Hey, thanks for all the comments! If you feel we have gotten something wrong because of an event later in the manga or light novel please add a spoiler warning! Now onto the songs: 00:00 Durarara OST Their Aspirations 00:36 Fruits Basket OST Reason of Quibble 01:46 Fun Fun Fun Dayo Lucky star OST 03:21 Golgo 13 The Professional OST Tail To Nose 04:00 K on flashing 04:05 Lovely Complex OST Bose Na Risa 05:47 Lucky Star OST Ran Ran Ran dayo 07:21 Space dandy OST Shiritai 08:31 Full Metal Alchemist OST Heavanly Spirit 08:53 Lucky Star OST Ran Ran Ran dayo (Again) 10:40 Fruits basket OST 14:07 Kiss X Sis OST Otawamura Massaichuu 15:30 Suzume OST Shinkansen Super Express 16:32 Naruto OST Afternoon Of Konoha 18:00 Horimiya OST Unsweetened Honey 18:42 Kino's Journey OST Kino and Kino 20:26 Tales of Vesperia OST The daily Routine 22:51 Lucky star OST Konota's theme 23:54 Suzume OST Hitchhike 25:07 Daughter Of 20 Faces OST Chiko 27:16 Bartender OST Godmother 28:39 Zelda wind waker OST Dragon Roost Island 29:14 Haruhi Suzumiya OST Itsumo No Fuukei 30:29 Ranma 1/2 OST Here's Ranma

I actually think that the "This is Poison" scene is BEAUTIFULLY done. Maomao LIVES to consume poison, and just a scene or so earlier, she's absolutely giddy thinking about possibly eating fugu innards. So when she unexpectedly tastes the poison in the soup, she is delighted and savors it before admitting what she has just discovered. The contrast between her reaction and the fact that she just consumed something meant to kill someone elevates the scene for me.

Something people forget is that you can’t really expect a historical drama to play around today’s morals and common sense. Especially if it’s a good Historical Drama. For example, age of consent wasn’t really a concept a century ago

12:48 let me clarify some things potentially or I might be mistaken but.. Lishu is still a virgin, she never gave birth, the Current Empress/Concubine of the Previous Emperor, "Anshi Dowager" is the one who first gave birth to the current emperor at 9-10 years of age and then gave birth again to the Imperial Brother/Current Emperor's Brother, at around the same time that "Consort Aduo" gave birth to the "Current Emperor/Then Prince's" child but because MaoMao's adoptive father was forced to pay more attention to Anshi and her child, Aduo's child was ignored and seemingly died of botulism by the mistake of her Head Lady-In-Waiting.

Just to clarify, Lishu is actually a virgin, the former emperor became mad and died before touching her, Ah duo was the one who gave birth to the current emperor's child, and the person who gave birth at around 10 years old was the current emperor's mother. So the same themes and plot points but wrong characters

Regarding the first op, I've seen some people interpret it as being from Jinshi's point of view on how he sees Maomao, and honestly I think it checks out pretty well. Translated, the lyrics are: Become a flower - Come on, laugh nihilistically at me I get a thrill from the look on your face, I can't take my eyes away! Let me taste it, your poison is my medicine I'll envelop you with love, so laugh Incidentally, I've also seen someone suggest that the second op is also from his perspective, and that seems plausible too. The final chorus of the full version of the song reads: Blue, blue, I'm not reflected in those eyes, but I want you to always be smiling To be excited about what you love Yes, always I surely like you just the way you are

I would say the first opening is still thematically resonant with the show. Those other flowers are pretty but dangerous, like the courtesans and the palace intrigue that surround them. While maomao is depicted as holding onto a weed and represented by its budding flower. She might be assumed to be plain or undesireable, but like many weeds, she is tenacious and resillient. Unlike all the other flowers in the start of the op which wither away.

"Poisons and their effect on the human body is feminine" is not a take I was prepared for today.

a thing to note: AD is not set in ancient China (the country the characters live in is called Li, actually) and it was never specified to be Ming dynasty. It’s a fictional world (with obvious inspirations taken from the ancient China tho lol)

As a guy, I didn't know that it was labeled seinen. I didn't even think to check any labels. The one thing that made me (at first) pass on this anime was the period drama aspect. I've never been one to enjoy historical or period dramas. So it took my awhile to pick this anime up. And when I did, I watched the dub (it midnight for me, a little tired and didn't want to read subs). At the time I think 13 episodes were dubbed and I finally went to bed around 6am. I did a proper binge. Something I thought I was getting too old for. Turns out, I just need the right anime. And even after catching up to the dub I was left with wanting more. So I went to the sub and caught up to that. Episode 18 happened, I then needed more. So I went to the manga. Only meaning to read up where the anime is, 3 days later (and 68 chapters later) I had caught up to the manga. And needing more. Haven't done light novel yet, but I have been considering it. This has become an obsession or sorts.

