Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
lunarylub
I really loved this season because of how many more scenes we got between Jinshi and Maomao! The romantic tension and the 'almost' moments were magical and gave me total thrills. To be honest, Maomao is stronger than me, I would definitely fold if Jinshi ever showed even the slightest interest in me! The romance setup is just so good.
I also loved how they explored Maomao's relationships with women more deeply. Seeing her friendships gives her character so much more depth, proving she isn't just a passive or nonchalant female lead. These female friendships are key to why I fell in love with this season. And a special shoutout to Loulan, my beloved, I love you!
Read at the sourceLarSuz
i don't think the second season is quite as good as the first one, but i still really enjoyed it. one of my favorite aspects was seeing more of maomao's friendships with the other women around her. her interactions with them brought a lot of warmth and made me genuinely happy, and i loved seeing a side of her life that isn't entirely defined by mysteries, poisons, or palace intrigue.
the larger plot also gradually develops in the background, connecting different events and adding more depth to the story. while some of its developments weren't particularly surprising to me, i still found them compelling because of how much they revealed about the characters and their motivations. i think this is where the series really shines: even when i can anticipate where a plotline might be going, und…
Read at the sourcemarvinarviin
8/10
Season 2 had the potential to take the series to another level, but it ultimately played it a little too safe. I was hoping for a more ambitious story, but sticking to the same formula for another season became repetitive, especially with the slower pacing. The mysteries weren't as compelling either, though the story gets much stronger toward the end and ties its various storylines together nicely. Where the show continues to shine is its character writing. I especially loved Shisui, who was easily my favourite new character, and her story was one of the most memorable parts of the season.
Jinshi's development is another major strength of the season. His struggle to accept his identity and the responsibilities tied to his status gives him a much more personal arc, while his growing…
Read at the sourceIchUndAnime
A long, long, LONG time ago, I used to watch anime. A LOT of anime. I knew every anime of the season, rewatched old favorites on the side, and at the same time binged even more anime. Before I watched "The Apothecary Diaries" Season 2, I had not watched any anime for 2 years. This isn't really supposed to be about me, much more than anything I just wanted to explain how meaningful this series is to me. I thought the first season was so good that, after a two-year break, I returned to anime to catch up on the second season. So, was it worth it?
Before I write about that, we should briefly answer: What is this actually about? It's about Maomao, a servant at the (Chinese?) imperial palace. In the first season, she was kidnapped, sold to this palace, and with her knowledge of medicine and a b…
Read at the sourceKiosanin
Good animation; the balance between comedy and drama is spot-on.
The protagonist's relationship with that emasculated, somewhat wishy-washy guy actually works well.
They threw hypergamy into the anime—brutal.
The protagonist is even luckier than Kazuma.
I get why people trash the ending; like so many other anime, this one goes for the "humanizing the villain" trope—or the "actually, the villain who kidnaps, drugs, and abuses children is being manipulated by another villain who's way worse" cliché.
Regarding one of the female villains: are we just supposed to overlook the fact that she was complicit in murder and manipulation, helped with a kidnapping (and who knows how many others), killed children, and committed who-knows-what-else, just because she got a cool death scene?
The anime…
Read at the sourcehavrak
The season deals with heavy subject matter, notably the sexual exploitation of children. This topic is handled ok-ish - goes slightly above the bare minimum of depicting it negatively and writings the antagonist, lot of whom are victims of this behavior, somewhat sympathetically. Also with character reactions align with what would we expected from the era. However, this portrayal appears relatively favorable only within the context of anime standards, where the baseline for handling such topics is exceptionally low. Not to mention, for example Jinshi exhibits highly objectionable and predatory behavior. Maomao's perspective on this behavior is questionable, as she treats it as mere childishness rather than a serious issue.
Exposition suffers from shoehorning tangentially related informati…
Read at the sourceAlekHek
Very goofy but a fun watch nonetheless.
Many of the plot elements come off as contrivances and you often wonder what the target audience is. There is an abundance of adult themes like sexual violence yet I kept wondering if the target audience are actually kids. This season gets very dramatic but there are such comically low stakes for the main cast that things like the finale are difficult to take seriously because you know nothing bad will happen to any of them.
Nonetheless Maomao is still the highlight of the show and kept me watching. Despite reservations folks who liked season 1 will still find a lot to enjoy here.
