Apothecary Diaries anime - airing 2023

kuali

Sneak

After 19 episodes, I can confirm that, yes, a lot happened.

Maomao: There's nothing fun here. I beg to differ!

Ox Bezoar Jinshi... may have motivated Maomao a little too much that time!

Teenage Girl vs Armed Guard. Teenage Girl chooses intimidate...
Thwack
Teenage girl chose poorly.

Say whatever else you like about Lakan The Monocle Man - he does not appreciate seeing his daughter attacked by the guard.

Maomao: First things first: Don't get beheaded. Can't argue with her priorities there!

Jinshi's life has been saved. Maomao's injured twice. And Maomao's first words: "Master Jinshi... Can I have the ox bezoar now?" Which is... slightly more questionable on the priorities front!

And then we end the episode with Jinshi carrying an unconscious Maomao to ~~heaven~~ the medical office.

So, we covered two chapters again - Chance or Something More and The Ritual. I think next week is also covering two episodes - the preview looked like it had scenes from Thornapple and Gaoshun.

TheGrimLich

@kuali said in Apothecary Diaries anime - airing 2023:

Jinshi's life has been saved. Maomao's injured twice. And Maomao's first words: "Master Jinshi... Can I have the ox bezoar now?" Which is... slightly more questionable on the priorities front!

I mean... it fits with her priorities...

Sekki

I must say ending of episode 19 is really good. So many subtle things in scene where Jinshi carries Maomao:

"monocled freak" being surprised by Jinshi because he did not expect him to be Emperors brother. He knew he was high ranking but not exactly who.
They way he figured it out was his yellow dragon on his robes. Only imperial family is permitted to wear yellow and dragon is their symbol.
Jinshi carriing Maomao made officials sweat because they did not interviene when guard hit her and now realizing that she is important to him. I mean brother of Emperor is carrying her. That is huge thing.

NekoInu

@kuali said in Apothecary Diaries anime - airing 2023:

Sneak

After 19 episodes, I can confirm that, yes, a lot happened.

Maomao: There's nothing fun here. I beg to differ!

Ox Bezoar Jinshi... may have motivated Maomao a little too much that time!

Teenage Girl vs Armed Guard. Teenage Girl chooses intimidate...
Thwack
Teenage girl chose poorly.

Say whatever else you like about Lakan The Monocle Man - he does not appreciate seeing his daughter attacked by the guard.

Maomao: First things first: Don't get beheaded. Can't argue with her priorities there!

Jinshi's life has been saved. Maomao's injured twice. And Maomao's first words: "Master Jinshi... Can I have the ox bezoar now?" Which is... slightly more questionable on the priorities front!

And then we end the episode with Jinshi carrying an unconscious Maomao to ~~heaven~~ the medical office.

So, we covered two chapters again - Chance or Something More and The Ritual. I think next week is also covering two episodes - the preview looked like it had scenes from Thornapple and Gaoshun.

The title of Episode 20 has been announced (in the preview) as “Thornapple.”

This was...ah...something else. Dear God....

NekoInu

@Sekki said in Apothecary Diaries anime - airing 2023:

I must say ending of episode 19 is really good. So many subtle things in scene where Jinshi carries Maomao:

"monocled freak" being surprised by Jinshi because he did not expect him to be Emperors brother. He knew he was high ranking but not exactly who.

They way he figured it out was his yellow dragon on his robes. Only imperial family is permitted to wear yellow and dragon is their symbol.

Jinshi carriing Maomao made officials sweat because they did not interviene when guard hit her and now realizing that she is important to him. I mean brother of Emperor is carrying her. That is huge thing.

Thx for info re. yellow/gold dragon. I haven’t read these books (yet...).

The amazing part of the final sequence, to me, is the progression in Jinshi’s expression. He begins by showing sadness that someone close to him is injured. He picks her up to carry her to someone who can help her (Luomen???).

Then we see him face-on as he descends the stairs. Lakan is staggered; I suppose both by Jinshi’s identity and by the enormity of what just happened (surely everyone, even outside the temple, could hear the collapse of the metal structure). Jinshi still appears sad, but concern is overtaking the sadness on his face.

Next, he has acquired a look of determination (straight-line mouth): I will find out who was responsible for this travesty.

Finally, he seems to be expressing the feeling of: Heads will roll for this. Whoever is responsible or knew about this, s/he/they will pay.

Whoa. The subtle changes by the animation crew were so amazing to me that I’ve now watched this episode twice, and will most likely go back for thirds or even fourths, just to watch his face change.

Plus: Maomao/Xiaomao is clearly concussed (duh) because she doesn’t know why Jinshi-sama is underneath her. But she holds her focus for the ox bezoar! More logistics: Oh, I need to stitch up my leg. Then she passes out after having saved his life and even after having been slammed with the big metal club.

Indeed, I think heads (yeah, plural) will roll.

Sekki

@NekoInu said in Apothecary Diaries anime - airing 2023:

Thx for info re. yellow/gold dragon. I haven’t read these books (yet...).

