This Might Be My (and many others) 2024 Anime of the Year | Apothecary Diary

For once, I’m actually on time with an anime release. I have not been able to stay away The Apothecary Diaries, it is everywhere! From the looks of it, it’s one of the best anime’s releasing right now. Since it just wrapped up airing it’s LONG season 1, I wanted to talk about what could potentially be my favorite release of 2024.

There has been so many videos trying to break down why The Apothecary Diaries is such a good anime and why it’s doing so well. I think it breaks down to a few little things being done incredibly well.

(1) Maomao is a great main character. She is highly intelligent in her own right. She doesn’t need others to help her, but she will take the help because she recognizes that more people working on a task is better than her working solo. She is headstrong, but will help anyone in need. She never comes off as a Mary Sue character or someone who is not like other girls. Her disdain for some of those around her shows her as a realistic character, not someone doing it to just hate the pretty boy everyone else loves. She is so important but not in a you are the ONE type of way, she is a doctor, so of course she is needed. Everything just feels natural.

(2) The relationship between Jinshi and Maomao is actually funny. With both characters being so cat-like, their personalities mesh so well. Maomao is constantly fighting Jinshi in the beginning because she can’t get a read on this odd man following her. After they get to know each other through different tasks and events, she opens up to the thought of him, she no longer seems to push him away as much. Jinshi is intrigued with Maomao as she does behave differently. She hides the fact that she can read because she doesn’t want her kidnappers to get the extra money, she only wants to serve her three years and return to her father. The more he learns about her, the more he wants to help, protect, and get closer to her. He never tries to use his power to hurt or manipulate her, only to help her larger plans that already are happening to serve others, not herself.

(3) The storytelling is amazing. The Apothecary Diaries tells a story about a girl who lives in a world where she makes herself less attractive to avoid being harmed, a world where people in power can do whatever they want, and those who have the misfortune of being sold after are turned into prisoners’. Nobody in this show is fighting for power, trying to overthrow the already in place system. They are working with what they have, going about their lives to the best of their abilities. The story does an amazing job of humanizing everyone involved.

Showing a behind the scenes of what happens for a woman working in a brothel and those who are consorts for those in power gives a grim look at the lack of freedom they have over themselves. The The pleasure district puts high value on women with skills, but will destroy their value as soon as they get pregnant. The Emperor’s concubines constantly are entangled in a struggle of who is the favorite, who will get the most attention from the Emperor. They know that once they fail to provide a useful heir, they can be thrown out of the rear palace, their usefulness used up at the drop of the hat. The best part about this show is it shows off this hierarchy is blatant view, they never try to sugarcoat it, they never try to hide it.

Even with the bluntness of the show, they show that not everything has to be depressing and hopeless. Maomao finds many people to become close to and she helps so many within the palace. Raw emotion is shown contently, from desperation to be with the one you love, to grief over losing a child, this show balances the sorrow feelings with the bright feelings.

Narrowing in on why I love this show, I simply enjoy watching a psychotic female character. Maomao loves tasting poison, she constantly wants to make better medicine and help those around her. She goes completely unhinged the the chance to be around poison or make something new comes up. Seeing her cat-like personality come out as her getting actual cat features only plays on those traits even more. Her and Jinshi’s developing relationship is gorgeous. The way Maomao is beyond blind to his feelings for her, the way she is constantly getting into awkward situations that onlookers might misunderstand never fails to make my die laughing. The barely held together jealousy from Jinshi are some of my favorite scenes. One of his best traits is that no matter how badly he want’s to step in, he always respects Maomao enough to hold himself back. He never dismisses her because she is a woman or because she is of a lowly birth. He seems like a genuinely good guy who wants to help those he is put in charge of.

The characters who you are supposed to like, are all likable. There are a handful of characters that the show shapes into being suspicious or unlikable and they fulfilled their job as I slowly (or quickly) grew to dislike them. I feel like this show just does an amazing job at having so may characters show up that the watcher will come to care about. The entirety of the show feels like a slice-of-life show to me because everyone is so comforting to watch and even when someone is hurt, I know that they will be treated and people will be there for them.

I love this show so much. I was not lying when I said I might have found my 2024 anime of the year and it’s only March. This show just does so many things rights and it is just a pleasure to watch.