Kusuriya no Hitorigoto 2nd Season

Using her wit and vast knowledge of medicines and poisons alike, Maomao played a pivotal role in solving a series of mysteries and conspiracies that plagued the imperial court. Having recently come to terms with the secrets of her parents, she returns to fulfill her normal duties on behalf of the emperor's highest-ranking consorts. Maomao also works alongside the eunuch Jinshi to better the consorts' many ladies-in-waiting, including helping them learn to read.

However, with the arrival of a merchant caravan comes a new wave of intrigue. A pattern of strange coincidences involving the visitors and their wares unsettles Maomao, driving her to investigate the puzzling circumstances behind the convoy. As dangers from both outside and within threaten the balance between the imperial concubines, Maomao continues to utilize her cunning and medical expertise to keep the women safe from harm.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Maomao Main

Yuuki, Aoi Japanese

Jinshi Main

Ootsuka, Takeo Japanese

Loulan Supporting

Seto, Asami Japanese

Shisui Supporting

Seto, Asami Japanese

Gyokuyou Supporting

Tanezaki, Atsumi Japanese

Kan, Lakan Supporting

Kirimoto, Takuya Japanese

Gaoshun Supporting

Konishi, Katsuyuki Japanese

Xiaolan Supporting

Kuno, Misaki Japanese

Lihua Supporting

Ishikawa, Yui Japanese

Ah-Duo Supporting

Kaida, Yuuko Japanese

Morishita, Katsuji Producer

Okamoto, Junya Producer

Fujimura, Tomoko Producer

Yazawa, Izumi Producer

Reviews

Mar 26, 2026

veldora__kun

Recommended

Damn!!

It’s going to be tough to convey my thoughts about this series, specifically the second season, but I’ll try my best to get it across.

First – Season 1 & Season 2 watching experience

If I had to describe it, I would call the first season a pilot episode and the second season episode 2… maybe. Season 1 was all over the place—and I mean that in a good way. We had Maomao solving all these problems and mysteries around the palace while occasionally giving us bits of plot points here and there that made you want to stay until the end.

Season 1’s story was already well ... written, but that wasn’t even the beginning. I think the author deliberately structured it this way so that no one could imagine what would happen in Season 2. Season 1 was all about build-up—planting the seeds so the threads could be connected later.

I would be lying if I said I never got bored with the routine that every episode followed. I did think about stopping and watching something else, but at the same time I didn’t—and thank god I didn’t. Continuing through both seasons after having that feeling turned out to be the right choice.

I’m not sure if it was intentional or not, but when you throw everything at someone all at once, they might miss something. This show did the opposite—it slowly, slowly built everything up.

Season 2 started rather slowly as well, continuing what Season 1 had set up. That might make some people impatient, but if you get through that part—my man, oh man—you are in for a treat.

Just how beautifully the dots from Season 1 and Season 2 start connecting in the later half of Season 2… it’s just peak after peak in terms of writing. Every small detail you see in the show ends up being used to connect those dots and weave everything into one thread. Every death, every conspiracy, every political move—everything is connected.

Overall thoughts

In Season 1, I felt like the plot didn’t really move much. We were introduced to many things early on, but the story was clearly building toward Season 2.

In Season 2, the overall plot finally starts moving forward. We move from Maomao being just an apothecary and Jinshi being just a nobleman to something much more. While we technically knew in Season 1 who Jinshi really was, it’s revealed much more clearly later in the story.

We see more of the current emperor.
We learn more about the late emperor, his empress, and his concubines.
And most importantly, we learn about the late Empress Regnant.

We also see how the late emperor’s powerlessness affected many people and how his mother essentially ruled from the shadows.

This story is a slow burner that gradually starts making more and more sense. If you want things to get going right from the start, this probably isn’t for you.

It’s complex at times, and it’s honestly astonishing how thoroughly the author has written everything. I must say though—it still carries a bit of that classic “royal court drama” cliché.

Subconsciously, I always thought that since the story takes place in an era with emperors, empresses, and crown princes, it would naturally involve greed for power, politics, and conspiracies. Because of that, I expected something like a war at some point… but I did not expect the author to cook this hard. 🤌🏻

I really crave stories like this—stories that slowly build everything up just so they can go absolutely wild in the later parts.

But with stories involving royalty and power struggles, sacrifices are inevitable—and they happen on both sides. The so-called “bad side” isn’t even purely bad or not all people from the side are bad they just get dragged into it. Characters like Shisui exist in every story like this, and it becomes unbearable to watch them sacrifice themselves for what they believe is the greater good.

The last 5–6 minutes of the second-to-last episode from season 2 were honestly unbearable for me to watch. It was just too much. Watched shisui throughout the season 2 and watching the mast 5 minutes really broke my heart.

