A latecomer to the Fall 2023 anime roster is the historical drama The Apothecary Diaries, which began airing on Sunday, October 22, bursting onto the scene with three episodes on its debut. Produced by OLM, the studio behind the currently-airing horror anime Dark Gathering, the anime has some incredible visuals give the series a very attractive quality, and its story is very interesting at this early stage.

With a story set in ancient China, The Apothecary Diaries joins a rather auspicious circle of adaptations of historical manga with glimmering art and animation that augment their fascinating plot lines. What makes The Apothecary Diaries anime so easy on the eye?

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Plot and Background

The Apothecary Diaries is set in a fictional country based on ancient China, following a 17-year-old girl named Maomao, who is kidnapped and forced to work as a servant at the emperor's palace. Fulfilling the menial roles that are thrust onto her, Maomao intends to work until her days of servitude are over, but when she catches wind of a rumour that the infants of Ladies Gyokuou and Lihua, two concubines of the emperor, have fallen ill, Maomao secretly uses her knowledge of medicine and pharmacy that she learned as a child raised in the Red-Light District to advise the respective mothers in secret. However, shortly after Maomao's intervention, only Gyokuou's child survives, and the only clue she has is a note detailing the reason for the infant's illness. Despite Maomao's intention to stay anonymous, she unintentionally gains the interest of Jinshi, a high-ranking eunuch who is often at the side of Lady Gyokuou, and soon enough, she winds up working in the inner court.

Kusuriya no Hitorigoto is based on a light novel series of the same name written by Natsu Hyūga and illustrated by Touko Shino, originally published on the Japanese self-publishing site Shōsetsuka ni Narō from October 2011 until present. The following year, it was acquired by Shufunotomo, who published it as a novel with a single chapter that year, and again as a light novel series in 2014. The Apothecary Diaries spawned two manga series, one by Itsuki Nanao (Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina) with illustrations by Nekokurage published in Square Enix's Monthly Big Gangan Magazine from May 2017; and the other, illustrated Minoji Kurata (Art, Assassin's Creed: China), published in Shogakukan's Monthly Sunday Gene-X from August that same year. Both manga are currently ongoing. Square Enix announced in 2019 that they would be licensing the manga adaptation by Nanao and Nekokurage for distribution in English under the name "The Apothecary Diaries", which began publishing in December 2020. The anime series began airing on October 21, releasing three episodes simultaneously in the first week.

Staff

The Apothecary Diaries anime series is produced by Toho Animation Studios and OLM, with Crunchyroll licensing the series outside of Asia while Netflix has licensed it in East and Southeast Asia (excluding China). It is slated to run four two cours. Staff responsible for its production include Director and Series Composer Norihiro Naganuma, who fulfilled the same roles in the production of The Ancient Magus's Bride; scriptwriters Hitomi Ogawa, Misuzu Chiba and Yuuko Kakihara; character Designer Yukiko Nakatani (Assistant Animation Director, Dragon Ball Super: Broly); art director Katsumi Takao (Background Art, Initial D), Director of Photography Rumi Ishiguro (Photography, Akiba Maid War), One Punch Man Sound Director Shōji Hata and music by Arisa Okehazama, Kevin Penkin and Satoru Kōsaki. Various staff members working on The Apothecary Diaries are veterans in their own right, but the line-up is particularly exciting in the realms of both sound and visuals, with many of the aforementioned having worked on prior dazzling productions.

Visual Masterclass

While the character designs are beautiful in their own right, the thing that really stands out about visuals in The Apothecary Diaries is how beautifully detailed the backgrounds are. The first episode of the series takes us on a brief tour of Maomao's everyday life, with various landscapes and vibrant environments filled with decently detailed background characters who don't take anything away from the movement of the main cast or the environment. To this end, there are loads of establishing shots used throughout the series to give us a multitude of perspectives on the beauty of the environments. Maomao's brief visit to the Entertainment District in the first episode was an exhibition of the kind of colourful beauty one can come to expect from The Apothecary Diaries, and the series built upon that vibrant first episode with more of the same.

Even during Maomao's capture, while she's inside the basket, the immersive detail of the shifting light seen piercing through the woven basket in which she was carried, and the emphasis on plants and various minor details make The Apothecary Diaries a very satisfying visual experience both exaggerated yet grounded in a sense of realism. The sheer variety of colourful, patterned tapestry found in the palace in various areas, and the detailing of architecture have a consistency in their quality that further sees the viewer become more enmeshed in the story itself.

Must-Watch

The use of great composition in shots, and appealing color palettes is complemented by the multitude of textures that can be found in the average scene, and how flora is depicted in The Apothecary Diaries is possibly the most aesthetically pleasing from the perspectives of detail, vibrancy and use of flowers as a narrative device that we've seen this year – which says a lot due to the presence of incredible contenders in that specific niche like Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku, My Happy Marriage, and BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War, to mention a few.

In 2023, a highly visually appealing opening sequence is becoming a normal thing; however, The Apothecary Diaries takes this a few steps further, particularly when it comes to the aforementioned use of flowers as a visual motif, which fits in with the lyrics of the soundtrack "Be a Flower" performed by Ryokuōshoku Shakai ("Green Yellow Society"). The animation shows the main character Maomao undergo a sparkling visual transformation as the song reaches the hook, showing off much of the series' visual potential. The endless flurry of colors, textures, and shapes contorts and twirls into and out of view elegantly, in a manner that is perhaps a visual representation of the newfound responsibilities and expectations that gradually build up for Maomao. With its immersive setting assisted by the vibrancy and detail found in the visuals, The Apothecary Diaries is definitely a must-watch for anime fans this season.

The Apothecary Diaries is available to stream on Crunchyroll.

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