I know, I know. I’m even later with this reaction than I was with episode nine. Life’s been a bit hectic, so I haven’t been able to keep up with my shows or webtoons lately… but I’m back!
Based on the preview last week, I really thought that they were going to cover all of the honey arc in this episode. It would have been a tight fit, but I thought it was feasible since, on average, each episode has covered about 2-3 manga chapters. This tenth episode, however, only covered half of the arc – chapters 15 and 16.
The biggest difference this episode from the manga is… well, maybe they’ve already missed their chance to reveal this, but I feel like I need to add a spoiler warning for next episode before mentioning this point, just in case.
In the manga, when Maomao follows Fengming and she gives Maomao more blankets, the apothecary spots a wooden shoe partially tucked away beneath a chair. Fengming doesn’t have bound feet, but the serving lady who drowned (and who was missing a shoe) did.
There’s no mention of the shoe in the anime, obviously. Instead, Maomao focuses on the honey-scented candle. Not only that, but in her later report to Jinshi, Maomao suspects Fengming of being involved in a possible conspiracy based on the fact that she saw the head lady-in-waiting had a bandaged arm. That’s also not something mentioned in the manga, as I discussed in my last reaction. I’m interested to see how they pull everything together next episode.
Other differences between the anime and manga were slight. The opening scene with Ah-duo drinking by herself is taken from a later chapter. In fact, it’s a scene that should be in the next episode… unless, it’s Ah-duo drinking alone on another day. It’s interesting to watch YouTube reactors think that it’s Jinshi in the opening scene…
Speaking of Ah-duo, I really like how she’s portrayed in the anime adaptation. We don’t get to see much of her in general, so getting extra flashback scenes, like of her right after she gave birth to her only son, is a nice extra. Also, seeing the young emperor is kind of jarring. He looks so innocent, compared to what he looks like now.
Oh! Can I also talk about the thing that annoyed me the most this episode? This time, it had nothing to do with the animation direction. I’m placing the blame for my annoyance solely on Crunchyroll’s translation.
Referring to Ah-duo and the Emperor as “foster siblings” is so far off the mark, it’s insulting. Maybe I’m being too harsh because I can’t speak Japanese, so I can’t confirm for myself which translation is more accurate, but in both the manga and light novel, Ah-duo and the Emperor are referred to as “milk siblings,” meaning they shared the same wet nurse. Why does that matter? That does not have the same connotation in English as “foster siblings.”
Moving on… during the tea party, in the manga, Maomao actually whispers to Gyokuyou about the honey tea. I rather like how the anime handled the scene though. Gyokuyou has proven to be very perceptive, as seen by her noticing Maomao acting off during episode three, so it made sense for her to quickly pick up something was wrong even without Maomao explicitly telling her so.
And oh, that honey scene. Not one of my favorites, but it’s definitely a Jinshi-Maomao scene that sticks out in a lot of people’s minds. Of course my favorite part was Maomao calling for Gaoshun’s help, but Gaoshun completely ignoring her. Absolutely hilarious.
I always thought that Gaoshun ignoring Jinshi’s antics in this scene was a little out of character. He spends a lot of his time reminding Jinshi to watch himself in others’ presence, but maybe it’s because it’s Maomao, he plays along this time.
If I had to nitpick the scene, it would be that slight fade to black during Maomao’s thinking back to past events. At first, I thought that the cut was made on purpose, like it was the place where the show cut for commercials when it was originally aired in Japan… but I don’t think that’s the case.
Gyokuyou getting upset with Jinshi teasing Maomao with the honey and Jinshi literally scurrying away is a new, welcomed addition. In the manga, there’s just one panel of Gyokuyou scolding Jinshi as he is shown already partially off-page. And lastly, Gaoshun’s short monologue in the library is also an anime-only addition. I felt like the content of his monologue, like specifically mentioning Maomao is seventeen, was a little forced.
Coming next episode is my number three scene of my Top 5 Most Anticipated Scenes. Ahh! I’m so excited. You know actually, I’m just really excited for the whole series. After this arc is when the series REALLY starts to pick up, and I cannot wait for the anime-only fans to see what’s next! I’ve really enjoyed watching YouTube reactors and Redditors discuss the series and hypothesize what’s coming next. Some are off the mark completely, but even if they might be wrong, there’s something so comforting about seeing other people so interested in a series I love so much.
