The Apothecary Diaries 01 (Manga)

Originally a light novel, The Apocathery Diaries is an enchanting and entertaining manga. The setting is a fictional, imperial court, and empire, probably based loosely on Chinese, Korean and Japanese imperial cultures. The story includes various mystery solved by the excellent protagonist, MaoMao. My 12 year old daughter and I both enjoy the stories and the excellent female protagonist. The protagonist, MaoMao is a confident, eccentric, antisocial, intelligent young woman. Because of her insatiable curiosity and intellect she is unable to resist examining the various mysteries that she encounters, despite her desire to avoid entangling in human drama. MaoMao would rather commit all her time and attention to the study of medicinal and toxic plants. Her character is very much in the tradition of the antisocial, eccentric, genius detective (Think Sherlock Holmes and his unmatched knowledge of tobacco composition, but ignorance of the structure of the solar system). Having a female character in this role is very appealing to me as a female reader and mother of two daughters. Political machinations, historical conditions for women, the scientific process, medicinal plants are among the topics that are explored with a light, but well-research approach. The plots are are logical, and well paced. Character driven plots run throughout the series, whereas the mystery plots form shorter arcs. Other characters are sketched out well over time and reveal many little eccentricities. The manga has intelligent, character-driven humor. And the art is BEAUTIFUL - really top notch! The figure drawing is well proportioned, the faces are varied and interesting, the facial expressions and postures are so entertaining. The art is clean, detailed and truly adds to plot and character. We enjoy the art so much, we look for other manga illustrated by Nekokurage. A note to parents -- MaoMao was raised in a brothel and works in an Emperor's Consorts' quarters. In keeping with her very direct character, MaoMao mentions and discusses topics related to human sexuality. These are not illustrated or discussed in an explicit or graphic manner (I have not found any nudity) but they are an obvious part of MaoMao's world.

Excellent

I love when a manga really pulls you in and makes it so your excited for the next and the next one. So easy to read and really get invested in the characters. Not to mention just the amount of time I laughed out loud which is a personal favorite of it happen. Can’t wait for the next

this was an amazing volume one and i absolutely cannot wait to continue on with this story! i really love this, and maomao is such an amazing protagonist. i can’t wait to read more about her and her adventures! in this volume one, we are introduced to our main character, maomao, who was kidnapped and sold to the empire, and is now a maidservant in the inner court. but she soon gets a promotion when her apothecary talents are discovered, and her aid is needed in solving the mystery of the deaths of the heirs born from the consorts in the inner palace. and then… she becomes a food taster and starts to help with more apothecary needs - from chocolate making to solving another mystery of a ghost dancing atop the palace!

Ok so in the beginning I was afraid this was going to be another one of those mangas where the female lead is swooning over the Male lead but the manga quickly shows you that this fem mc is not like most others. She is smart and uses her intelligence well her interactions with the ML are comedy gold AND she oozies with character she is definitely one of the most unique mc I have seen in manga. The male lead is annoying at first but you quickly learn to like him and his bunter with the MC.

Good

maomao is that girl

I honestly really love it and will read it because well if you watch the anime you have to read the manga right after .. so that’s what I’m doing. I ran out of money to buy the 2nd one but I’ll work for it.. talk about being irresponsible with your money.. I had 300$! I promise I have no clue where it went… maybe. + the book was a little dented like bent ish and flimsy but I think that’s normal? Ish? I have other mangas but who knows 😋 ANYWAY LOOK HOW GORGEOUS THIS BOOK IS

It was great to read and it goes into more detail than the anime that was based off this in my opinion

J’ai hâte de lire la suite. Je n’ai pas vu le temps passer. Les dessins sont beaux et les personnages sont attachants.

There was a little mix up with delivery, seller was great to deal with and sent a new book right away, both books showed up the same-day, so I returned one copy. I would give 10 stars to seller, and my kid loves the book.

Came super quick, amazing quality, I love it.

Best to buy but you should buy it when the price becomes low. There are a little bit of dents which are really unnoticeable but the packaging is very bad that is why it causes some small dents otherwise the best to buy