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The Apothecary Diaries 1x01 "Maomao" - reaction & review (Patreon)

Published:
2024-07-10 13:01:30
Edited:
2024-07-10 13:06:10
Imported:
2024-08
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Google Drive link listed below description!

Hey everyone! Here it is - my reaction to episode 1 of The Apothecary Diaries! WOW, we hit the ground running here, having the nerve to start off the plot with a kidnapping lol, and then quickly settling into a ton of worldbuilding for this new royal environment. I can already see how beneficial Maomao's knowledge will be for everyone around her, but what kind of shenanigans, danger, etc. will she attract in this new role?! Can't wait to find out! Great ep! Enjoy! ~ MH

Google Drive Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wDdy7RKe2mHWEjAGKfbAkC-RzN5R7E7Q/view?usp=sharing 

Comments

Leonie2003

Hey Melissa, I'm so glad that Apothecary Diaries won the poll. This anime really ended up in my top 10 and I didn't know what to expect at the beginning because, like you, I had no prior knowledge of what this anime was about. That's why I can understand if the first episode is very overwhelming when so much information is thrown at you at once. First of all, I would like to give you a few basic facts about the series, because Apothecary Diaries is not set in China, as you might think. The anime takes place in a historical fictional China, so not exactly in our world. I'm not really sure what period the anime is set in, because many sources always claim a different time period. I just think it will be set in the Middle Ages, around the 13th to 16th century. But I'm not so sure about that either. But when I look at the medical progress they've already made, it would have to be set in that period. Incidentally, Maomao means kitten in Chinese. It definitely makes sense when you consider Maomao's frequent behavior. And she's also been seen with cat ears. Her name can also mean jasmine flower, which will play a bigger role later on in the story. Maomao's home, the red light district, is not that far away from the emperor's palace. It's all in one city, so she's not that far away from her family. The palace is actually a small city in itself, because so many people live together in such a small space and they all indirectly belong to the emperor's servants. Be it military troops, servants, maids or even the emperor's concubines, two of whom we have already met. You have to understand that the emperor usually had a main wife, who also acted as empress, but also had a household consisting of at least two to four other women. But of course he could have as many as he wanted. And so there were always plenty of offspring in the palace. Of course, they wanted to see the most boys, because they were supposed to be the heirs. Girls, on the other hand, were not so welcome, as was customary in the old days of mankind. At the moment, the current emperor has no main wife and only four concubines, all of whom you will get to know better later. Before she helped Lady Gyokuyou with her baby, Maomao worked in the outer palace, where all kinds of people were employed. And only eunuchs were allowed to work. In other words, men who had lost their best part. After becoming the Lady in Waiting for Yukio, she now works in the inner palace, where Jinshi also works. (His voice sounds so familiar because the voice actor is also the voice of Aqua from Oshi no Ko). What a coincidence. The two of them have really become my favorite Main Characters right now. They have such a cool dynamic that you'll see more of in later episodes. I want to say a quick word about the opening and ending. I really like the first opening. It doesn't really reveal anything about the story. Only if you've seen the anime a few times will you notice some references. But if you have no idea what it's about, the opening is as good as spoiler-free. The ending is also very nice and reflects MauMau's connection to medicinal plants and medicine. But I have to say, these are not my favorite openings and endings. The ones that follow are much more to my taste. I'm really curious to see your understanding of the mystery in this anime and your theories about it. I'm really looking forward to watching the anime with you in the coming weeks.

Christopher Pope

Unrelated to this, I've been doing a first-time viewing of Sailor Moon for a while now (Viz Media dub), and it's given me a couple new all-time favorite characters. Anyway, I finished the first season today, and man, that hit heavy for such a generally light-hearted show.