7/10
Read at the sourceribak44
Season 2 was an absolute banger for me. It starts off relatively slow. There’s a lot of setup, and it takes a while before the bigger story really starts moving. But man is it absolutely worth it!
The usual Apothecary Diaries formula is still here. Each episode has its own smaller mystery while gradually giving you pieces of the larger mystery happening in the background. And when that final arc finally hits, the show gets super serious super quickly. You start getting into some genuinely mature themes which I wasn't expecting. Some of the twists can probably be figured out beforehand, but honestly, that doesn't really matter. Seeing how everyone's motivations and incentives fit together is what makes it so good. Once everything starts coming together, it's absolute peak.
I also really l…
Read at the sourceKrahe10
The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 continues the series’ formula of weaving together multiple seemingly disconnected plots that slowly form a complex and cruel tapestry unlike anything the story had shown before.
The first season was built around human relationships and logical deduction. In this second installment, deduction itself becomes a challenge for Maomao as she faces tangled webs of power, cynicism, cruelty and profound darkness. The series expands not only in scale and scope, but also in narrative ambition, and for the most part, it does so remarkably well.
As unusual as it may sound, I believe the series makes two major mistakes. The true motivations behind Shenmei are revealed far too late, and until that point she feels more like an unjustified villain consumed by delusions of…
Read at the source7boogie
"This is poison."
I used this quote for my Season 1 review, but after finishing Season 2 I genuinely don't think there's a better way to describe this series. It slowly gets under your skin, and before you know it you're completely addicted. Every episode leaves you wanting just one more, and somehow every week it only gets better.
I thought I loved The Apothecary Diaries after Season 1, but wow... I hadn't even scratched the surface.
Everything that seemed small or meaningless in the first season suddenly starts falling into place. Random conversations, tiny details, side characters you thought you'd never see again... they all come back and form one massive payoff. It honestly felt like the entire first season was setting the board, and Season 2 finally started moving all the pieces.…
Read at the sourceMedPoc
The basics are the same as in the first season, but it's still a new experience.
Story: 10
While being the same story, the pace and storytelling differ here a bit. Unlike the first season, where there are many cases, now it's a huge and complex one. More action, more characters, more difficulties.
Characters: 10
The new characters are well-written, just like the others from the previous season.
Art: 8
There's nothing extra here, but it's still beautiful and detailed. Animation: 10
Thankfully, there are just a few shots made in CGI. The animators really liked to play with hair.
Music: 10
From funny shorts to tearjerkers and slow melodies, there's a wide palette of emotions here.
Read at the sourceveldora__kun
Damn!!
It’s going to be tough to convey my thoughts about this series, specifically the second season, but I’ll try my best to get it across.
First – Season 1 & Season 2 watching experience
If I had to describe it, I would call the first season a pilot episode and the second season episode 2… maybe. Season 1 was all over the place—and I mean that in a good way. We had Maomao solving all these problems and mysteries around the palace while occasionally giving us bits of plot points here and there that made you want to stay until the end.
Season 1’s story was already well written, but that wasn’t even the beginning. I think the author deliberately structured it this way so that no one could imagine what would happen in Season 2. Season 1 was all about build-up—planting the seeds so the t…
Read at the sourceBenFM
Apothecary Diaries is hard to rate. There's some fantastic characters, great voice acting, strong writing, good dialogue and some nice animation.
However it can also be painful to watch at times. There is a lot of excess baggage with episodes that don't contribute to the story or characters. This combined with the relationship between MaoMao and Jinshi being drawn out over and over again, creates some tiresome viewing.
There are also tons of plot holes and for me, I don't get a sense of satisfaction at all from the end of season 2. The mysteries of the crimes in the palace were the only part of the story that was wrapped up, but even then I can't say I particularly enjoyed it. There were really no major incidents and it built up to a two episode finale that felt insignificant. Loulan wa…
Read at the sourceAmavaria
Apothecary diaries is so important to me, there's no other show like it from what I know, I never seen any anime that addresses women's issues upfront and without padding. The language is straightforward and leaves no room for other interpretation.
