Kusuriya no Hitorigoto

Have you ever seen the amount of anime that are power fantasies for men for the audience to self-insert into? Well, you don’t have to worry about that in this show, because this decided to do the “innovative” idea of making a power fantasy but for women, with Maomao serving very clearly as a Mary Sue to do this. I mean, when you look at the conversation around this show, you see people being fine with the protagonist, which honestly confuses me, because this is the kind of show that, if it had a male protagonist, it would be rightfully called a self-insert power fantasy. The exact moment that I got to this conclusion was when Maomao put on makeup, because this moment showed that Maomao isn’t some plain girl and that her freckles are actually fake but she puts them on for safety reasons, which means that she makes herself uglier on purpose while she is actually so pretty that she surprises people with her beauty, a blatant example of the “looks ugly but is actually beautiful” trope being used to make the protagonist look better. I’m fine with Maomao being good at testing poisons and having deep knowledge about the subject, she worked as an apothecary after all, and has even tested poison on herself. Maomao being a detective might be fine, her scientific interest aligns with critical thinking, but the fact that she actually guesses correctly every single thing thrown at her can make her look too perfect at a job she doesn’t actually have. She also teaches concubines about how to be better at having sex, despite being a virgin, and this is a problem, as she is better than other people in their areas of expertise when she is supposed to just be an apothecary, and that extends to things beyond this point. It’s fine if she is smarter than a quack doctor, but it almost seems that without her, the palace won’t be able to continue running because she solves almost everything. You can just look at her qualities and see that her flaws aren’t actually flaws. Being ugly is a completely self-imposed thing, as she’s apparently the most beautiful around. She is very quirky and shows no interest in men, but that’s what gets her Jinshi being interested in her, since unlike the other girls who are lusting over Jinshi everywhere he goes, she is not interested in him as she is not like the other girls and her quirkiness makes her “interesting”, so she ends up getting attention from the perfect guy despite the fact that he doesn’t receive any reciprocation from her. I thought that we made fun of this when a romcom is about a 10/10 girl talking to the completely average guy just because he is nice, why is this suddenly okay when the exact thing is being done here? Also, there are other girls who don’t like her and they are always proven wrong by saying they were just jealous of how amazing she is, I swear that I could barely look at the screen on episode 4 where she scolds that lady-in-waiting and slaps her in the face, I mean, Maomao was in the right (she always is) but it made me cringe at the scene, it almost felt like when in revenge fantasies the MC puts a popular guy “in their place”. I don’t even want to go about who her real father is, is there any other hidden talent or important connection that she has that I do not know? Honestly, I’m very confused at the very positive reaction this series got, maybe it’s just that I can’t see this series and think in the MC as anything other than a massive case of a Mary Sue MC, because to me she is just blatantly written as one. Thank you for reading.

The Good: This show get's a LOT right. The characters, the setting, the music, the colors, it's all loving crafted, animated, and produced. Like the many varied flowers found in both the Pleasure District and on the Rear Court, the overall feel and vibe of this anime is seductive, comforting, and alluring. The Big Flaw: Where does this show fall short then? Writing. Writing writing writing. Once past the opening episodes, the flaws of the writing starts to become pretty noticeable. It's not bad compared to other anime, just aggressively average. Mystery Cases: Some of the episodes follow a sort of episodic mystery-case style format which is a great vibe but the actual cases themselves are laughably amateur and tropey. Our protagonist is always in the right place, always has the right knowledge or skill, and always figures out the solution at the perfect time. The show tries to play up the mystery angle but is also too anxious to lose the viewers so they hold our hand through everything. There's only ever like two or three clues that they constantly emphasize (Oh that object has always been here. Oh we don't touch that object. OMG the puzzle needs the object!). Overall Plot: There were a couple (beautiful) scenes and major plot points where it was abundantly clear that the author had the climactic scene in mind and then tried to work backwards to guide the story to that scene. Unfortunately, the plot lacks any actual finesse. As a viewer you pretty much feel like you're being dragged along familiar plot points leading to big reveals that are abundantly obvious. Interestingly, I didn't get the feeling that the writing is lazy; you can really feel the care and the love poured into the setting and characters. I think it really is just a lack of craft. Good writing is difficult. Overall: If you're looking for a mature cast, individual, non-tropey female characters set within the backdrop of a beautifully intoxicating rear court, I really recommend this show. If you're looking for smartly-written mystery and palace intrigue, you will end up disappointed. I give Kusuriya a solid 7.5 for a potentially incredible show held back by very average writing.

"The Apothecary Diaries" or "Kusuriya no Hitorigoto", an anime that pleasantly surprised me and, in my opinion, ranks among the best anime of 2023/2024. The anime is set in imperial China and tells the story of Maomao, who was kidnapped and taken to the emperor's palace. From there, we begin to learn more about her personality and traits, along with the unfolding of the story, revealing an intricate web of interconnected events and mysteries. Technical Aspects: Plot = 9.8/10 In my view, the anime presented no flaws in the plot. The way events connect and some mysteries are gradually unraveled shows meticulous and insightful writing. It's been a long time since I've seen such a well-constructed plot. The anime is rich in elements such as investigation and mysteries. It's literally a butterfly effect, where a small event can lead to something big or be intrinsically linked to something that has already happened! As for the narrative, it has many comedic elements while also being serious when needed, although it may seem somewhat unpretentious in some episodes! Art (Character Design, Backgrounds, and Animation) = 8.6 The art of the anime is beautiful, with characters that are very well drawn and animation that is extremely consistent and fluid from beginning to end, which is rare for a 24-episode anime. The backgrounds were also very good, although they did not reach the level of detail found in films like "Kimi no Na wa". The only downside was the CGI, which stood out a bit from the rest of the animation and caused some unease. Character Charisma and Development = 8.7 Maomao is, in my view, the best waifu of 2023/2024. The character is very fun, charismatic, and easily wins you over. It's almost impossible not to like her! Her romantic partner is also a captivating and enjoyable character, and the interactions between the two are very pleasant! As for the personal development of each character, in this aspect, the anime does not deliver as much. You can sympathize with the characters and feel some of what they feel, but the work does not usually delve deeply into their feelings, leaving it up to the viewer to interpret what they feel or think and the reasons for it! This is cool for an anime that focuses on mystery! Just don't expect major dramatic developments of the characters with the anime delving into their thoughts, emotions, and motivations very clearly! Script/Storyboard and Direction = 9.1 The anime has beautiful framings and a very commendable immersion of the story. The weighty scenes really convey the feeling they need to convey. The rhythm and execution were done with great care, making the anime truly deserve many points for it. Even in episodes where there were no major revelations, the anime maintained good quality using other elements like comedy, having excellent comedic timing in these scenes, and a great power to generate memes with Maomao's facial expressions and reactions. The series manages to grip you, captivate you, and leave you interested in the story, making you feel part of it! Soundtrack and Audio = 8.5 In this aspect, I believe the anime delivered something within expectations. Nothing absurd like Sawano or Masaru Yokoyama level, but the soundtrack is good, although I don't believe it to be an extremely outstanding point in the work. There are some scenes with cool tracks that deserve to be seen with affection, but they are not emblematic and striking. In this aspect, I've seen works that had a greater capacity to be striking. Another point in this topic would be to highlight the Openings and Endings, which are excellent songs, especially the first Opening and the first Ending. They are truly songs to listen to on repeat for a long time! Conclusion: If you're looking for an anime with cool characters, mystery, investigation with a hint of romance, and a very well-constructed and written plot, you'll definitely love this work! Just don't expect a series where absolutely all mysteries are interconnected and all subplots are relevant to the main plot, that said.. I highly recommend it and I'm looking forward to a future continuation.

