The pharmacist’s diaries was not only my favorite anime of 2024, but my favorite show altogether. Based on the light novel series of the same name, The pharmacist’s diaries is a perfect blend of medical procedural and period drama, sprinkled with a delicious slow-burn romance between one of my favorite tropes: grumpy girl and flirty guy. It’s so damn good, and each episode immediately had me wanting to queue up for the next one.
Fortunately, the second season starts this week. Unfortunately, because the episodes come out weekly, I can’t binge them all at once. But if you not If you’ve already seen this anime, you have the perfect opportunity to catch up on all of Season 1 and have a nice backlog of Season 2 to dig into. I’m jealous of you!
(Ed. remark: This essay contains some setup spoilers for The pharmacist’s diaries.)
The pharmacist’s diaries Set in a fictional country that is actually patterned after Tang Dynasty China, it follows Maomao, the adopted daughter of a pharmacist, who herself studies medicine. She works in the red light district and often helps courtesans and other brothel staff. After being kidnapped, she is sold into indentured servitude and sent to work in the rear palace of the Imperial Palace, where the Emperor’s concubines live. At first she keeps her head down, but when a medical mystery arises, Maomao can’t help but stick her nose in to solve it. She attracts the attention of Jinshi, the eunuch in charge of the rear palace administration, who eventually promotes her to lady-in-waiting and taste tester to one of the emperor’s favorite concubines.
For the most part, the show gets a new mystery every episode, usually focusing on some sort of medical illness or mysterious death. Being a period piece, these medical puzzles often have compelling twists that modern viewers might not expect (for example, Maomao uses cocoa beans to brew a powerful aphrodisiac, which would certainly work for those who haven’t tried chocolate before). The mysteries themselves are intriguing, and Maomao’s specific approach – morbid fascination combined with dogged curiosity – makes them even more fun. She is eager to experiment with toxins and examine sick patients and dead bodies.
The medical mysteries slowly grow into political intrigues. Through Maomao we learn more about the drama unfolding in the emperor’s palace, from the rivalry between concubines to military geniuses with secret motives. Those intrigues extend beyond the palace and into Maomao’s past life, especially after she learns of her father’s secret connection to court life. It’s the kind of plot that comes to a shocking head in the first season’s finale, but looking back, it’s clear that it was all seeded from the beginning. All these seemingly disconnected medical puzzles weave together into larger mysteries and political conspiracies.
But what makes it real The pharmacist’s diaries that’s how great Maomao itself is. She prefers not get caught up in legal politics, thank you very much. But nothing gets her going like a good medical mystery and a chance to test out new drugs and poisons. She swoons at the prospect of getting her hands on rare healing ingredients, but becomes angry when the concubines try to dress her. She is also incredibly intelligent, and when not being bombarded with poisons and remedies, she coolly analyzes her surroundings and calculates her next move.
Maomao is a gem of a character, and because she is so distinctive, her relationships with the other characters shine even more. She talks candidly to the concubines about their lives (and even has a sex talk with two of the newer ones). She understands that the Imperial Palace’s assignment means keeping her head down and respecting her superiors, but at the same time she is not afraid of them when it comes to expressing or defending her findings.
But the juiciest relationship is with Jinshi, who is just as cunning as she is. He has a flirtatious and carefree attitude, but in reality he carefully schemes behind the scenes to advance his own position and balance a number of secret tasks. He is also completely in love with Maomao, even though she thinks he is crazy. But every time she looks at him, he melts a little. They have great jokes and are both hiding bigger secrets from each other.
The first season ended with some of those big secrets coming to light, creating a rich foundation to dig into for the next season. The pharmacist’s diaries is the type of show where each episode answers a bunch of questions and then immediately asks a dozen more — making it the type of show that had me eagerly clicking “next episode” the moment the credits rolled. And there’s no better time to watch it than now, with a whole season to dive into and more coming out week by week. I can’t wait for more medical mysteries, more political intrigue, and more Maomao.
The pharmacist’s diaries is available to stream on Crunchyroll. The first episode of season 2 is out now and new episodes premiere Friday.