Call me weird... but I feel like Apothecary doesn't belong in either... I feel like the problem shouldn't exist. It's a show that both genders (even the manly man or whatever) could enjoy. It's just solid storytelling.

I literally had no idea what it was labeled as. I just saw a video of someone praising Maomao and was like “YES” . I frickin love this show

Correction* Lishu was never pregnant with the emperor’s child. She was the former Emperor’s consort but he didn’t get her pregnant and if recall didn’t even touch her inappropriately before he died. I think there is a bit of a translation issue with her being a mother-in-law but regardless, she did not give birth at 9

if jinshi is an eunuch then i am an alien

Honestly, when I first saw that Apothecary Diaries was listed as a seinen I thought it was a database error. It's genuinely fantastic but from having read the LNs even when it's at its most action-heavy, it really does not care for detailing the action in a way I would expect from a seinen title. That, combined with Jinshi looking & acting the way he does, made me assume it was probably a shoujosei of some kind. Also, in the spirit of the LN categorisation argument, I decided to check bookwalker for their tagging bc they tag it as seinen. Turns out, they're not particularly consistent about tagging demographics at all with only 41% having a demographic listing. That said, of the 266 with demographics listed, 109 are seinen, 79 are shounen, and 78 are shoujo. They literally don't have a josei tag for LNs. Make of that what you will.

First of all it's nonsense to say that woman don't watch "seinen" (or that seinen is depressing by default). There is little to no overlap between shonen and shoujo, but both "seinen" and "josei" are more mature and realistic, which make them easier to watch for either gender. Generally speaking noone really care anymore. Second, I think main reason why it's generally categorised as "seinen" (not that it matter in any way) is simply because it's detective story with romance as mere subplot, which is prefered by male audience rather than plot that stories that primarily romance. Third: don't diss first opening, it's perfect representation of Maomao. Unremarkable common girl that intentionaly hides whole rich universe and beuty in her head where noone can see it. Maomao might look as nobody, but she is anything but. And most people that I personally witnessed talk about openings straight down prefer this first one. For respect of all time spend on research I will give this video like, even though I considered doing opposite. It was greatly informative video and I learned a lot, even if I disagree on takes it came with.

I'm a nearly 30 year old dude and this was one of my favorite series that I've read in the last decade. Granted, I mostly read romance/slice of life so I guess it's already withen my tastes, but I think it's a show/ novels that anyone can enjoy. People get too hung up on whether something was "meant" for you to give stuff a chance. I assure you that Ouran High School Host Club or Fruits Basket wasn't written with teenage boys in mind, but I still picked them up and I've been in love with the genre ever since ✌️💜

Lishu didn't give birth though. The empress dowager prevented the night from happening

Blaming Square Enix is a valid take.

You two are better investigative journalists than any major news outlet has seen in a decade

I also have seen a trend where people are caring less and less about genre tags like shonen/shojo. Funny enough my fiancé and I were talking about this in regards to Apothecary diaries. How we felt it was kinda a mix with different elements and then I said Tbh I don’t think it matters much anymore. Being NB I’m just happy to see everyone and anyone enjoy it.

Attack on Titans is in the SEINEN category but it doesn’t stop people in SHONEN age group to be fans. Apothecary is very fortunate to be categorized in SEINEN, because if it is in JOSEI it will probably be much less popular (and might not get animated). Because women often read both SEINEN and JOSEI. Why men often only prefer SEINEN.

Great video! I've been a fan of the manga for years and was surprised to find out it was seinen. But I've come to accept that shoujo/josei are often treated as "what shounen/seinen isn't" rather than their own thing. It's a shame, but I think less and less people care about demographic now, esp when it comes to seinen and josei. Also small correction, Lishu luckily was never touched by the old emperor. The reason she counts as a mother in law is because she was still his wife due to being part of his harem. Ah Duo was the current emperor's childhood friend, and had a child with him, which is why she's a high ranking consort despite her "old" age

It's really interesting to me that that was your takeaway from the first OP's direction. I kinda thought that her being dolled up and dancing in a beautiful dress was more targeting a female demo. Great OP, and great show. I discovered it mainly because of the "mystery" tag, and I'm glad demo listings or aesthetics don't bother me. Would've been a shame to miss out.

all in all amazing video... but I'm really hung up on calling Frieren depressing. There is a reason the first 4 episodes were released together as one big epsiode. The Story is the opposite of depressing: increadibly uplifting.