Kusuriya has a solid start, but it loses itself halfway through, when both character development and plot progression come to a halt. The show has some elements of a historical drama and of romance, but it focuses mostly on the genre of mystery. Regarding drama and romance: the show is not great, as the personality of the protagonist doesn't suit the genres well, because she is content by just being left alone and she is quite unemotional as well (both genres prefer emotional protagonists who want to have strong connections), and this has the effect that the show lacks a bit in both stakes and hooks for the viewers. Regarding the mysteries: they work well during the first half of the show, but they get overly complex, and many are even outside of the mc's area of knowledge; nevertheless, she still manages to always gets them right first try without putting in much of any effort - similar to a Mary sue tbh, although less egregious. As the show progresses, the mc goes from an intelligent person with mastery over a single subject to a genius that can do almost anything because the plot says so. Not only that, but the story gets more and more nonsensical as it goes on: by the second arc, the characters' reactions are not appropriate to what's happening around them, it seems people in this world don’t really care, not even they are engaged in what’s going on, much less the viewers. Another negative is an almost 9 minutes flashback during an episode near the ending of the series, which is used to tell a badly written tragedy as the backstory of a side character. This all would've been much better if this subplot was left for the viewers to figure it out themselves imo, as the sequence as is ends up really disappointing; and less is more after all. My review has been mostly negative so far, but the mysteries, romance and drama all work to some degree; the production is good and the characters start off as interesting and charismatic people. The problem is that there is no progress, no evolution. As the series goes on, the plot remains basically the same and almost nothing changes and no one evolves; they all just devolve. And, by the end, I disliked the entire cast and didn’t care about anything happening on screen. Overall, I can’t recommend watching Kusuriya – it isn’t bad, but it just doesn’t deliver often.

TL;DR: Not worth your time if you care about the existence of a plot and of at least a decent or bland protagonist (she really is really bad as a character, especially in a leading role), not to mention the many inconsistencies and bs that happens throughout the anime that you are supposed to just "consoom" and not question in order to believe the possibility of this plot actually working. I would say that at least it doesn't promote degeneracy and immorality, but there are at least 2 plot threads about buying a woman (courtesan) because the characters are in love with them and they wish to save and marry them for whatever price they have to pay, as much and unaffordable as they may be. So yea, it's a borderline 5/10, close to a 4. This anime is really impressive with what it manages to make the casual watchers accept in terms of plot convenience and qualities of the protagonist without batting an eye. I'll talk about them when the time comes, but for now, I just want to applaud this anime for the many times it made me scream at it's stupidity which almost never gets explained, and I sure as hell can't recall many times watching anime/reading manga when I reacted the way I did while watching this, so it has my praise for that and also for the fact that it reveals what "modern audiences" like (actually love and say is the best in terms of story/characters) these days. It's pretty sad to see how you can't find anything new in the anime space that really has something to teach you in terms of morals, character and personality traits which are shown through complex and deep character and dialogue, and how nobody cares about any of this and just mindlessly give perfect score to anything with good animation and original (in the anime space) premise, but this is just how it is, I guess, at least there are still plenty of old anime and manga that do that. Not to be misunderstood though, the problem is that close to 100% of anime's these days are feel good/escape fantasies and close to 0% of them aren't about and made with the aforementioned thought in the creators mind, the balance being completely in favor of one over the other. Well, on with the review of this sad, aimless and pointless piece of writing. Setting/Animation The story takes place a few hundred years ago in China. I know close to nothing about those times and like you see, even the time period this takes place in. And good thing the story doesn't try to explain ANYTHING regarding this time period, you either watch it without the knowledge, or are/were interested enough in it in order to learn about it on your own. At least I wouldn't say you need it in order to appreciate the "masterfully crafted" story and protagonist. While I can excuse anime and manga that fully use their japanese influence, at least in that case it is clear that it's something made for the audience in your own country. In this case, it isn't. Maybe you can argue that they are taught about old China in school, but it doesn't seem like a good enough argument to have such a setting and explain nothing about it (and please no "read the manga bro", this is the anime's job and this is what I critique here and it still falls on it to do so as it's a niche story context for an anime/manga/LN, it's just like making a story about cloth making or sports and watching it without being given any information about what these imply; and this applies to every complaint that I have that could be attributed to the historical context). Moving on from that, it's an interesting setting that is highlighted by the production value, the backgrounds are stunning, full of detail and color which was the best part of this anime and deserves every praise that it gets for that. Too bad a STORY needs a good STORY and CHARACTERS (and dialogue), regardless if it's an anime, manga, book, movie, or whatever, so this doesn't really change the final score. Story It is completely aimless for most of the anime, by the end of it you have only a vague idea about what it wants to do with it and this is what it manages to do in 24 episodes. The protag gets kidnapped, unquestionably and calmly starts to work as a maid, after a while, she loudly talks about what she thinks of the mystery in the imperial court and gets heard by someone important as a plot convenience (both the thinking out loud and being heard) in order for her to be noticed by people in a higher position for which she soon begins to work (again, without caring in the least about it). After that, you have mystery of the week for pretty much the whole season, with a few exceptions, in 24 episodes barely having any plot progression. Before starting with the complaints about the story, I'll have to praise the fact that, while not all, there were a few mysteries that were used as foreshadowing for a plot thread that followed later in the season (some of them were probably retconed, but at least the mangaka didn't forget about them). This feels like a sanitized chinese TV drama made for kids, without any real stakes, where you know that the few important characters will live whatever happens and the drama is kept on an episodic basis, nothing being built up with it (except in that one exception) and there is no indication that it happens, even if it will happen later on. First of all, why in the name of hell does the imperial court use/buy slaves (maids) from goddamn thugs, without questioning where they got them from and even if they want to do so. Our protag is literally kidnapped and put to work as a maid, no questions asked. It would make some sense if we saw that the court is made of evil people that mistreat their employees, but beside the backstabbing that happens in almost every episode, those with actual power seem like good enough people that wouldn't accept using slaves as workers. And even then, we would still need an explanation for this and how often it happens. Good thing the anime doesn't care about that and even by the last episode (and months later) this still bothered me. Then there is the poisoning mysteries which seem to happens so goddamn often that I actually doubt that those in power shouldn't and wouldn't intervene somehow, it seems like their whole estate could be in danger any day from spies or simply assholes, yet these cases are just hidden and forgotten. Again, might be a cultural/real aspect, here moreso than in other cases, but still feels strange after so many revealed cases on how they find and hire all these snakes. Maybe I overestimate the people of those times, but so be it. Also, it looks like she can send letters outside the estate AND temporarily visit her home, even though she was kidnapped and was put to work in an unknown place. But it looks like she still has plenty of freedom, for some reason. And again, no one thought about explaining what happens and why, you just have to go along with it, especially with the protags range of expertise (about which I'll talk plenty later). This world simply has no rules, you just have to go along with the writing decisions and turn your brain off to any potential critique you may have. Not me though, as a living, breathing, thinking human being, I see the sloppiness of the writing and sure as hell won't miss to critique it especially when it leaves such huge plot holes in the story. Then finally, she gets home, almost a year after being kidnapped and never heard of again by her close ones.While some friends/coworkers showed some emotion to finally seeing her back, her father didn't bat an eye to seeing her alive after having no idea what happened to her for so many months. Seems like the apathy runs in the family, I guess, since she ain't any better with her emotional responses throughout the anime. The mysteries in themselves are quite questionable too. While they may be interesting in themselves, not only do they feel pointless , but they also get resolved in a single episode, ALWAYS by our protagonist, because no o…

