Helen: Maomao has always had an interest in herbs, medicines, poisons, you name it! However she hasn’t had a chance to do any of that work lately while she serves in the Inner Court among countless other low-ranking maids.
But after recognizing a puzzling illness that was affecting the emperor’s consorts, one even the court physician was mystified by, she’s now serving Consort Gyokuyo as both a lady-in-waiting and official poison tester! Although Maomao isn’t sure she’s the best person for that job, since all of her experiments have given her a slight immunity to poisons (and even a food taster won’t be able to catch a slow-acting poison), there’s no turning down the job in a place where no one, from the maids to the consorts to the eunuchs, truly have power over their own lives.
Maomao is a fun character, one who I enjoyed reading about, but after this introductory volume there are a few details to her story that I’m still puzzled by, like some of Maomao’s history. It’s not completely clear if she had already been working as a servant in the pleasure district before being kidnapped or if she was kidnapped first and then worked in the pleasure district before moving onto the Inner Court. She does wonder if she was actually sold off by her father, which I don’t think this was the case based on the small glimpses we see in the background of her memories, although I would love for her to get a chance to come face to face with him again to confirm it.
I am also a bit curious why she’s literate if it’s such an unusual skill, but I am willing to chalk that up to “the main character is special in some ways” (beyond her obvious apothecary skills) but even that too hints at a possibly interesting personal history we haven’t touched upon yet. I wonder if this is explained in more detail in the original light novel or if these aspects of Maomao’s life are also left vague at this point in the story.
It’s unclear where the story will go next; so far it’s been episodic in nature and she doesn’t have any larger goals or ambitions (partially because of how she doesn’t want to do anything to benefit the folks who kidnapped her and are the recipients of her wages, i.e she has a vested interest in not earning more). I’m certainly enjoying her as a main character and the story so far, as the stories have been a balance of humor and a bit of sadness and I think it’s pulled off well, plus the art is pleasing all around.
But even episodic stories need some kind of goal to orient themselves around, like accomplishing a certain task or a location that needs to be reached. I’m just not sure what that’s going to be here, since again Maomao doesn’t have any larger plans for her life, not even “trying to escape the palace”. The story is certainly charming enough to make me want to give it more time to unfold, but it means that I’m left interested in the story but not filled with a burning passion to immediately consume more and it might be a while before I act on that cooler level of interest.
Helen’s rating: 3.5 out of 5
Krystallina: Three months ago, Maomao was kidnapped and sold to the imperial court to work as a maid. But she’s not an ordinary girl; she’s actually an apothecary with a high interest in — and tolerance for — poison. What she doesn’t have an interest in is Jinshi, a beautiful man whom Maomao believes is a eunuch.
The Apothecary Diaries volume 1 is one of those entries where a lot happens and yet not much happens. That’s mostly due to Maomao, who is unwillingly drafted into the role of a heroine in her own story. Her insight into poisons leads to her getting a promotion from laundry maid to food tester to unofficial alchemist. While getting access to a whole slew of plants, herbs, and medicines is one of few times we see the protagonist delighted, her enthusiasm is tempered by the fact she’s getting “requests” from Jinshi that lean on Maomao’s knowledge of the human body and plants as well as her own observations from living in the red light district.
Considering Maomao’s down-to-earth attitude, it’s easy for readers to follow her example and be rather dispassionate regarding some of the historical horrors in this Chinese-inspired setting. Right from the first chapter, Maomao hears about deaths of young infants and currently sick babies. We got men and women sold and subject to being traded like goods. So even though she’s the kind of heroine readers tend to flock to — smart, zealous nature, a trained body, and not one to fall for simple flattery — everything else here is a reminder you still wouldn’t want to be her because of the harsh conditions of the time.
Maomao narrates most of this volume, talking about her fascination with poisons and what she thinks about what’s happening in the court. The Emperor has two high-ranking consorts with Gyokuyo, the lady Maomao is serving, being his favorite. Gyokuyo is grateful for Maomao’s advice and is likely to let Maomao just be herself, and I can’t help but cheer for her happiness (whatever that may be). Jinshi, on the other hand, is rather irritating. Lots of potential love interests treat the protagonist like a toy or rare animal, but his haughtiness combined with whatever his role is in the court just makes him more manipulative than the average. The manga does show his point-of-view but it wasn’t enough to endear me to him.
Meanwhile, since Maomao tries not to treat her situation or background as a big deal, we don’t quite get a firm glimpse into her mad scientist side even though it’s clearly there. Those moments were my favorite part of the art, showing Maomao crazed and practically drooling in delight. The artist also does a good job of showing her as physically different from the beauties like Gyokuyo and not some secret Cinderella.
So the manga seems to push Maomao’s promotions rather than slowly revealing how she knows so much from chocolate to sleepwalking, and the volume closes with my least favorite episode of the book. Hopefully these incidents will turn into arcs readers can get more invested in and the manga will improve as we see more investigations into mysterious illnesses. If that happens and with a practical, analytical, eccentric heroine like Maomao, The Apothecary Diaries won’t have any trouble finding an audience.
Krystallina’s rating: 3.5 out of 5