by The 33rd episode of the TV anime “The Apothecary Diaries” and “The Former Emperor” will be broadcast on March 7 and 7, 2025. The mystery of the “curse” that has continued from the previous episode has been solved, and on social media, it has become a hot topic, with comments such as “Oh, so that’s what it means” and “Is adult women scary…?” In particular, the power of the Empress Dowager, played by Noto Mamiko, was incredible, and many people commented, “Noto’s voice is scary (the best)” and “Her acting is too amazing.”
*Due to the nature of this theme, the following text contains descriptions that may contain “spoilers” for those who have not yet watched the work. Please be careful when reading. The Apothecary Diaries is a harem mystery-solving entertainment based on the novel by Hinata Natsu, which has been published by Hero Bunko and has also been adapted into a comic in Big Gangan and Sunday GX and has sold over 38 million copies in total.
Set in the Middle Ages in the East, the story depicts the young poison taster Nekoneko solving various complex cases that occur in the palace one after another. When the first season of the TV anime began airing in October 2023, it was consistently ranked high in the viewing rankings on various distribution platforms. It won a special award at the TVer Awards 2023, becoming a hot topic.
The second season, broadcast in two consecutive seasons from January 10 to January 10, 2025, is also attracting attention for the opening theme, “Hyakka Ryoran” by Ikuta Rira. In the 32nd episode aired last week, various contents were developed in one episode, such as rumors flying around the harem and the mystery of the curse of the empress dowager, and multiple reactions such as “It’s a reward lol,” “Mr. Jinshi is the idol of the harem,” and “The pressure is amazing” were widely expressed on SNS.
In this episode, The 33rd episode begins with Nekoneko, who continues from the previous episode and is asked by Empress Dowager Anshi to solve the “curse” of the last emperor that his corpse does not decay. Nekoneko, who has decided to stay at Jinshi’s mansion for the first time in a while to investigate, becomes interested in the book that Suiren is reading in her room. When she tries to read one book, it seems to be a “sexy” youth story of a boy and girl, like a shoujo manga. Nekoneko immediately closed the book, saying, “Suiren-sama, you’re pretty young.”
The fast-paced scene caused laughter on social media, with comments like “I’m curious about the contents lol” and “It was a romantic comedy book lol.” Meanwhile, Nekoneko finds a pebble of a strange color in the suitcase containing Jinshi’s favorite toy. At first glance, it looks like a simple stone, but Nekoneko can tell at a glance that it is a mass of poison.
The next day, Nekoneko visits the previous emperor’s room with the Empress Dowager, Jinshi, and others to discover the curse’s true nature. Under the wallpaper was a picture painted with a pigment based on the stone, “Yuan Huang.” The poison of Yuan Huang is a component that makes things less likely to decay, and because the picture was painted using that, the former emperor’s body did not decay.
After hearing Maomao’s deduction, the Empress Dowager reminisces about the days she spent with the former emperor. It was not a sweet one, and it seems that she had some thoughts about the belly she cut open after giving birth to a child at a young age. As the story goes, the former emperor was only interested in young girls, and as the empress dowager grew up, he lost interest in her. It seems that this reaction was simply due to a phobia of adult women, and viewers came to understand the former emperor’s character, saying things like, “I see, so he’s not afraid of girlish things, but adult women…” and “Ah, I see. So that’s why it was inevitable.” However, the Empress Dowager’s wounds are deep.
The Empress Dowager attacks the former emperor while he is alive, and the fantastic performance of voice actress Noto Mamiko doubles the impact. In the previous episode, there were comments such as “It feels like if you say something strange, your head will blow off!” but this time, she imprinted an even more terrifying image on the viewers with comments such as “Noto’s voice is scary (the best),” “Noto-san is a very Noto character lol” and “Her acting is amazing.” She has played the leading role to the fullest.
The second season of the TV anime The Apothecary Diaries is currently being aired on Nippon Television’s “FRIDAY ANIME NIGHT (Fura-ani)” slot every Friday from 11 p.m. Episode 33, “The Late Emperor,” is being streamed for free on ABEMA. The next episode is scheduled to air on March 14 March 14.