I tried, honestly i tried more than once to like this anime. Unfortunately, I hated this. And I was so hyped for this anime, what a turnoff. The show is called "Apothecary Diaries", she learned from her father how to practice, worked as an apothecary, so you would assume this show is about her as an apothecary, right? Wrong! She starts to solve misteries like scooby because people thinks she is smart. What that has to do with apothecary? Nothing. And everything and everyone just goes along. Why would a high patent noble call an apothecary everytime he has an issue? Is he dumb? No, it's because he likes her. The thing that irritates me the most is that this show tries to be many things, but actually is none. Nothing sticks, nothing standsout, the story never evolves. I finished the season 1 and started season 2 only to realize it's never gonna make sense, and it's never gonna be anything more than someone being poisoned, concubines fighting, and something involving the courtesans... That being said, you might like for the historical, or for the investigations. But I've seen better anime with lower scores than this.

This review contains spoilers. UPDATED VERSION (7/8/2024) This is a review ONLY for the first season. I have not watched the second season. Kusuriya no Hitorigoto, also known as The Apothecary Diaries, is an anime that passed under the shadow of Sousou no Frieren due to the gigantic popularity that the latter achieved during its time; but, despite this, it achieved some fame and renown in the community for its ideas and change in an ocean of isekai anime, shounen and action flicks with exhilarating battles. It is without a doubt that The Apothecary Diaries drank a lot from the fame of Sousou no Frieren, mainly because of the demographic to which these two shows are addressed, but also because of certain similarities in some genres or cast of characters; I bet that if I were to make a Venn diagram a large part of the audience of SnF would overlap with that of Kusuriya no Hitorigoto, I would not find it strange. So, it doesn't strike me as odd that, like Sousou no Frieren, The Apothecary Diaries didn't strike me as a big deal, in fact, I could say that I didnt like it. And it's sad, because Kusuriya no Hitorigoto had so much potential to become a truly memorable and captivating show, but it falls apart due to its own flaws. Lakan and Fengxian's story is probably my favourite part of the show, but even that is pretty defectuous and plagued by a somewhat clumsy execution with an uneventful conclusion. The design of the environments and characters is adequate, they are often appropriate and characteristic of the era in which The Apothecary Diaries is inspired; you can easily differentiate between concubines of a high caliber and those that are of a lower level. A personal favorite of mine is the scene where the mysterious concubine is seen dancing with the moon from behind; she could be seen engaging in an ethereal and almost ghostly dance, something that added to her mysticism and the mystery surrounding her. Although their personalities and identities are nothing to highlight they are superficially pretty and Kusuriya no Hitorigoto tries to make use of various artistic styles to accentuate comedic or emotional scenes; the animation is decent enough to deliver, it's not particularly special or distinctive with the exception of Lakan's story with Fengxian, which is stylistically notable and both Lakan and Fengxian's seiyuus did a good job in capturing the tone of the scenes. The overall design and stylistic choices are probably the best part of this show and they usually are pretty neat. The stories presented in Kusuriya no Hitorigoto are okay, often describing emotional stories in the form of mini-arcs, a la Violet Evergarden, mainly with events mostly caused by the circumstances surrounding the participants of these situations; their effectiveness vary, and immersion isn't the strongest, but they are just okay. A very high-tier concubine who in order to meet her youth love she sells herself at a lower price, the poisoning of multiple people in the temple, a substance which is spread throughout the kingdom that is actually poisonous—which was ignorantly used to beautify—and which was the main cause of one of the concubines' discomfort, something that makes the patient enter into a relationship with Maomao, because the latter (of course) is the one who discovered that this was actually a potent poisonous substance and it is from this discovery that it stops being used in the palace, and so on; all of these stories are fine, but they are ruined by the constant urge to include Maomao in every single situation or else it could not be solved: Maomao is the one who uncovers a conspiracy in the kingdom, Maomao is the one who discovers the truth of the double suicide, Maomao changes Jinshi forever, Maomao is the one who behind the scenes managed the circumstances of the girl who wanted to meet her love again, and so on, the author feels the need to insert her in every moment, even in those that should not concern her, so that most of the cases would remain unsolved if it were not for the participation of the apothecary, directly or indirectly; to this show's detriment, many acts in the show began to be very predictable when you know The Apothecary Diaries' usual shenanigans and patterns—a mystery show becomes predictable. Lakan and Fengxian comes close to being a well-knit story, but it falls apart due to strange characterization, forced melodrama, weird choices and inadequate dialogue. I'll talk about that later on; but remember this. The dialogue is decent, not anything to highlight; however, Kusuriya no Hitorigoto lacks interesting interactions, valuable introspection or well put together comedy (KnH usually relies upon moeblob and repetitive gags for comedy) and philosophy; although these shortcomings will probably not greatly affect the viewer's experience or the quality of Kusuriya no Hitorigoto in normal scenes, it is certainly something to know before watching this show. Overall it is usually pretty average and unremarkable, this is a problem in specific parts that require the viewer's immersion; this work tries to cover up its own lack of finesse in emotional scenes with music that is intended to evoke feelings towards the viewer; but these scenes are usually not a big enough deal, are very predictable or do not have a remarkable construction, therefore they tend to come off as flat and melodramatic as a whole. Soundtracks in anime are often used as a supplement to amplify or distort certain emotions, like End of Evangelion using the upbeat Komm Susser Todd or Ghost in the Shell with its meditative sound to amplify Motoko Kusanagi's ascension; but if you look beyond the dramatic and loud instrumentals of Kusuriya no Hitorigoto you can witness how all of the story, before accompanied by a fitting soundtrack, often becomes somewhat ridiculous and embarrassing. Does this show seriously wants me to feel concern or pity for a character as utterly flat and inhumanly perfect as Maomao is? Or do I have to feel pity for NPC number 342 or sympathize with them? That's the message I get when I get this music playing in the background. The soundtrack can work but it's not used in a well-executed or nicely knitted emotional story with captivating dialogue, so here as a whole it doesn't usually hit in the best way and comes off as out of place; both just crumble down because of the inefficacy of each other. People complain about Kimetsu no Yaiba and Tanjiro as a character, with justification since the world essentially revolves around him; there is no change in the natural order until Tanjiro arrives and hunts down several incredibly powerful demons with asspulls and plot conveniences. Until he arrived the demons had the upper hand over the human race by far and for YEARS not a single demon of the high moons died until the protagonist arrives and changes absolutely everything for the better, doing the most incredible feats in a very short period of time; so much so that the pillars are seen as inept next to him and in a time frame where his victory doesn't really feel rewarding. Tanjiro possesses no disadvantages that weaken him to any substantial extent, and those that do arise are solved by convenience, plot devices or other characters, not valuable development or long-term transformations. In Kusuriya no Hitorigoto until Miss "I'm not good at makeup, *proceeds to do modern makeup at a professional level*" Maomao arrives, tragedies continue to freely happen; she appears and everything begins to control itself in a radically better way. Necessarily for Maomao to succeed and excel everyone else must be reduced to ineptitude, extreme close-mind, idiocy, evilness or to the most bland characterization in anime history—hell, it even makes Lakan betray his own characterization. This goes to an absurd point where I cannot simply suspend my disbelief and let it slide that EVERYONE except for Maomao are seduced by Jinshi and her predatory beauty and that EVERYONE ex…