i have another interpretation for the first op, it may be wrong but its the first one that i reached when i had some more context of the show so i think it is not entirely worthless. i call it 'the rise of maomao' but first this come from a couple assumptions. first, that the concubines are represented by flowers (im sure of three of them, gyokuyou is represented by camelia, lishu by lily of the valley and lihua is also represented by a flower, but i cant remember which one it was. im not really sure about ahduo), the second, jinshi is actually the son of the emperor and consequently the next in line for the throne, and last, the op is from jinshis pov so from this assumptions my mind jumped to a kind of 'future plot' where jinshi is to rise to the throne and so to have a harem, but no matter how many beautiful flowers are in from of him, he only has eyes for a humble weed flower aka maomao, and so he chooses her as empress consort over all others idk if it is right, i only follow the manga but this does feel a little bit shoujo-ish

I watch at least a few episodes of every new anime no matter what it is. It's best for people not to pigeon hole themselves and try many new things. I'm a guy and I fell in love with this show in the first episode. Maomao is easily my favorite MC ever written. You could put her character in any story or situation and I would watch it.

Also slight tangent : Lishu has no children. The current emperor's mother (Anshi) was also very young when she had him. She had a second child around the same time as Ah-Duo. It isn't mentioned in the show I believe but in the manga around the same time : Ah-Duo and the current emperor actively set up plans to stop the former Emperor from visiting Lishu as to protect her. So TLDR: Anshi was the young concubine and mother in question, not Lishu

I personally never look at the genre of a show. most of the time I look at the cover and if it looks nice I take a look into the first episode. most of the times I don't get disappointed :D sometimes I also read a short description of what the show is about. Not too often though. :) I love the apothecary diaries as does my husband. And I also talked some friends into watching it. :)

Love that maomao is basically an addict trying to stay out of trouble

I think the conclusions drawn are flawed since it excessively focused on the first 12 of 24 episodes. The world expands beyond the Rear Palace to the outer court. The deaths of Bureaucrat’s and artisans as well as artisans and the threats they endure and mysteries to be solved. It’s pretty clear Jinshi and Gaoshun are not Eunuchs. There is some kind of imperial conspiracy hidden in the mysteries Maomao solved.

Lets see badass older women... Riza Hawkeye, Izumi Curtis, Olivie Armstrong... Mikasa... My mind is hitting a blank right now. Uhh, Elsa Granhiet? No, that is more "oo la la scary" than "woah slay stronk". Ghost in a Shell mc is pretty cool in the first movie.

That's weird... I've been looking for a decent anime/manga to follow and this is the first one that actually interested me. I never bothered to look at the label. It had a tiny bit of romantic theming but isn't about some trashy people backstabbing each other or some melodramatic shit with very age inappropriate characters which seems to be the direction almost everything is going.

The thing is the scenes where she is more sexual along with the opening feels more symbolic of how poison makes her feel like herself. Like it's a hedonistic desire similar to sex and openly compares that desire to how sex is viewed in the world. Which brings up questions and thoughts of bodily autonomy and how one uses it or is forced to give it up. This comparison of poison and sex is for me the main theme of the show, how when used wrong it can hurt or kill or how when it's used right can be used to build others up. So when you look at the opening from that mindset it's no longer fan service, it's showing how our protag has to "pick her poison" and she quite literally chooses poison over sex. Repressing sexuality for a different kind of pleasure.

I'm a 64 year old grandfather and I love this anime. The insights to China's Imperial life is fascinating. The anachronisms in MaoMao's knowledge are easily forgivable.

~spoilers~ The first opening is gorgeous and highlights the duality of Maomao's character, as a girl raised in the red light district vs the apothecary. She does learn how to work/dance/entertain and in fact dances in an outfit just like the one in the opening later on the story. Another thing I noticed and thankfully others pointed out, the show is not set in China but in a fictional world and it's even stated at the start of almost every episode and if I'm remembering correctly, in the manga as well.

