The Apothecary Diaries has easily become one of my favorite franchises over the last three years. Devouring every written and animated bit I can get my hands on, I’ve absolutely fallen in love with the characters. Maomao, in particular, is a breath of fresh air. Just ask Jinshi. He’ll tell you gladly how 100% genuine she is. Not even her face is capable of withholding information.
Maomao is honest and wise. She’s also an adorable little gremlin, but in all honesty, anime fans have only seen a rear-palace-tamed version of her. Beyond the rear-palace, Maomao is 100% shrewd little gremlin, and Volume 5 is where we finally get to see her at her finest. That in itself is incredible. Honestly, who could have thought that the most amazing anime character of the 21st Century could get better?
Maomao Unleashed In The Apothecary Diaries Vol. 5
Volume 5 of Natsu Hyūga’s The Apothecary Diaries light novel collection picks up where the anime adaptation’s final Season 2 episode ends. Since I had been holding myself back from reading ahead while the anime was still airing, I’ve been moving through each volume slowly. Now that I’m caught up, however, I can’t seem to read fast enough.
That alone poses a bit of a problem. I am already halfway through The Apothecary Diaries Volume 6. With Vol. 7 sitting on my shelf, hurrying through now would mean waiting until March for Volume 8 to arrive. So, now I’m deliberately reading more slowly, even though I want to devour this fresh new material. I don’t want to end on any kind of cliffhanger and then not have the next volume to dive into.
With Maomao now working as an apothecary outside the rear-palace, she’s back to living in the pleasure district. Maintaining in her dad’s apothecary shop near Verdigris House while he remains working in the rear-palace, she’s back under the greedy, watchful eye of Grams. She also agrees to look after Kyou-u (formerly Chou-u,) who survives the resurrection drug with paralization on his left side and significant memory loss.
A Day In the Life of Maomao
Image property of TOHO Animation Studios and OLM
Back under the Madam’s thumb, we get to see Maomao and Kyou-u living their everyday lives. He drives her crazy, because even with memory loss he’s still a “little shit.” Maomao’s internal dialogue is constantly referring to him in that manner, and though she’s tough on him, there is definite affection there. She has to watch him carefully because of all the surviving Shi clan children, Kyou-u getting his memories back could pose a significant problem.
Since Jinshi promised Loulan he would spare those who died so they could start anew, keeping Kyou-u in the dark about what happened is imperative. We get to see him up to his old antics, and a few new ones. He starts drawing portraits and charging people money for them, which both pleases and irks the Madame because he’s doing it on her doorstep. Penny-pinching as she is, she’s already looking for a way to tap into his potential herself, no doubt.
Seeing Maomao care for him, despite her internal complaining, is so heartwarming. We also see her in full-on Grams mode when she goes out shopping. In a shrewd display, we see Maomao the ultimate bargain hunter. Striking a deal with a shopkeeper, she comes through and basically cleans him out. Providing her and Kyou-u with a hefty supply of warm, new clothing, Maomao is definitely that mom who will hunt down hand-me-downs. And you better believ3e she’ll make sure to get as much use as possible from them before they’re nothing but threads.
The Apothecary Diaries Hints at a Plague of Locusts
Image property of Square Enix Books
While Maomao’s out thrifting with Kyou-u, she happens upon one of the books from the collection she saw while a Shi clan prisoner. One of many in a collection she recalls, this one is part of a series about bugs. Considering the overwhelming stock of brown grasshoppers Grams has been feeding them with breakfast, Maomao finds herself on a mission to find the rest of the books. This leads her to the guard whop helped her escape when the Shi clan fortress was in chaos.
The more research she does, the more convinced she becomes that the kingdom may be about to fall prey to famine, thanks to a locust plague. Given everything that happened, between the Emperor naming Gyokuyou Empress and exterminating the Shi clan, famine-inducing plague would be read as a bad sign by the kingdom. She gets Jinshi and Basen involved, the latter of whom is completely annoyed by Maomao, as usual, and when a trip to the Western Capital comes up later, she sees it as an opportunity to do even more research.
As the trip begins, Maomao travels with the Quack doctor, Cat Maomao, a disguised Jinshi and Basen to the Quack’s village. Here, they wind up involved in the Quack’s family paper business. The farmer who owns the land they’ve been leasing for years is trying to boot them out, and no one is brave enough to stand up to him. For those who have been looking forward to Maomao’s alcohol tolerance being put to the test, look no further than Volume 5!
The La Clan Princess Arrives at the Western Capital
Image property of TOHO Animation Studio and OLM
We get to see a lot of Lahan, Maomao’s blood cousin/legal brother, in Volume 5 and moving forward. He invites her to see a mysterious white lady, a traveling performer who will obviously become something of an antagonist as the story progresses. Along with his companion, Rikuson, who also works for Lakan, they end up traveling to the Western Capital. They’re all attending an event Maomao’s not entirely sure about, though she does have speculations. These two may be cousins, but they definitely act like siblings. It leads to some hilarious interactions and lots of Maomao stomping his foot.
Consort Lishu also attends this event in the Western Capital. Maomao soon discovers the whole affair has been arranged in order to find a suitable marriage for the Royal Brother. Since Jinshi already knows who he wants, he’s sure to make sure Maomao is seen at the many events and banquets wearing an imperial hair stick he had made for her. One of the most glorious things about all this is that Maomao doesn’t even know why she’s really there. She can’t even fathom the possibility of being a prospective bride for Jinshi.
This does st Maomao on the path to begrudgingly accepting her position as the La Clan’s princess. It also puts her on to several mysteries, some related to the potential famine and the mysterious white lady, while others explore Consort Lishu. I don’t want to get too carried away on details, for those who haven’t read it yet and want to be surprised. I will say that these books just get better as they progress, which excites me for the upcoming anime adaptation later this year. (And the other volumes receiving a much quicker translation and release for English readers.)
The Apothecary Diaries Volume 5 On a Scale of 1 to 10
Image property of Square Enix Books
I am absolutely smitten with this series, and with Maomao as a character. She gets better with every single new installment, with the many layers of her personality peeling back so we can see exactly who she is. Jinshi’s obsession with her only continues to grow, something his family and his advisors don’t know what to do with. However, since she is technically a princess of the La Clan, there is hope, right?
I don’t know if it was simply because this was my first foray into fresh, new story, but I have to say that Volume 5 is my favorite light novel in the series, so far. Halfway through Vol. 6 already, it just continues to get better. I will recommend this series to anyone and everyone, regardless of their preferences because Maomao is just that amazing.
We see great story progression in this volume, along with some really intriguing new characters making their first appearances. The mysteries Maomao faces seem to be never ending. Even as new ones put themselves in her path, it doesn’t get old in the least. They continue to feel fresh and unique, exercising our minds while we as readers strive to become as good as Maomao when working through them. Easy 10/10 from me.
