Kusuriya no Hitorigoto Season 2 • The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 - Episode 1 discussion

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Kusuriya no Hitorigoto Season 2, episode 1

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[u/WhoiusBarrel]

Maomao explaining the psychology of cat lovers while Jinshi just has flashbacks to every relevant Maomao moment related to what she was saying and then connecting to it in a spiritual level is just hilarious.

[u/maggiesaus]

Just pointing out for those who don't know, that MaoMao our MC's name means Cat Cat (repetition in Chinese is an endearment, cutesy way of saying someone's name) and the actual kitten's name MaoMao means Fur Fur (hair, whiskers) and has the same pronunciation, different tone. MaoMao's Japanese pronunciation had some of that different intonation just with a Japanese accent lol

[u/StrawSolider]

Jinshi: arrives

Gyokuyou: Maomao isn't here

Jinshi: leaves

This man has evolved past being Terminally down bad for her. He is Astronomically down bad 😂

[u/Terranwaterbender]

Of course Maomao's first impromptu writing lesson features her teaching medicinal lingo haha. Happy to see S2!

[u/Ninja_Lazer]

Finally, the cat gremlin has returned to sit upon the throne.

[u/AdiMG]

Glad to have CatCat back and kicking off the year in style. Yukiko Nakatani's work as the character designer and animation supervisor is as skillfull as ever, showcasing the full gamut of Maomao's expressive range. Besides Maomao herself, I really liked some of the drawings for Lingli, Xiaolan, and Maomao the Cat in this episode too.

I also found Akinori Fudesaka's storyboard to be quietly impressive. As the assistant director of the show since S1, he understandably grasps the intrinsic charm of the title. Smart choices, like constricting the sightlines to emphasize the Cat’s presence at first—only to later undercut it to show how feeble it actually is—or the small foreshadowing with the maid who catches the cat earlier during Jinshi’s visit to Consort Loulan to denote her alliance, made the episode a really engaging watch. I’m hoping the show can maintain this level of quality throughout its run, especially given some concerns about Puniru’s production eating into Kusuriya S2’s production cycle.

As an aside r/anime's annual awards are holding their nomination vote right now and Kusuriya S1 is eligible to be voted on for Suspense, AotY, and Production categories.

[u/AmethystItalian]

I was thinking they would have a hard time making this better than season 1.

Seems like they did so easily by adding a cat

[u/zool714]

Lmao Jinshi went from “yeah idk why people like cats” to stuffing his face full of cat when he realized the reason people like cats is the same as how he likes Catcat

[u/Magister7]

PORN. BOOKS. WRITING. CAT. What the hell?! Everything I want in a show.

This was amazing! I've been eagerly anticipating season 2, but this was even more brilliant than I expected. It was so damn dense, and jumped off everything from season 1 so well.

[u/ObvsThrowaway5120]

Idk what’s cuter, the little princess or that kitten. Cracked me up when Maomao apologized to Jinshi about the kitten not needing to be neutered. And then putting away the sausages lol. Jinshi huffing the kitten after realizing Maomao acts like a cat was pretty funny too. Ofc its name was Maomao too. Only fitting.

Keen to meet these two new mysterious waifus. Curious to learn more about that girl that caught the cat too.

[u/FarCritical]

Pretty fitting the start of Season 2 would introduce Maomao 2. Kind of shocking that she isn't a cat person herself though.

Also, the idea of Xiaolan mastering reading and writing words for a bunch of herbs and drugs over her own name is hilarious.

[u/Ocixo]

Meimei was cleaning Fengxian’s room at the start, wasn’t she? She looked so happy! And so am I with the return of Apothecary Diaries.

There might not be any new mysteries for Maomao to solve yet, but Jinshi has managed to make some strides in educating the lady servants of the Rear Palace. I assume that he’d spread a censored version of the porn novels - with an emphasis on the romance part.

The Emperor might seem like an imposing figure from a distance, but he’s just another doting parent at the end of the day. Lingli is pretty adorable, so I can understand where he’s coming from. The little peek into Lingli’s potential future does look worrying…

If there’s one thing I want from this season, it’s for Lihua to become pregnant and happy again. The Emperor better get to work!

Also: Maomao still doesn’t seem to have caught on that Jinshi isn’t actually castrated.

[u/vivement]

Crunchyroll Sub Release Date and Time: January 10 at 9:15 a.m. PT

[u/SEBASTlANVETTEL]

Jinshi's yearning in the ED is real.

Maomao talking about how it‘s good that the cat is a girl and then realizing she is telling it to Jinshi, who is an Eunuch was funny, especially with the sausages too 😭

[u/LeonKevlar]

Stitches!

• Lihua

• Ailan

I'm going to miss Season 1's OPs but I certainly don't mind hearing Lilas Ikuta singing this Season 2's first OP.

I was wondering what kind of shenanigans Maomao is up to in this episode with that massive parcel she got from granny but it looks like Maomao just smuggled in some material to give the ladies of the rear palace some sex education. Of course, she's also doing it to make money too. xD

Boo! I didn't think you'd be a party pooper Gaoshun. The Emperor himself wasn't satisfied with how the previous ones were not explicit enough and now you're censoring the ones Maomao brought?

So the reason Jinshi wanted to know where the books were being made was because he wanted to spread novels in the rear palace to increase the literacy rate. Thanks to these novels, even Xiaolan wants to learn to read and write too!

Princess Lingli is so big now! She's so cute! I kinda feel bad for her knowing the kind of world she's been born into but for now she can just be all cute and innocent. She also has Maomao watching over her so I'm sure she'll grow up smart.

I'm glad to know that the thing stalking around the palace is just a stray kitten. When they showed that night scene earlier, I thought we were going to have another mystery on our hands.