Women's education about their own bodies and lack of agency is a very important theme in this series. Our protagonist, who was raised in a brothel, treats sex workers with respect and does her best to keep women in her life informed; teaching them about sex and what to expect, as well as health and taking care during pregnancy. She takes time to teach girls from humble backgrounds how to read and write leading to eventually having a school for servant girls to receive education!
The characters are delightful, Maomao and Jinshi have wonderful c…
Read at the sourcel___lixia
Initially, the topic seemed quite interesting to me. I already enjoy historical anime, but finding one like this was new to me, that is why I was excited to watch it.
I liked the setting and found the animation very beautiful; I would say it gives it a lot of freshness. I think I will try to read one of the manga versions later, hoping it has a style and illustrations just as beautiful.
I did not like that each episode dealt with something different, and I expected them to develop the story a bit more. Because of this, I found it a little boring towards the end, although this second season is slightly more intriguing, but I cannot deny that it is still engaging, and I found it fun to watch.
Also, the brief mysteries that Mao Mao solves are still interesting and I found her as a protagonis…
Read at the sourceCieleux
This anime I would say is very above average, 8 / 10. The main character is one of the strongest female lead characters I have seen and no doubt will captivate most viewers. I really feel like this anime doesn't do anything particularly wrong, and the plot is quite well put together, however it is not flawless or masterful in writing. Apparently this show is a seinen, but I felt it was more like it was more catered for a female audience.
I have simply two gripes with this anime that I came to realize as I kept watching and solidified as I finished season 2. One of those gripes is a lot of the events that occurred felt like they had very little impact. Nothing really hits as hard as it should have, even though there are certain moments in the show that definitely should have left more of…
Read at the sourceemberreviews
The Apothecary Diaries season 2 is, as expected, my favorite of the season by a longshot, though I wasn’t quite sure it would be at first with how its first cour played out. The episodic mysteries slowly building up to larger plot points was as enrapturing as always, constantly leaving you just enough clues to figure it out yourself while obscuring them enough to not make it obvious, but I was missing some of the punchier moments that made season 1 so memorable. Boy did I get my wish in the second half as the dark legacy of the former emperor begins to spill into the open and engulf everyone unfortunate enough to be involved in it, the dread overflowing as you realize what the hierarchy of the royal court has done to those not privileged enough to run it, the lives it has utterly devastate…
Read at the sourcePlumchi
The first season was better in my opinion. Maybe I wasn't as hyped as I was for season 1, so I didn't enjoy it much.
I still like Maomao a lot, she is funny and have a strong personnality.
And I still hate Jinshi, he is border assaulting Maomao.. Like he's here trying to force a kiss with Maomao. To be honest, I really hope he don't end up with Maomao. She deosn't need a romance to be great.
Side characters are great, it's great that they got some developpement.
Graphism are as good as they were in season 1.
The OST and OP are still amazing. I don't know if I'll watch a 3rd season tbh. Maybe later.
Read at the sourceWukusama
If you think the apothecary Diaries is a romance anime, you are terribly wrong. This is a dark mystery. Much darker than season 1. The story describes backgrounds you never thought of. So if you fully understand the first season, you should definitely watch it. If you prefer a darker, mysterious and engaging plot, this will worth watching. I bet it will be your fav anime so far! best of luck!
The Apothecary Diaries shows a unique story that follows an intelligent girl Maomao and Jinshi, whose real identity reveals in season 2. The art style is so breathetaking, perfectly fitting the plot. And the animation is far better than any other anime. Basically I like the anime's plot more than any features. So if you are seeking a good plot, you should watch it.
Read at the sourceDI0NYSIUS
(This review focuses on comparing this season to season 1 since that's typically the case for sequels. By 'recommended' I mean those that watched season 1 and liked it would enjoy season 2 as well)
STORY (Review adjusted based on show length)
Complexity: 9
World-Building: 8
Pace: 5
Direction: 6
CHARACTERS (Review adjusted based on show length) Quantity vs Quality Ratio: 6
Development: 6
Depth: 8
Art, Animation & Music (Review adjusted based on air date)
Art Style: 10
Animation Quality: 9
Soundtrack & SFX Quality: 9
ENJOYMENT LEVEL 7/10
I've decided to change my reviews into Pros & Cons for simpler, concise reviews. It will aid the rating system above and be helpful to pinpoint specific aspects. This review focuses on comparing this season to season 1 since that's typically the case…
Read at the source
