The Apothecary Diaries S3 Ep 1 [First Impression] – AngryAnimeBitches Anime Blog

The Apothecary Diaries is back! This episode sure flew by in a flash, but goodness it was also quite an info dump! For those of us who have read these volumes, the OP in particular was a REAL treat to watch. It’s fun to catch all the references made in it! Since there was a lot to take in, let’s break it down to make it a bit more digestible.

Since the demise of the Shi clan, there has been a lot of changes in the royal court. Jinshi has been since revealed to be the Moon Prince (Emperor’s younger brother), is no longer serving undercover as an eunuch. And with the Shi clan gone, there leaves an open slot for the another clan to rise to power. As result that shakes up the royal court.

To fill in that void, the Emperor will be making Lady Gyokuyou the Empress Consort. Doing so, her family Gyoku, will be raised to a named clan like the “La” (Lakan). The reason for choosing her is because the Gyoku clan would be indispensable to have close and intimate ties with should a war break out. In addition to that, both Gyokuyou and Lihua have had each birthed a son, adding an additional root of conflict for power hungry clan members who do not support an empress with foreign blood. And then you have Lishu who’s being neglected by her father as per usual.

While things are shaking up in the royal courts, outside of the palace and in the horizons, there’s yet another crisis, one outside of the Emperor’s control. The note that Loulan (Shisui) had left behind for Jinshi consisted the warning of this impending calamity of a terrible Locust Plague brewing. The timing couldn’t be worse. It can be perceived or exploited by pointing the blame to the Emperor, claiming it’s a Divine Retribution for destroying the Shi clan, which could lead to civil unrest.

As it happens, Maomao has also caught the winds of this crisis. Since the fall of the Shi clan, among the children that had been saved by Loulan’s medicine to fake their deaths, Chou-u has been under Maomao’s care. The side-effects of the medication has left one arm paralyzed, and affected his memories, so he doesn’t remember being a part of the Chi clan. He however does remember bits of knowledge from it, such as noticing the taste not matching of a Locust. Like Loulan, he’s remarkably talented in the art, so he was able to precisely draw out the bug, and the difference of what a Locust looks like during the plague. Hilariously he had quickly figured out he could earn some cash for snacks by drawing portraits of others because he’s so good at it.

But it’s worth noting Chou-u not having any memory is actually quite critical since it serves as safety-net so to speak. The less he knows and remembers, the better for his safekeeping. After-all, Jinshi, Maomao and Lihaku defied the orders and sought protection for the surviving children. When the Emperor had ordered the Shi clan to be wiped out, that means everyone– not even children would be spared. That’s why Maomao fears him being seen by someone he knows or vice versa (such as the Shi clan Guard whom she reunited with today), because it might bring up some memories that are best left forgotten.

Speaking of the Shi clan’s guard, he was the one about to fill in the gaps of Chou-u’s memory about why they fear there will be a famine this year. Both of them were quick to notice that the “locust” that Mr. Owner (of Verdigris House) had bought in his trade had not been actually locust at all, but grasshoppers. (Someone basically scammed him to get it off their hands because they taste so awful, making it unsellable.)

One of the key distinctions between the two are how they taste. Even after being all marinated, Sazen (Shi clan’s former guard) was able to easily set them apart and identify which is which. Typically farmers would separate them, as Locusts are edible, but grasshoppers just empty and taste bad (hence, Chou-u’s earlier comment how it taste hollow, and even Shisui had commented she had accidentally eaten a grasshopper on her locust stick during the festival). The second, thanks to Chou-u’s precise drawing, that there’s a second way to identify the looming crisis. And that’s by noticing the change of characteristics on a Locust’s body.

And it is not an exaggeration to say a plague of locusts can be bring calamity to a nation. These things eat through anything, they will decimate the crops, eat anything that’s made out of straw, plants, clothes, even a sheep’s wool, you name it– it’s a horror show that leads to causing wide-spread famine.

Besides successfully escaping, Sazen’s particular and sentimental decision to walk away with the late Apothecary’s textbooks of his research ended up being an incredibly important. Maomao understand just how invaluable that research is, and based on what Chou-u had said, the second she recognized the textbook in the bookshop, she sought out the rest of the series. Sazen had sold a total of four books, two of which are now in Maomao’s possession (Bird and Fish), and sold another two in different towns, and has the remaining three in his possession. The one Maomao is looking for is the one that covers Insects. These books are unfortunately not complete in just one volume, so it’s important to make sure she gets the entire collection of the specific series she’s looking for. On top of that, as they were written up by the late Apothecary that had served the Shi clan who had done tremendous research. So Maomao knows just how precious and indispensable that knowledge is.

So now as she no longer works in the palace, she has a good reason to be contacting Jinshi again about these books and the looming crisis. At the very least, thanks to Shisui’s advance warning, Jinshi has gotten a heads up in a timely manner, and will be able to help progress their investigation on the matter much faster.

But those are in a sense, still somewhat still ways off from the calamity. Make no mistake though, there are already someone going around taking advantage of the villages who have already reaping the consequences from their crops failures. A woman with red eyes and white hair, handing out medicine that can “heal one’s heart and erase all worldly pains”. Or as one would correctly see between the lines as, distributing a dangerous drug. (If you know, you know.)

And as if there wasn’t already enough going on, well there’s about to be more on Jinshi’s plate– one that will draw his ire. The Emperor believes it’s about time for Jinshi to find a “flower” (aka: wife), and hopes they will be able to find a suitable match for him.

Apart from that, we saw Lakan is enjoying the time he has left with Fengxian, he couldn’t give two shits about attending the party announcing the new empress dowager. That leaves his aids Rikuson, Lahan and Onsou to cover his ass as usual.

I think that covers all the bases for what was delivered to us this episode! Obviously there’s no question about it, I’m covering this season! Like the previous seasons, I’ll be judging week by week whether I’ll be doing a singular entry or a double/triple posts to make it easier to write about should it come down to it. Although this isn’t my favourite arc, it does have some of my favourite moments of the series, so there’s still much to look forward to! And best of all, it’s the build up to one of the best arcs of the series, so despite having read the novels over multiple times already over the years, I’m really looking forward to seeing it all animated!

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