The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 1
by Natsu Hyuuga (Original Author), Nekokurage (Artist)
The Apothecary Diaries [Manga] (1)
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"Maomao, a young woman trained in the art of herbal medicine, is forced to work as a lowly servant in the inner palace. Though she yearns for life outside its perfumed halls, she isn't long for a life of drudgery! Using her wits to break a 'curse' afflicting the imperial heirs, Maomao attracts the attentions of the handsome eunuch Jinshi and is promoted to attendant food taster. But Jinshi has other plans for the erstwhile apothecary, and soon Maomao is back to brewing potions and... solving show more mysteries?!"--Provided by publisher. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
The heroine of The Apothecary Diaries volume 1 is 17-year-old Maomao. She grew up in the pleasure district with her apothecary father. She had qualified as an apothecary, but was kidnapped and now works as a wardrobe or laundry maid at the inner court of the palace, part of her wages going to her kidnappers. The inner court of the main palace is where the emperor's consorts and concubines (and their ladies-in-waiting and maids) live. The only men allowed to enter are the emperor, men who are blood kin to the emperor, and eunuchs.
Maomao, unlike the other maids, can read and write. She wants to keep a low profile, so when she figures out what is ailing the emperor's infants (by two different consorts), she leaves anonymous warnings where show more the mothers live. The results bring her to the attention of Sir Jinshi. Maomao is sure who Sir Jinshi is. I snickered at the scene where Sir Jinshi wonders what she's thinking about when she decides his most likely role.
Sir Jinshi is a beautiful young man and well he knows it. He's also intelligent, figuring out how to discover the person who left the anonymous warnings. I had to laugh because he assumes he can charm Maomao as easily as he does most women, but she is not charmed -- which seems to please Sir Jinshi. His aide, a young man named Gao Shun, even asks Maomao to stop looking at his boss with such disdain because of the effect it has on Sir Jinshi.
Having been found out, Maomao gets a new, higher-ranking, but more dangerous job. Well, it would have been dangerous had not Maomao been in the habit of using herself as a test subject. Sir Jinshi continues to test Maomao, and our heroine continues to prove herself.
This is a fun manga and I look forward to more volumes. show less
Maomao, unlike the other maids, can read and write. She wants to keep a low profile, so when she figures out what is ailing the emperor's infants (by two different consorts), she leaves anonymous warnings where show more the mothers live. The results bring her to the attention of Sir Jinshi. Maomao is sure who Sir Jinshi is. I snickered at the scene where Sir Jinshi wonders what she's thinking about when she decides his most likely role.
Sir Jinshi is a beautiful young man and well he knows it. He's also intelligent, figuring out how to discover the person who left the anonymous warnings. I had to laugh because he assumes he can charm Maomao as easily as he does most women, but she is not charmed -- which seems to please Sir Jinshi. His aide, a young man named Gao Shun, even asks Maomao to stop looking at his boss with such disdain because of the effect it has on Sir Jinshi.
Having been found out, Maomao gets a new, higher-ranking, but more dangerous job. Well, it would have been dangerous had not Maomao been in the habit of using herself as a test subject. Sir Jinshi continues to test Maomao, and our heroine continues to prove herself.
This is a fun manga and I look forward to more volumes. show less
i'm reading it in german as language practice, since i've already seen the anime and read the light novels. the art in the manga is gorgeous, though. glad i'm completing the trifecta of mediums.
This has captured my interest. i do not belive Jinshi is an eunuch.
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3.5
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 1
- Original title
- 薬屋のひとりごと 1; Kusuriya no Hitorigoto, Vol. 1
- Original publication date
- 2017-09-25 (JPN|ビッグガンガンコミックス) (JPN | ビッグガンガンコミックス); 2020-12-08 (ENG|Square Enix) (ENG | Square Enix)
- People/Characters
- Maomao; Lihua (Wise Consort); Gyokuyou (Precious Consort); Jinshi; Hongniang; Gaoshun (show all 8); Lady Fuyo; Xiaolin
- Important places
- The Inner Palace; The Crystal Pavilion; The Jade Pavilion
- First words
- [All capital letters in the original] Gosh, I could sure go for some street-stall meat skewers right now.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)If love has the power to make women more beautiful... ...I wonder what it could cure.
- Original language
- Japanese
- Disambiguation notice
- This is the manga illustrated by Nekokurage (ねこクラゲ). Please do not combine with the light novel it is adapted from, nor the manga illustrated by Minoji Kurata (倉田三ノ路).
Classifications
- Genre
- Graphic Novels & Comics
- DDC/MDS
- 741.5 — Arts & recreation Drawing & decorative arts Drawing Comic books, graphic novels, fotonovelas, cartoons, caricatures, comic strips
- LCC
- PN6790 .J33 .N438513 — Language and Literature Literature (General) Literature (General) Collections of general literature Comic books, strips, etc.
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 710
- Popularity
- 40,130
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (4.24)
- Languages
- 7 — English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Turkish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 20
- ASINs
- 5
