The Apothecary Diaries (TV series)

Lore & Background

The series begins with Maomao, a young apothecary raised in the capital's pleasure district, kidnapped and sold into service as a lowly laundry maid. While attempting to serve her two-year contract in anonymity, she learns of a mysterious illness afflicting the Emperor’s infant heirs. Suspecting the cause is toxic face powder used by concubines, she leaves an anonymous warning that saves the life of infant Princess Lingli. Her actions are discovered by Jinshi, an influential eunuch who manages the Rear Palace, who promotes her to be the personal lady-in-waiting and poison tester for Lady Gyokuyou, the Emperor's favorite consort.

Reader's Guide

The Apothecary Diaries gained significant popularity, with Season 1 ranked as the fifth most-streamed title in Japan in 2024 and Season 2 becoming the most-watched anime series of 2025 on Japanese streaming services. It was the second most popular series on Netflix Japan from 2021 to 2025. The series received critical acclaim for its unique premise, Maomao's pragmatic characterization, and meticulous attention to historical detail. It earned multiple award nominations, including Anime of the Year at the 9th and 10th Crunchyroll Anime Awards, and won Best Drama and Best Director at the 10th edition. An original anime film, The Deceased Empress' Treasure, written by Hyūganatsu, is set to premiere in Japan on December 11, 2026.

Did You Know?

• The series is based on a light novel written by Natsu Hyūga and illustrated by Touko Shino.
• Maomao ranked third in FeverCos's 'Top 10 Most Influential Cosplay Characters of 2025'.
• Aoi Yūki won Best Voice Artist Performance (Japanese) at the 9th Crunchyroll Anime Awards for her role as Maomao.
• The third season will be produced solely by OLM and will air in two split cours, with the second premiering in April 2027.

The World of Maomao

Set in a fictional nation modeled on Imperial China, the series centers on Maomao, a young woman with a deep grounding in medicine who was raised in the capital's pleasure district. Her life takes a sharp turn when she is kidnapped and sold into the Imperial Palace, where she is assigned the menial role of laundry maid. Determined to quietly fulfill her two-year contract without drawing attention, Maomao nonetheless stumbles upon a deadly affliction threatening the Emperor's infant heirs. Tracing the cause to toxic face powder favored by the concubines, she slips an anonymous warning into the court, ultimately saving the life of the infant Princess Lingli. Her intervention catches the eye of Jinshi, the powerful eunuch who oversees the Rear Palace. Impressed by her toxicological skill, he elevates her to the position of personal lady-in-waiting and poison tester for Lady Gyokuyou, the Emperor's most favored consort. From that point forward, Maomao finds herself entangled in a web of medical puzzles, political machinations, and forensic investigations, all while carefully navigating the treacherous social ladder of the palace.

Season Arcs & Story Progression

The narrative unfolds across distinct arcs that shift between the palace corridors and the streets of the Red-Light District. In the first season, the Rear Palace Arc introduces Maomao's daily work solving accidental poisonings among concubines and identifying the properties of rare herbs, all under Jinshi's direction. The Verdigris Pavilion Arc pulls her back to her former neighborhood, where she investigates the death of a high-ranking official by analyzing chemical reactions at the scene while tending to the health of the pavilion's courtesans. The Courtesan and Bureaucrat Arc delivers an emotional revelation: Lakan, a senior military official, is Maomao's biological father, a bond fractured by her birth to a high-class courtesan. She ultimately uses her botanical expertise to coax out-of-season flowers into bloom for him. Season 2 escalates the stakes considerably. The Inner Court Poisoning Arc weaves a poisoned banquet and a stolen ritual implement into an assassination plot against Jinshi, forcing Maomao to physically intervene during a ceremony and sustain a leg injury. The Shisui and Clan Arc broadens the scope to regional politics, as Maomao and her new friend Shisui uncover the Shi Clan's scheme to weaponize food shortages against the central government, culminating in military confrontation.

Production & Creative Team

The anime adaptation was first revealed on February 16, 2023, and was produced through a collaboration between Toho Animation Studio and OLM. Norihiro Naganuma served as both director and writer for the first season, with Akinori Fudesaka handling the role of assistant director. For the second season, Fudesaka moved up to take over as lead director. Character design was handled by Yukiko Nakatani, who shaped the visual look of every principal figure in the series. The musical score is a collaborative project among three composers: Satoru Kōsaki, Kevin Penkin, and Arisa Okehazama. Their combined work was released as a 47-track digital soundtrack through Milan Records and Toho Animation Records in March 2024. The production structure has also shifted as the franchise expanded. Season 3, scheduled for an October 2026 premiere in a two-part split-cour format with the second half arriving in April 2027, will be produced exclusively by OLM. Meanwhile, the upcoming original film, The Deceased Empress' Treasure, is being produced solely by Toho Animation Studio. This split arrangement ensures both studios remain actively involved in different facets of the franchise's ongoing growth.

Broadcast, Distribution & Future Plans

The series found its domestic home on Nippon Television and its NNS affiliate network, where Season 1 ran from October 2023 through March 2024 in a two-cour format. Season 2 followed on the Friday Anime Night programming block, broadcasting from January 10 to July 4, 2025. Internationally, Crunchyroll secured streaming rights for audiences outside Asia, covering the Middle East, the CIS region (excluding Russia and Belarus), and South Asia, while Netflix carried the title in select Asian markets. Physical media arrived via Blu-ray, with the first cours of Season 1 released on January 28, 2025, and the second cours on March 25, 2025. The franchise's momentum was cemented on October 22, 2025, when a special second-anniversary event confirmed Season 3 for an October 2, 2026 premiere structured as a split-cour broadcast. An original anime film was also announced that same month. Its title, The Deceased Empress' Treasure, was revealed in July 2026, and the movie—scripted by light-novel author Hyūganatsu—is set to open in Japanese theaters on December 11, 2026. Mariya Ise will voice Mu Qing, a character created exclusively for the film.