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REVIEW: The Apothecary Diaries




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Blanchimont



Joined: 25 Feb 2012
Posts: 3447
Location: Finland
PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2020 3:33 pm Reply with quote
Note this is one of two manga adaptations of the source novel, the other one(artist Kurata Minoji) is up to 9 volumes in Japan, this one is up to 7 volumes.

The source novel was picked up by j-novel club recently.
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whiskeyii



Joined: 29 May 2013
Posts: 2245
PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2020 4:08 pm Reply with quote
Blanchimont wrote:
Note this is one of two manga adaptations of the source novel, the other one(artist Kurata Minoji) is up to 9 volumes in Japan, this one is up to 7 volumes.

The source novel was picked up by j-novel club recently.


Is there any real difference between the two aside from art style? Seems odd that there would be two adaptations into the same medium.
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Blanchimont



Joined: 25 Feb 2012
Posts: 3447
Location: Finland
PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2020 4:52 pm Reply with quote
whiskeyii wrote:
Is there any real difference between the two aside from art style? Seems odd that there would be two adaptations into the same medium.

The pacing is faster in the other one(author said they preferred the pacing in that one better), the other one also follows the light novel more closely, more focus is placed on Mao Mao, and is geared more toward seinen than shounen. Art however apparently is less dynamic in that one though.

Basically what happened, the author sold the manga rights to two different publishing companies, that's why there's two versions...

It's a bit hard to compare as there's no translation of the other one, unofficial or official, but amazon.jp does have first chapters of both available for free.
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xxmsxx



Joined: 06 Sep 2017
Posts: 564
PostPosted: Mon Dec 21, 2020 2:22 pm Reply with quote
Blanchimont wrote:
It's a bit hard to compare as there's no translation of the other one, unofficial or official, but amazon.jp does have first chapters of both available for free.


You mean in English right? It does have official translations for both versions of the manga in other languages, in addition to the light novel. And yes, the pacing of the story is different. The focus of the story is different. Art styles are very different (in terms of historical accuracy of the attire characters wear, the Square Enix version just blow the other one out of the water).

I think an anime adaptation is imminent. It passed 11 million total sales this month. What I am concerned about is the production. If whoever greenlights this only wants to make a quick buck, then it will struggle. If not, it will shine and gain a pretty significant fan base.

I am very excited for the story. It combines the best of so many worlds and yet still very grounded. It has climbed into my top 10 in a very short period of time.

I would caution comparing this to Saiunkoku Monogatari. SM is a little more fantasy oriented and too much of a reverse harem for me (but may be not for others). Kusuriya no Hitorigoto is a lot more grounded. And you have to be when it is mystery and pharmaceutical based. If you introduce a fantastical element to the story, it will break the integrity of the story by ruining the suiri/reasoning element.

While I would love the production team that worked on SM to work on KH, because the anime production for SM was really good. But this is essentially impossible. Madhouse is not the Madhouse of the 2000s and the main producer Maruyama Masao has long left the company.

They picked Yuki Aoi as Maomao in the Drama CD. I think this is a great choice, albeit I have not found support for this opinion from the wider fandom. Let's see then.
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Ruri Lee



Joined: 18 Oct 2017
Posts: 28
PostPosted: Thu Dec 24, 2020 3:38 am Reply with quote
I agree with [xxmsxx] about comparing it to Saiunkoku. The two are as different as day and night. One is court-harem detective mystery. The other is political fantasy. Their only resemblance is the historical Asiatic flavours and aesthetics.

If (or when) Kusuriya does get adapted into an anime though, I wouldn't mind if the same studio as Honzuki (director and all) picked it up...but I definitely want a voice cast change. I wouldn't be able to stand Aoi Yuuki for Maomao.
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phia_one



Joined: 15 Jan 2012
Posts: 1657
Location: Pennsylvania
PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2020 7:51 pm Reply with quote
I forgot that this was licensed. Definitely looking forward to reading it.
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