I admit the list isn’t a long one, but Kusuriya no Hitorigoto is certainly near the top for light novel adaptations I’ve liked in recent years. Most of the LNs that really clicked for me are much older, from a time when the term meant something quite different, and recent examples are few and far between. It serves as a useful reminder for me that there’s quality to be found in the medium, and not to dismiss it entirely and out of hand. The problem is that so few adapted LNs stray from the formula and traits which weigh most LNs down.
The Apothecary Diaries certainly does, though. What flaws it has aren’t the typical LN-specific ones, and it does an awful lot of things very well. In the end I liked it better than Sousou no Frieren – it’s natural to compare as both are two-cour Fall 2023 shows which wound up being the biggest commercial hits of that six-month period – and that’s certainly an upset given my personal history. Credit where it’s due – this is a really good adaptation of what’s clearly a good source material.
I would also say that Lakan’s story ended up being the most interesting of the series, and it’s certainly a good one to end on for that reason. I’m fascinated by the amount of bad assumptions made about Lakan by new viewers. I never thought he was an evil person, for example, or – as most seemed to assume – that he’d raped Fengxian or otherwise abused her in some way. He just always struck me as a basically decent guy made arrogant by dealing with people less smart than him, and possessed of a somewhat sadistic sense of humor (not unlike a certain apothecary).
I also noticed that after last week’s episode, almost everyone seemed convinced Maomao was trying to get Lakan to buy out Meimei. And frankly, it baffles me that one could think it was anything other than what it was – a wager to get him to buy out Fengxian. How could the “withered rose” possibly have referred to anything else? Maomao may in the back of her mind have been thinking he might choose Meimei and she’d be fine with it, but that clearly was not her goal.
I thought the denouement with Fengxian and Lakan was really well done. Honestly, the guy with prosopagnosia sees the face of the beautiful girl he fell in love with, not the fading and blotched invalid in the final stages of illness? That’s poetic, no less. This whole affair is a tragedy, but not of Lakan’s making. If anything It’s a shame Maomao didn’t act on this sooner, so the two of them could have had a little more time together to play Go. Clearly, this withered rose is no less beautiful to Lakan.
Xiaomao’s view of her father is complicated. Yes, she’s grateful that he “landed that shot” (ROFL). And she admits both that her mother became pregnant and carried her to term because she wanted to – if anything she tricked Lakan (presumably hoping to lower her price so she could be bought out by him). Yet she still dislikes (at least it’s not hate) him. And at the heart of it, it’s because they’re too much alike. Lakan is smart enough to thrive based on instinct, which makes the more industrious (she learned that from her stepfather, clearly) Xiaomao envious. I genuinely hope she and her natural father have a real relationship before this story is said and done.
Maomao’s dance on the rooftop as a traditional sendoff for Fengxian was another quite lovely scene. One could almost say it was a sentimental action, from someone we don’t typically see as a sentimental person. Of course it draws the attention of Jinshi, whose surprise arrival nearly causes a disaster. As is the wound on her leg reopens (that’s happened so many times now I wonder if it’s foreshadowing something), and she’s about to stitch it up herself on the spot before Jinshi intervenes.
Obviously the prospect of romance between Xiaomao and Jinshi has been teased pretty hard, and it’s an elephant in the room going forward. He’s grown on me some after a very rough start, though I still don’t really see much romantic chemistry there. Frankly she seems completely disinterested in romance and that may just be her nature. The stuff involving Jinshi’s bloodline and his connection to the succession is of more interest to me as a future plot point than a potential relationship with Maomao.
All this is relevant, of course, because of course we’re getting a second (and eventual third, no doubt) season. That we would was never in doubt, but there were no games here – it was confirmed after the end credits. I’d tag along just to heat Aoi Yuuki’s tour de force performance, but Kusuriya no Hitorigoto has a lot going for it besides that. It’s a case where the hype leading into a potential kaijuu series was pretty much deserved, and that’s almost as rare as a light novel in my year-end top 20 (or maybe even 10).
