News: Anime adaptation of The Apothecary Diaries set to premiere on October 21, featuring first 3 episodes

The official website for the anime adaptation of Natsu Hyūga and Touko Shino‘s The Apothecary Diaries (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto) light novel series revealed on Friday that the anime will premiere on October 21 with the first three episodes. The website also revealed a new visual, and stated the anime will air for two cours (quarters of a year).

The website also unveiled a visual:

Crunchyroll will stream the anime as it airs.

Aoi Yūki will voice the main character Maomao, and Takeo Ōtsuka will play Jinshi.

Norihiro Naganuma (The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 1) is directing the anime at TOHO animation and OLM, and Naganuma is also supervising the scripts. Akinori Fudesaka is the assistant director. Yukiko Nakatani (Go! Princess Precure, Tropical-Rouge! Precure) is designing the characters.

Katsumi Takao (Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle) is the art director, while Misato Aida (My Master Has No Tail) is the color key artist. Yū Nagai (Komi Can’t Communicate) is the CGI director. Rumi Ishiguro is the compositing director of photography. Daisuke Imai is in charge of editing. Shōji Hata is the sound director. Satoru Kousaki (Vivy -Fluorite Eye’s Song-), Kevin Penkin (Made in Abyss), and Arisa Okehazama (ONIMAI: I’m Now Your Sister!) are all composing music for the anime.

J-Novel Club publishes the novel series digitally, and it describes the story:

In the East is a land ruled by an emperor, whose consorts and serving women live in a sprawling complex known as the hougong, the rear palace. Maomao, an unassuming girl raised in an unassuming town by her apothecary father, never imagined the rear palace would have anything to do with her—until she was kidnapped and sold into service there.

Though she looks ordinary, Maomao has a quick wit, a sharp mind, and an extensive knowledge of medicine. That’s her secret, until she encounters a resident of the palace at least as perceptive as she is: the head eunuch, Jinshi. He sees through Maomao’s façade and makes her a lady-in-waiting to none other than the Emperor’s favorite consort… so she can taste the lady’s food for poison!

Hyūga began serializing the story on the “Shōsetsuka ni Narō” (Let’s Become Novelists) website in October 2011. Shufunotomo began publishing the novels in print volume with illustrations by Shino in August 2014. Nekokurage launched an ongoing manga adaptation in Square Enix‘s Monthly Big Gangan magazine in May 2017. Square Enix Manga & Books is releasing the manga adaptation in English.

Sources: The Apothecary Diaries anime’s website, Comic Natalie