I honestly don't even know how I found The Apothecary Diaries, I just stumbled upon it in my planning list, I don't remember when I added it to the list. I wasn't even going to watch it, but one day back in the start of 2023, I saw an image of it on Twitter (X), it was her all dressed up and Jinshi being smitten by the looks of her, I saw that, and immediately knew I needed to start this anime, after all, cour 2 just begun airing after it's break! So it was a perfect time to start it.

I started the first episode, immediately got hooked to the opening, the visuals, the music, THE LYRICS, it was all just amazing, I had to replay it before even starting the actual episode. Once I saw Maomao's character design, I immediately knew I'd like this anime, the first episode made me love the anime more than Demon Slayer, and that's saying something! The Apothecary Diaries is just so different from what animes I'm used to watching. I zoomed through the episodes that day, after catching up to the anime, left me wanting so much more. So after finding out it had a manga, I immediately started reading that!

The manga illustrations are so pretty omg?I easily caught up with the manga as well, made me really excited, knowing the panels I read will soon be animated, like the purification chapter, I was just so excited to see that be animated, I was ECSTATIC when it came out, THE OST FOR THE EPISODE SO GOOD OMFG YES. Made me look really forward to the frog scene. That will probably be the closest to seeing them do it.?

Like I mentioned before, I caught up with the manga super quickly, so I started the LN, but it's kinda tricky finding them without having the buy the actual novels lol. I've honestly only really caught up to LN 5, it's not that I'm not interested in the LN, I love it. But I just have trouble following along with the LN, I like the pictures of the manga, and the words are more seperated so I can easily see where I'm at, but I still really love the LN!

Jinshi, Jinshi...man the things I'd do for this fictional character, is concerning. At first I wasn't sure if I'd like him, but the more I saw him, the more I was liking him, seeing how gorgeous and handsome he looks, it's just so unfair to have a man look like that, and then find out he's not even real! I am a JinMao shipper till the day I die. Opposites attract, I love their dynamic, it's so adorable and fun, Jinshi being a masochist is just too funny to not love, and Maomao being so unattracted to his looks is just so <33 I know the author intended to make everyone not like Jinshi, but I'm honestly really happy that Jinshi is a beloved character, who will be staying for the remainder of the LN.

If this review makes no sense, I apologize, I wrote this at 12 AM, no brain juice left. But I just wanted to express my love for this anime, I know it isn't quite as popular as some animes, like Frieren, but this anime is still loved by so many people! Looking so forward to season 2 in 2025, we'll be getting so many panels animated I can't wait.