My interpretation of the first Opening of the anime, is tied to the translated lyrics of the song itself: Although I definitely think it is likely they added a bit of extra sex appeal to the opening to try and hook boys in, I do think it doesn't stray as much from the message and theme of the show and the character, as it may seem. The lyrics of the song are very close to Maomao's experiences and philosophy in life. It's all about hiding yourself, and letting your beauty bloom in seclusion where it's safe, about not caring what others think, or about adorning yourself to appeal to others. It implores you to embrace your inherent beauty from being yourself. Regardless of Maomao's disposition and attitude, it is an undisputed fact that she grew up in a very sexual environment, and the anime does express that she *is* beautiful in her own way, and knows the arts of a courtesan from her sisters. I don't think it's coincidental that Maomao multiple times throughout the show mentions that she fears being put to work at the brothel herself, meaning that the madam of the brothel expects she would make them money as a courtesan. A spoiler detail that also ties into this (last chance to stop reading if you don't want spoilers) is the fact that her mother was a popular courtesan in the same brothel before her. I read the visuals of the OP along with the lyrics, to speak to Maomao's rejection of the beauty and sex appeal that she could realistically lean on like her sisters in the brothel. It is a part of her, hence why we see the second Maomao flow into the Maomao we know and love, but one she keeps hidden and safely guarded like the song suggests. She doesn't want to or care to exploit that part of her for money, adoration, or power. Thus we only see it in full display in the opening as part of her own internal world. The beauty and grace that she shows in the op dance, a part normally valued highly in the society and environment she grew up in, is also a danger to her safety. If nothing else, the visual narrative of the OP reinforces the idea that Maomao has survived so far as well as she have by keeping a low profile, and that her life could have gone very differently given the environment she grew up in. She doesn't need the validation from fancier herself up like a decorated flower pot, she succeeds on her own merits, carves her own path, and knows her own value. You could say the dance sequence wasn't necessary to make this point, but I would disagree to some extent. Without it, we don't have a reference for *what* it is that Maomao is keeping inside herself. In addition, I think it is an interesting contrast to show the viewer right from episode one. It similarly reflects the contrast of Maomao's background and environment she was raised in with how she acts and her humble profession as an apothecary. Maomao lives a life of contrasts and contradictions, so I think the sequence in the OP does a decent job of setting up an expectation for that contrast within the show. What she could be, compared to what choses to be.

I was surprised to know this was actually Seinen, because it feels so much like a Josei anime even though the leads are teenagers.

just wait for the frog scene from the manga

Just to be a pedant, but Lishu didn't get pregnant (it's unclear if she was ever a victim of the Former Emperor). That was the Empress Dowager Anshi, mother of the current Emperor - and while her age when pregnant wasn't given it was certainly young enough to horrify Maomao. (The overall point still stands though!) btw here is my badass older women list: Shinobu Nagumo Prospera Mercury Balsa (from Moribito) Lisa Lisa (& would Fujiko Mine or Michiko Malandro count?)

Apothecary Diaries feels like I'm back watch Jewel in the Palace where it's all about political intrict in harem, knowledge about plant, mystery, etc.

Meanwhile im a guy who actually read it and liked it. As long as it have a good stories i will read/watch the hell out of it.

SPOOOILEEEEER~!! Shinji is not an eunuch, he just pretends to be so that he can work there in peace

I have been enjoying the series too, it can seem slow or like i had missed something, but watching week to week it is possible i had just forgotten something, I did learn from this vid and want to say thank you, we do need more love for this great series.

I can see why you would want this anime to be classified as a josei. However, there are also a lot of elements that cater to a more masculine demographic. There are assassinations, suicides, political intrigue, and an entire episode dedicated to finding the mysteries of how swords are made, which are much more traditionally masculine topics that are most commonly found in the seinen genre. Ultimately, I don't think that either demographic fully encapsulates what the story is in its entirety. Men can watch this show and they will probably like it and women can watch this show and they will probably like it. That's why I like the fact that the anime itself isn't classified as either, because making it one or the other would just serve to alienate some of its potential audience from watching this great show.

So, I haven’t made it through the whole video yet but I’m kinda worried about how they prop up a particular element of jinshi’s character. If you’ve read the manga or read the light novel, you know 🐸

I'm not sure why you got so hung up on the demographic, but otherwise good analysis. From what I've seen, the fans of Apothecary Diaires are almost evenly split along gender lines, so the demographic is "yes".

loved watching this!! knh is my biggest interest rn so i had to watch it, and yall did great omg i loved every point touched up on and all the new stuff i learned abt its production!! i was actually one of the ones who found the show through a friend watching it, and then read the mangas, ln, and all the way up to the latest web novel chapter! if you like the apothecary diaries, the anime only experience is so magical!! they include stuff not in the source material (ALWAYS FUN!!) AND WE'RE CREEPING UP ON SUCH A GOOD ARC!! pls keep up positive reviews for the show i NEED season 2!!!! AND AND AND reading the mangas and the written versions of the story is so fufilling! like the mysteries just get bigger and more complicated and even darker in some cases! we learn so much about the characters, even the ones you'd think didnt have any room for depth like lihaku or the quack :) its so fun PLEASE give this series all your love

/adds another anime to his watch list/... Thank you two! lol but seriously thank you for highlighting the show i look forward to going through it.

