by The anime “Hitorigoto of the Pharmacist” is a mystery-solving inner shrine entertainment broadcast in two consecutive seasons since October 2023. The original work is a novel by Natsu Hinata of the same name, which Hero Bunko is publishing. Shogakukan and Square Enix have adapted it into comics. This famous work has sold over 33 million copies in total.
The anime “Hitorigoto of the Pharmacist” focuses on solving mysteries, but is there a romance element? In this article, we will introduce the love scenes and love elements of the anime “Yakuya no Hitorigoto” that can be seen from the range of anime currently aired.
What is the anime “Horigoto of the Pharmacist”?
The story takes place in the court of a significant power located in the continent’s center. The main character, Maomao, is kidnapped and sold to the Seraglio, where she works as a maidservant. She hears rumors of a series of suspicious deaths of the emperor’s children. Mao Mao, who has an eye for poison and medicine, discovered the cause out of curiosity and anonymously reported the cause and solution, which caught the attention of a beautiful eunuch, Jinshi, and the emperor’s favorite princess, Gyokuyo. He was selected to play the role of poison tester for the princess. Since then, Maomao has been approached by Jinshi about troublesome matters, and in addition to her work as a poison detector, she also has to solve complex cases in the inner palace.
Is there a romance element in the anime “Horigoto of the Pharmacist”?
The anime “Horigoto of the Pharmacist” is centered around the mystery of medicine and poison, and most of the story has a mystery-solving element. However, from the various human relationships depicted in the story, you can sometimes glimpse romantic elements that differ from work or master-servant relationships. From here, we will introduce relationships in which romantic elements can be seen within the anime “Yakuya no Hitoigoto” broadcast range.
The big favorite is Maomako & Jinshi.
In the anime Horigoto of the Pharmacist, the two characters often depicted with romantic elements are Neomako and Jinji. Jinshi seemed to care about Maomao from the beginning. While many women admired her celestial appearance, Maomao was the only one who never swayed her; on the contrary, she looked at Jinshi like she was looking at a caterpillar and mistreated him.
Jinji found Maomao’s attitude refreshing. He often visited Her during breaks from work and had fun with Her. Of course, I appreciate Maomako’s ability and usually rely on her help when a problem arises.
However, as time passes, Jinji’s feelings toward Maomao have remarkably changed into something special. From here, we will introduce episodes in which you can see that the distance between the two has shortened.
Episode 1: Spring Garden Party
At the spring garden party that begins in episode 5, Jinji’s fondness and attachment to Maomao begin to be seen. After hearing how Maomao came to the inner palace, Jinshi gave Maomao the hairpin he had been wearing. Also, in episode 6, when Maomao ate poisonous food as a poison detector, Jinshi became worried about Maomao and left his post to chase Maomao and take him to the infirmary.
Episode 2: Homecoming
After the garden party, Jinshi is furious that Maomao went home with another man without relying on him. In episode 8, Jinshi summons Maomao, who has returned from his hometown trip and questions him about his hometown trip and Rihaku without trying to hide his displeasure. There is also a scene in which Jinshi is stunned after receiving Maomao’s inadequate explanation and misunderstanding that Maomao and Li Bai have shared the same bed.
Episode 3: Layoff scandal
In episode 12, Maomao is fired due to Foumin’s assassination attempt on Consort Rishuhi, the head maid of Consort Aduohi. , Jinshi was highly depressed. He could have used his position to keep Maomao, but he assumes that Maomao doesn’t want him. Even though Jinshi forcibly left Maomao in the inner palace on his orders, he didn’t wish Maomao to become even more distant, so he let Maomao go into tears.
However, Jinshi’s close aide, Gaoshun, arranged for the two to meet again. When Maomao expressed her intention to return to the Seraglio, she showed a childish expression and was delighted. Then, he prepared a dazzling amount of gold and a precious Chinese herbal medicine, Cordyceps sinensis, as ransom money and went to pick up the cat.
In episode 13, she blushes when she sees Maomako, who is beautifully dressed as a prostitute. She is also shown feeling offended by a soldier who is fascinated by her. Other scenes show Maomao’s possessiveness, such as when she orders Her to return to her usual freckled face at court.
Episode 4: Festival
In episode 19, due to a series of incidents such as riots, ritual utensils being stolen, and the head of the etiquette department and the person in charge of the ritual utensils collapsing, Maomako says, “The lives of the nobles who participate in the festival are being targeted.” I noticed that. Maomao rushed into the festival and saved the person before the altar from falling pillars.