Maomao is just female Ayanokoji. She's the perfect, all knowing girl that every handsome man with 2 eyes and a dick wants. Pro's - Show is highly entertaining, enjoy watching it while eating lunch and just turn off your brain and enjoy. Con's - Characters. Maomao is perfect in all the bad ways. It seems to me Maomao is written to be a sort of female-self insert. She is the solution to EVERY problem in the show, everyone else is just her supporting cast, she isn't royalty but she is 100% the centre of the palace. Everyone is wrong except for Maomao and everyone is stupid except for Maomao. It's almost comedic how unbelievably incompetent every other character in the show is. It makes NO sense how Maomao is the all knowing deity that has the answer to every problem, how does a teenager that worked as a gardener with her grandpa know more about sex than the Ballond'or league concubines? Episode 16 shows this best. Maomao is tasked with solving a puzzle left by a master craftsman, which involves a locked cabinet that cannot be forced open without destroying the contents. The solution has NOTHING to do with alchemy, poison or anything an apothecary would know, yet Maomao just knows how the solution of the top of her head. Jinshi (The male heroine) is so hopelessly obsessed with maomao you'd think she is genuinely a magician. I understand why this is the case, girls like hot guys, girls want hot guys all over them. His entire character is handsome man wants to fuck Maomao, he only exists to be Maomao's love interest. (These are genuinely the only two characters I remember from this show rest are so irrelevant I don't know their names) - Story. What is this show even about? It's more of a slice of life than anything. So much is said and done but in the end.. nothing really happens. Every arc is just the new thing Maomao uses her record breaking 500 IQ to fix. - Setting. It's very unique but still falls flat, we aren't shown much of the inner palace dynamics and drama beyond info dumping. It's just Maomao's world everyone else only lives in it. Don't watch this if you want to think about what you're watching, it's just tiktok in the form of anime.

Half of the first season is good. As the chapters progress, the story becomes increasingly worse. The characters don't feel real, they have so many changes in personalities and appearances. It has many nefarious characters and ridiculous stories as if they were taken from science fiction and with zero realism. The detective aspect is the worst, and the anime focuses entirely on the pleasure house, and having servants as slaves, the hierarchy is horrible. and there comes a point where the anime has no meaning, but rather focuses on everyday and boring things. I'm not going to deny that I enjoyed watching it and it has great quality in the animation and sound, but we keep going more and more of the same and it ends up boring.

I watched this show while it was airing and found myself drawn in by its strong character writing, eye-catching visuals, and subdued humor (a far cry from the over-the-top gags I often expect from anime). As the episodes went on, the mysteries got deeper, and I began to appreciate the intentional shot compositions, the fun callbacks, and even the slick opening themes. There was a lot to love about Kusuriya no Hitorigoto. I don’t want to overhype this show, because it’s not for everyone. But for me, it hit all the right spots and quickly became a personal favorite. I highly recommend giving this show a try.

Positive: The show's the theme(clothes, building design,...), art (aesthetic characters) and sound design are on point The plot is coherent, good pace, well connected from the beginning to the end. Negative: The characters are not well-written. Every single side-character in the show is just there to support the main character. They exist to create problems and ONLY main character seems to have ability to solve it. The flaws of main character have no or little impact on her surrounding. For example: Despite being an unattractive girl she still gets the most attention from the most attractive male in the show and there's no punishment for her being unattractive. So what's the purpose of embedding this flaw into the character ? Being cynical yet everyone likes her? No capability to feel love for what ? Conclusion: the show is meant for young audience with good vibe and mysteries solving. However the second or most important factor to a series is the characters and it's not up to level of other well-made aspects of the show. Rating: 7.5/10.

