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Maomao and Shisui Perform at The Apothecary Diaries Panel

Coming off hot from a fiery season finale of The Apothecary Diaries, voice actresses Aoi Yūki and Asami Seto were welcomed onstage to thunderous applause. The ballroom was filled to the brim long before the panel started, with some fans left disappointed as they were turned away. But with the sequel fresh off the press, there will be more of The Apothecary Diaries in the near future.

Both actresses wore character appropriate outfits, with Yuki in a floral stitched green dress and Seto in an orange dress with a bedazzled collar. “I'm a little overwhelmed by the energy in the room,” said Aoi. “I wanted to come to LA and you're making my day with all the cosplay!” Seto added that it's amazing to see even more energy than last year. Since the panel was limited on time, the two actresses jumped into the live dub portion after engaging some more with the crowd and showing how excited they were to be there.

First, they live dubbed the scene between Maomao who fails to catch a cat, and Shisui, who succeeds. Yuki admitted she was nervous despite “doing this for a living.” Seto agreed, but having Yuki onstage with her made her feel a little more confident. “Each scene had a little reaction and she did them all.” When asked how they approach their characters, Seto shared she was always directed to “raise the energy.” Although it isn't a spoiler that Shisui and Loulan are the same person, Seto feigned ignorance and asked the crowd to forget the last thirty seconds. ”When I perform as Loulan, she needs to have an air of elegance. But when she's with Maomao and Xiaolan, it's good to know that smile was genuine and not a lie.”

For the next scene, Seto and Yuki re-enacted their dramatic scene with Loulan with Maomao in season two episode twenty-one. The emotional high as Maomao calls Loulan as “Shisui” had the entire room in awe. “This almost feels nostalgic,” said Seto. Yuki added she “may have overacted at the studio.” Because of how intense the stakes were in the episode, Yuki shared they were extremely focused. “In these types of scenes, we can all tell these type of actors are in the zone. After we get into it, Aoi draws everyone in,” explained Seto.

As a bit of fan service, Yuki divulged how she told “Seto-chan” that the festival scene in the Fox Village was ”like a date.” But Seto sadly responded, “It's our last date.” Since she knew the outcome for her character, she grew anxious. Yuki described how a character forces her to see that recording session differently. “Maomao wants to explore and learn more about what Shisui is going through. I was thinking 'Yay, a date!' while Seto-chan was thinking about something else.“

Now, for the moment every fan—even new ones—were waiting for: the iconic Maomao poison line. The entire room sat still as the anticipation for Yuki to deliver the famous, “It's poison” line. The tension was so high, one could feel the metaphoric knife hanging above the room for the right moment to strike.

“I played Maomao back when there was only the drama CD of The Apothecary Diaries. I would say the delivery a lot of times with different nuances, and the anime is the most natural. We had a separate PV for it and the director asked me to do it many times.”

Ending the panel on a happy note, everyone would receive a special illustration of Shisui approaching Maomao for a hug, which was specifically commissioned for the panel. “Those were some happy times,” said Yuki. Seto laughed. “I like that Shisui is the one approaching Maomao for the hug and Maomao looks like, 'Not bad.'”

Before they left, they shared their final message to the crowd. ”I want to thank everyone for coming. I felt it in this room. Anything we did had a lot of cheers,” said Seto.

“I can say that I'm ecstatic to share this stage with Shisui and every time we do anything we see and feel your passion for The Apothecary Diaries. Jinshi is sad that he couldn't come, but I'm going to go brag,” teased Yuki.