I absolutely love this anime! Watching it again for like the 4th time now. I honestly did not know it was labeled as an seinen?!?! I don’t really care what label it was given. The fact that our main character Maomao is very smart and uses her knowledge for good is refreshing. And that she doesn’t immediately fall for the handsome person Jinshi. I found it hilarious she feels grossed out by Jinshi’s flirting while others fawn over his beauty. He actually becomes more better when he’s around her…more human than the act he puts on for everyone.

1. I have been assuming the term 'light novel' is from English where 'light reading' refers to mass market fiction genres like romance/mystery/horror/sf-f. 2. I also never once considered Apothecary Diaries as aimed at a male demographic, considering it as "Sherlock Holmes meets court drama meets historical fiction China," which is incredibly female themed, imo

I (32 F ) am really hyping over this Anime AND mainly the Manga since I saw the first trailer of it. I reread and rewatched both over and over to find more and more nuances to the story. I don't really care about what categories both Manga and Anime are categorized in and just trial and error if something looks interesting. This is also how I found this gem and how I will continue dealing with my obsession over manga in general xD

I'd just like to point out that the first opening and extra cuts to make a few scenes more sexy aren't a bad thing or purely pandering to male viewers in my eyes. The show treats sensuality as empowering at times, so I consider them as depicting the times where Maomao feels the most "alive".

Woah cool video! Are those hand drawn pixel art versions of traditional Chinese patterns for the title cards? What a cool and fun idea!

about sir integra shes only in her early 20s at the beginning of the anime only after the time skip she becomes a older woman😂

It is mentioned many times by Maomao and hinted but not said out loud due to fear of punishment, many were disturbed by the previous emperor's like for VERY young and feminine women. The new emperor won't openly say it and is politically forced to keep the young concubines around although he doesn't touch them which causes them to be bullied by those around them. I find it interesting how the author went about such a sensitive subject of history without upsetting the public. I also appreciate it's ability to explain the difference in education and common knowledge during it's time historically. Like the average man not knowing about a womans monthly cycles (don't remember seeing it in the anime but remember it in the manga). It's also unique that instead of Maomao magically having the answer and knowledge to fix any situation, she often has to hold herself back even if she does know out of fear that drawing attention to herself or that someone of her status can't directly accuse someone without being put to death even if she was right. i highly recommend this series because, like you said, it is genderless and very entertaining while also being kinda educational. I certainly didn't know about the honey.

I started getting into this series by reading abit of the manga, then the anime came out shortly after that, i love it so much to the point that i started reading the LN, i’m at vol.10 already and i can not stop reading it. This series is special, i highly recomend the light novel

So, funny note on the openings. I (male) am watching the show with my sister right now (not quite finished but we will be soon) and for the note on the openings she... overwhelmingly prefers the first opening and not the second one as the video might suggest (while I don't really have that strong of feelings about it) Might be reflective of her interests but I do find it interesting that my personal experience with the show actually reflects the opposite of what the video posits in this case.

I wondered about the classification myself, and at first I thought it was due to the subject matter itself - historical drama + the brothels + the harem of the inner court. But after I got deeper into the light novels (after binge reading them after episode 2..... 10 are out in English officially!) I changed my mind and it's a lot simpler. No spoilers really: It's probably because of the sheer number of boob and dick jokes. But I like your technical explanation a lot better and I agree to blame Square Enix. Also: The fangirling is happening on Tumblr for Apothecary Diaries.

Yall are doing the digging my brain can't be bothered to do on a random late night anime Deep dive, thanks soldiers

Has the anime made it to her mother yet? I took the dance in the op to be part of that arc.

It's not the Ming dynasty, because there is a mirror in later chapters that's was invented after 1833

ive recently gotten into this anime and im already addicted! ive been looking at jinshi fanart a lot more than id like to admit 😅

Idkwtf you people are talking about. I've seen soooooo many people talking about and praising AD and not once had I heard the word seinen thrown around.

Ascendance of a bookworm also gets labeled as for guys despite being most popular with older women purely because its a LN. A lot of lesbian romance does too, its really frustrating that so many series are getting these labels in complete disregard to their actual content

I’m pretty excited to watch it. I’ve been watching stuff to get excited for it

I love my castle of sand

I love this show and learning that it's still in publication in its earliest form is killing me inside. I so desperately want to be able to binge this but I feel like it's going to be a thing like one of my favorite manga which has been on going for over 20 years 😭. And as someone who grew up watching only anime that had been completed almost a decade prior I am dying inside. I don't like being a fan of things that aren't finished. But I am. So I am destined to suffer..