Kusuriya no Hitorigoto is hands down one of the best anime I’ve ever seen. Boasting some of the most gorgeous character designs and visuals, as well as masterful direction. But that’s not what makes this show great. Its characters, mystery, historical setting, down to earth story and pharmaceutical aspects make it one of a kind. It’s a perfect example of simplicity being the ultimate sophistication and is rightfully highly regarded. At the end of the day, Kusuriya is very much a slow burn historical mystery anime with a lot funny character interactions. It starts slow with Maomao being thrown into life in the palace initially against her will, solving medical cases and crimes, but we quickly realise this is part of a much larger plot that ends up being grander than anyone could have imagined. The author is a master of giving audiences just enough to keep them interested, while hinting at the bigger picture. The cases Maomao solves are all really interesting for the most part and while seemingly unconnected, usually form part a bigger web of conspiracy. If you have ever seen classic detective shows, there’s a lot of similarities with Kusuriya. The way Maomao’s able to manipulate people to get the answers she needs and reverse engineer murder tactics is brilliant. You combine that with her being genuinely adorable and hilarious, and you’ve got a recipe for a great time. You can’t talk Maomao without bringing up her relationship with the male lead Jinshi. It’s one of my and many other peoples’ favourite things about the show. I LOVED their dynamic so much. It’s playful, natural and the seiyuus made every interaction feel authentic. What’s more important is that while there’s some obvious romantic tension there, at least from Jinshi’s side, it doesn’t dominate the story or dictate Maomao’s personality. She is very much her own woman, just trying to survive from day to day and learn about new medicines and poisons. It’s so rare in Shoujosei, so I have to praise it every time I see it. Making good characters first and worrying about the relationship aspect second is the way to go. As such, it makes the moments they do have together much more valuable and precious. While their relationship starts as one of boss and employee/servant, Jinshi quickly develops a tremendous amount of respect for admiration for Maomao and wants to learn as much as possible about her. It’s a really fun ride that easily cracks my top 5 ships. Just nonstop laughs and chemistry whenever they’re together. It’s not just Maomao and Jinshi though, the consorts of the rear palace, eunuchs, characters like Lakan, people back in Maomao’s hometown etc., are all so well done in this. With it being such a small setting, mainly taking place within the confines of the palace, the author is able to really flesh out a number of characters. It never feels too claustrophobic of a setting either. This world is very much alive and constantly buzzing with new rumours and goings on. I touched on it before, but the gradually unfolding mystery has to get talked about again. It really is well done. There are so many secrets behind these palace walls. Character backstories, jealousy, assassination plots, you name it. It feels like something out of a Kdrama but in the best way possible. The author manages to make you second guess and challenges your preconceived notions of the story as well. For example, there’s a major character in the final third of the season that I absolutely hated and was sure he’d committed an awful crime. But, in the second to last episode we get some information on this character that not only made me change my opinion of him, but damn near made me want to apologise for the slander I’d been writing in discussion threads. It was one of the first times I can ever recall being properly bamboozled by an author like that. By now it’s probably clear, I love the plot and historical Chinese setting here. But you can’t talk about this show without giving praise to the studio for the job they did on the production! It looks GORGEOUS. Bright, shiny, it’s just such an aesthetically pleasing show. Not a lot of action, but the animation is more than good enough and the direction is top class. The OST brings the story to life as well. A mix of ancient Chinese inspired stuff and more modern tones. Really just a cool vibe. Can’t recommend Kusuriya enough. These last 6 months we’ve been blessed with not 1, but 2 of the greatest anime of all time with Kusuriya and Frieren and it’s been an honour to watch them both. Hard to say which I enjoyed more, but they’re no doubt both must watches for any fan of the medium. Kusuriya gets 10, out of 10.

I hate to be writing yet another negative review for a widely beloved (and rated) anime. But it can’t be helped, so here I am again to tell you why the Apothecary Diaries is mid. Vague to minor spoilers ahead, so read at your own risk. My main critique of the Apothecary Diaries is its main character, MaoMao. She is often touted as a modern example of the well-written female anime character. MaoMao is clever, dedicated, curious, unapologetically blunt, class conscious, and doesn’t pander to male characters. How can there be so much good stuff that can fit into such a small frame? And yet, all of these things conceal one big, terrible flaw. If you put MaoMao in a vacuum, she would seem amazingly written. But it’s through the interactions with her world and other characters that the weaknesses come out and MaoMao reveals her Achilles heel. Simply put, she is a Mary Sue. Without going into too many spoilers, the gist of the Apothecary Diaries is that a poor pharmacist’s daughter gets suddenly kidnapped and sold to work in the concubine palace. From there, her quick thinking and skill in preparing medicine are discovered and put to use. The anime then takes on an episodic mystery format, and we’re shown case after case that MaoMao effortlessly solves with very minor hitches here and there. All of them are resolved in pretty much the episode that they are introduced. There is an exception to this though, but the problem is still largely prevalent. It gets to a point where MaoMao suddenly acquires skills completely unrelated to her medicinal expertise and starts handling other people’s jobs for them. The most egregious example of this is a side episode where MaoMao teaches experienced concubines how to do their own work despite never having a past romantic relationship. The lingering feeling is that MaoMao is so good at this, she’s also so good at that, and she can quite literally fix all of your problems. In fact, the concubine palace would probably collapse in on itself had MaoMao not been miraculously kidnapped so she could do everything. If that didn’t happen and the palace broke down anyway, she would probably still be kidnapped to rebuild the place in three days and the anime would start from there. The other issue with MaoMao is her relationship with Jinshi, the purple robed guy in the cover. There’s romance hinted between the two, but it’s completely one sided. This Jinshi guy becomes obsessed with MaoMao for no clear reason at all. And then MaoMao’s natural apathy/bluntness is used with Jinshi’s obsession as comedy. Honestly, it’s just very lazy. This dynamic is basically their entire relationship. Of course there’s probably a bit more to it than that (MaoMao reveals to Jinshi the existence of poor people), but it wasn’t really addressed aside from a few instances. There’s nothing horribly wrong with this, but it’s just staple anime tropes. Hot guy everyone wants falls for the “common girl” who doesn’t care. The anime does push some flaws onto MaoMao, but they are all surface level at best. MaoMao’s apathetic and individualistic nature doesn’t hurt her since everyone loves her anyway. MaoMao’s excessive interest in medicine is played off as a joke, and a quirk. MaoMao’s romantic bluntness doesn’t matter since Jinshi’s already obsessed with her. MaoMao’s “common girl” appearance with her freckles actually hides, arguably, the most beautiful character in the entire anime. The kidnapping that kick-started the anime could have been a chance to introduce some anxiety and fear, but both MaoMao and her father don’t even try to worry about each other. I trash on MaoMao a lot in this review, but trust me when I say that I mean it very gently. All of those other positives I mentioned about her personality are real. It’s just this one glaring weakness of hers that pulls down this anime by a lot. There were points where I just got bored of the same MaoMao solves everything storyline and had to put the anime down for a bit. The truth is, MaoMao is a fine character, but by no means groundbreaking or exceptional. This doesn’t mean the other aspects of the anime aren’t great. The soundtrack is exquisite, the voice acting good, and the animation is gorgeous. I finished the Apothecary Diaries and it didn’t feel like a chore to watch. The polished production and MaoMao’s other personality traits hide her Mary Sueness pretty well anyways. In the end, if this review is pushing MaoMao off her pedestal as the best modern female anime character, know that there’s a pillow waiting for her at the bottom. The Apothecary Diaries is still okay, and worth a watch if you can disregard everything I said (haha you read my review and I just told you to ignore it). Final Rating: 6

