Manga Review: The Apothecary Diaries Volume 1 story by Natsu Hyuuga, art by Nekokurage
Maomao lives in a country that is analogous to, but is not precisely, Ming Dynasty China. Daughter of a skilled but impoverished apothecary, she early showed a talent for the occupation, and is very skilled with drugs and poisons. She grew up in the “pleasure district” of the capital city, and learned how to make herself seem less attractive to avoid the wrong kind of attention. Unfortunately, this did not entirely work, and she was kidnapped and sold into indentured servitude to the “inner court” of the imperial palace.
The “inner court” or “rear palace” is the harem of the Emperor, where his concubines are housed. Four high-class concubines for making heirs, and a number of lower-class concubines for pleasure (or heirs if absolutely necessary.) Since only the Emperor, his blood relatives and eunuchs are allowed to enter of the male persuasion, many female servants are needed to do all the work, and Maomao finds herself among them. For some months, Maomao keeps her head low, doing laundry and pretending to be illiterate like most of the other maidservants. Being literate would allow her to rise in servant rank, but the increased payment would go to her kidnappers.
But when fellow servant Xiaolan fills her in on a rumor that the inner court is cursed because all the babies born there die, and two more are dying, Maomao has her curiosity piqued. The symptoms sound awfully familiar. And when she witnesses a confrontation between the two mothers, concubines Lihua and Gyokuyo, the remaining clues click into place. She murmurs about needing something to write with, not realizing there’s a sharp-eared person in the crowd.
Maomao’s anonymous notes manage to save one of the babies, that of Princess Gyokuyo. Her involvement is sniffed out by the sharp-eared and extremely handsome eunuch chief of staff Jinshi, who makes her one of Gyokuyo’s ladies-in-waiting and food tester. (With a dodge to cut her kidnappers out of the increased salary.) The food tester job is one that Maomao is quite suited for, due to her wide knowledge of and acquired immunity to many poisons.
Jinshi is especially interested in Maomao because she is the only person he’s met who’s utterly immune to his looks and charm. She shudders whenever he tries to touch her and looks at him like he’s an insect when he tries to be seductive. Fascinating! (It’s not totally clear if she’s asexual or just not into him in particular.)
Maomao is directed to create an aphrodisiac, and does, which will be familiar to modern readers.
And to finish off the volume, there’s a mystery about a concubine that sleepdances on the palace wall.
This series started out as a web novel, got turned into light novels, this manga and is now an animated series as well (first season not complete as of this writing.)
Maomao is a fun protagonist, intelligent and a bit cynical, but also as careful as she can manage to be under the circumstances. She doesn’t believe in the supernatural, and thus far each of the mysteries she’s dealt with have natural explanations. Her quirky habit of testing poisons on herself gives her a bit of edge.
The series does not shy away from the problems of being a woman and a commoner in the psuedo-Chinese society. Most of the maidservants have been sold into indentured servitude by their families to escape grinding poverty, and the palace doesn’t make close inquiries into just where the families got these “daughters”. Concubines serve at the pleasure of the Emperor, and he can choose to execute them or give them away to favored underlings at his whim. The courtesans of the pleasure district have much the same situation as the maidservants, but have to put up with whatever customers can raise the rental fees.
Because Maomao is one of the few people in the inner court who speaks honestly to Jinshi, he’s forced to consider that despite his…loss he’s still of high degree and his orders have consequences for those below him. Even so, he’s rather childish and spoiled in some ways, which amuses the reader even if not Maomao. Gao Shun, Jinshi’s aide, is more of a straight man to him and sometimes Maomao, who likes him better than his master.
The art is good, and most of the characters are easy to tell apart.
Content note: infant death. Maomao takes elaborate precautions against rape, though it’s not named. Some of the concubines are not particularly consenting in their relations with the Emperor. Prostitution is mentioned. Castration is euphemistically mentioned. Female cleavage. Maomao is an experienced drinker for her age. (Later volumes will have alcohol abuse.) Teens and up should be able to handle it.
The fact that it’s not-China gives the author leeway to avoid strict historical accuracy, but most of the science and herbology seems on target. The mysteries get a bit more elaborate as the series goes on, and there’s some intrigue over the course of the story. Recommended to fans of female detectives and Chinese trappings.
