The Apothecary Diaries is back for its 3rd season and Iām super excited!
For those unfamiliar, The Apothecary Diaries is an anime focused on the fictional Country of Li during theĀ medieval times. The anime takes a lot of inspiration from China (like the Forbidden City), different imperial dynasties, and clothing. The protagonist, Maomao, is an apothecary with a ton of knowledge about plants, medicines, and poisons. She accidentally ends up in service to the Rear Palace, which is where the royal concubines of the emperor and their handmaidens reside. She’s a healer and poison-tester to some of the concubines there. She meets her match in a eunuch, Master Jinshi, who often needs her expertise in many of the plots and mysteries that unfold throughout the series.Ā
In Season 3, we’re brought back to the Rear Palace and Verdigris House where our favorite witty and deadpan protagonist Maomao resides. The season starts off serious with a looming threat of a locust plague hanging over the main characters’ heads. However, it’s always broken up with witty comments or chibi versions of the characters, which still keeps the show light hearted. There’s also a focus on the ending plot of season 2, where many schemes against the emperor were discovered. These plots created a lot of problems, as the looming locust plague ties back to previous events in season 2.
One of my favorite things about The Apothecary Diaries is its use of color. The show is vibrant with richly colored scenes of flowers, fans, and clothing! Anime is known to be colorful overall. However, it’s nice to have a historical show, even if it is fictional, with more color. A common misconception of people of the past is that clothing was dull or lacked color, but people from many different cultures utilized color. Blues, reds, yellows, and purples of varying shades were utilized depending on class status. Even those of a lower economic status would still haveĀ colored clothing. Black and white photos donāt necessarily reflect the true colors of the time period. I think the animeās color really draws me in and makes the show come alive!
Another one of my favorite things about The Apothecary Diaries is the main character, Maomao. To me, she isnāt your standard girl protagonist. Sheās super witty and kind to both her friends and those she treats as an apothecary. However, she doesnāt act nice to everyone. She has a backbone and isnāt afraid to express her opinion. Maomaoās character reminds me a lot of the Supergirl movie from this past summer. Essentially, the message Maomao and Supergirl have is that you can be kind and help others, but you can still be strong and not a doormat. I think itās such a great thing for girls and women to see that we donāt always have to be super soft and tender. We can still help others, but we can also be tough and brave. A lot of young women are told to always smile and be agreeable, and I think it can be detrimental to our mental health. It’s really cool and important to see women protagonists be tough and honest while also helping people.Ā
Overall, Iām really looking forward to how the season is going to go and I canāt wait to see how the story unfolds!