Kusuriya no Hitorigoto

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 into her new mundane life and hides her extensive knowledge of medicine in order to avoid any unwanted attention.

Not long after Maomao's arrival, the emperor's infant children inexplicably begin to experience grave symptoms—almost as if a curse has been cast. The curious Maomao easily solves the mystery and, to remain out of the limelight, attempts to leave an anonymous tip. Unfortunately, the dashing and perceptive eunuch Jinshi sees through it and manages to single her out.

In recognition of her talent, Maomao is promoted to lady-in-waiting for the emperor's favorite concubine, Gyokuyou. As Maomao continues to remedy the numerous ailments afflicting the imperial court, her pharmaceutical expertise quickly proves indispensable.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Maomao Main

Yuuki, Aoi Japanese

Jinshi Main

Ootsuka, Takeo Japanese

Gyokuyou Supporting

Tanezaki, Atsumi Japanese

Kan, Lakan Supporting

Kirimoto, Takuya Japanese

Gaoshun Supporting

Konishi, Katsuyuki Japanese

Lihua Supporting

Ishikawa, Yui Japanese

Ah-Duo Supporting

Kaida, Yuuko Japanese

Pairin Supporting

Koshimizu, Ami Japanese

Lishu Supporting

Kino, Hina Japanese

Loulan Supporting

Morishita, Katsuji Producer

Masada, Satoshi Producer

Kawamura, Aya Producer

Hirahara, Yuito Producer

Reviews

May 20, 2024

Jonsitoa

Recommended

One of the best female protagonists in any anime, she is similar than Freiren, both are strong and very smart beautiful women, there are not a lot of main leads like these two and in the same year 2023-2024 we have both that are excellent

This show has a lot of complex characters and its true the episodes can feel episodic, its not that bad because everyone in the show it's somehow connected to each other, the storylines are powerful and some are tragic and that makes the journey very enjoyable, there is not a villain villain here, there are just bad and good people, there ... are some nasty personality's here overall a great anime 9/10.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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May 21, 2024

Talgikiwi

Mixed Feelings

I have mixed feelings about this anime because it both provides a refreshing concept and is extremely boring at the same time. I liked the characters and the episodic medical mysteries were fun (sometimes predictable and sometimes not), but there wasn't much of an overarching plot. The little bit of plot we did get didn't have any consequences at all. There was an 'important' plot twist toward the end but the main character didn't even seem to care about it at all. Our main character also seems to miss a very obvious second plot twist the whole show even though she's portrayed as a lowkey ... genius. Her deductive abilities are fantastic except when it's time for her to be oblivious. That got annoying but I guess it added to the suspense as well. This was a good time waster, but I'm not sure if I'll remember more than Maomao's name by the time the second season comes out. Don't expect a whole lot from this one, but not the worst thing ever. The animation is beautiful though.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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May 23, 2024

ShabbaRico

Not Recommended

TL;DR: Not worth your time if you care about the existence of a plot and of at least a decent or bland protagonist (she really is really bad as a character, especially in a leading role), not to mention the many inconsistencies and bs that happens throughout the anime that you are supposed to just "consoom" and not question in order to believe the possibility of this plot actually working. I would say that at least it doesn't promote degeneracy and immorality, but there are at least 2 plot threads about buying a woman (courtesan) because the characters are in love with them and they ... wish to save and marry them for whatever price they have to pay, as much and unaffordable as they may be. So yea, it's a borderline 5/10, close to a 4.

This anime is really impressive with what it manages to make the casual watchers accept in terms of plot convenience and qualities of the protagonist without batting an eye. I'll talk about them when the time comes, but for now, I just want to applaud this anime for the many times it made me scream at it's stupidity which almost never gets explained, and I sure as hell can't recall many times watching anime/reading manga when I reacted the way I did while watching this, so it has my praise for that and also for the fact that it reveals what "modern audiences" like (actually love and say is the best in terms of story/characters) these days. It's pretty sad to see how you can't find anything new in the anime space that really has something to teach you in terms of morals, character and personality traits which are shown through complex and deep character and dialogue, and how nobody cares about any of this and just mindlessly give perfect score to anything with good animation and original (in the anime space) premise, but this is just how it is, I guess, at least there are still plenty of old anime and manga that do that. Not to be misunderstood though, the problem is that close to 100% of anime's these days are feel good/escape fantasies and close to 0% of them aren't about and made with the aforementioned thought in the creators mind, the balance being completely in favor of one over the other. Well, on with the review of this sad, aimless and pointless piece of writing.

