First Post ⋆˚꩜｡ Apothecary Diaries Season 1

This past week, I watched the whole of Apothecary Diaries season 1. Previously, I read multiple volumes of the manga on a pirated website, as they didn't have it in the library. (╥﹏╥)

I read up to somewhere in the second season !SPOILERS! when MaoMao starts suspecting Jinshi of being related to the emperor. I really fell in love with the characters and the art style. MaoMao is such a creative main character, though I don't have that much experience with anime/manga; I feel like I don't see characters like her. I wanted to read the manga because I have a hard time watching any television series and movies; I get very bad anxiety and secondhand embarrassment while watching. For instance, I never finished ATLA. (ᵕ-ᴗ-) Because when the gang gets to the Fire Nation, I have this constant feeling they are going to get brutally murdered. No matter what show or movie I finish it in a pile of sweat. The only shows I could stomach have been American Dad and Rick and Morty.

~Ricky Spanish~

But moving on to anime in specific, I don't really like the voice acting nor the fan service, which, when animated, really adds to that secondhand embarrassment. I've started a lot of anime but haven't been able to get far, as I basically get the ick. (¬_¬") So I enjoy reading manga more than watching anime. My favorite anime I have started, though, has been Soul Eater; of course I got the ick and dropped it. Definitely something I want to work on as its a uncomforablity thing. Back to Apothecary Diaries, I saw a lot of fan-made content on social media and was intrigued by MaoMao's character, so I wanted to read the manga. Read the first few on Libby, as they only had a few, and tried to pirate the rest, but lowkey it was annoying, and I didn't like the porn ad popup just wanted to read in peace. (◣ _ ◢) This was months ago, maybe like March-April; last week my friend sent me a TikTok of a MaoMao and Jinshi edit to the song Animal by Katseye, and that was the sign for me to sit down and watch the show, or at least the first season. 

So finally, me talking about the show!

⭐ Comparing the manga to the show, since I read it a while ago, I can't speak on the timeline/events, but what I will say is that the manga had a lot more detail in the facial expressions that I liked analyzing, while in the show they seem more simple, making them less impactful. This makes sense as 

time is money, and therefore they can't spend that much time on small details. Honestly, looking at them side by side, it might be the texture that appeals to me in the manga that seems to be the difference, and the eyes. This isn't a criticism, more of a note, as I still highly respect the animators behind the anime. Another thing I noticed is that MaoMao's thinking is lowkey hard to differentiate from her speaking, so at times I think she's having a full-blown conversation, but she's really just thinking. This might just be me being dumb; I will admit that. 

⭐ JINSHI IS SO PERVY IN THE FIRST HALF! (¬_¬") This might be my trust issues with mmc from reading other manga, but Jinshi in the first half gave me the creep. I also remember thinking this while reading the manga. His deep fascination with MaoMao comes off as creepy and pervy, which I think is the point, as it adds a layer of irony? (not trying to go full IB lit of this so ignore any surface level analyses) He definitely gets better in the second half of the season as we get to see a more caring side and more of his personal life. My opinion pivoted when he caught MaoMao from falling off the wall after Consort Ah-Duo left, and we saw his need for comfort from MaoMao as a more real emotional side we hadn't really seen. BUT OH GOD THE HONEY SCENE ദ്ദി ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ )

Like, Jinshi sir, get away from my girl (≖_≖ ) ̸/̸̅̅ ̆̅ ̅̅ ̅̅ she don't want you. Traumatizing poor MaoMao. (╥‸╥) Will say he is hot. I see why the ladies in waiting want him ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). My favorite bit of the show is MaoMao theorizing that Jinshi is some sort of sex toy for high-ranking officials, even the emperor at one point. Because like real girl I crave yaoi too (ꈍᴗꈍ)♡ Other than that, I find Jinshi a really funny character at times, especially with his constant stress over MaoMao. God, I could add more silly photos of Jinshi but maybe not at this part. Ooh, last tidbit about Jinshi though, I love his relationships with his servants? idk if that's what they're called, but Gaoshun and Suiren- ooh, so cute. :‹ accidentally spoiled a relationship while trying to search their names, so sad. 

⭐ Oh, I can go into so many reasons why I love MaoMao                ⸜( ˶>ᴗ<˶)⸝♡ Though she is blunt and practical, she is very caring of the ones around her. I love her natural curiosity; she must investigate everything. Plus, her visible love for medicine and poisons; it is very refreshing to see women in STEM and have such a love for it too. Little smartypants •⩊• But to be honest, my favorite part of her character is her disdain for Jinshi. It's so funny to see her disgusted face at any advances Jinshi throws at her. It's refreshing to see a woman not take a guy's bullshit, plus it bothers Jinshi, which I find extra funny. I find her backstory very interesting; seeing how the red light district is run is especially interesting, especially when we compare it to the imperial court (is that the correct one?). The storyline with her biological father and her mother was moving and fulfilling as we get to fill that part of her backstory in. I hope we get to see more of Lakan, as I love his unapologetic freakiness, and Fengxian, since I want to see her life wrap up in peace, assuming her syphilis will actually kill her and Lakan locks in. Another detail I love is when she misguides people; I do have a hard time telling if it's intentional or not, though I think it might be a mix of both. It ends up being a funny plot device between her and other characters, especially with Jinshi and Lihaku. Though we also see it with other characters; maybe the ladies in waiting, though I can't think of a specific scene. I love her interactions with other characters too, with Consort Gyokuyuo and her ladies in waiting who care for her a lot even as a newcomer. I also adore her interactions with the other Consorts; she becomes protective of them probably due to similarities to her sisters at the Verdigris House. We see her stick up for Consort Lishu and Consort Lihua from their ladies-in-waiting. Also with her sisters, specifically Pairin, as she basically scouts out Lihaku and makes sure he's a good fit for her.        

That's it for my first post. Sorry for that last photo; I wanted it to be up in the text, but I was struggling a lot. Tip for anyone: get the HEB $2 chocolate cake real good 10/10!