was it—the scoundrel! He’d no doubt claimed he was cold as a pretext to do something smarmy.

And we also get a hint at how important Jinshi's hairsticks are a chapter later:

“You’re still wearing your hair stick,” Gaoshun said, pointing to his head.

“Oh. Crap.” Jinshi didn’t usually talk that way. “It was fairly well hidden. I doubt anyone noticed.” Jinshi pulled out the stick to reveal an accessory of considerable craftsmanship. It was carved in the shape of the mythical qilin, a sort of cross between a deer and a horse. It was said to be the chief of the sacred beasts, and the right to wear its likeness was conferred only upon those of considerable rank.

wanderer_1204

@kuali thanks for the info. I had the order mixed up since it has been a while since I read it. But I still am happy that things left unsaid would have a visual cue in anime

kuali

@learn_japanese_ay Personally, my favorite change has been the extra scenes of Maomao in the pleasure district. In the novels, by the end of volume 1, Luomen and Grams were the only members of the pleasure district cast who had been properly introduced (we know Meimei, Pairin, and Joka's names, but they hadn't really gotten any speaking appearances in the first book). The extra time spent in the setting gave us a better introduction for the princesses.

Also a bathing scene for Grams, but eventually I'll drink enough to forget that one...

xdrfiredogx

Finally caught up... dear gods but they have knocked this adaptation out of the park! The pacing gives the series so much time tobreath that it really gets to flourish and the animation itself is simply gorgeous!

I've seen a few comments about the tone not quite matching the early books, and that's a valid point but there is some obvious logic involved here. First, just like with some other newer adaptations I've seen - Tearmoon being the most obvious - they are obviously pulling inspiration in from the manga as well. More to the point though, whomever is heading up the actual adaptation has obviously read the series, and not just the first couple books. Maomao grows more emotive as the series goes on and that seems to be reflected here. It would also explain why we get introduced to the idea that they are using pigeons for messenger birds now when it doesn't show up in the novels until volume 10.

kuali

spoiler

Curious why they seem to have swapped the running order. In the LN, The Pipe was the chapter before Teaching at the Rear Palace, not the one after.

Alright, we've gotten our introduction to the new consort, Loulan!

Gyokuyou: "Maomao's back! Now, how shall we break Jinshi's composure this time?"

Maomao's instincts: That patch of dirt isn't growing a single poisonous thing! I must fix that...

I do love the shot of Maomao trying to hide a brush behind her back while handing the bill to Jinshi.

You know the cart full of porn has to be the good stuff if it comes with its own angry guard cat 😁

Monocle guy cameo! With more villain buildup...

Gaoshun: "That was Jinshi's gift! Jinshi's! Don't show thankfulness to me, you'll set him off!"

Maomao: "I can hear you!" I'm just not listening to you. 🤣

Maomao: "Just a quick experiment."
Lihaku: "Sure."
A savvier character: "How dangerous will this be?"

pcj

@kuali said in Apothecary Diaries anime - airing 2023:

Maomao: "Just a quick experiment."
Lihaku: "Sure."
A savvier character: "How dangerous will this be?"

It may be more of him feeling like he needs to humor her because he knows she can put in a bad word for him with Pairin if he makes her mad.

kuali

@pcj I never said the savvier character would tell her no - just that they'd be more concerned with how dangerous the experiment was. And thus, not set their own hair on fire.

arghc

I liked how many times Lishu passed out, tried her best with the material and then passed out again. 8-)

@kuali said in Apothecary Diaries anime - airing 2023:

...Loulan ...

With the way she took off her hair decoration right after she got home, I'm guessing B.

Maomao's instincts: That patch of dirt isn't growing a single poisonous thing! I must fix that...

They're not all poisonous. Not all medicinal things are poisonous (eg. the mentioned dandelions).

Lihaku: "Sure."

Don't remember how much of a cold he ended up with.

kuali

spoiler

I hear she's a beautiful intellectual with cold eyes

That's... mostly true...

So, looks like Maomao's drawn the attention of Lakan the Monocle Man! And he's sending poison-related mysteries her way...

People often pay attention to stories that are actually interesting.

Oh, Maomao... you should have left behind some burn cream, Jinshi's gonna need it...

"Don't worry, its fine... Probably."

And naturally, Maomao tries to go back for a second helping when the others aren't watching... Only to be caught by Jinshi's finely honed Maomao-sense.

Gaoshuuuun! Maomao broke Jinshi again!

So, Lakan shows up at Jinshi's office with another Maomao Mystery... and a story about a courtesan with a suspiciously Maomaoish attitude...