Setting/Animation
The story takes place a few hundred years ago in China. I know close to nothing about those times and like you see, even the time period this takes place in. And good thing the story doesn't try to explain ANYTHING regarding this time period, you either watch it without the knowledge, or are/were interested enough in it in order to learn about it on your own. At least I wouldn't say you need it in order to appreciate the "masterfully crafted" story and protagonist. While I can excuse anime and manga that fully use their japanese influence, at least in that case it is clear that it's something made for the audience in your own country. In this case, it isn't. Maybe you can argue that they are taught about old China in school, but it doesn't seem like a good enough argument to have such a setting and explain nothing about it (and please no "read the manga bro", this is the anime's job and this is what I critique here and it still falls on it to do so as it's a niche story context for an anime/manga/LN, it's just like making a story about cloth making or sports and watching it without being given any information about what these imply; and this applies to every complaint that I have that could be attributed to the historical context). Moving on from that, it's an interesting setting that is highlighted by the production value, the backgrounds are stunning, full of detail and color which was the best part of this anime and deserves every praise that it gets for that. Too bad a STORY needs a good STORY and CHARACTERS (and dialogue), regardless if it's an anime, manga, book, movie, or whatever, so this doesn't really change the final score.

Story
It is completely aimless for most of the anime, by the end of it you have only a vague idea about what it wants to do with it and this is what it manages to do in 24 episodes. The protag gets kidnapped, unquestionably and calmly starts to work as a maid, after a while, she loudly talks about what she thinks of the mystery in the imperial court and gets heard by someone important as a plot convenience (both the thinking out loud and being heard) in order for her to be noticed by people in a higher position for which she soon begins to work (again, without caring in the least about it). After that, you have mystery of the week for pretty much the whole season, with a few exceptions, in 24 episodes barely having any plot progression. Before starting with the complaints about the story, I'll have to praise the fact that, while not all, there were a few mysteries that were used as foreshadowing for a plot thread that followed later in the season (some of them were probably retconed, but at least the mangaka didn't forget about them). This feels like a sanitized chinese TV drama made for kids, without any real stakes, where you know that the few important characters will live whatever happens and the drama is kept on an episodic basis, nothing being built up with it (except in that one exception) and there is no indication that it happens, even if it will happen later on.

First of all, why in the name of hell does the imperial court use/buy slaves (maids) from goddamn thugs, without questioning where they got them from and even if they want to do so. Our protag is literally kidnapped and put to work as a maid, no questions asked. It would make some sense if we saw that the court is made of evil people that mistreat their employees, but beside the backstabbing that happens in almost every episode, those with actual power seem like good enough people that wouldn't accept using slaves as workers. And even then, we would still need an explanation for this and how often it happens. Good thing the anime doesn't care about that and even by the last episode (and months later) this still bothered me.
Then there is the poisoning mysteries which seem to happens so goddamn often that I actually doubt that those in power shouldn't and wouldn't intervene somehow, it seems like their whole estate could be in danger any day from spies or simply assholes, yet these cases are just hidden and forgotten. Again, might be a cultural/real aspect, here moreso than in other cases, but still feels strange after so many revealed cases on how they find and hire all these snakes. Maybe I overestimate the people of those times, but so be it.

Also, it looks like she can send letters outside the estate AND temporarily visit her home, even though she was kidnapped and was put to work in an unknown place. But it looks like she still has plenty of freedom, for some reason. And again, no one thought about explaining what happens and why, you just have to go along with it, especially with the protags range of expertise (about which I'll talk plenty later). This world simply has no rules, you just have to go along with the writing decisions and turn your brain off to any potential critique you may have. Not me though, as a living, breathing, thinking human being, I see the sloppiness of the writing and sure as hell won't miss to critique it especially when it leaves such huge plot holes in the story. Then finally, she gets home, almost a year after being kidnapped and never heard of again by her close ones.While some friends/coworkers showed some emotion to finally seeing her back, her father didn't bat an eye to seeing her alive after having no idea what happened to her for so many months. Seems like the apathy runs in the family, I guess, since she ain't any better with her emotional responses throughout the anime.

