I must say, Kusuriya no Hitorigoto has an easy charm about it that I find very winning. I can’t think back on any episodes that made me marvel at their greatness, but they’re all a sort of a vibe. The writing is plenty smart enough, and only rarely seems too anxious to remind you of that. There’s no denying that a lot of this is down to Yuuki Aoi’s performance as Maomao (which is S-class, as usual for her). But I think the character is a good one even on the page, and the premise and setting carry their weight just fine. It’s a nice combination.
This episode, frankly, could have been a bit of a clunker if the above weren’t the case. Because the mystery was a bit of an Encyclopedia Brown (Google it, kids) job, really. It was fun but the sort of thing you really wouldn’t expect to see in real life. And Maomao solving something completely outside her realm of expertise (though there was an overlap with the lead poisoning) feels like kind of a misstep to me. She runs the risk of being too smart not just for her own good, but her good as a character. It all works better if she’s an expert in her realm and smart, not if she’s Jane Marple (Google it, kids).
But I can’t really be bothered because it was all very amusing. And yes, it did tie in to the central plot in some interesting ways. Jinshi was obviously pouting at drawing Xiaomao into a mystery not of his choosing (never mind that it was Lakan’s). And a little peeved at how easily she became interested. One might have fun speculating on why Lakan got involved in the first place. I mean, obviously in part to test just how clever she is for himself. But I don’t rule out that he might have had at least a sliver of altruistic motive too, if in fact the old metalworker was a friend. Or at least someone whose talent he genuinely admired (which I think he pretty clearly did).
The whole thing with the three brothers and the fishbowl and the key was the weakest part of the episode, really. It was a very light novel (or YA) sort of mystery, honestly. The best part here continued to be the interaction between Maomao and Basen. She finally realizes why he looks familiar – he resembles Gaoshun (I confess that didn’t stand out to me). If that means Basen is Gaoshun’s son, it certainly lends itself to some interesting questions (not least, why does he seem to dislike her so much?). I’ve pretty well concluded at this point that Jinshi is obviously not a eunuch. Gaoshun not being one would be harder to explain, though I suppose it could be something that happened after Basen was born. Or it could be a cover story altogether…
Now – that final conversation between Jinshi and Lakan. This reveals what may be the third reason why Lakan involved Jinshi and Maomao, because of the brother dynamic. That remark about how younger brothers should be recognized for their talent seemed extremely pointed, and I feel as if Lakan was trying to tell Jinshi that he knew something about his true (still unconfirmed) identity. And the way he begged off finishing the “devaluing a courtesan” story was his way of telling Jinshi he knows Maomao’s true history, clearly. Lakan’s importance in the story appears to be only beginning to assert itself, and whose side he’s on (beyond his own) is still very much a mystery.
animealex
January 28, 2024 at 8:57 pmLate to the party, I know, but as a pharmacist myself, I often end up disappointed by anime which feature one as a main character, so I wasn’t that interested in this series. But then I needed something to watch to unwind and thought, why not give an episode or two a try. I binged the whole series this past week and must say, I’m intrigued. Of course the main character does know some things, which she shouldn’t (like the food allergies or the solder this episode) in her fictional time-period of ancient china. But for the most part, the main character works for me and I’m charmed by the setting and court drama. So, watching this now and hoping it get’s more seasons.
Btw. Basen was introduced way back in the first season (binge watching has it’s advantages) as he was sparring bare-chested with Jinshi while Gaoshun watched them both silent and smiling (proud?). So father to one and father role-model to the other might not be out of the question.
But if Jinshi and Gaoshun are both no eunuchs, then the emperor plays a very dangerous game. Even if he trusts those two explicitly, if word that two normal men (whatever else they may be) had the run of the Rear Palace, then all future children of the emperor will get their parentage questioned. I have been pondering this possibility since it was implied the first time, that Jinchi might not be an eunuch. I’m still wondering if this will come back someday to haunt the characters or if this series will gloss over it and focus more on the mysteries encountered by our charming heroine, who is also a mad scientist in the making.
Guardian Enzo
January 28, 2024 at 9:21 pmThere are all kinds of potential issues with fully functional men wandering around the Rear Palace, and you raise a very important one. But I’ve been convinced almost from the very beginning that Jinshi wasn’t a eunuch (we’ll see).
Maomao is occasionally too smart for her level of experience and time period. But Aoi Yuuki is so good that I don’t mind as much as I probably should.
KlingKlang
January 29, 2024 at 1:49 amAs a metallurgical engineer I had to geek out over this episode. The metal shown in its native crystalline form is bismuth, and creating a very low melting point soldier (95 deg C) by adding it to the standard lead and tin solder formula is a real thing.
The puzzling thing is why is this a surprise to anyone in the household when the father displayed a sample of it the entranceway.
Guardian Enzo
January 29, 2024 at 7:26 amMy question is why would an apothecary know that, LOL.
Nicc
January 29, 2024 at 9:18 amSo, the mystery in this episode to solve was more like a puzzle wrapped in a riddle. As mentioned at the end of the previous episode, it involves the inheritance from a metalworker who passed away and without passing on his secret techniques to his three sons. Instead, he passed on a shack to one of his sons, a shelf to another one (And, said shelf is bolted down into the shack) and then a glass fishbowl to the last one. And, dad also wanted them to have a tea party. Well, that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense and Maomao is dispatched to figure this one out.
I myself didn’t see the resemblance between Basen and Gaoshun. True, it’s possible that Gaoshun became a eunuch after Basen was born if he really was his son. Or, Basen could just be a relative who resembles Gaoshun. Once again, Basen is her escort as Maomao is taken to the place where all the brothers and puzzle pieces are. The brothers don’t seem to get along all that well. And, the puzzle is solved with all three puzzle pieces involved with it. At the end of the day, the three brothers realize their own strengths and that’s how the family legacy continues. Yeah, really not that compelling, but it was still fun to see how the puzzle was unraveled.
This puzzle is something that Lakan has already figured out. This reminds me of episode 8 when Maomao was trying to solve the attempted murder at the brothel when she was back home. Oyaji already figured out mystery and gave her a few pointers while on her way to solving it. Lakan decided to test Maomao in a similar fashion. However, he seems decide not to tell the rest of the story regarding the courtesan. It’s not the last Jinshin will see of him as Lakan promises to be back tomorrow. The next episode preview shows that he and Maomao will be headed out into town for some purpose.
Panino Manino
January 30, 2024 at 11:53 pmIMO is completely failing with the mysteries. Xiaomao like a character pointed “knows everything”. She just knows. There’s no investigation, she just looks at something and mystery solved.
Also, this episode highlighted the sometimes subpart art direction. The way the room was illuminated was very bland, until the moment Xiaomao pointed to the light coming from the window as important. Suddenly the way the room was depicted changed completely, with light and shadows.
There’s actually zero mystery in this series, there’s nothing for us to see and pay attention, we just need to sit and wait Xiaomao give all the answers, very disappointing.
At least there’s that new character to give us something more, because the good part if the characters interactions and their probably conflicts. I want to see how Xiaomao will interact with the new character, nothing else is interesting.