Apothecary Diaries Tops Anime Category In Popular Japanese Streaming Service

The Apothecary Diaries was maybe an unexpected hit to many. Despite the novel already being able to gather a fair number of fans — it is usually featured in the best-selling novel ranks every year, and it topped the anual Oricon chart this year), — a good portion of international anime fans are more into not only manga, but shounen manga. So this was a hit some might not have seen coming.

But Apothecary Diaries was, at least in Japan, one of the most-awaited anime adaptations (it ranked 9th in AnimeJapan’s “Most Wanted Anime Adaptation” poll in 2019). The manga adaptation of the original novel has also been highly praised by critics.

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Regardless of what people were expecting, The Apothecary Diaries was one of the hits in both Fall 2023 and Winter 2024 seasons, running for two consecutive cours. It might have gathered a bit more attention in Japan than internationally, because popular streaming U-Next just revealed it topped its anime category in 2024, beating series like Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (3rd place) and even the insanely famous Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Hashira Training Arc (2nd place, but it’s important to notice some viewers might prefer the TV experience over streaming).

What Is The U-Next Streaming Service

U-Next hasn’t shared any numbers regarding how many times each series was streamed, but it is an impressive result anyway. For those not familiar, U-Next is one of the largest streaming platforms in Japan, with over 4.3 million subscribers. They offer not only audiovisual content, but also e-books. Due to licensing agreements, access and content might be geo-blocked, but users find ways to sign up anyway. Check the 10 most streamed anime on U-Next this year:

1. The Apothecary Diaries
2. Demon Slayer: Hashira Training Arc
3. Frieren
4. Mashle: Magic and Muscles
5. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime S3
6. Oshi no Ko S2
7. Kaiju No. 8
8. Jujutsu Kaisen S2
9. Delicious in Dungeon
10. My Hero Academia

The Apothecary Diaries Premise

The story has a historical setting, but does not try to be historically accurate when it comes to characters and events. It is inspired by Tang dynasty China (618-907 AD) and the story centers around a girl called Maomao. She is, as the title suggests, an apothecary. Before being kidnapped and sold to the Imperial Palace, she used to work in a red-light district.

Now living as a servant, she spends a few years unnoticed by bigger players, at least until many imperial children and concubines suddenly start falling ill — using her apothecary skills, she is able to solve the mystery. After that, she is constantly requested to solve many other mysteries and conspiracies.

The second season will likely adapt volumes 3-4, starting from where the first one left. Akinori Fudesaka is in charge of the new season direction, and this is his directional debut. The previous one was directed by Norihiro Naganuma, who is still part of the staff, but as the head writer (he wrote and directed the first season). Studios Toho Animation Studio and OLM animate the series. The series will return with 24 episodes and is scheduled to debut on January 10, 2025.

Source: OtakuUSAMagazine

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The Apothecary Diaries

Cast

Emi Lo , Kaiji Tang , Alex Horn , Molly Zhang , Jim Foronda , Trina Nishimura

Creator

Natsu Hyūga