Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re checking out a production that’s earned basically universal acclaim over the past few years, as we explore the first episode of The Apothecary Diaries. Based on a light novel series by Hyūganatsu, the series takes place in an alternate medieval China (apparently specifically based on the Tang dynasty), and centers on a girl named Maomao. After learning the ways of medicine (and poison) from her apothecary father, she is sold as a servant to the emperor’s palace, entering a world of courtly intrigue with only her pharmacological skills to aid her.
That already sounds like a novel, compelling premise, and from what I’ve heard, both the light novels and their adaptation ably realize its potential. Our director and series composer Norihiro Naganuma seems perfectly appropriate for the job, given their hands-on work directing, composing, and even key animating portions of The Ancient Magus Bride. It’s a rare thing to find a director who both composes and animates, and I imagine the production will feel all the more cohesive as a result; meanwhile, character designer/AD Yukiko Nakatani appears to be an old hand at Toei, having handled similar duties for both Precure and One Piece productions. An accomplished team adapting a sharp historical drama? That all sounds great to me, so let’s dive right into The Apothecary Diaries!
Episode 1
Our first episode is titled “Maomao,” after our protagonist. It’s not the most important thing for a narrative, but having a protagonist with a charming name is an extremely good first step, and Maomao absolutely qualifies
The OP is an anxious, frenetic number, conveying a sense of panic and lurking, mysterious danger. Love this bounding snare shuffle
Visions of dark woods and isolated flowers seemingly conflate the process of searching down the right reagent with discovering the solution to a mystery
The lighting emphasizes the apparent two sides of Maomao, as humble apothecary and courtly maiden
The episode proper opens on that yellow flower that featured so prominently in the OP, stranded in a field of clover
Nice lighting effects so far, effectively evoking the sheen in Maomao’s eyes and the piercing presence of the sun. Also smart use of soft focus, capturing Maomao’s expression with the smallest possible focal depth. A shot that seems to imply hidden depths behind her eyes
As her father warns her about kidnappings, we see a momentary vision of her being picked up and carried away
Ooh, ambitious ninety degree panning shot as Maomao turns towards the main street. A cinematic flourish that emphasizes the distinction between these two worlds: the humble thatch huts of her home versus the painted facades and hanging lanterns of the city. Nice trick of using falling leaves to evoke confetti dancing through the air
Love the color design in general here, very rich and distinct hues for all these fabrics and painted buildings
Her destination is the Verdigris House, an apparent high-class house of courtesans. Though obviously such women suffer from their own forms of exploitation, as an American, it’s refreshing to see how sex labor is treated in nations that aren’t entirely suffused with inherited puritanical guilt
Maomao refers to one of the house’s idols as “Pairin-ne-chan,” implying an extreme degree of familiarity with this crew
“Hey, you have more wounds again!” It seems like Maomao intentionally courts injuries in order to test various remedies on herself. A swift method of demonstrating her fanatical zeal for pharmacology
Pairin is just as comfortable with her, treating her like a little sister
“You’d better not be setting off explosions again for your so-called experiments!” Apparently Maomao’s quite the scientist
Maomao flees after the matron inquires if she’d want to become a courtesan. It seems clear this production will be interrogating the various forms of female power within a patriarchal society – mechanics like the solidarity shared by courtesans, who often can be found in places of genuine power in spite of their ostensibly low social positioning, and thus can potentially steer courtly movements from the background
Excellent catface as Maomao discovers a field of herbs
Thus she finds herself kidnapped, although she doesn’t seem particularly worried about it. More effective lighting tricks as she’s bound in this carriage, with the slats of the carriage walls casting squares of light across Maomao
We then transition to the palace, where a new prince has just been born to Lady Lihua
“I want meat skewers from a stall.” Jumping forward several months before reuniting us with Maomao only serves to emphasize her apparent complacency, as she grumbles about wanting snacks while attending to her palace duties
“The palace and the brothels are quite similar.” A reluctant detective in a den of courtly intrigue, an excellent setup