Collectr
March 26, 2024 at 9:06 pmI too was really glad to see the series 2 confirmation. There’s a lot more material available. These two cour covered the first couple of novels, and there are already published in English. Adapting all of it would take a show as long as Inuyasha…
Kusuriya is linked in my mind to another shoujo show with a fictional Chinese setting: Saiunkoku Monogatari. There too, we have an unconsummated (and theoretically impossible) romance; a heroine determined to succeed where women have traditionally been barred; and (I hope) a long, long run. It has avoided the fate of Koukyuu no Karasu, also based on an ongoing light novel series, which received the one-and-done treatment; or even Akatsuki no Yona, abandoned after two seasons and some OVAs. At least both Kokyuu and Akatsuki have ongoing English translations, so the frustrated anime viewer (i.e., me) can find out what happened next.
Say
March 27, 2024 at 5:45 amAkatsuki no Yona had only one season, though, and it is crime!
Nicc
March 28, 2024 at 7:30 amIt’s true that like with a lot of things, there’s more bad than good. It applies to television, movies, music, books, food and such. I’m not that used to LNs, but the over-long titles of modern ones is a source of amusement for me.
In any case, this was a great series to watch and the 2nd season has already been confirmed. First, it’s time to finish the story of Lakan and Fengxian. It never crossed my mind that he would have hurt Fengxian. If that were the case, he would never be allowed near the Verdigris House. If it was something like rape, the Madam probably would have had him murdered already. The young Lakan wasn’t the big shot he is now and his death likely wouldn’t have made that much of a fuss. Meimei made a bit more sense considering that the two of them have a history. She’s known him since she was a young girl and became good at playing go and chess because of him. If Lakan was going to pick somebody, it would have been her. Alas, not even she was important enough to him to be seen with a human face. But, like you said, the withered rose… It couldn’t have meant anything else.
And, that Lakan still sees Fengxian with the same face as the last time he saw her and not how she is now… Poetic, indeed. I have to wonder exactly who Fengxian is to the Madam as the latter is so protective of her. She allowed Fengxian to stay for this long and refused to entertain any offers to buy her out even as Lakan was willing to pay six figures. Yep, Maomao has got a complicated relationship with her biological dad. Fengxian getting pregnant was not an accident, though it’s unlikely she thought that Lakan could make it happen that first time and nobody could account for Lakan being gone for three years. I’d like to see their relationship explored and grow as the series continues on.
I was wondering where that rooftop dance that was teased in the OP all season would show up and we got it now. There’s a big send-off party at the Verdigris House, while still maintaining confidentiality about who just got bought out. Jinshi happened to watch that dance too and that surprise nearly caused a big accident. Maomao may be “cat-cat” or “kitten”, but she isn’t nearly as stealthy as one. Indeed, what’s up with that wound on her leg? It’s not been indicated that she has hemophilia, but it’s still taking an awfully long time to heal. I myself didn’t buy that princess carrying scene for a second. She still doesn’t see him as a romantic interest and considering her nature, it’s possible that she may never will. Lakan will at least be happy about that. Speaking of bloodlines, that means Maomao is the daughter of a high-ranking nobleman, yeah? I wonder how that will play into things too.
And yeah, we’ve got a second season coming. Laolan got a bit of focus in this episode and I expect that she’ll get a bigger role (And a VA) in the next season. Suirei will probably come out of hiding sometime too. It’s been a fun show to follow and I’m looking forward to seeing more.
Kim
March 31, 2024 at 9:09 pmI am glad you enjoyed it. As I said in another comment I have not watched the anime but I enjoy the manga.
As for the another light novel series I think is really good is Ascendance of a Bookworm. I am not sure if you ever checked that series out.
Guardian Enzo
March 31, 2024 at 9:15 pmI watched maybe 2/3 of the first season and blogged the first two or three episodes. Didn’t dislike it but ultimately lost interest.
Cloudedmind
April 6, 2024 at 2:52 pmThat scene between Lakan and Fengxian, reminded me of an old Bette Davis movie called Mr. Skeffington. It had a similar sort of poetic end to it.
Guardian Enzo
April 6, 2024 at 5:26 pmNow that’s a chestnut. If I’ve seen it I don’t remember, but the ending does sound pretty similar.