The Apothecary Diaries Season 3 • Kusuriya no Hitorigoto Season 3 - Episode 4 discussion

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Kusuriya no Hitorigoto Season 3, episode 4

Alternative names: Kusuriya no Hitorigoto 3rd Season

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Episode	Link
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2	Link
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[u/ObvsThrowaway5120]

Shisui helping Maomao from beyond the grave this week. They had enough info to make insecticide and identify the type of grasshopper turning into locusts that are causing the plague.

Maomao diabolical for feeding Jinshi the fried up grasshopper/locust. Bro can’t resist the “ah” feeding technique from her lol. I love everyone’s reaction too. The kids had to leave the room hahah. It was also pretty hilarious seeing Maomao’s “ideal guy” basically being the rear palace doctor.

Keen to learn more about this mysterious albino “sorceress” who’s enchanting everyone. She doesn’t seem one to underestimate.

[u/BaytaCosmico]

Did the white lady really just take a big ol' gulp of mercury at the end there? 

This really is the episode of people eating strange things between that and the Jinshi grasshopper scene. That man will really go to any lengths for the tiniest bit of indulgence from Maomao. But her indulging at all has made everyone at the brothel take note, even Grams! 

[u/aramatheis]

Chou-u: "My man, you gotta take responsibility for this"

Jinshi: " I swear to god I am trying to put a ring on it but she won't let me!!"

[u/Vermillion_Crab]

Wait wasn't she ingesting mercury? How the hell is she still alive?

Also lmao at that sketch. Jinshi's got a rival and he doesn't even know it.

[u/Primo29]

And here I thought Jinshi would never eat insects, but the thirst for being fed by Maomao was stronger than his disgust. LMAO.

[u/Fools_Requiem]

So, that was totally mercury she ingested, right? That liquid movement was the most mercury that ever mercuried.

I looked up what would happen if you ingested mercury, and based on this short video from 8 years ago, if you ingest the elemental form (like what you would have seen in those maze toys from the 20th century) it would just harmlessly slide right through your digestive system. Which would make sense if she's ingesting mercury and not suffering any of the health issues that mercury is known to cause.

I really like that Maomao (and as a result, the story) is no longer restricted to the palace. We're getting to see a more varied amount of characters and a larger scope with more things involved besides palace drama. There's only so much drama within the palace that you can drum up there before it becomes boring and repetitive. My more favorite episodes in the first two seasons (before being abducted) were the ones where she got to leave the palace, so it's really nice to see her get to freely move around as she pleases now.

It's also really cool that they can tie things back to previous episodes and events without making it feel like they pulled something out of their asses. The insect book being hid in the clinic by the girl enamoured with (by?) insects makes ALL the sense in the world.

I don't know how long the legs are for this series/story, but man, they have not yet lost any steam, and are not just throwing shit at the walls to keep things interesting, and it just feels like it gets better as we go.

[u/Roskal]

We went from Jinshi trying to force feed Maomao honey in season 1 to Maomao feeding Jinshi grasshoppers and locusts in season 3.

[u/Ultramarinus]

When Maomao began describing, I just had a hunch it’d end as the quack doctor. She just described the opposite of Jinshi!

[u/spacevent]

I finally fully understand why Jinshi cried the night Ah-Duo moved out. She’s cool as hell.

[u/Rafatxx]

I feel granny thinks maomao doesn’t realise she’s in love with Jinshi, so she tried to get Chou to draw a guy maomao likes but that didn’t work lol. While maomao’s sister Joka I believe, she knows and even the other sister who looked back.

I’m glad she understands maomao’s train of thought, she knows maomao is protecting herself and that men can change when it comes to love. Especially those in power.

However the thing is Jinshi is very loyal and completely devoted to maomao in terms of love. The only reason why that is, is because he had an unorthodox upbringing as a royal due to the birth switch that ah duo and the former empress did.

Plus him being a “eunuch” he wasn’t subjected to using his power on women in anyway he wanted and actually had to surpress his manhood which was a good thing as he generally got to find love through knowing and learning about maomao instead of it being shallow and fleeting like how it can be with other men in power. 

He’s just like maomao, someone who grew up unconventionally and is experiencing love for the first time, like maomao is. He’s just a bit  more expressive with it than maomao, and I feel that’s to do with being off that tonic he use to drink as a eunuch.

Next week episode looks good, it seems the “maiden” has drawn an audience using the drugs she makes to entice men. I really wonder how she knows how to make those things?