She works in the rear palace, which houses all the women who are intended to give birth to the emperor’s children. Yep, we’re already diving into the distinctive politics of those who are considered subservient to the emperor, but who nonetheless carry unique power within the world of the court
The only ones allowed inside are the emperor, his kin, and the court eunuchs
Then there are three ranks of courtesans, beneath which lie the expendable serving girls like Maomao
“The serving girls are taught the bare minimum of etiquette, but reading and writing is a whole different story.” Thus her education already offers her a unique weapon within this field of battle
“The raise I would get for being literate would only get swiped by my kidnappers.” Her lethargic indifference to this whole situation is very endearing
Maomao bluntly reflects on how looks are essentially the only route for female advancement here. Barred from the traditional yet inherently limiting path upwards, she will have to rely on novel methods of making herself indispensable
“If I stood out, my life would be at risk. I’m better off just laying low.” She’s like an imperial Oreki Houtaro
We are then introduced to a handsome new eunuch, who appears to be investigating the illness of the infant prince and princess. Another illustration of this world’s strict hierarchy, with the princess suffering so the physician can attend to the favored prince
“The deaths of all the heirs born in the rear palace!” I’m amused how the narrative has to add this gossipy friend of Maomao’s, purely because she’d never investigate any of this stuff of her own volition
Fortunes here rise and fall with the possibility of bearing the emperor a male heir. An extremely fraught existence
But apparently, the emperor actually favors Lady Gyokuyou, the mother of the young princess, over the prince’s mother Lady Lihua
A list of symptoms finally catches Maomao’s interest
“Perhaps something hereditary?” Maomao’s indifference to the alleged authority of this system is reflected even in her idle deductions, as she casually floats the possibility that the “curse” is actually the emperor’s own destructive genetics
More good faces as Maomao decides to investigate. I particularly appreciate how she voices her own sound effects for shuffling off the screen
She comes across an open confrontation between Gyokuyou and Lihua, with Lihua accusing Gyokuyou of cursing her child
Apparently Master Jinshi is the name of the eunuch investigator
As Maomao debates how to reveal her already-deduced solution, she is nearly noticed by Jinshi
Maomao’s attempt to covertly send instructions the prince fails, and he swiftly passes away. However, Gyokuyou finds the package and brings it to Jinshi
After being summoned by Jinshi, Maomao’s lack of courtly affect is emphasized once more before his entrance, through panning up her awkwardly restitched dress. Her fundamental power is utterly unlike the system of physical virtue championed here – but if the OP is anything to go by, I’m sure her integration into this system’s expectations will lead to her developing a taste for the finer things
Maomao initially mistakes Jinshi for a woman. A pointed choice, emphasizing how he occupies a unique junction point between male and female power here in the court
He immediately identifies Maomao by writing “you with the freckles, stay here,” something that the otherwise illiterate crowd of freckled servant girls would have no reason to respond to
“I’ll never admit it. Pretending to be ignorant makes everything easier in this world.” Yeah, Maomao’s great
Love this cut where they’re just shaking an unchanging superdeformed Maomao frame to emphasize her anger. An absolute lack of animation can often be a fine comedic tool
She is brought to Gyokuyou, who thanks her for saving her daughter
Maomao’s whole affect changes when she switches to detective mode, accompanied by a dramatic shift in the lighting. Very delicate control of tone in this production
“They tried to trade life for beauty and lost both.” The poison of the face paint serves to emphasize the fragile status of these courtesans, who live and die by their patrons’ favor
Thus Maomao is promoted to Gyokuyou’s lady-in-waiting
And Done
That was a terrific first episode! Just exceedingly strong on all narrative fronts, and also deftly realized through this unassuming but precisely directed adaptation. Maomao is an absolute delight of a protagonist, possessing an endearing mix of grumpy self-interest and bitter righteousness, and it already seems like she’ll play well off her new partner Jinshi. And the narrative progression here was so elegant it felt effortless, carrying us from Maomao’s cottage through months of life at court without ever feeling rushed or discordant. Maomao’s goofy asides serve as the cherry atop a delicious sundae of courtly intrigue, leaving me eager to see whatever task she grumbles her way through next. Onward to wholly undesired glory!
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