I'm so glad that I was not the only person to be confused about the seinen tag. Thank you guys for the digging you've done. In my opinion it is 100% a josei series. Maybe publishers were confused because the MAIN plot isn't a romantic plot. And the romantic plot is really slow burn to the point where Mao Mao hasn't even entertained the idea of being in a romance because of how she views herself socially. Also a bunch of other intrigue is going on in the meantime which takes up the majority of the drama and plot. Of course the series obviously has universal appeal and I have guy friends who are also enjoying it because it's GOOD in general. I will yell into the void recommending it because I love the story and want to see the creators rewarded.

Just off the heels of finishing AoT and Watching the first part of Invincible S2... I've watched almost every episode of this show... SEVERAL TIMES.... Gosh, I love this show and it's slow flippin out of place for what I typically like watching... 😅

I love Apothecary Diaries. But then again, I'm a dude who lives for romance in his stories. Dunno if you've seen it or not, but I recommend Patema Inverted. Very good anime movie. It also straddles the boundary line between demographics, though not to the same extent that Apothecary Diaries does so.

The opening now made sense with the final episode of the season.

The fact that i had no idea this show wasn't a shojou or josei until watching this video is telling

This makes so much sense. Having watched the anime, read the LN and started on the manga, the disconnect seemed weird. It might be that fewer people are talking about it because it has actually been watched by the demographic it was originally intended for. Us older women anime/LN/manga lovers tend to be less likely to comment on the forums.

I watched the anime, am caught up on the manga, and am now reading the light novels. I am obsessed with this show/story to put it lightly, In the first opening something most people don't realize is that all of the flowers she is surrounded by and the bouquets are flowers of the consort and the women she gets to know/we get introduced to through the consorts and the courtesans. Someone broke it down on Tiktok with the flower's hidden meanings and looking at the character names. (I don't remember the exact video and I am aware Tiktok isn't the best at facts) So you could also break it down as Maomao slowly blooming into her own person and growing to flourish among these planted and manicured flowers into her own sort of new side we see develop through the show. We don't see a lot of massive growth from Maomao in the anime but when comparing it to the light novels/manga, this theory really could hold some weight and merit. I do love the idea of this theory but it could also be the main girl doing a sexy dance, because if this show was initially aimed at a male audience that could most certainly play a role.

I got recommended this anime somewhere and read the manga after. I honestly think they did a masterful job. The anime can put into motion the still frames of the manga or the descriptions of the novel, while they have to do away with a lot of the exposition. They show a very keen awareness of this. The manga has a lot of thought bubbles from Mao Mao. Large ones at that. Long inner monologues are unavoidable in the adaptation, but they try to follow the principle of 'show, don't tell', I feel. As it is focused on social interactions and all the subtleties that come with it, eye movements, facial expressions, posture, and all that play an important role. And since you're watching the show, that's probably something you pay attention to too. So instead of a couple of panels where she's thinking about how excited she was about the poison, we get a scene that's reminiscent of the 'woman eating something delightful for the first time' trope. You've already been conditioned to be aware of the expressions and movement of the people in the show. Which also makes it more understandable that everyone notices her excitement. If I recall, they actually add a few more scenes to the show here and there for this purpose (don't ask me an example, I'd have to re-watch and reread it). Could they have done it a bit shorter and more subtle? Probably. However, I bring forth a second point. You mention how she's considered plain or ugly even though she isn't really that bad. This part of the show is also the first part where they're trying to sell you her allure as a woman. So yes, they're going to put it on thick. On beauty, it's a funny thing. Nowadays we consider tanned people attractive (as long as it's not weathered). Why? Because it's an indication you can spend leisure time in a place where you get a tan, which means you have at least some wealth. Back then, pale faces were beauty. A pale complexion means you have the leisure of spending all your time outdoors or in shade, never having to go outside in the sun. There was a time in Europe when that was the beauty standard too. Any blemish on the skin was considered terrible. Except for that one beauty mole, for some reason. Freckles, even in Europe, were considered something only a peasant would have. In a highly stratified society, that would have a big impact. Also, I'd have to read the novel to check, but it wouldn't surprise me if there she did more than just add freckles. Like maybe adding a fake tan, or somewhat uneven coloring. Anything to make herself look more like a peasant. But hey, can't have that in the manga or anime adaptation.

7:16 dang that background is really giving me nostaljia for my old programming on Eclipse days.... ^-^ ....wait . o.o where am I again?

This is a really fun and interesting breakdown. Funny enough, Crunchyroll's genre listing throws another wrench into things with Drama and... Shojo. At least it reverts it back to the more appropriate female demo, but it's a bit odd to aim it at the younger and (usually) more romance focused portion of that demo. Edit: Almost forgot the assignment. Depending on cutoffs for age and definitions of badass maybe not all of these work, but Tsubone from Hunter X Hunter, Lady Eboshi from Princess Mononoke, and Eri Kisaki/Eva Kaden from Detective Conan/Case Closed.

