Maomao lived a peaceful life with her apothecary father. Until one day, she's sold as a lowly servant to the emperor's palace. But she wasn't meant for a compliant life among royalty. So when imperial heirs fall ill, she decides to step in and find a cure! This catches the eye of Jinshi, a handsome palace official who promotes her. Now, she's making a name for herself solving medical mysteries!
The Apothecary Diaries is available to stream on Crunchyroll Premium, Crunchyroll Premium (Via Amazon Prime), Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix in United States. You can also buy it from Amazon, AppleTV, and Fandango at Home. Use the direct links below to open the provider.
Maomao lived a peaceful life with her apothecary father. Until one day, she's sold as a lowly servant to the emperor's palace. But she wasn't meant for a compliant life among royalty. So when imperial heirs fall ill, she decides to step in and find a cure! This catches the eye of Jinshi, a handsome palace official who promotes her. Now, she's making a name for herself solving medical mysteries!
Yuko Kakihara, Misuzu Chiba, Hitomi Ogawa, Yuniko Ayana
Production details
Status
Returning Series
Series type
Scripted
Episodes
49
Original language
Japanese
Original title
薬屋のひとりごと
Networks & production
Nippon TVJapan
RABJapan
TVIJapan
JRTJapan
YBCJapan
OLMJapan
Themes
affectationamusedancient chinaanimeaudaciousbased on light novelcriticaldetectivefemale protagonisthistoricallady in waitingmaidmedicalpolitics
Season 1 episodes
Watch options above are for the show and may vary by season or episode.
Episode 1
Maomao
23m7.8 / 10
After being kidnapped and forced to work as a servant in the rear palace, former apothecary Maomao inadvertently draws the attention of the higher ranks when she investigates what's causing the emperor's infant heirs to fall mysteriously ill.
Maomao tries to settle into her promotion to lady-in-waiting and food taster, but struggles to fend off both boredom and the overly-familiar Jinshi. That is, until she gets an assignment of her dreams: to concoct an aphrodisiac.
Tasked with investigating a ghostly woman dancing nightly on the palace walls, Maomao finds a sleepwalking Concubine Fuyou. But with no medicinal cure for sleepwalking, she's forced to dig deeper to find the real reason behind Fuyou's affliction.
Under direct orders from the emperor himself, Maomao tries to care for an ailing Concubine Lihua, but finds her work impeded by Lihua's own ladies-in-waiting.
A eunuch stricken by a curse comes begging for aid. Meanwhile, the rear palace buzzes with excitement as everyone prepares for the upcoming garden party, and Gyokuyou's ladies-in-waiting aren't about to let Maomao get away without dressing her up.
Directed by Gaku ShigaWritten by Misuzu ChibaGuest stars Megumi Toyoguchi, Rie Hikisaka, Takaaki Torashima, Takako Tanaka, Misa Ishii, Tatsumaru Tachibana, Hina Kino, Misaki Kuno
Maomao does her best to navigate the complex social situations at the garden party, including meeting the other Upper First rank concubines. But once she settles down to do her work as a food-taster, she discovers a surprise in a bowl of soup.
Gaoshun goes to Maomao to get her help in resolving the events of the garden party. Later, Xiaolan explains the purpose of the hairpins Maomao was gifted, and Maomao makes a deal with Lihaku in order to finally visit home.
An older acquaintance of Jinshi's dies while drinking at a party. A servant's body turns up in a moat. Both deaths are written off as self-inflicted, but Maomao's keen observations tell her that there's more to both stories.
A tea party hosted by Lady Gyokuyou puts the politics of the rear palace at the forefront, and Maomao learns something new about Lady Lishu. His true intentions unclear, Jinshi sends Maomao to work for Lady Ah-Duo.
Directed by Erkin KawabataWritten by Hitomi OgawaGuest stars Rie Hikisaka, Misa Ishii, Umeka Shouji, Mikoto Nakai, Saima Nakano, Noriko Hidaka, Hina Kino, Yuhko Kaida
Discovering that Maomao's kidnappers were connected to Fengming's family, Jinshi is faced with a choice between keeping Maomao in the rear palace where he can be near her or releasing her from her service.
Directed by Mitsuyo YokonoWritten by Misuzu ChibaGuest stars Sumi Shimamoto, Tatsumaru Tachibana, Yu Wakabayashi, Misaki Kuno, Hiroshi Yanaka, Megumi Han, Ami Koshimizu, Hiroki Nanami
To Maomao's surprise, Jinshi brings her directly to his house instead of taking her back to the rear palace, and tells her she's to work in the outer court. Not only is there much to learn, it seems there's many eyes on her as the new hire.
