The Apothecary Diaries Volume 2 Review
Excitement for The Apothecary Diaries has only continued to grow in recent months as the anime rolled into its second season, and a sequel of some description has been announced for the future. And of course, Square Enix has continued to publish the original light novels (as well as one of the manga adaptations) in print for those eager to add the source material to their collection. So, without further ado, let’s jump into Volume 2 of the light novels!
As we reunite with protagonist Maomao, we find her returning to the Imperial Palace, where she’ll now be officially working under Jinshi. She’s largely doing odd jobs for him, but of course, Jinshi didn’t hire her just to clean and instead wants to put her intellect to good use should anything mysterious happen within the Inner Court.
Just like with Volume 1 of The Apothecary Diaries, it doesn’t take long for Maomao to find herself embroiled in all kinds of things. Including a mysterious fire at one of the storehouses, a case of inheritance with a puzzle to solve, and a bad case of poisoning. And what seem like isolated incidents at first turn out to have a surprising connection.
But of course, there’s more to this book than Maomao solving cases. There’s plenty more happening that requires her attention, such as giving the consorts some education on how to spice up their night-time activities with the emperor, as well as avoiding Jinshi’s countless attempts to charm her. Just why is he so interested in her and why does she get a bad feeling that there’s more to him than meets the eye…?
Perhaps the most important thing this time around is that we meet Lakan, an eccentric military man who’s known for his fearsome abilities on the battlefield but receives nothing but the utmost disdain from Maomao. And there is a good reason for that, which is revealed toward the end of the book. While Maomao treats the man extremely poorly, his backstory has a lot of depth and leaves the reader with more nuanced feelings than our plucky protagonist.
Of course, it’s author Natsu Hyuuga’s writing that shines the most here. The author introduces us to a vast collection of characters within an intricate setting, managing to juggle this well in a way that doesn’t overwhelm the reader. Maomao doesn’t pay a great deal of notice to everyone around her unless it’s relevant, so she does a good job of conveying anything important to the reader as she tries to sort out her thoughts. This is also true of any connections between the various mysteries she investigates.
This is a series that has a lot to offer due to its setting and cast. It’s a very polished work with a lot of room to grow (as you’ll know if you’ve been watching the anime so far), and with Maomao at the helm, we’ll certainly never find ourselves bored. There’s plenty of fun to be had watching her navigate the politics of the Inner Court as well as Jinshi and Lakan.
As mentioned, The Apothecary Diaries Volume 2 comes to the West in print thanks to Square Enix Books. The translation is based on the J-Novel Club digital releases by Kevin Steinbach with an additional editing pass by Jennifer Sherman. As with the first book, this feels like a premium product that fans of the series will be keen to add to their shelves. There’s a selection of colour pages at the beginning by illustrator Touko Shino which are a real treat to flip through.
Square Enix has currently released five volumes in print, with Volume 6 set for release in early August, followed by #7 in September. In Japan, the series is up to 16 volumes, and J-Novel Club have so far released 14 of those in English digitally, with #15 currently being released for subscribers as part of their pre-publication service.
Overall, The Apothecary Diaries Volume 2 brings us more of what made the first instalment so engaging. With a quirky heroine like Maomao, it would be difficult not to find yourself pulled into her world and the many chaotic incidents she finds herself involved in.
Our review copy from Square Enix Books was supplied by Turnaround Comics (Turnaround Publisher Services).