The mysteries in themselves are quite questionable too. While they may be interesting in themselves, not only do they feel pointless , but they also get resolved in a single episode, ALWAYS by our protagonist, because no one in that estate has a functioning brain and somehow it's still on it's legs, even though it looks like without her, it would all come crashing down hard, with so many poisoning and backstabbings. I shouldn't even mention the difficulty, since it's almost nonexistent for her, the mysteries being solved by making one hypothesis based on one clue that always proves to be the right answer (except maybe once or twice that I don't remember). And as the story is in a stalemate for most of the anime, you bet you will question the reason for the existence of this story. This is probably one of the first times I actually do so, in fact. It all seems pointless and the characters (especially the protag) don't help in the least to give me a reason to care about anything that happens in the story and it's characters.

So yea, the story has pointless mysteries and lacks plot progression, I can think of only 2 real plot relevant changes happening in 24 episodes. The only parts that I enjoyed, appreciate and think are good are a love story that happens in one of the last few episodes and the backstory of a guy that seems like a potential villain.

Characters
By the gods, this protagonist. Where do I even begin with her. She is a literal drug addict whose only source of happiness is the drugs she takes (the poison). Those are pretty much the only times you see her happy, when she has the opportunity to taste test some poison and can play with dangerous chemicals. And this sounds awfully familiar to how alcohol/drug addicts find pleasure in life. But since she is a cute girl whose poison tasting enjoyment is portrayed as quirky and funny, no one bats an eye to the serious issues that this character has. It's just like saying that Kaiji's (from Kaiji Ultimate Survivor) pleasure to gamble is at healthy levels, which, since he plays with his life on the line with excitement many times, clearly isn't and it's not portrayed as such, unlike our quirky little friend in here. Hell, even the one dimensional villains that want to kill everyone/destroy the world are just like this protag, they have only source of pleasure, in this case, it's other people's suffering. Oh well. Since we are on the topic of emotions, she certainly lacks in this department. She doesn't care about her friends, doesn't care about her adoptive father and doesn't even care about the woman that kind of gave her life to make her. She usually acts grumpy, annoyed or bored with whatever she does (except the poison stuff, of course). When she gets kidnapped, she not only doesn't show any emotion regarding her kidnapping and slavery, she barely even thinks about the people that are probably worried for her (her coworkers and father) and even if she does, it's with the stalest expression and voice that she could have. And this also happens when she meets her father later. And back on the mother topic, while it was, indeed her choice, there is just no way that she would literally feel nothing about her mother and the state that she is, especially since she never knew her. But why explore this topic when you can just brush it off like it's nothing important and maybe even life changing for a freaking 17 year old, since apparently that's how old she is throughout most of the anime (maybe 18 towards the end), although the author could have easily fooled me with her lack of emotional responses in dangerous situations, how she acts and her huge skill set. Good way of making me care about the protagonist author, by making her an emotionally unresponsive genius that has no ambition (so she actively progresses the plot, not just follow it as a plot device would) and character (in the values and morals department), only cares about making and testing poisons (since her pleasure receptors are clearly fried, perhaps by the poison and parent issues). Now, let's look at her skill set, which is clearly exaggerated to a whole extreme. Knows MANY types of chemicals, their uses, how to combine them and what they do; great understanding of psychology and social cues (except the ones regarding her employer's romantic ones, by sheer coincidence), great detective (since she is the only one capable of solving every single mystery in the castle), chess and dancing. Hell, as a 17 year old she is on equal terms with 60/61 y/o Miyamoto Musashi in terms of the range of skills that they possess. Sorry story, but I don't buy this one bit. Especially since she seems to be the only character in the story that is as capable as her. And what becomes annoying is the fact that she is the only character in the whole castle capable of solving ANY mystery that presents itself. How the hell did they prosper for decades if she is the only person alive that solves the many problems that the estate faces? Either she is too smart, or the others are too dumb (or maybe both). Whatever you choose, it's still a bad writing decision, either the character is too perfect, or the characters couldn't have lived this long with their level of stupidity. And the last failure of her character: "the character is so ugly in universe", although we as watcher all know that she clearly isn't as bad looking as the anime makes her out to be. It also isn't even an issues, since she is considered ugly because of her freckles, which are fake.

