The Apothecary Diaries S2: Return of Poison Addict

The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 makes an anticipated return in this winter and first impressions: it is surreal.

First Impressions

At first glance, you can tell the vibe is different. It’s peaceful, laid-back, and the air is filled with a sense of happiness. It’s festival eve, and Gyokuyou’s child is growing healthy. Maomao also adopts a kitten—who’s conveniently named Maomao as well. But if you’re familiar with this story, you already know what’s lurking behind the scenes. Missing persons, drug dealing, assassination attempts, and murder are all part of the deal. And of course, our poison-loving protagonist is always right in the middle of it all.

Visually, the anime is stunning. The art style perfectly captures the aesthetic, giving it the feel of a live-action drama rather than a typical anime. The drama, characters, and direction are all crafted perfectly for this kind of story. The anime elements and quirkiness take a backseat to the narrative. The characters feel natural, not forced or weird. They’re fully integrated into this world, each with their own motivations and depth.

I love how the story is structured and how everything unfolds. It starts by setting a comfortable, relaxed tone, letting us ease back into the world and reintroducing the characters. Then, without warning, it smoothly shifts gears to a more serious tone, as suspicious activities begin to surface and tension builds in the air. This isn’t just a lighthearted, episodic mystery anymore. There’s a much bigger threat looming from the previous season. While there are still little mysteries that unfold in an episodic fashion, the larger threat is always subtly present, dropping hints for the characters to piece together. It doesn’t take long before they’re facing the culprit head-on.

Synopsis

If you’re not familiar with The Apothecary Diaries, it’s about a young apothecary named Maomao, who was sold as a servant in a royal castle after being kidnapped while searching for medicinal herbs. The story is set in a fictionalized Tang Dynasty China. Despite her circumstances, Maomao remains curious, always searching for herbs, insects, and poisonous plants.

When a strange disease begins affecting the concubines with no known cure, Maomao can’t resist getting involved. Her efforts to stay under the radar and help out are foiled when a higher-up discovers her, taking her in as a lady-in-waiting for one of the concubines. From there, she gets caught up in a series of mysterious events—murders, missing persons, strange diseases, madness, and even scavenger hunts. It’s a thrilling mystery story filled with drama and vibrant characters.

About The Apothecary Diaries

The Apothecary Diaries (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto) is a Japanese light novel series written by Natsu Hyūga and illustrated by Touko Shino. It was first serialized online in 2011 on the user-generated novel platform Shōsetsuka ni Narō. The following year, the series was picked up by Shufunotomo, who published it as a standalone novel in 2012 and later re-released it as a light novel series starting in 2014.

In 2017, the series was adapted into two manga versions—one published by Square Enix in Monthly Big Gangan and the other by Shogakukan in Monthly Sunday Gene-X. The light novel is available digitally in North America through J-Novel Club and in print by Square Enix, while the manga illustrated by Nekokurage is also licensed by Square Enix. An anime television series, produced by Toho Animation Studio and OLM, aired from October 2023 to March 2024 with 24 episodes, with a second season premiering in January 2025.
The first cour of season 2 finished airing this week and the next cour will start next week.

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