You can see it on Emperor in episode 4. It is different design but still it is yellow dragon.

arghc

I'm confused by him wandering around bare-faced here, since

spoiler

Sekki

@arghc said in Apothecary Diaries anime - airing 2023:

I'm confused by him wandering around bare-faced here, since

Explaining this would include lots of spoilers from books. Since this is anime tread I will refrain from doing so. Story in Apothecary diaries is very subtle. There are lots of hints about things so you need to read carefully and piece things together,

I am just glad that anime is following books in such wonderfull way. The person that wrote script seems to have paid lots of attention to the books.

kuali

As we start this episode, I cannot help but think: This is not the normal way a heavy drinker finds herself waking up in a man's bed with no recollection of how she got there...

Jinshi: "Why are you smiling...?"
Maomao: "Suirei used poison, man! Poison! Why are you not grinning like a maniac?!"

Maomao: "I'd take a risky drug over certain execution any day."
Jinshi: "None of the words after 'drug' mattered to you, did they?"

...Then we get an inexplicable-yet-suspicious cutaway to Loulan...

Alright, we're back in the rear palace! Maomao is back on Gyokuyou's staff, and safely out of Lakan's monocled gaze!

Progress check! I'm not sure whether to put this down as 2 or 3 chapters covered this week. We definitely covered Thornapple and Gaoshun, but seem to have done the first scene of Rear Palace Redux as well. And a lot of the second scene was covering stuff that ended up in Jinshi's voiceover, so we might count as having done that, too...

One way or the other, though, next week we're reaching How to Buy Out a Contract. There's a chapter before that one - Paper - but I didn't spot any of its scenes in the teaser, and its a standalone that could have been moved to elsewhere...

Anyway, we're down to the last 6 or so chapters in Volume 2, and there's probably 4 episodes left in the adaptation.

NakamiJun

I've been sick for a bit, so I only just now got to watch episode 19... I have to say... It's even more moving animated than it was in the book! Such a rare opinion for me...

I also loved the facial expressions on Maomao's dad (who seriously looks like he plans to personally take the guards head after he hits her, and this is the only time he seems to ever really act like a normal father) and Jinshi when during the whole sequence after being rescued.

arghc

Suirei's machinations are much more clearly laid out here than they were in the LN... unless it's just hearing it exposited it a second time. Also didn't remember there being a doctor who vouched for her initially.

TheGrimLich

Good luck, Lihaku!

kuali

Ooh, it seems we do get Paper today after all! With all its hardcore cleaning action!

The Quack really can't take a hint!

And Maomao had been smiling as well! True, it was a pretty small one, but the corners of her mouth were pointing up and everything! Only for the whole thing to go to waste when he didn't follow her point... sigh

Uh... I know the books suggested that Pairin was bisexual, but I don't recall any suggestion that she'd go after girls that young... There aren't many choices made for this anime that I think are outright bad, but that one...

It was even said that when she got too frustrated, her appetites could extend not just to the menservants of the brothel, but to the other courtesans and apprentices as well... In short, she was insatiable.

Admittedly, that might have been the original intent, since 'apprentices' are girls under 15, but I was assuming she was going after the ones that had already hit puberty... And that doesn't look like what they illustrated.

That eye-twitch is gonna become a permanent fixture for Jinshi, isn't it?

He just wants to brag that he's prettier!
Actually, I think he wanted you to think that he's prettier...

And on to next week! I think the preview is covering Blue Roses and Red Nails. Which... would leave us with 2 episodes left in the season and 2 chapters - Balsam and Woodsorrel and Epilogue - left in the book. And while the first of those is a decent length chapter, the second is pretty short. So I'm kinda stumped as to what Episode 24's gonna contain...

Travis Butler

@kuali said in Apothecary Diaries anime - airing 2023:

And on to next week! I think the preview is covering Blue Roses and Red Nails. Which... would leave us with 2 episodes left in the season and 2 chapters - Balsam and Woodsorrel and Epilogue - left in the book. And while the first of those is a decent length chapter, the second is pretty short. So I'm kinda stumped as to what Episode 24's gonna contain...

I’m almost thinking we might get an end-of-season wrap up/clip show. There’s so much going in Apothecary Diaries, it would feel more earned than most (Utena being the best/most-earned one I can think of, Evangelion being another good one.)

pcj

Or maybe they'll give us the first chapter or two of volume 3 as a hook before announcing season 2 and not giving a date for it.

Sekki

I think this season will end up peacefully without foreshadowing while next season will open with mao as an introduction to next big arc that will span through whole season. I think that would suit anime style the best.

kuali

Maomao, naturally, starts little Lingli off with a picture of a poisonous mushroom.

I really don't know why the other girls weren't expecting that...

Maomao: "Is there some new popular hallucinogen?"
Maomao's thoughts: And if so, why haven't I tried it yet?

Yes! Smash the monocles! She says what we're all thinking!

"I get to skip work and eat snacks? This is great!"

Xiaolan is a woman after my own heart 🤣

"Every single day. Don't they get tired of this?"

Well, I haven't gotten tired of watching Maomao, so I can definitely understand why the handmaidens keep doing it!

And our progress check! We completed Blue Roses, and just a bit of Red Nails. Next week's preview seems to cover the rest of Red Nails, plus Balsam and Woodsorrel. Leaving just Epilogue for Episode 24...

NakamiJun

It's so sad princess Lingli doesn't seem to remember Maomao later... They obviously got along so well at this point...

Oh and little known fact... While blue roses didn't used to exist... They were created in 2002 (using genetic engineering). xD

kuali

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.

NakamiJun

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.