Damn. Now, usually, I would say at least SOMETHING positive about a character, as many flaws as he may have, since it's not cool to just one-sidedly bash on a character, but for the life of me I can't find anything remotely good about her. I guess I could say that it's cool that she manages to keep herself in control and doesn't easily panic in tense situations, but too bad she is ALWAYS like this, even in normal human interactions, so it's more like an exaggerated trait that covers all aspects of her life, which especially doesn't work with apathy that isn't talked about and seen as a real issue by others, if not by her. And as an ending note to her character, the rare occasions when she shows anything other than what I said barely counts in a 24 episodes anime where most of her character consists of what I already mentioned, especially her apathy, and whatever clumsiness, cuteness, happiness she has is usually related to her drug addiction. Sorry, "passion for making/trying poisons".

Now the other characters. Luckily, we can only progress from the pits of hell that we came from. To start with the protagonist's only maid friend, she ain't a character, she is just there as a plot device in order to help the MC progress in her mystery solving and that's pretty much all they talk about on the rare occasions that she appears. Then there is the protagonist's romantic interest. He ain't really useful to the plot, but his liveliness is a breath of fresh air and the shady stuff that he sometimes is involved in due to his role in the estate gives him a bit more complexity and mystery surrounding him, can't complain about him, any problem that arises is due to the protagonist's interaction with the characters, they aren't inherently at fault for her faults. His interactions with the protag. become quite repetitive after a little while, especially since there is close to no development in their relationship, despite the fact that they are quite involved in each other's lives and her reactions are usually negative, which becomes annoying after a while, but can't fully blame the dude, if he wouldn't do that, their informal interactions would basically disappear, which wouldn't help the plot and characters. Then there is the pseudovillain whose actions are usually enigmatic, he seems to have his personal agenda in regards to what he wants from other characters, which also give him complexity and an aura of mystery. His backstory also helps to make the viewer understand and empathize more with him, as well as add to his complexity. He is still pretty unused, but he is definitely a highlight when he appears on screen.

Conclusion
Stay away from this. There is nothing someone interested in a plot that progresses, complex characters, dialogue and themes, can find here. The only remotely interesting thing in the anime is the historical context it is set in, but you will quickly forget or not care about it due to the many problems of the story and protagonist that I pointed out. You will also like it if you come for the pretty colors and backgrounds. But yea, there is close to no substance to this story, I often found myself questioning it's existence while watching since it seems so aimless, lifeless and directionless in terms of story and characters, there being no reason that argues the importance of it's existence (judging by the reception though, it was an entertaining watch for plenty of anime fans).

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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The 24th and final episode of the Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) television anime announced a second season on Sunday, revealing a teaser visual (pi...read more

Mar 23, 10:53 AM by Nioxys | Discuss (21 comments)

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The official website of the Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) television anime unveiled two additional cast, theme songs, and a promotional video for i...read more

Dec 25, 2023 8:48 AM by Hyperion_PS | Discuss (5 comments)

	So simple question... ANIk_003 - May 31	20 replies	by Phloup »» May 31, 6:25 PM
	Poll: Kusuriya no Hitorigoto Episode 24 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Mar 23	262 replies	by ksipe »» May 30, 12:26 AM
	Poll: Kusuriya no Hitorigoto Episode 11 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Softhenic03 - Dec 16, 2023	166 replies	by Noeiro »» May 29, 5:03 AM
	Poll: Kusuriya no Hitorigoto Episode 4 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ) Softhenic03 - Oct 28, 2023	204 replies	by wumuti »» May 26, 7:53 PM
	Poll: Kusuriya no Hitorigoto Episode 3 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ) KANLen09 - Oct 21, 2023	209 replies	by wumuti »» May 26, 7:30 PM