The Apothecary Diaries premieres today! In fact, the first three episodes are out on Crunchyroll as of the publishing of this post. If you’ve never heard of it, here’s one of the official trailers.
Unlike with webtoons, I don’t normally jump at the chance to be one of the first to catch a new anime episode, but The Apothecary Diaries is different. I’ll be tuning in as soon as the English sub is released every week. When I first stumbled upon it years ago, this series quickly rose to the top of my list of favorite stories. The mystery elements in it are enough of a reason to watch, but add interesting characters, complex relationships, and compelling storylines and you have a must-follow series.
I’ve already watched all three premiere episodes, and I loved it. There were some minor things that I had issue with, like some scene transitions, but overall, it’s definitely living up to the source material. Maomao is perfect. From her voice actor to her chibi form, everything just suits her.
When I initially watched the trailer months ago, I was a little apprehensive after hearing Jinshi’s voice. Now that I’ve seen him in action, I changed my mind. His voice actor suits him, and so does Gaoshun’s voice actor. The concubines are on point too. Seeing them in color animation just emphasizes their elegance and beauty.
They covered a good amount in the first three episodes. The pacing is good and it flowed (mostly) well. Like I mentioned earlier, I had some issues with how jarring some of the scene transitions were (and the lighting in a couple of scenes bugged me), but other than that, I can’t find fault with much.
I’m still debating how I’m going to cover this series. I own all the light novels and manga volumes that have released in English, and you bet I’m going to buy the anime too. Anyway, my point is I already know what’s going to happen plot-wise up to the sixth/seventh light novel, so recap blog posts won’t be as enjoyable to write or read. But I don’t want to NOT cover the anime either.
Hm. While I think about this for a bit, be sure to check out The Apothecary Diaries on Crunchyroll. If you’re a fan of medical mystery dramas intercut with light comedy and a hint of romance, you won’t regret it. I promise.