Tyler Stobbe

So, to reiterate what I said earlier, this time period is the Tang dynasty in China (approx 618-907 AD), according to sources I checked on. Yes, Maomao is the main character - and she’s quite a spunky one. The cat meme is very on point for me because she has a personality very similar to one: curious, intelligent, and an introvert of sorts. We’ve dealt with this topic on Vinland Saga before, so I will try and spell this out for you as much as I have a concept of: this time period is extremely male dominated. Ridiculously so. A woman has basically no rights at all. This is just the way things are here. Definition of courtesan: (mainly in historical contexts) a prostitute, especially one with wealthy or upper-class clients. The Verdigris House she visits at the beginning of the show is indeed a brothel, and the guy out front trying to get in with his life savings is doing… exactly what you think. I should stop here and point out that sex is basically thought of as a career for these women, they really don’t view it as a demeaning thing - it’s just part of their life. Maomao gets kidnapped and sold to the rear palace, which basically means she is royal property at this point - she’s not terribly far from where she was, but at the same time, she can’t do as she pleases, either. She’s a woman. To accentuate this divide between genders, we see that two of the high ranking concubines are at odds with each other because their children are sick. I’m getting a little ahead of myself - the rear palace where Maomao has been stationed, is basically the Royal brothel. The highest ranking concubines serve two purposes - to please the emperor at his discretion (yes, it means exactly what you think it does) - and to bear his children. There’s a lot of confusion because this emperor hasn’t picked an “empress consort,” so since Lihua gave birth to the son, does that make her have that station? But being hand picked to “serve” the emperor is one of the highest stations a woman can rise to in this time period, and those that do live and are treated very well. Anyway, getting back to the previous gender divide: the other concubine, Gyokuyou, wants the doctor to look at his daughter as well, but he doesn’t have the time to because the Prince is sick, and a male life is expected to take priority - which is why we never see that. If you remember the whole arc with Arnheid in Vinland Saga, take that concept and roughly multiply it by a whole country. I’m not saying it’s right - I’m saying understand the thinking that was at play in this era. Applying 20th century morality will only serve to frustrate you with a lot of these concepts. This is also why Maomao wants to keep a low profile - she could lose her head for just looking at the wrong person funny. Or lying to the wrong person. Not exaggerating. The concept is, however, that Maomao is actually pretty smart: too smart for this era in fact, but she’s dealing with the problem that she knows how to solve issues - but nobody’s going to pay attention to a lowly servant girl. Or ARE THEY? 👀 She’s pretty much been caught red handed, but I’ve said enough for now. These names are very complicated so I’ll leave a list of the main ones you should try to learn for now: Maomao: the protagonist. Though her stature makes her appear fairly young, she actually around 17 years of age. Her voice actor is also Froppy in MHA. Spoiler alert: you’re going to have a hard time not liking both her AND her shenanigans. Jinshi: the purple haired eunuch, who seems to be in charge of the rear palace and the one who sniffs out Maomao after being told about her clue. He is voiced by the same person who does Aqua in Oshi No Ko, so yes, that voice WAS familiar! Gyokuyou: a high ranking concubine who gave birth to a daughter, and the emperor’s only living child at the moment. She’s just employed Maomao as her lady in waiting. She and her servants normally wear red. Also: It’s funny you mentioned Frieren, because that’s her voice actor, as well as Anya Forger. (Honestly, this series probably would’ve gotten a lot more awards if Frieren hadn’t come out right next to it.) Lihua: the other high ranking concubine, who just lost her son. Her servants and herself normally wear blue. She and lady Gyokuyou are somewhat “at odds” at this point and the child incident isn’t helping. Her voice actor? Mikasa from AoT. I should move on to the next video now that I’ve “set the stage.”

Manny

Interesting first episode. It’s very pretty. All I know are bits about courtesans, the red light distract and some costumes, vaguely. I’m soaking up a lot from the comments. I’m learning a lot right now. ✍️

kamenriderhime
>>143319930

Yeah I agree! Right, I had a vague idea too but the comments here are giving many more details!!! Same :D

kamenriderhime
>>143262418

Hey Leonie! Me too! I really like it so far! Ohhh okay interesting, thanks for clarifying! Hahaha that actually makes total sense about the name meaning! That's good to know about the proximity. Ok thank you so much for clearing that up about how this works and also about the Emperor, because I was trying to figure out which one was his actual wife and not his concubine! I've heard that about the preference of baby boys to baby girls. Ohhhhh I knew that voice sounded familiar lol! I love their dynamic! I really appreciate all the details on how this works. That's good to know about the opening too! And even better news that the songs that come after this are even better! I can't wait to see what this mystery is!!!!

kamenriderhime
>>143293312

Thanks for all the info! I can see the kind of role women are playing here already, good call. Dang, so it's just kind of accepted that women get kidnapped and placed into other lines of work. Ohhh I see, so there's still a lot of confusion over who takes top spot here, got it. I see what you mean, you can't necessarily apply modern day morals to this. Hahah I'm already liking Maomao and even more now that I know her VA is the same as Froppy's!!! Nice, I knew there was a reason Jinshi sounded familiar! No kidding that Gyokuyou's VA is the same as Anya's and Frieren's!! Mikasa is the other one?! Dang! Thanks for the info on who's who!