The Apothecary Diaries Manga, Vol. 1
Ratings42
Average rating4.2
I really liked this book. It wasn't what I was expecting, it actually exceeded my expectations, so I would rate it as a 3.5. I've been curious about this series due to all the random YouTube recommendations with clips that occur later in the story. So I had an idea of the characters, but got something better.
Anyways, the story is about a girl that got kidnapped and then sold to work at the palace. She loves making medicine, and is the only maid that can read. She's discovered after she tries warning two concubines that they've been poisoned. A beautiful eunuch figures her out and then assigns her to work as a lady in waiting for the emperor's favored concubine.
Maomao is funny. Her only passion is making medicine, and she's like a mad scientist with her experiments (all on herself too). She's immune to many poisons, including the eunuch that discovered her, Jinshi.
Jinshi is a “eunuch” (I saw spoilers so I know he's not) and very attractive. He's accustomed to men and woman pursuing him sexually and romantically. He's beautiful, but Maomao isn't interested. Instead, she's repulsed whenever he tries to charm her. She looks at him with disdain whenever he flirts with her, and because of this, he only continues to do so mercilessly for fun. Thankfully, his aid, Gao Shun, another eunuch, warns her not to look at him like that because it delights Jinshin and the ladies can't function around him (most annoying for him lol). She's catching on to his game.
I was hesitant to begin this story because it takes place in a palace. I've seen bits and pieces of the drama “Ruyi's Royal Love”, which is a story regarding the lives of the wives and concubines of the emperor. It's a cut-throat series where poisoning, death, and backstabbing is the norm as they try to gain the emperor's favor and quite heavy. However, this story is more light-hearted, despite there being a poisoning off the bat in the beginning lol (the culprit was a powder, not a person).
I've seen some clips already so I know that drama awaits later in the series, but for now, I'll continue reading as it's definitely fun and I like the characters.
Gorgeous artwork, a feisty heroine, throw in some alchemy and court intrigue. Yeah, sign me in.
Maomao tries to keep her head down as a servant in the inner court (the emperor's booty call compound) but her education level soon becomes apparent. Her knowledge is medicine and poison is the solution to some situations but superior reasoning skills are the solution annoyingly often. I would rather the focus stay on her specialized skill set.
A hot feminine guy (assumed eunuch but suspiciously not confirmed) acts as puppet master of the inner court. He keeps flirting with Maomao and she has no interest.
Art is pretty but the concubines are pretty interchangeable. The only characters with distinct appearances are Maomao, hot fem guy, and grumpy soldier guy. Maybe the next volume will reveal why this was deemed worthy of an anime adaptation.