Directed by Wataru NakagawaWritten by Yuniko AyanaGuest stars Sumi Shimamoto, Daichi Endo, Takuya Kirimoto, Mika Doi, Kaori Nazuka, Masafumi Kobatake, Yuji Murai, Rie Kawamura
Ah-Duo's replacement has arrived in the rear palace, and Maomao is assigned to give a certain lecture to all four high concubines. Later, Maomao helps Lihaku investigate a warehouse explosion.
Directed by Jun Owada, Akira ShimizuWritten by Hitomi OgawaGuest stars Megumi Toyoguchi, Umeka Shouji, Takuya Kirimoto, Mika Doi, Koki Uchiyama, Wakana Kowaka, Masato Niwa, Seiyuu Fujiwara
Gaoshun requests Maomao's help in solving an apparent poisoning case. Meanwhile, Jinshi deals with an unwelcome visitor who's taken to lingering in his office.
Directed by Kentaro FujitaWritten by Yuko KakiharaGuest stars Tatsumaru Tachibana, Takuya Kirimoto, Mika Doi, Masato Niwa, Motoki Sakuma, Kousuke Okamoto, Shoumaru Zouza
A shack, a chest of drawers, and a fishbowl are all that a talented metalworker leaves to his three sons upon his death. Maomao is assigned to investigate how these strange inheritances all fit together.
Directed by So ToyamaWritten by Misuzu ChibaGuest stars Tatsumaru Tachibana, Takuya Kirimoto, Mika Doi, Hiroshi Yanaka, Shinichiro Kamio, Kousuke Goto, Daiki Kobayashi, Ayumi Tsunematsu
Covering up Jinshi's otherworldly beauty is no easy task, but after Maomao takes the challenge head-on, she's surprised when she's also asked to don the disguise of a noblewoman and escort "Jinka" outside the palace.
Directed by Club KadomatsuWritten by Yuniko AyanaGuest stars Tatsumaru Tachibana, Takuya Kirimoto, Mika Doi, Takaaki Uchino, Yuki Ominami, Kaya Ueda, Honami Obata, Yuki Takumi
Back at home, Maomao visits an annex building at the Verdigris House that hides one of the brothel's secrets. Lakan continues to antagonize Jinshi as his connection to Maomao becomes clear.
Directed by Mayu Tanimoto, Jun OwadaWritten by Hitomi OgawaGuest stars Takuya Kirimoto, Mika Doi, Kaori Nazuka, Hiroshi Yanaka, Megumi Han, Ami Koshimizu, Hiroki Nanami, Kimiko Saito
A discussion with Lihaku about recent events leads Maomao to realize that the mysteries she's helped to solve are connected. As the final piece of the puzzle falls into place, she rushes to stop impending disaster.
Maomao was able to stop the assassination attempt, but was heavily injured in the process. However, the injuries aren't enough to stop her curiosity, driving her to confront the culprit behind the incident.
Directed by Akira KoremotoWritten by Misuzu ChibaGuest stars Megumi Toyoguchi, Rie Hikisaka, Takako Tanaka, Misa Ishii, Tatsumaru Tachibana, Mika Doi, Kaori Nazuka, Kenji Akabane
Lakan must now choose a courtesan to buy out. As a high-ranking military official, he can afford to freely choose, even from one of the Three Princesses. Who will he choose? Who does Maomao really want him to choose?
Directed by Wataru NakagawaWritten by Yuko KakiharaGuest stars Megumi Toyoguchi, Rie Hikisaka, Sumi Shimamoto, Takako Tanaka, Misa Ishii, Tatsumaru Tachibana, Takuya Kirimoto, Mika Doi
The spring garden party concludes without incident. Maomao returns to her regular life as Concubine Gyokuyou’s taster. Meanwhile, novels become popular in the rear palace. Maomao wonders how this came to be, as novels were typically considered low-class. But behind the scenes lies Jinshi and his goals as manager of the rear palace.
Directed by Jun OwadaWritten by Yuko KakiharaGuest stars Megumi Toyoguchi, Rie Hikisaka, Sumi Shimamoto, Takako Tanaka, Misa Ishii, Daichi Endo, Yui Ishikawa, Hina Kino
