As today is the first day of the Chinese New Year, I thought of reviewing an anime that is based on the Chinese culture/theme/history etc. While browsing through my list of completed anime, this was the only one that I could find that is based on historical Chinese. So, let's get to it.
The Apothecary Diaries is about a young girl named Maomao who is well-versed in the art of medicine, specifically, poison. She lived her days by learning from and taking care of her adopted father, Ruomen, and gathering herbs. One day, she was kidnapped and sold to the palace to work as a low-ranking servant. However, an incident with one of the royal babies landed her in "hot water" where henceforth, she started to work as a poison tester for one of the consorts and assisted in some investigative work in the palace.
(Picture Source: ComicBook.com thru' Google Image Search)Unlike most of my historical anime where the series will consist of fantasy elements, The Apothecary Diaries is purely a non-fantasy genre, where the people in the show rely solely on their wits, logical thinking, and problem-solving abilities to get by daily.
Maomao's love and curiousity for poison tends to lend her in awkward and misunderstanding situations. It is possibly due to that, coupled with her surviving skills in the streets, that she was unaffected by the charm of one of the eunuchs, Jinshi, much to his chagrin.
(GIF Source: I drink and watch anime thru' Google Image Search)The anime itself constantly showed us the best moments between Jinshi and Maomao, both who are not your typical person in the daily lives of the royal court. One being a eunuch who could "end the world" with his beauty (Maomao's words), and the other being a normal (?) girl who is unaffected by Jinshi's charm. Their relationship brought a lot of fun moments where they became the dynamic duo who isn't really complete without the other.
(Picture Source: Reddit thru' Google Image Search)The first season also threw out a lot of information about the key characters, like how JInshi isn't someone you would expect, and Maomao's complicated family relations which also points to how she isn't really a commoner by birth (technically). Of course, the focus was solely on Maomao since she is the main protagonist of the story. With Season 2 out currently, I could only guess if Jinshi's complicated family history would be brought to light as well (yes, I read the manga but stopped short after the frog scene... if you know, you know).
(Picture Source: Anime War Crime Tribunal - WordPress.com thru' Google Image Search)Anyway, the only reason this anime wasn't really given an extreme high score is because it could get a bit boring. It is kind of expected since the adventures are confined within the walls of the palace. I mean, how much can you do without getting yourself into trouble? But still, the enjoyable moments are when Maomao showed her intelligence during the investigative work, and her reluctant interactions with Jinshi.
(GIF Source: MouriKogoro96 on Tenor thru' Google Image Search)