I tell you what, that might be the longest I’ve gone between episodic posts in a non-holiday week for a long time. That’s just the sort of season this is – I knew it would be thin and it is. Because of the tendency for modern anime schedules to cluster on the weekend, a threadbare seasons might mean nothing at all for most of the week – and that’s what we’re looking at. I’ve got plenty of other stuff to keep me but but it does feel odd to go so many days without posts.

All that roundabout says that Kusuriya is great to have around. When it’s as good as these first three eps have been that would be the case in any season, but all the more one like Fall 2026. I really enjoy the series when it’s grounded and low-key like this. And when it avoids moe pandering, of course. I think it’s always worked well as a slice-of-life, but that side of it has really gotten a boost with the addition of Chou-u. He’s great in his own right but Maomao really comes off as even more interesting when he’s factored in.

We get a very interesting look at how Maomao approaches the business of being an apothecary when a man shows up early in the morning demanding she treat his daughter for free. It’s immediately clear from this guy’s attitude that he’s bad news, and Maomao demands he sign a bond promising to pay for treatment as Chou-u stands ready to fight him if necessary. Fortunately Ukyou is never far from her these days and he accompanies Maomao to the hovel where the man and his two daughters live.

There are a couple things going on here, but overall this is a pretty grim episode in the portrait it paints. Maomao comes off as tough but she has every right to be paid for services she renders – it’s obvious she and Chou-u are hardly living like royalty. The father is just a total scum, living off his daughters to he can gamble away whatever they bring in. And then we have the illness the youngest daughter is suffering from, which turns out to be ergot poisoning. And that all ties back to the “White Lady” we saw giving something to an old man (who turns out to be the neighbor) a couple episodes back.

The upbeat part of the ep is Maomao taking the girl in to treat her. Chou-u responds with kindness, taking part of helping her recover and rehab and generally acting like a caring brother. And we see Maomao actively worrying about his future like a good guardian should. Will Chou-u’s physical condition allow him to be a manservant to the Verdigris House? Maomao considers his becoming an apothecary, which of course would please her to no end, but bemoans that the boy has no interest in that. Chou-u is smart and has talent, but it seems to lie in other directions.

The harsh reality of these girls’ lives and what awaits them – and Maomao’s hard-headed pragmatism – are shown here in no uncertain terms. The younger girl (who’s mute) is recovering, but the father makes no move to pay. The older daughter offers to sell herself to Verdigris in her sister’s place, but in the end they both get an introduction from Maomao. And whatever we might think of this through our own cultural lens, she really is doing them a favor. What future is in store for them otherwise? Walking the streets and selling their bodies that way. Compared to that, Verdigris House is a virtual paradise.

The mystery of the White Lady is combining with the locust problem to drive Jinshi to exhaustion. He’s procured the other books from the Shi stronghold and delivered them to Maomao, but the other insect book has no mention of locusts. And Sazen offers that there should have been three of them. That leaves Maomao to seek out the crucial other volume from Suirei, who’s in the company of the other surviving Shi children (which means Chou-u is sidelined for this mission).