Not to get into the weirdness of demographics and such, from what I understand the original web novel is published as general and the light novel physical publications are both in a seinen imprint and a jousei imprint (I could be misunderstanding some stuff though), it's both the manga that are specifically seinen imprints, which makes sense because women will still buy seinen imprint manga, but men generally won't buy jousei imprint manga.

It is doomed either way. Raven of the Inner Palace has the same vibes as the Apothecary's diary (just with ghosts instead of medicine), is listed as female demographic and people give it bad reviews because with this tag they believe it will feature more romance.

A couple things I'd like to point out as more perhaps not portrayed quite right in the video from how the anime's narrative shows/tells us: I don't think I'd describe Jinshi and MaoMao's relationship as brother and sister honestly. I'd definitely say MaoMao does think he's annoying and brushes him off between thinking early on he's a bit of a creep/immature for someone in his position, mostly the immature part since the story points out there are ways he tends to act immature and we see it a lot, BUT, for Jinshi it's definitely something that quickly becomes an infatuation that just as speedily turns into him seeking romance because she doesn't fawn over him and bites back/stands up to his antics. There was also a huge bit of the plot with him worrying if she'd slept with anyone early on and the biggest intent behind him buying her out from the brothel when she went back was to preserve the fact she hasn't been with anyone because he aims to romance her entirely and is occasionally frustrated she doesn't seem to notice his feelings for her, though he loves to see her happy and still dotes on her (even if it's somewhat bribery at times too, he just likes messing with her a little bit for her reactions). I would over all call it a comedic romantic pursuit over a bickering sibling-type, just with one party as of yet not clued into the other's feelings due to her own social rank etc. Also the eunuch thing is a major plot point, so I'll only soft spoil that the jokes of Jinshi not having his male parts in the script is a taaaad misleading since they allude to a lot early on that there's something a bit off about him as well as his position and relations to some of the other characters. Like it's so pointed out at times by the plot within a few episodes I was already making guesses with some validation when i ran off to read it to current chapter from how much I enjoyed it and needed more after I finished season 1. Over all great video, I'm shocked to learn that there's any kind of discourse over this fantastic anime in the direction that it's 'not aimed at women'. With how prominent female characters are in the plot, MaoMao as the main lead, and the slow-burn romance vibes put in i thought it was entirely aimed more at a female audience and really it's sad anyone would avoid watching it for not fitting under a specific genre tag. They don't know what a good anime they're missing out on, one of the top best recent ones I've seen in modern anime so i hope your video does help bring interest and spread the word!

There’s a lot of badass middle aged women in the Umineko manga/anime/visual novel. Eva, Kyrie, Rosa, and Natsuhi from the Ushiromiya family are all middle aged mothers who swing around shotguns and fight giant goats to protect their kids. They also all have complicated character arcs in which being a woman in 20th century Japan and societal roles and stuff are discussed. Though I don’t know if Umineko is really possible to cover without having to read through fifty volumes of manga or hundreds of hours of visual novel:!8-!/);!3&-!:

8:33 wanna add that Integra isn't an older woman until the very end of OVA 10. Before that, she's 22 But some examples, hmmm... Ren Gyokuen from Magi (49), Angelina Dalles (mid 30ies) and Francis Midford (mid to late 30ies) from Black Butler, Yu Ziyuan from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (no direct age, but her kids are late teens and young adults) and Chloé d'Apchier from Case Study of Vanitas (vampire, over 200 years old) come to mind - Also it really says something when an older woman qualifies as a woman who hasn't even turned 40 yet. Wow. That's a whole other topic

8:42 Fine(フィーネ, Fīne) from Vampire in the Garden also Tohya Hachijo, Eva Ushiromiya, Featherine Augustus Aurora, Kyrie Ushiromiya, Virgilia and Beatrice from umineko are some pretty badass women. Also Erza Scarlet from fairy tail but she's a bit sexulized and younger compared to the ones I shared before, still an adult.

I personally like both The Apothecary Diaries and Frieren. I agree that AD is a bit of a misfit in Seinen, but it still works there well enough. When I watched it, my first comment was that this was one part The Red Sleeve, one part House MD.

I found it from a clip on KZfaq, I'm pretty enamored with it now.

