Initially a light novel series written by Natsu Hyuga and illustrated by Touko Shino, “The Apothecary Diaries” was eventually adapted into a manga, before finding itself as an anime, courtesy of Toho Animation Studio and OLM.
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Set in a fictional country based on Imperial China during the Tang Dynasty, the series follows Maomao, a young girl working as an apothecary in the red-light district, who was kidnapped and sold to the Imperial Palace as a servant. Despite this life-changing event (which does pass a bit too lightly) she still retains her curious and eccentric personality, and actually does her best to survive, without drawing the attention of anyone, while benefiting by the richness of materials found in the palace. One day, after hearing rumors that the emperor’s children are critically ill, she begins to investigate the cause, using her experience as an apothecary, and successfully solves the mystery of their illness.
Even though she intends to remain anonymous, her actions eventually catch the attention of an influential eunuch, Jinshi, who runs most of the administration of the rear palace, where the Emperor’s concubines and their respective staff reside. Thus begins a new set of adventures, with Maomao functioning as a detective for the various crimes committed in the country, while retaining her official jobs as lady-in-waiting and poison -tester for one of the Emperor’s concubines. While Jinshi is in love with her, she does not reciprocate at all, often looking at him with disgust, resenting his ways of involving her in palace intrigue. Instead she prefers to spend time testing out different poisons and medicines on herself. At the same time, her past, as much as Jinshi’s, comes more and more to the fore as the story progresses.
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Evidently, the best aspect of the whole series is the rather multileveled script, which also extends to the characters featuring throughout the story. The apogee of this aspect is definitely Maomao, with her personality and background becoming more intricate the more are revealed throughout the series. Her past, where she grew up in a brothel, being taken care of by the proprietor and three high-class prostitutes, was adopted by a doctor who had some connections with the palace, and the enigma of her actual parents set a very appealing background to her story. The prowess, however, does not stop there. The fact that she seems cool and sure of herself, but frequently finds herself in embarrassing situations due to the interactions with people who “have” her, her intense intelligence, knowledge, and powers of analysis and deduction, with her obsessions with poisons and medicines, as much as her knack for drinking result in an impressive amalgam, in one of the most outstanding character analysis we have seen in an anime.
Furthermore, the ‘clash’ with Jinshi, who is essentially her employer, but also is obvious that has feelings for her, and the fact that she does not reciprocate or even acknowledge at all, despite his rather evident, intense beauty, is another very intriguing element that adds much to the story. The things they hide from each other, and the fact that some of them are eventually revealed make the story even more interesting, as it moves as far away from the cliches of the ‘will-they-won’t-they’ as possible.
Nirihiro Naganuma also handles the peripheral stories here well, which do serve in promoting the main arcs, but are also quite interesting and entertaining by themselves, in whodunnit fashion, which is also the main source of the many comments here. The main one focuses on the place of women in (the then) society, with the inner palace functioning as ‘a garden of women whose purpose is to give the Emperor children’. As such, the gossip, intrigues, antagonism, backstabbing, and even crime are integral parts of the balance Jinshi tries to keep, frequently failing however, as a number of mysteries and secrets are revealed, mostly though Maomao’s research. At the same time, the whole concept is revealed as despicable on occasion, as in the case of the story of the 9-year old concubine, although Naganuma does not lean particularly heavily in that aspect.
Lastly, and through Maomao once more, the importance of science and education in a setting where beauty seems to be above all, is highlighted in the most eloquent fashion.
The artform is also interesting. Yukiko Nakatani‘s character design includes plain faces for the most part, as the focus is on the clothes, the hair and the make-up, all of which are quite intricate and exquisite, and part of the narrative here. The differences in the way the prostitutes and the concubines highlight their sexuality for example is quite apparent, with the antithesis being an integral part of the story. The whole quite bright coloring, and the intricacy of the backgrounds (the roses episode is a definite stand out) cement the visual prowess of the series, also stressing that the main setting is a garden (both in reality and metaphorically). Also of note is the fact that Maomao stands out because she is not set on appearing beautiful, instead choosing to downgrade her beauty and have people appreciate her for her mind. That she is quite beautiful when she is convinced to doll up adds yet another level to her character and the visuals here. Some fanservice does exist, inevitably in such a setting, but is tastefully done and naturally embedded in the narrative.
The animation by OLM and Toho Animation Studio focuses on realism, without any particular exaltations, since there is almost no action here. Some scenes with dancing, however, do stand out, as do a series of interactions between the various characters. The silly faces and body transformations, however, are quite extensive, frequently to an annoying degree, to a rather pedantic effort at humor that definitely does not suit the overall context.
This, though, is the only significant fault of a truly exceptional series, which stands out due to its outstanding writing and the excellent direction.
