The Apothecary Diaries (Japanese:薬屋のひとりごと,Hepburn:Kusuriya no Hitorigoto;lit.'Apothecary'sSoliloquy') is a Japaneselight novel series written byHyūganatsu and illustrated by Touko Shino. Since 2011, it has been serialized online on the user-generated novel publishing websiteShōsetsuka ni Narō. In the following year, it was acquired by Shufunotomo, who initially published the series as a novel with a single volume in 2012 and then as a light novel series in 2014.
The series is set in a fictional country inspired by theTang Dynasty ofearly medieval China and follows a girl namedMaomao, who was trained from an early age by her apothecary father, and was sold as a servant to the emperor's palace while she secretly employs her pharmacologist skills in the service of the people of the palace.
It has been adapted into twomanga series in 2017, with one published bySquare Enix inMonthly Big Gangan, and another one published byShogakukan inMonthly Sunday Gene-X. The light novel is licensed digitally in North America byJ-Novel Club and in print by Square Enix. The manga illustrated by Nekokurage is also licensed by Square Enix. Ananime television series adaptation produced byToho Animation Studio andOLM aired from October 2023 to March 2024, while a second season aired from January to July 2025. A third season is set to premiere in October 2026. An anime film is set to premiere in Japan in December 2026.
Set in a fictional country based onImperial China during theTang dynasty,[2] and often referencing knowledge closer to the lateMing dynasty, the series followsMaomao, a young girl working as anapothecary in ared-light district, who was kidnapped and sold to the Imperial Palace as an indentured servant. She still retains her curious and eccentric personality and plans to work there until her two years of servitude are over. After learning that the emperor's newborns and concubines are critically ill, she begins to investigate the cause. Using her experience as an apothecary, she successfully solves the mystery of their illness. Even though she intended to remain anonymous, her actions catch the attention ofJinshi, an influentialeunuch. Then, consequently, she undertakes the solving of mysteries for theroyal court.
The freckled, plain-looking daughter of anapothecary and doctor who lives in the red-light district of the capital city. She was born and raised in the Verdigris House, a renownedbrothel. She and her dad also provide their services to a number of other brothels in the capital and itscourtesans. After being kidnapped by bandits who sell her contractually as a servant to the Imperial Palace, she is accidentally dragged into palace intrigue. Maomao uses her knowledge ofpoisons, medicine, plants, and basic chemistry to become an unofficialforensic pathologist, in addition to becoming a lady-in-waiting andfood taster for one of the Emperor's concubines. While Jinshi is quickly enamored with her, she does not reciprocate at all, often finding him very creepy and looking down at his attempts to ingratiate himself, initially resenting his ways of involving her in palace intrigue. Instead she prefers to spend time attempting to avoid Jinshi at all costs, and testing out different poisons and medicines, sometimes on herself. Even so, she often helps him solve whatever mystery he brings to her attention.
Aeunuch who runs most of the administration of the rear palace, where the Emperor's concubines and their respective staff reside. Both men and women alike are attracted to his physical appearance, but he finds himself attracted to Maomao, the only person he has met who is not immediately enamored by him. Later it is revealed that Jinshi is not a eunuch, he merely is using suppressants (anaphrodisiacs) to appear as one, in order to hide his identity as the Emperor's younger brother. Behind his face lies a shrewd mind that tries to balance his duties to the Emperor while improving life within the Imperial Palace.
Known as the Precious Consort, she is one of the Emperor's four high-ranking concubines and is the emperor's favorite. She has bright red hair and brilliant jade green eyes and is the mother of an infant daughter and, later, a son. She took Maomao as a Lady-in-waiting as thanks for warning her about the poisoned makeup. She is also one who supports Jinshi and Maomao. She resides in the Jade Pavilion in the Rear Palace.
Known as the Wise Consort, she is one of the Emperor's four high-ranking concubines. She has dark blue hair and gave birth to his heir. However, when her head lady-in-waiting disregarded Maomao's warning about her poisoned makeup, her infant son died and she herself nearly died. After Maomao later nursed her back to health, she became more friendly to her. She later gave birth to a healthy son. She resides in the Crystal Pavilion in the Rear Palace.
