Kusuriya no Hitorigoto

The Good: This show get's a LOT right. The characters, the setting, the music, the colors, it's all loving crafted, animated, and produced. Like the many varied flowers found in both the Pleasure District and on the Rear Court, the overall feel and vibe of this anime is seductive, comforting, and alluring. The Big Flaw: Where does this show fall short then? Writing. Writing writing writing. Once past the opening episodes, the flaws of the writing starts to become pretty noticeable. It's not bad compared to other anime, just aggressively average. Mystery Cases: Some of the episodes follow a sort of episodic mystery-case style format which is a greatvibe but the actual cases themselves are laughably amateur and tropey. Our protagonist is always in the right place, always has the right knowledge or skill, and always figures out the solution at the perfect time. The show tries to play up the mystery angle but is also too anxious to lose the viewers so they hold our hand through everything. There's only ever like two or three clues that they constantly emphasize (Oh that object has always been here. Oh we don't touch that object. OMG the puzzle needs the object!). Overall Plot: There were a couple (beautiful) scenes and major plot points where it was abundantly clear that the author had the climactic scene in mind and then tried to work backwards to guide the story to that scene. Unfortunately, the plot lacks any actual finesse. As a viewer you pretty much feel like you're being dragged along familiar plot points leading to big reveals that are abundantly obvious. Interestingly, I didn't get the feeling that the writing is lazy; you can really feel the care and the love poured into the setting and characters. I think it really is just a lack of craft. Good writing is difficult. Overall: If you're looking for a mature cast, individual, non-tropey female characters set within the backdrop of a beautifully intoxicating rear court, I really recommend this show. If you're looking for smartly-written mystery and palace intrigue, you will end up disappointed. I give Kusuriya a solid 7.5 for a potentially incredible show held back by very average writing.

Apothecary Diaries presents us with a refreshing setting reminiscent of imperial China, following the story of a female apothecary. The best way to describe the show is like watching a passionate writer with many ideas throw them into a blender. Fortunately, it wasn't blended to the point of becoming slop, but it still needed work on its characters and story. Unfortunately, the focus was on pointless decorations such as a pretty male lead and good visuals. I'll get straight to the point. Apothecary Diaries is a mediocre mystery and a weak romance. The drama and comedy were at least entertaining. Fortunately, there's still a message ifyou can ignore its numerous issues, such as the commoner and noble dynamic and the interpersonal problems such a dynamic brings, which is the only reason i don't consider the show a waste of time. There weren't enough scenes depicting commoners suffering though. The immersion is overall okay, except for the protagonist being too scientific for the time period. Speaking of which, Maomao, is pretty entertaining. There's a problem with her though, the show relies TOO MUCH on her being Sherlock to move the story forward, to the point it's borderline lazy writing. She also has a little too much internal dialogue, not allowing viewers to think for themselves in emotional moments. The only other character that came close to being interesting was the antagonist in the later part, but the setup and payoff involving him were incredibly weird and rushed. The handsome male lead was almost fully pointless and only served to push Maomao into engaging with the plot or as the butt of jokes (at least they were funny). Everyone else don't matter as characters, and act like faceless pieces for the plot or to show the dynamic i mentioned earlier, which you'll find ironic considering the antagonist's "condition". "Should i watch this?" If you're just looking for a relaxing show to pass time, watching a cute protagonist with bittersweet themes, you'll like it. If you're looking for an engaging mystery or romance show, don't waste your time. Also, disclaimer: Don't watch it with the lens of modern day sensibilities. Remember, its setting is still similar to imperial China (as much as the protagonist's mindset is way too scientific). This means women aren't treated well, but it helps in immersion.

I tried, honestly i tried more than once to like this anime. Unfortunately, I hated this. And I was so hyped for this anime, what a turnoff. The show is called "Apothecary Diaries", she learned from her father how to practice, worked as an apothecary, so you would assume this show is about her as an apothecary, right? Wrong! She starts to solve misteries like scooby because people thinks she is smart. What that has to do with apothecary? Nothing. And everything and everyone just goes along. Why would a high patent noble call an apothecary everytime he has an issue? Is he dumb? No,it's because he likes her. The thing that irritates me the most is that this show tries to be many things, but actually is none. Nothing sticks, nothing standsout, the story never evolves. I finished the season 1 and started season 2 only to realize it's never gonna make sense, and it's never gonna be anything more than someone being poisoned, concubines fighting, and something involving the courtesans... That being said, you might like for the historical, or for the investigations. But I've seen better anime with lower scores than this.

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