Apothecary Diaries presents us with a refreshing setting reminiscent of imperial China, following the story of a female apothecary. The best way to describe the show is like watching a passionate writer with many ideas throw them into a blender. Fortunately, it wasn't blended to the point of becoming slop, but it still needed work on its characters and story. Unfortunately, the focus was on pointless decorations such as a pretty male lead and good visuals. I'll get straight to the point. Apothecary Diaries is a mediocre mystery and a weak romance. The drama and comedy were at least entertaining. Fortunately, there's still a message if you can ignore its numerous issues, such as the commoner and noble dynamic and the interpersonal problems such a dynamic brings, which is the only reason i don't consider the show a waste of time. There weren't enough scenes depicting commoners suffering though. The immersion is overall okay, except for the protagonist being too scientific for the time period. Speaking of which, Maomao, is pretty entertaining. There's a problem with her though, the show relies TOO MUCH on her being Sherlock to move the story forward, to the point it's borderline lazy writing. She also has a little too much internal dialogue, not allowing viewers to think for themselves in emotional moments. The only other character that came close to being interesting was the antagonist in the later part, but the setup and payoff involving him were incredibly weird and rushed. The handsome male lead was almost fully pointless and only served to push Maomao into engaging with the plot or as the butt of jokes (at least they were funny). Everyone else don't matter as characters, and act like faceless pieces for the plot or to show the dynamic i mentioned earlier, which you'll find ironic considering the antagonist's "condition". "Should i watch this?" If you're just looking for a relaxing show to pass time, watching a cute protagonist with bittersweet themes, you'll like it. If you're looking for an engaging mystery or romance show, don't waste your time. Also, disclaimer: Don't watch it with the lens of modern day sensibilities. Remember, its setting is still similar to imperial China (as much as the protagonist's mindset is way too scientific). This means women aren't treated well, but it helps in immersion.

A good anime, but not for me. My initial statement is because I can clearly see that the anime is well produced, has a well-written story and captivating characters, but I can't like it enough. To me, it seems like an anime for a female audience, with an intelligent female character in an important position and her romantic partner being the man from the place where she works (who is always a Hollywood hunk). Anyway, overall I didn't like it very much because it's not a genre that interests me. I don't plan on watching the second season and I only watched it because it was recommended. =================================================================================================================Versão em Português===================================== Um bom anime mas não para mim. Minha frase inicial se deve pois consigo ver claramente que o anime é bem produzido, tem uma historia bem escrita e personagens cativantes porem EU não consigo gostar o suficiente, para mim parece muito que é um anime para o publico feminino, com uma personagem feminina inteligente e com um cargo importante tendo como par romântico o senhor do local em que ela trabalha (o qual é sempre um galã de hollywood). Enfim, no geral não gostei muito por que não é um gênero que me atrai interesse, não planejo ver a segunda temporada e só assisti por pura recomendação.

I finally watched the anime that almost everyone seems to praise, and I have one question: Why? What exactly did people find so captivating about it? I even went through some positive reviews, hoping to understand the hype, but honestly... I still don’t get it. Let’s break it down. Story & Plot: Mediocre at best. Sure, there are some mystery elements, but they’re executed in such a dull and uninspired way that I couldn’t bring myself to care. If you’re watching this anime for the "mysteries," trust me—there are far better options out there. The pacing is also sluggish. Maybe some people enjoy slow-burn storytelling, but for me, those 24 episodes felt like they dragged on forever. At times, it was just outright boring. Characters: Meh. Mao Mao is somewhat interesting, but nothing exceptional. Jinshi? Same thing. And the rest of the supporting cast? Generic, nothing you haven’t seen in a hundred other shows. The Good Stuff: Visually, it’s quite nice—pleasant art, solid direction. Some dialogues were engaging and even emotional. There were a few episodes that genuinely drew me in… but in the end, the whole anime felt like one massive filler arc. That’s the best way I can describe my experience. I know fans will probably just laugh this review off. Whatever. If someone can actually explain to me what makes this anime so great, I’m all ears. But as it stands, it’s just an average, forgettable series. Will I watch Season 2? Probably. My final rating for season one 5/10