The noble person whose life was threatened during the festival was none other than Jinshi. Jinshi panicked when he saw Maomao covered in injuries, and in front of everyone, he picked up the unconscious Maomao and carried him away.
Maomao → What are your feelings towards Jinshi?
Although Neomako was born in a red-light district, she has no interest in love affairs, and perhaps because she has low self-esteem as a woman, she seems tired of the favors directed toward her. She is timid and cautious and doesn’t want to get into trouble. Although she understands Jinji’s beauty, she does not consider him to be of the opposite sex and treats him while being aware of their differences in social status. Furthermore, she seemed to dislike Jinji’s sweet masks and sparkling gestures, to the point where she would get chills when Jinshi looked into her face and would show her disgust when Jinji smiled at her.
However, in episode 11, there is a scene where you can feel a little bit of Maomao’s feelings for Jinshi. The night before Consort Ah Duo leaves her palace, Jinshi cries silently as he hugs Mao Mao from behind, whom he happens to meet. At first, Maomao refuses, saying, “Please let me go,” but when she sees Jinshi’s tears, she makes him do whatever he wants. Maomao is usually cruel to Jinji, but she seems to have developed feelings for him enough to be there for Jinji when he’s having a hard time.
Military officers Li Bai & Bai Ling of the red-light district
An army officer, Li Bai, was introduced to Rokushokan, a high-class garrison house in the red light district, as a thank-you for accepting Maomao’s return home, where he met one of the three princesses, Bai Ling. I’m at a loss for the first time. Shirasu’s type is also a man with a well-trained body, so he isn’t in bad shape.
However, since Hakusuzu is a famous courtesan, meeting her would cost a lot of money, and she could not have as many meetings as she wanted. Although Li Bai is a military officer with a promising future, as he was sitting in a good seat at the garden party, it is currently unclear whether he will make any progress.
Arhat, the tactician & Hosen of the red light district
But what about the clandestine love affairs brewing within the inner palace?
Other characters exist in the inner palace, such as the maidservant Xiaoran and the maids of the senior consorts. Still, there seems to be no notable romance within the inner palace. The episode in which a love story is depicted is that of Fuyouhi, a middle-class consort of the inner palace, who appeared in the third episode.
For Consort Furong to someday be given to the military officer she loved, she deliberately misbehaved and sleepwalked as soon as she entered the palace to avoid the emperor’s visits. Things went according to Consort Fu’s plan, and she safely married the person she loved and left her inner palace.
Are the emperor and queen in a romantic relationship?
The emperor has many consorts, including four high-ranking, middle-rank, and low-rank consorts. He is especially fond of his senior consorts, Princess Gyokuyo and Princess Rika. However, although he has a favorite princess, the emperor seems to visit many different consorts to maintain balance.
However, Princess Rishuhi, who is still young, does not go there. The relationship between the emperor and his queens is less one of romance and more of a relationship between the queens being loyal to the emperor and the emperor fulfilling his duties.
Is there a love element? I do not need? What was the reaction of the fans?
On social media, many people are commenting on the romantic elements of the anime “Yakusha no Hitorigoto,” especially the frustrating relationship between Jinji and Maomao, such as “It makes me so excited” and “I want to see (their relationship) forever.”
On the other hand, there seems to be an opinion that the romance element is “necessary” or “not necessary.” Since the anime “Horigoto of the Pharmacist” is a mystery work, many people probably say, “I would rather watch the mystery solving than the love scenes.”
Another commenter said, “I like how there is no romantic element, and it seems like it could happen.” There are also comments such as “The small number of romantic elements add a nice spice” and “It’s a perfect balance without going too easy on the sweet story,” so the anime “Apothecary’s Monogoto” is not a typical romance work. Maybe that’s one of those that could become “Horigoto of the Pharmacist” Love Summary.
The anime “Hitorigoto of the Pharmacist” is a mystery work set in the inner palace. The main element is solving mysteries, but there are also some romance elements.
Maomao and Jinshi have a relationship between a subordinate and a superior. Still, many depictions suggest that Jinji is jealous or depressed when it comes to Maomao, indicating that he likes them as members of the opposite sex. Maomao, on the other hand, thinks of Jinshi as a troublesome person who brings trouble to him and treats him carelessly, without even realizing it as someone of the opposite sex. However, when Jinshi was depressed, he took care of him and treated him calmly.
In addition, romantic elements can be seen in the relationships between Consort Fu Rong and the military officer and between Li Bai and Bai Ling. For those looking forward to the romance elements, expectations are high as to what will happen in the anime in the future.