Known as the Virtuous Consort, she is the youngest of the Emperor's four high-ranking concubines. Due to political reasons, she becomes the mother-in-law of the older Pure Consort. She has foodallergies but her ladies-in-waiting think she is just picky with her food, making it one of the reasons to subtly bully her (along with the fact that she is the consort of two emperors) until Maomao suggests death from food allergies is as bad as poisoning and could lead to the execution of those responsible. She resides in the Diamond Pavilion in the Rear Palace.
Known as the Pure Consort, she is the eldest of the Emperor's four high-ranking consorts. She shares a close, motherly bond with Lishu and bears a striking androgynous resemblance to Jinshi, heavily implying she is his biological mother. Ah-Duo is themilk sibling of the current Emperor, having shared the same wet nurse. After a difficult childbirth, she secretly exchanged her newborn son, Jinshi, with his newborn uncle to secure Jinshi's better treatment. Jinshi remains unaware of their relationship. Ah-Duo eventually departs the Rear Palace for a southern detached palace.
Ah-Duo's replacement as the Pure Consort. Behavior-wise, she is aloof and seems not to care, and has the most number of ladies-in-waiting, seemingly overshadowing the emperor's favorite concubine. She masquerades as a girl dressed in servant's clothing and has a fascination for plants and insects.
Guen is the palace's doctor, whom Maomao refers to as a quack. Though he was a bit hesitant around Maomao, he comes to accept and befriend her later. His family is a purveyor of high-qualitypaper to the palace.
A soldier who happened to give Maomao a hairpin during the garden party. She requested him to escort her outside the palace walls in exchange for time at the Verdigris, which caused a misunderstanding on Jinshi's part.
A servant at the rear palace who is Maomao's close friend. Whenever she and Maomao come together, she sometimes shares the latest gossip and intel from all over the palace.
Yinghua is a young and cheerful lady-in-waiting in the Jade Pavilion, who quickly befriends Maomao. Being fiercely loyal, she often gets embroiled in proxy wars with the ladies-in-waiting of other concubines.
Ah-Duo's lead lady-in-waiting whose family owns an apiary. Despite her showing as an exemplary and respected lady-in-waiting, there is a secret behind her, which could be the reason Lishu fears her, even with just the mention of her name.
He is the tactician of the emperor's army. He is aface-blind, monocle-wearing official and the head of the La clan, to which Maomao belongs, as he is her biological father. He is Luomen's nephew.
Shin is the head lady-in-waiting of the Crystal Pavilion and Lihua's jealous cousin. She discarded Maomao's warning to Lihua about the poisoned face powder, causing Lihua's son's death and Lihua's near-death.
Shenlu (深緑,Shenryu)
Voiced by:Masako Katsuki (Japanese); Leslie Marie Collins[8] (English)
Shenlu is an older maid who works in the Rear Palace Clinic and possesses limited medical knowledge. She is one of a few who knows of Maomao's ability to make medicine.
Taihou was a lady-in-waiting of the concubine Shenmei during the time of the previous Emperor, who assaulted her, which led to her illegitimate daughter, and eventually her granddaughter Suirei.
Haku-u, Koku-u, and Seki-u are Gyokuyou's latest addition to her staff of ladies-in-waiting, who are also sisters. They are from the same hometown as Gyokuyou. Haku-u is the eldest, while Seki-u is the youngest. Maomao often cannot tell them apart due to their identical appearances, so they wear differently colored headbands.
Lahan is Lakan's biological nephew and Maomao's cousin, whom Lakan adopted as his official heir. He is a shrewd, observant and cunning young man, like his uncle.
An old woman who owns the Verdigris House brothel and offered Maomao a place to work, treating her like a granddaughter. She has a deal with Maomao not to make her a courtesan as long as she sends the princesses plenty of rich customers from the rear palace and is implied to be Fengxian's biological mother, thus making her Maomao's actual grandmother.
The "Three Princesses" are the most famous courtesans of the Verdigris House (緑青館,Rokushō-kan) brothel where Maomao grew up. Maomao views all three as her sister figures due to the three of them raising her since she was a child.
Pairin is the eldest and most prominent of the Three Princesses, renowned for her unrestrained sensuality and fiery demeanor. A skilled dancer, she eventually forms a romantic relationship with Lihaku; however, she will often pounce on fellow courtesans and even manservants if her appetite is not satisfied. Having once served as Maomao's wet nurse during the latter's infancy, Pairin has a more motherly attitude towards her, which Maomao reciprocates.
The second-youngest of the Three Princesses, much more emotional than her sisters and skilled in poetry. Due to her role as Fengxian's former apprentice, she is also talented at playing board games.