The Apothecary Diaries - A masterclass at how to do a mystery-drama series, yet sprinkle in some tough thematics and establish a hidden ship within the midst. If you'd told me 6 months ago that novelist Natsu Hyuuga's Kusuriya no Hitorigoto a.k.a The Apothecary Diaries, would, like the hype that came from Sousou no Frieren a.k.a Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, come to be a strong AOTS contender, I would have chuckled it off to think that a series based on a fictional country in Imperial China during the Tang Dynasty, would be a good show and nothing more. But nope, this 2011 Syosetu work-turned-2014 LN series with 14 volumes and counting to its name, with the anime being a fraction of what the series has to offer (with the first 2 volumes adapted), it has a matching quality as that to Frieren, with both shows that started last Fall and ended in Winter this season, it truly is experiencing yet another golden era moment for anime in achievements with the two juggernauts pitting each other in the heated battle as outstanding AOTS shows back-to-back. And what a fight it was, dubbed the battle of the Maomao-Frieren female GOATs. Much like the series' namesake: The Pharmacy's Monologue, or even better, the Apothecary's Soliloquy, a lot of people easily get both terms mistaken and/or mixed up. Simply put, a monologue refers to a long speech delivered by a character during a conversation, while a soliloquy refers to the act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of listeners and a formal speech is made directly to an audience. And that is the result of one young girl, who found herself within a mix of proportions gone wrong: Maomao, who was mysteriously kidnapped by bandits and sold to the Imperial Palace as a servant. The said girl was previously working as an apothecary (modern-day pharmacist/chemist) in the one of the brothel houses of its capital's red-light district and courtesans, and her wanting to keep a low-profile within the 4 walls of the Imperial Palace by looking like an average low-class family's daughter, while retaining her curious and eccentric personality to work there for all her life without none the wiser. But as rumours within the Imperial Palace goes, when one is heard, the news travels far, and this got to Maomao's ears, concerning the Imperial Emperor and his children in a grave matter of life and death. Using her trusty apothecary skills, Maomao may have been the servant to root out the cause and effect, but instead of pushing her into the background and continuing her anonymous approach, she became the opposite instead: the forefront of scrutiny, heralded by an influential eunuch who singles her out, sentencing her to...more work, but this time, within the 4 walls of the royal court. It's easy to see why Maomao absolutely dominates the MC objective, and with literate perfection to the detail that it makes her one of the best girls of the Fall 2023 season alongside the immortal elven mage Frieren herself. Both girls are rooted in their respective philosophies; done things which seemingly would be normal in the face of the public eye that will change circumstances in the future; have their respective idiosyncrasies that makes them fan-favourite characters in the long run; and the most important of all: make changes within the subtlety of ways, not to impress anyone but themselves and the closest people that would be charmed by their ways. Maomao is very lovable due to her cat-like cunning ways of handling against the people who challenges her in terms of the mystery cases (hence her Chinese name, which translates to Cat-Cat). Moreover, her passion for all things poison, makes her a valuable entity within the Imperial Palace as an unofficial forensic pathologist within the palace intrigue of medicine, plants and even basic chemistry, leading to her even serving as a lady-in-waiting for the Imperial Emperor's concubines. Also, like her low-profile status, Maomao is a very beautiful girl when her facial facade breaks, and intentionally chooses to be ugly to maintain her status quo against everyone people from her fellow courtesans at the Verdigris House, to the Imperial Palace's rear palace, where she faces her biggest pet peeve. And that Pet Peeve is Jinshi, the authoritative eunuch who managed to scout Maomao for her effort in breaking the curse of the Imperial Emperor and his children. He is the epitome of a dashing white knight for all of the servants, though this will not work in Maomao as she experiences perception so mind-numbing that it causes her to shiver and shun like an angry purring cat when Jinshi takes into her affection, often showing him her plain disgust and resent for involving her in the palace intrigue. But still, as a romance connoisseur, you know it when you see a ship sailing, and be it as it may that both him and Maomao's ranks within the rear palace is quite the divide, but their interactions sell and sail their relationship as it is: throughout all of the testings from self-infliction of poison and medicine from Maomao, to Jinshi's definite closeness to his most favorited guinea pig, these two working alongside one another to uncover the Imperial Palace's mysteries hook, line, and sinker, makes the duo one of, if not the strongest unofficial couples that I've ever seen in anime. But Maomao is not done yet, oh no. Beneath both her and Jinshi, lies a cast of colourful characters (once again, like Frieren) that bolsters their reputation together as a master-and-apprentice team that cannot be defiled: - The close servant of Jinshi: Gaoshun, as well as the Imperial Emperor's concubines: Gyokuyo, Lihua, Lishu, Ah-Duo, with their respective servants. To Maomao, there is definitely a love-hate relationship between those who support and/or despise her for her facade of a normalcy, one that's not willing to be underestimated. And through it all, Gaoshun is quite the reliable assistant to Jinshi, as well as the concubines, of which Gyokuyo lies closest to Maomao. - The friends close and distant: from Maomao's working place of the Verdigris House of the famed "Three Princesses" of Meimei, Pairin and Joka, to the friends that become part-and-parcel of her life: Xiaolan and Lihaku. I would say that this group of people are what you consider the jokers, yet act their part when friendship comes into play as a plot device to shield the illusive apothecary out of her dilemmas. - The people whom Maomao call her own family: part-obvious, part-hidden. The obvious with said girl living with her adopted father Luomen, who was a former court doctor and was banished from the rear palace after a series of mistakes, he is the only person whom Maomao calls family. The hidden: Lakan and Fengxian, which their secrets open up only resentment for the smart and perceptive girl, that's all I'll say for mild spoilers. Much ado to VA Atsumi Tanezaki (Spy x Family's Anya Forger) doing an outstanding job for Frieren's character, this can be applied to VA Aoi Yuuki for her role as Maomao, the titular girl who seems like a careless poison lover externally but hides her secrets well internally. Man, nothing gets me more pumped by the Best Girl battle between Maomao and Frieren for 6 months straight from Fall 2023 to Winter this year, but the majority will say that Maomao tickles their fancies more due to her character distinguishment, and they're not wrong at all. Maomao is an incredibly talented young woman who does the bare minimum, and like a well-framed colleague, documents everything and leaves no traces behind if there's any situation or circumstance that could come backfiring at her. She's all about the fine details, and nothing more, leading up to an excellent VA job well done. If the superb voice casting doesn't sell you on why this show is a MUST-watch, the production is simply stunning...and I know I'm going to sound like a parrot, but the animation even rivals that of Frieren as the clear two best shows of …

Though decent at times, this anime suffers from what I will dub the "isekai self insert". The MC has the mind of a 21st century secular rationalist, and given that you could say this show has the isekai property of someone from another world, because her mind is from another world. We get a character who uses the scientific method, quickly dismisses any spiritual or superstitious attitudes, and even talks about heritability in the first couple of episodes (something that Gregor Mendel discovered in 1865, AFTER Darwin). Even pre scientific method people like Isaac Newton had quirky tendencies like alchemy, but not our MC! But like many of these "isekai self insert" shows, god forbid they have any social critiques of their world. No questioning why the emperor gets all these women, or why you can lose your head at the slightest transgression. That's just how it works, and actually it's a natural phenomenon, and I won't use my scientific inquiry to break it down. But if I catch you thinking a spirit is real I'll remind you how silly and naïve you are, because I'm a scientist and I'm rational! This show masquerades as a historical fiction set in ancient china, but is actually a self insert power fantasy where we get to show off how much more knowledgeable we are from people of the past. Again, this is a prevalent trend and isn't a death sentence, but this show has no business being a currently ranked top 20 anime. It really is a shame where you can spend all this time creating an interesting world, characters, and political setup, but when it's time to create a vehicle to view said world, mail it in and create a 21st century self insert with 21st century sensibilities. It's an average run of the mill show, and therefore I will give it an average rating. 5/10