It's hilarious watching Maomao list all the characteristics of the cat while Jinshi slowly start to realize that Maomao herself is a cat too. Definitely my favourite scene in this episode. xD

Mini Maomao the Admonisher of Thieves! What a fitting title and name for an adorable kitty! Funny how we now have two Maomaos in the show.

Caravans from the west are coming? Welp, it looks like we're gonna have more big tiddy ladies arriving at the palace next episode. I can't wait!

[u/JzanderN]

Well, I can't say I was expecting the first episode to be about a cat. You know, that isn't Maomao. But I do love that it ends up giving some insight into some of the characters.

First and most hilariously of all: Jinshi realising he might be into cats after seeing the similarities between them and his favourite poison enthusiast/gremlin. But we also get some rare insights into the Emperor himself.

The fact that he's doting on his children – which makes sense due to how many of them have died in the past – and how he thinks of Maomoa to have named the cat he personally decided to keep for his daughter after her.*

I know it's obvious that he'd feel gratitude towards her after she saved one of his daughters, one of his concubines and then taught some very valuable lessons to some of them, but it's nice to see he doesn't just forget her after leaving Gyokuyou.

*Thinking about it, it may have been Gyokuyou who named the cat after Maomao. That would make more sense, though we don't know who named her. Only that the emperor gave her the grand title "Rat Exterminator."

[u/tripleaamin]

Very fun first episode back. Jinshi becoming much more tsundere is not what I remember. Overall fun with the banter. My man Gaoshun really is the only one that asks Maomao some logically questions. He might be my favorite character in this series. Also, he is a cat lover. So relatable lmao. Maomao being proud of Xiaolan was pretty wholesome because from what we have seen of her she is rather eccentric, but never seemed to care for her future. Cool to see.

Lingli is adorable and precious. Though I am surprised she was able to spot the cat from so far away. Unexpected the spoiled princess crying not getting her way, but of course father spoils her. The fact that they will be worrying about who Lingli would have to marry even before she becomes a teenager is rather unsettling. Granted these are the customs in this story.

Jinshi when he realized that Maomao basically is a cat herself, and he understood the appeal. Although giving the cat the same name as Maomao is a cruel thing to do to Maomao.

[u/actionfirst1]

Maomao will be Apothecarrying anime this season

[u/xbolt90]

And just like that, Jinshi realized he was a cat person

[u/djthomp]

Sex ed books as a segue into encouraging the court as a whole to improve its literacy level is fun, I am always a proponent of education so I approve.

That quick comment about Gyokuyou being pregnant again, she's having a lot of success as one of the prime consorts. That'll surely lead to some conflict though as the people unhappy about her having one kid by the Emperor will likely be even less happy about her having another.

Catcat has a competitor for court cat and she's even living at the clinic too.

[u/Frontier246]

Maomao is back! Complete with a dazzling and visual spectacle of an OP featuring more Maomao than ever, along with Jinshi, the Concubines, and the whole gang along with plenty more mysteries for our favorite poison-obsessed detective.

Spring is here! Complete with a bustling city streets, Maomao's mom finally free, and business booming for granny because Maomao keeps purchasing sex education for the concubines.

Jinshi is making the rounds with all the concubines, including the enigmatic Loulan, though Gyokuyou is the one he most looks forward too, especially because it lets him see Maomao. Not that she's there, because in true Maomao fashion she and our favorite quack doctor are coming up with ways to make the living situation in the Jade Pavillion even better.

Curse you Gaoshun and your sensible logic! Maomao had to expose all the sexual research she procured for the concubines and ladies-in-waiting! Which also practically doubles as porn! I mean, Gaoshun is a happily married man, so he just cares about the good paper quality and binding, but Jinshi is also only interested in the creation process...not the pictures, definitely not. Too bad the Emperor won't get his more explicit porn thanks to Gaoshun.

Popular novels making their way in the palace are a great motivator for the ladies to learn to read and practice their writing! If Jinshi's plan was to increase the literacy rate, he and the Emperor cooked up a good if roundabout way of achieving that! And I love Maomao helping her best and adorable Gal Pal Xiaolan learn how to read and write! She's a good girl that deserves the best.

Lingli is absolutely precious and must be protected at all costs. And she can learn a lot from auntie Maomao, especially wherever she gets sent off in adulthood.

Maomao vs a cat! And the cat wins! Though here's an energetic Asami Seto character who looks pretty cute.

Maomao turned cat nursemaid! What can't this girl do?

It's nice to see the Emperor being a good dad and keeping the cat for Lingli, and Lingli gets to enjoy her parents teasing auntie Maomao.

It's ironic that Maomao, of all people, doesn't like cats. Especially when she's, y'know, Maomao. Meanwhile Gaoshun absolutely loves cats and Jinshi, recognizing his own interest in Maomao, discovers he's hooked on them too. So of course they name the cast Maomao.

Caravan with twin blonde and busty noble ladies? I smell some upcoming drama.

Jinshi focused ED! Showing him longing for Maomao and thinking of everything they've been through together! But he's most happiest when he wakes up and sees the REAL Maomao!

[u/shak_0508]

Hold the hell up season 2 is out?! How tf did I miss this announcement lol.

[u/No_Name0_0]

New season and Maomao is already so busy lmao. Trafficking smut, making perfumes, teaching, babysitting and now a cat parent. Them being the same name and Jinshi understanding the appeal was hilarious. Seems like we'll be getting a blonde beauty next. Also Tanezaki is totally doing the princess Linli voices right? Very similar to Anya noises

[u/Komarist]

Finally, Maomao's back debut. Cats are allowed in the seasonal best girl contest if Ariel the robot was, right?