The youngest of the Three Princesses, much more aloof, reserved and colder than her sisters. Despite her profession, she dislikes men and refuses to sleep with them, instead preferring to entertain them with music and poetry, although she is still warm and friendly with Maomao.
Formerly the Verdigris's most valuable courtesan, she contracteda disease due to the nature of her profession, which made her of no use to the brothel. She is Maomao's biological mother, who once chopped off the tip of Maomao's pinky finger while she was an infant, resulting in Maomao's crooked little finger, in order to place a curse on her former lover and Maomao's biological father. Maomao visits her regularly to help manage her disease through Luomen's medicine.
Maomao's adoptive father. She later discovers from court records that he was a former court doctor who was banished from the rear palace. He is revealed to be one of a rare few to have been sent abroad by the empire to study medicine. He is Lakan's uncle, and Maomao's biological grand uncle.
One of the two foreign envoys who came to establish relations with the empire, with the aim of becoming a concubine; but is thwarted. She is colluding with the Shi Clan in their rebellion against the empire.
Shenmei was a shrewd concubine of the previous emperor. Kept as a political hostage by the Empress Regnant to ensure the Shi clan's good behavior, she was later bestowed back by the previous emperor after Shishou kept his promise to wed his illegitimate daughter, and raise her child as a Shi clan member.
Originally, the series was published byHyūganatsu on the user-generated web novel siteShōsetsuka ni Narō in October 2011. The publisher Shufunotomo acquired the series and then published it on their Ray Books imprint as a novel with a single volume on September 26, 2012, illustrated by Megumi Matsuda.[23]
In 2014, Shufunotomo began to publish the series again, illustrated by Touko Shino. This time, it was published as alight novel in their Hero Bunko imprint, which is mostly made of acquired Shōsetsuka ni Narō titles. Sixteen volumes have been released as of May 30, 2025.J-Novel Club announced in November 2020 that it had licensed the light novel series.[24] In October 2023,Square Enix announced that it would release the light novels in print starting in May 2024.[25]
Amanga adaptation by Itsuki Nanao and illustrated by Nekokurage began inSquare Enix'sMonthly Big Gangan on May 25, 2017.[26] Square Enix has compiled its chapters into individualtankōbon volumes. The first volume was published on September 25, 2017.[27] As of November 25, 2025, 16 volumes have been published.[28]
In November 2019, Square Enix announced the English language release of the manga in North America and began publishing it in December 2020.[29]
An alternative manga adaptation, titledThe Apothecary Diaries: Maomao's Notes from the Inner Palace (薬屋のひとりごと～猫猫の後宮謎解き手帳～,Kusuriya no Hitorigoto: Maomao no Kōkyū Nazotoki Techō), illustrated by Minoji Kurata, began inShogakukan'sMonthly Sunday Gene-X on August 19, 2017.[30] Shogakukan has compiled its chapters into individualtankōbon volumes. The first volume was published on February 19, 2018.[31] As of December 19, 2025, 21 volumes have been published.[32] The manga has been licensed in Southeast Asia byShogakukan Asia.[33]
Aspin-off manga centered around Xiaolan's point-of-view illustrated by Itsuki Nanao, titledThe Apothecary Diaries: Xiaolan's Story, began serialization on Square Enix'sManga Up! manga service on March 23, 2025.[34] The spin-off is also published in English on theManga Up! Global website and app.[35]
Ananime television series adaptation produced byToho Animation Studio andOLM was announced on February 16, 2023. It was directed and written by Norihiro Naganuma, with Akinori Fudesaka serving as assistant director for the first season and later replacing Norihiro as director of the second season.Yukiko Nakatani [ja] designed the characters, andSatoru Kōsaki,Kevin Penkin, andAlisa Okehazama [ja] all composed the music.[36][4] The two consecutive-cours series aired from October 22, 2023, to March 24, 2024, onNippon TV and its affiliates.[6][37] The first opening theme song is "Hana ni Natte" (花になって;lit.'Be a Flower') performed byRyokuoushoku Shakai, while the first ending theme song is "Aikotoba" (アイコトバ;lit.'The Spell') performed byAina the End.[9] The second opening theme song is "Ambivalent" (アンビバレント) performed byUru, while the second ending theme song is "Ai wa Kusuri" (愛は薬;lit.'Love is Medicine'), performed byWacci [ja].[38]
Following the conclusion of the second season broadcast, a sequel to the anime series was announced.[44] On the second anniversary of the anime's premiere, it was announced to be a third season that is set to premiere in October 2026. The season will run in two split cours, with its second premiering in April 2027.[45]