Having grown up in a household filled with family that loved Chinese period dramas, they were virtually inescapable for me. Someone in my family was always watching the hottest new period drama, and eventually, I also began to watch them with my family, and I got hooked on them quickly. At this point, the tropes in those shows were all too familiar to me, so count me surprised when I watched *The Apothecary Diaries*, and almost immediately thought of what a breath of fresh air this was. It has probably the best female character of 2023, and while it definitely was overshadowed by a certain other heavy hitter, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, this anime still had enough going for it to merit a lot of discourse in the anime community, and in my opinion stood up to its opponents in both the Fall 2023 and Winter 2024 anime seasons very well. This series has very riveting mystery elements, while staying light-hearted and comedic at times, and all encapsulated in a fictional inner palace, modelled after a Chinese setting. As I have mentioned earlier, I am no stranger to Chinese period dramas, and I always find it interesting how gender is portrayed in these shows. In the older Chinese dynasties, the Imperial Chinese harem system was very prevalent and common, and the inner palace, babymaking and the objectifying of women, with them being handled and passed around as gifts, was what life was dedicated to. For that reason, I find it intriguing that in this portrayal of the inner palace, we see the perspectives of women with agency, solving problems, being involved in the politics of the palace, all in quite a thoughtful way. Also, the existence of a particular character in the show as a test of loyalty to the emperor struck me as a different twist to the whole system, a unique take on this fictional Chinese setting. The mystery elements were done well, as it was interesting to see how this series introduced a lot of mysteries, but didn’t outright provide the answer, or culprit to the viewer. We get the reasons why people were caught up in issues, or in some cases, how they ended up dying, but the viewer gets left questioning whether or not the intuition of the main character was actually accurate. Things are not answered right away, but eventually, the series calls back to those mysteries that the viewer might have forgotten, and weaves them together for a great pay-off. Some of the episodes, especially in the early parts of the second half, were not as interesting when I first watched it, but knowing how it set up for the pay-off, in hindsight, it did made a lot more sense, and that indeed, every moment, even the duller ones, had some effect on the bigger picture. The main protagonist, Maomao, makes the entire show for me, and was the main reason I enjoyed this anime as much as I did. She was such an endearing, captivating main character that had a really dynamic personality that could range from her not giving a bother about getting kidnapped at the start of the anime, yet throughout the series, really investing herself in the mysteries of the palace setting, and through her endless thirst for knowledge (and poison), we got to see her go to great lengths to achieve whatever goal she set out to achieve on any given day. Her voice actor, Aoi Yuuki, performed spectacularly to bring out the varied tones to match up with her multi-faceted personality, and she really made Maomao come to life in the best way possible. She reminds me of other protagonists I have seen in Chinese period dramas, but her character writing was more unique compared to any others, and I am glad she had her own ambitions she was able to achieve, rather than just being a tool for the emperor or her superiors. All the other characters also shined in their own ways, and even the ones that only show up briefly, end up being memorable. The art and animation in this show was not flashy, but still very highly detailed and intricate to really flesh out the setting. The character designs were varied and were unique while staying true to its Chinese identity. The more subtle movements were handled with care, such as the little mannerisms that befit the Chinese setting. The covering of the mouth with their sleeves as they enter a room, and how the characters eat their food are just some examples of that in action. Little details like that really impressed me, as it showed how much care the staff put in to making sure they stayed true to Chinese culture. The music further elevated the material to new heights. Sure, the overall visual quality isn’t at a level of the powerhouse shounen anime, but with the resources the staff had at their disposal, they did a phenomenal job. Overall, this was a fantastic series, along with one of the best main female characters I have seen in a while. While not every mystery or every episode hit as deeply, whenever they did, it was excellent, riveting, even bone-chilling. If you have any interest in Chinese dramas, or even if you don’t, there will likely be something you will find that intrigues you. With a Season 2 confirmed for next year, I couldn’t be more excited to see more of this wonderful series.

How overhyped this was has definitely skewed my perception, I was expecting a heavy romance set in the imperial court with lots of drama - instead I got a per episode comedy with a side of ham fisted story that was not interesting in the slightest. Oh and a whole lot of exposition! My main gripe is just how much of a mary-sue/self inset the mc is. Her apothecary skills make sense as she was raised with one,, and her detective skills could be plausible if it wasn't for how the entire world revolved around her. Everyone else is made out to be a bumbling idiot who either loves her or genuinely wants her to die. it's just not believable and contributed to many moments that had me rolling my eyes with how out of place they were. She's so nonchalant and cool, she's not like other girls - but she's also scary! Girl please you cannot tell me anyone is threatened by her emo outbursts. I feel like her personality could work if she just wasn't surrounded by the most two dimensional characters in existence, there is no care put into any of the other characters which makes her stick out horribly. The ML is hardly a ML, I don't get how this is classed as a romance besides the whole 'everyone loves me but her' trope, there just isn't anything there other than comedic relief and about two serious moments that would come off as romantic if it wasn't for her 'cool girl' syndrome - which ultimately leaves me questioning if there's any romantic connection between the two. It simply comes across as her seeing him as a mild friend/someone to put up with, and him clearly needing therapy to get over his denial of seeing her as a person he's pining for. The show seems like it's trying to follow a structure similar to Violet Evergarden, a mystery where the character goes from place to place solving problems and growing as a person from those experiences; yet unlike violet evergaraden there never any growth - we're simply given slivers of information about the main characters past through exposition that is barely related to what she's doing in the episode, then its all revealed in like the final episode through a flashback that isn't even about her really. Its a hodgepodge of tangentially related stories thrown at the viewer without a care in the world for actual engaging storytelling. Really unsure as to who the target audience for this show is as nothing is focused on, it's instead an amalgamation of half baked tropes thrown together and spat back out. I did watch all of it though and didn't think about dropping it, so as a piece of media to throw on when eating breakfast - it served it's purpose there.