I appreciate you exploring questions of gender in the themes and audience of Apothecary Diaries. However, I take issue with how you went about discussing the demographic category here. You seem to take for granted that the KnH anime is a seinen, based seemingly on this twitter account and the demo of the two manga adaptations. But whether an anime is a shonen, seinen, shoujo, or josei doesn’t depend on where later manga adaptations are published but on the source material itself. And in this case that it is the light novels (even if the nekokurage manga is clearly being used as inspiration for the anime storyboards). So it’s really none of those four demographics. For example, Code Geass isn’t a shoujo because of subsequent shoujo manga adaptations. It’s none of the above, since it’s an anime original. Similarly if Four Seasons Agents gets an anime adaptation (and it will) the anime won’t be a shoujo despite it having manga adaptations in shoujo mags and even the original being clearly directed at female audiences (just like the author’s previous work Violet Evergarden - no one calls that a shoujo). In the end I agree with you that demo labels are artificial and can help or hinder based on how we use them, but I just wanted to point out that your initial assumption “KnH is a seinen” is not correct. It’s not that KnH is mislabeled; it’s that whoever is giving it that demo label is incorrect. And since you’ve written this video it seems that HnK have thankfully gathered quite a large audience!

m20, ive been enamored with this show from the first episode. it never occured to me until this video that it might be made for a female audience... am i stupid?

This is a really interesting video! Something interesting that I've realized is that what happened with the Apothecary Diaries is similar to another favorite of mine, Ascendance of a Bookworm. It's light novel was also listed for a male demographic despite generally feeling more female oriented (Which honestly you could go into an entire discussion on what really makes something female vs male oriented and yadda yadda but whatever,) but it's manga is listed as shojo, switching back to a female audience. The theory regarding this gender swapping, which I think may also apply here, is that women and girls are far more likely to try media labeled for men or boys than vice versa, meaning that if you want to reach mass appeal and "Choose a side" so to speak, you have to label your audience as male. This problem is obviously rooted in sexism, assumptions, and the nature of having to needlessly gender things media. It's sort of what happened with video games too, when the switch was made to market them as toys and they needed to pick the pink or blue aisle, blue was more marketable, which obviously led to the current male dominated culture. It's almost... paradoxical? A male audience is assumed to be more universal than a female one, but being labeled as so leads to a toxic culture eventually developing that ends up isolating women and girls from media they may enjoy. Honestly this is why I wish that gendered genre's and audience labeling didn't exist, but I know how it's become so ingrained right now, especially with how things like that intersect with the publishing industry and other things in the production of anime. Good video! May not have agreed with all your points but it made me think enough to leave this ramble of a comment. Might check out your other videos and subscribe

Its so sad that it has misleading demography tag. It should be labelled a josei if not then shoujo. Its not seinen. It has no male gaze everything is a female pov. How the characters act how they react

So this is well old at this point, but the animation for the first opening is a flash forward to things later, as well as very linked to the *lyrics* of the opening song, 'Hana ni natte', or 'Be a Flower'. it's about the expectations of others, hiding ones self behind beauty, being demure, etc, and, finally, how you should just be yourself. It's INCREDIBLY on message for the animation to be Mao Mao being all pretty and dancing and such - while looking somewhat miserable the whole while, until, while the lyrics talk about loving you, the sexy Mao Mao dissolving into the one we know as being, if not the real her, far closer to her true self. Also, Apothecary isn't actually set in ancient china. It's a *Pseudo-Chinese inspired world* of its own that's *based* on the Tang dynasty.

Male audience like me thinks of Maomao as the best girl. That's how we enjoy shows like this. If the character is interesting and cute, it's on

I don't know if you still need "Milfs" but Trigun has Rem Saverem, though while only 30 during her appearance is still very much a motherly character and so interesting. But also in Trigun (Manga, not either anime adaptation) there is Elendira. A stunning, probably also early 30ies? Canon Transwoman.

Regarding the first op, the flowers represent women and their beauty and diversity. (The end of ch.4 gave that away). As the "camera" travels into the background forest, we see a flower that hasn't bloomed yet. That represents Maomao. Her dress as she dances (the night sky) represents her depth of knowledge. The mirror says she has more sides to her than we know. The faces she makes as she dances show her personality. (Her disdain for Jinshi is clearly displayed). As the flower blooms, so will Maomao turn into a beautiful woman as she merges with her mirror self. After ch.4, I realized the meaning of the op and it became a lot better. love the song too. Robyn.

Nothing to support this as I don't speak or read Japanese, but I'd wondered if Light Novel vs Novel related to the complexity of written language used. E.g. use of more common kanji and furigana for probably a generally younger audience. Never looked into it though, so probably not.

I do like this show a lot and am caught up on the manga, but I still have to give the top spot to Freiren this season haha

from my understanding, a light novel is what you said but also it's usually a more casual type of reading, it's not huge complex classic literature it's a light reading. that's why they are called light novels from what i heard.

Pretty sure Crunchyroll lists one of its genres as "shojo"

“decent sized frog” 💀🐸

Ok ty for reminding me that MAL exists