An animated film was announced in October 2025, and will feature a new story written by Hyūganatsu. The film is set to premiere in Japan in December 2026.[45]
Crunchyroll is streaming the series worldwide outside Asia, in addition to the Middle East, theCIS, and South Asia.[46][47][48] The first cours of the first season was released onBlu-ray on January 28, 2025,[49][50] while the second cours was released on March 25, 2025.[51]Netflix streams the series in select regions of Asia.[52]
An animation exhibition featuring 3D recreations of the famous scenes in the series, original drawings, storyboards, art settings, and other production materials, is set to run in various cities in Japan from March 2025 to January 2026.[53] The exhibition is also set to travel throughout Asia, starting with Hong Kong in November 2025.[45] From July 1, 2025, to January 4, 2026,Universal Studios Japan is set to host an attraction based on the series. An attraction will featureMaomao andJinshi where participants help them solving the mystery behind a mysterious panacea.[54][55]
Abrowser game, titledThe Apothecary Diaries Palace Chronicles, was announced in July 2025 on Japanese browser games platform G123, operated byCTW Inc. In the simulation game, players train Maomao and take on various cases around the palace. The game will be free-to-play and feature in-game purchases, and is playable on smartphone, tablet, or PC.[56]
In Japan,The Apothecary Diaries was the sixth best-selling light novel series in 2019, with 461,024 copies sold;[57] the fifth best-selling light novel series in 2020, with 527,950 copies sold;[58] and the third best-selling light novel series in 2021, with 496,626 copies sold.[59]
By November 2023, the franchise (including the light novel and its two manga adaptations) had over 27 million copies in circulation.[60] By January 2024, the franchise had over 31 million copies in circulation.[61] By September 2024, the franchise had over 38 million copies in circulation.[62] By November 2025, the franchise had over 45 million copies in circulation.[63]
In her review of the first novel forAnime News Network, Rebecca Silverman gave it an overall grade of B, writing: "It's an enjoyable read, one that gets better as it goes on, and if its pacing is a little too fast, it makes up for it in the way the characters interact and the story unfolds". However, she was more critical of it for lacking genre elements despite being a mystery story.[64] Silverman also assigned the second novel a B grade, describing it as "still an engaging read" and callingMaomao a "wonderful, if at times abrasive, heroine who takes no garbage from anyone".[65]
In his review of the first volume of the manga adaptation forAnime News Network, Theron Martin gave it an overall grade of B+. He praised the art, characters and the use of historical details while noting several similarities withThe Story of Saiunkoku.[66] Silverman scored the second manga volume an A−. She described it as "excellent", praising the "beautiful" art, portrayal of Maomao as a legitimately strong female character, and overall continuity.[67]
In 2019, the manga adaptation by Nekokurage ranked ninth onAnimeJapan's "Most Wanted Anime Adaptation" poll.[68] The manga adaptation won theNext Manga Award in the print category.[69] It also ranked fifth on the "Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2020", a list compiled by surveying professional bookstore employees around Japan.[70] In 2024, the light novel and manga adaptation by Nekokurage won thePiccoma Award in their respective categories.[71] The manga adaptation by Minoji Kurata was nominated for the 70thShogakukan Manga Award in 2024.[72] It won theJapan Society andAnime NYC's second American Manga Awards for Best Continuing Manga Series in 2025.[73][74]
The anime was also nominated for Best Anime Series at the5th Astra TV Awards.[77] It won the 2025Animage'sAnime Grand Prix with Maomao andJinshi taking the first and fourth places in the Best Character category. Aoi Yūki andTakeo Ōtsuka took the first and fifth places in the Best Voice Actor category for their respective roles as Maomao and Jinshi.[78]
^薬屋の時代背景について.Shōsetsuka ni Narō (in Japanese).Hyūganatsu. August 16, 2018.Archived from the original on January 2, 2024. RetrievedJanuary 2, 2024.The models are from the Tang Dynasty, the era of Yang Guifei...The cultural level is set around the 16th century, but depending on the topic of the story, I sometimes run out of paper, and I try to use scientific knowledge up to around the 19th century
Anime and manga portal