Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Apothecary Diaries Season 1, and the Apothecary Diaries manga and light novels.
Since its October 2023 premiere, historical mystery anime The Apothecary Diaries (also known as Kusuriya no Hitorigoto) has become a bona fide hit, building on the success of its light novel source material. In February 2024, Maomao, the anime’s poison-obsessed teen protagonist, became the first fictional character to grace the cover of Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare’s monthly magazine. Later that year, U.S.-based entertainment outlets like Polygon, IGN, and Vulture named it one of the best anime series of the year. Now, The Apothecary Diaries’ first season is available to watch on Netflix in the U.S., launching a new era in the anime’s global takeover.
Set in a fictional country loosely inspired by Imperial China, The Apothecary Diaries introduces us to Maomao, the adopted daughter of an apothecary who has taught her the art of medicine. She uses her growing expertise to treat the brothel workers in the red-light district where she was raised, until she is kidnapped by bandits and sold into indentured servitude at the nearby Imperial Palace.
Maomao is placed in the Rear Palace, where the Emperor’s hierarchy of concubines live. What begins as a laundry maid position soon morphs into a greater responsibility when Maomao figures out the mysterious illness that’s ailing the children of the Rear Palace. Her cleverness catches the eye of Jinshi, a beautiful eunuch who oversees the Rear Palace’s operations, and Maomao is soon promoted to lady-in-waiting and taste tester to one of the Emperor’s favorite concubines. The first season sees Maomao solving a series of medical mysteries that are revealed to be part of a larger, murderous conspiracy at work within the palace walls.
Season 1 of The Apothecary Diaries was originally simulcast on Crunchyroll from October 2023 to March 2024, but its arrival on Netflix in…
