I just love Maomao’s over-the-top dislike of Jinshi. I think I’ll use her shivers of disgust as a header gif whenever possible and build up a little collection of them. It’s going to be great.
I am currently watching Undead Girl Murder Farce along with the seasonal anime. So between Apothecary Diaries, Ron Kamonhashi and Murder Farce, I somehow ended up with three simultaneous crime-solving anime after years of whining that there weren’t enough of them. And I love it.
There’s something about the pacing or maybe the way Apothecary Diaries is presented that makes me sometimes forget it’s really a procedural even though it most definitely is. And that’s a good thing. The lush setting, the goofy romantic comedy aspects, and the slight hints of a political thriller occasionally popping up, all come together to make this anime feel like a fresh take on the genre if not a whole new genre altogether. I’m thrilled that it’s a 24-episode season. It’s one of the new shows I’ve enjoyed the most in a while.
We don’t know much about the man Maomao calls dad, except that he’s not her biological father and that he apparently taught her everything she knows. That is not only her knowledge about medicines and poisons but also her general knowledge of natural sciences, history, and social conventions as well as the art of deduction. Actually, I should probably throw in reading and writing as those were not common skills at the time, especially for women. So who is this mysterious man and why is he some small-time apothecary in the red light district?
Unfortunately, that’s a mystery that’s going to have to stay unsolved for the time being as we didn’t get any more information during this episode. Instead, we got a glimpse at a different brothel. Although one that seems quite similar if not as fancy as Verdigris. (Sidenote, Verdigris is a great name for a brothel. It’s that teal-colored crust that forms on copper or brass when it oxidizes. It’s also a poison so that works quite well with the theme of apothecary Diaries.) I do wish we got a bit more of an overview of the red-light district but I’ll take what I can get.
In essence, this was a pretty basic, crime of the week sort of episode. I don’t expect we’ll ever see any of these characters again but I could be wrong. Apothecary Diaries can be surprising in its continuity. This is not really relevant to the story but I was impressed by how much a hairstyle changed Maomao. Just a simple ponytail and she looked like a different girl. I enjoy quirks of design like that. Oh here’s the manga version if you’re curious:
I think one of the things I really like is just how much fun Gyokuyou is having. She’s just relishing in Jinshi’s misery. I hope we get to see her character arc more. She’s very kind and generally seems like a bubbly girl but she’s actually quite shrewd, I guess all the consorts have to be up to a certain point just to survive in that environment but Gyokuyou might have them all beat!
It seems like next week’s episode is going to be intense. I am looking forward to it. I hope we get a good shiver scene!
If it weren’t for Freiren, this would be hands down the best anime of the year.
OMG, this was such a fun episode! I loved watching Maomao solve a mystery with her “dad”. I’m even more curious now about why an older gentleman who is clearly very smart and educated is an apothecary in a red-light district. By the way he easily assessed the mystery and came to a solution, I wonder if he’s also a well known sleuth in the red-light district? He had to have had lots of practice to be that good at solving mysteries, right? I would totally watch an anime just about Maomao’s dad solving crimes in the entertainment district!
I’m with Gyokuyou. The way Maomao just broke Jinshi so completely, by accident, with nothing more than her choice of phrase, was absolutely hilarious! 😀
Yes! I loved that part! I have a funny feeling Maomao might have phrased it that way on purpose just to mess with Jinshi.
Hmmm… under most normal circumstances, I would agree with you, but she seemed pretty surprised by his reaction. And she certainly doesn’t realize the sort of feelings he has for her, like she just doesn’t expect something like that to ever come her way, really, so she’s blind to it happening right in front of her. Not to mention, she seems to speak first and realize implications later – like when she made a midnight snack for herself out of leftover aphrodisiac, and had to clarify that it wouldn’t affect her like that.
Of course, it’s a lot more fun to think that Maomao *did* deliberately mess with Jinshi. 🙂
I have to admit, you made a good point about her adoptive father. I hadn’t put it together, the oddity of such a learned man living so humbly. That one line, though, at the end of the previous episode, about a twist of fate taking Maomao to the rear palace, has stuck with me. I keep wondering about that, and now I find myself wondering if he and Maomao already had some hidden connection to that place, like he’s someone who fell out of favor, or maybe he was hiding her for some reason. Hmmm.