The author really managed to make all of us emotional in one minute, and in the very next minute we’re already looking forward to what’s coming next. ( last episode of s2 🫡🥲)

Greed for power makes humans do many terrible things.
All Shisou wanted was for Shinmei to be back in his life. He did everything he could, but fate had other plans.

Our main leads

Our ML and FL, on the other hand—their story progresses quite well.

Jinshi is incredibly beautiful to the point that people sometimes question whether he’s a man or a woman. That very beauty is what makes him hesitate about his responsibilities—about being the Moon Prince, the crown prince.

Everyone sees him as someone whose only defining trait is his beauty. People judge him because of it, but they rarely look deeper to understand what kind of person he actually is.

Meanwhile, Maomao is… well, Maomao. She stays completely true to herself throughout both Season 1 and Season 2. Her character development is remarkable. We see her saying thay because of her upbringing she can’t really express herself and she can’t really understand other people’s emotions hence the cringe she feels whenever Jinshi gets cheesy. She as a person has really grown in season 2.

Although seriously—if only she had listened to Jinshi during the hunt… aargh. (sigh)

I’m really glad I waited until all the episodes from both seasons were out before watching. I honestly don’t think I would’ve had the patience to wait an entire week for every new episode.

Honestly it got everything right; comedy, drama, politics. Everything is written really well. It’s a perfect royal court room drama.

I don’t know if I made complete sense here, but if you’ve made it to the end of this review, please do yourself a favor and watch this slow-burn masterpiece.

And even after that incredible Season 2, there’s still more to come.

Because, as the title of the last episode of Season 2 says—

It’s just THE BEGINNING.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Mar 8, 2026

BenFM

Mixed Feelings

Apothecary Diaries is hard to rate. There's some fantastic characters, great voice acting, strong writing, good dialogue and some nice animation.

However it can also be painful to watch at times. There is a lot of excess baggage with episodes that don't contribute to the story or characters. This combined with the relationship between MaoMao and Jinshi being drawn out over and over again, creates some tiresome viewing.

There are also tons of plot holes and for me, I don't get a sense of satisfaction at all from the end of season 2. The mysteries of the crimes in the palace were the only part of ... the story that was wrapped up, but even then I can't say I particularly enjoyed it. There were really no major incidents and it built up to a two episode finale that felt insignificant. Loulan was under utilised and it feels like her story only began in the last 8 or so episodes.

MaoMao is really what makes the show good but does her story really have a strong arc and conclusion. Not for me.

Also there are some disturbing moments which paint characters like Jinshi in a very dodgy light, even though we're supposed to be rooting for him.

Overall I'd say it's a show worth watching and is of a higher quality than most anime, but the excessive nothing episodes, some very uncomfortable moments and a lack of a satisfying story do harm the show as a whole.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jul 5, 2025

bunnymai

Not Recommended

Funny

This season is worse than the previous one.
Season 1 Maomao seemed like an intelligent capable heroine solving problems around the palace. However, in season 2, the plots get much more convoluted and frankly, much more confusing, involving way too many characters we barely see. Honestly, I like shows with political intrigue normally, but the fact that Maomao is literally the only capable person in the series and solves every single issue and escapes unscathed each time is a bit unrealistic.
The ending is an extreme let down. I won't spoil it, but it's incredibly unrealistic and frankly, makes a lot of exposition and tension in ... earlier episodes pretty pointless. I can't decide if this is a children's anime from their unwillingness to deal with heavy themes, or an adult anime from their frequent sexual suggestiveness.
As with season 1, the worst character by far is rapey Jinshi. He is so incredibly rapey I can't believe the manga was written by a woman. He always forces himself onto Maomao, despite her clearly indicating her unease or disinterest. He acts like a petulant child and sulks whenever he doesn't get his way, it's so revolting to watch. I honestly can't see any redeeming qualities from him. Any scene with him in it is just ruined. I said in my Season 1 review that I predicted he would not actually have been castrated, because no way they have the courage to write a leading man who doesn't have the parts. Well I wasn't wrong.. Which makes him so much more rapey, hanging around the rear palace by choice despite not being a eunuch, ignoring his real responsibilities

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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	Poll: Kusuriya no Hitorigoto 2nd Season Episode 20 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Stark700 - May 30, 2025	151 replies	by Rasco »» Mar 25, 4:21 PM
	Poll: Kusuriya no Hitorigoto 2nd Season Episode 19 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - May 23, 2025	100 replies	by Rasco »» Mar 25, 12:04 PM
	Poll: Kusuriya no Hitorigoto 2nd Season Episode 24 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Jul 4, 2025	323 replies	by hazelquartz »» Mar 19, 11:17 AM
	Poll: Kusuriya no Hitorigoto 2nd Season Episode 13 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Apr 4, 2025	113 replies	by Lucifer2601 »» Mar 17, 4:41 AM
	what chapter of the manga does this end on? Awkwardite - Mar 2	2 replies	by ANOANOA »» Mar 9, 10:12 PM