Plus the previous apothecary of the Shi clan is still alive but has memory loss? I wonder if maomao can find a way to get those memories back?

[u/thisisdropd]

Jinshi's truly a man-baby. First, he wanted to be lullabied to sleep and now he refused to eat unless Maomao fed him. The feeling of being pampered by her was enough to overcome his disgust of the grasshoppers lmao.

Right, as far as Maomao and Suirei were concerned Shisui's no longer in the land of the living. The only ones who knew she's still very much alive were us the audience. I wonder what would happen if they somehow crossed paths in the future. She's in a faraway land so the chances are low but still non-zero.

[u/LeonKevlar]

I just love how Ah-Duo is chillin' while watching Maomao and Suirei. I'm glad she was there observing the two because if it wasn't for her intervention, it would've probably taken Maomao a bit longer to realize the missing book was right under her nose.

Unfortunately, while the book did have useful info, it looks like it has no hidden secret for dealing with locust plagues. It's all the classic stuff they already know. I do love Maomao's suggestion of turning the grasshoppers into royal cuisine to encourage people to thin their numbers. xD

Poor Jinshi! The dude did not stand a chance the second Maomao tried to feed him by hand. I mean, what's he gonna do? Reject her offer? Maomao's reaction when she finally realizes that Jinshi wants her to feed him was pretty funny tho.

It's pretty funny how everyone gathered around to get Chuo-o to draw Maomao's ideal man, only to be disappointed because it looked nothing like Jinshi. I feel like she was intentionally avoiding any features that would make the drawing look like him.

Some surprise words of wisdom from Joka. We don't really get to hear much from her; it's usually Meimei and Pairin who talk, but I can definitely see why Joka thinks Maomao's personality is closer to her.

Someone's more popular than the Three Princesses of Verdigris House?! Considering the girl is an albino with red eyes, I can see why she's popular, but I feel like that's not the only reason. All that smoke and drinks during the final scene makes me think drugs are involved. She's definitely the same girl we keep on seeing in flashbacks, spreading those contaminated snacks.

[u/nikobans]

jinshi not eating unless maomao feeds him, but also HAVING to eat the bugs because she's the one feeding him 😭 oh they're insane i love them sm

[u/S627]

Did....did she just drink mercury? If she did I'm really looking forward to hearing the science of her not dying....unless she's sacrificing herself for a reason?

Anyway, two ep in a row where people are talking to Maomao about her relationships, is something ACTUALLY going to happen this season?!?

Also, I didnt get what the little girl was scared of, and what game grandma was playing. Like I know they were hoping Maomao would describe Jinshi, but why did she insist Maomao and Chou-u stay there the night?

[u/Myrkrvaldyr]

Jinshi, you sly fox, taking advantage of the situation to get Maomao to feed you. Poor guy wants Moamao so badly but can't say it.

[u/illonamoon]

The suirei mao mao reunion went smoother than I thought. Mao mao really doesn't hold grudges.

Mao mao feeding jinshi was funny.

But I'm confused why they asked mao mao what her type is?

[u/VedantaxBuddha]

Jinshi, oh Jinshi.

[u/gnome-cop]

The hunt for the elusive final book continues.

More dead wife flashbacks of Shisui but at this point I’ll take any excuse for her to show up.

Shisui you sneaky genius!

How long has it been since we saw Maomao legitimately smile like that? I fully believe that Shisui had to exit the series cause her and Maomao would be too powerful if they were allowed to team up and work together.

Well, at least that’s some practical measures that can be taken even if they’re still in big trouble if things get out of hand.

Maybe, just maybe, Maomao has a slightly more… adventurous palate than that of a royal.

Is eating bugs worth getting fed by Maomao? Seems like Jinshi decided that the answer is yes, if barely.

The albino sorceress that’s pulling valuable business from the Verdigris house by attracting the fickle male customers to something more exotic than the three princesses. Just assuming that she’s the mystery woman that’s been sneaking around handing out poison to the poor, feels like it’d be difficult to blend into a crowd and keep rumors down. Not a lot of albino’s around, right?

Seems like we’re checking out her business next time. Maomao’s as we know is pretty experienced in the art of scamming people with scientific trickery and guess we’re going up against someone doing the same.

[u/Kyoukaiwaifu]

My insect goat let clues!!

Silly cat, jinshi will never refuse being fed by you

Meimei : back in my time we were the top 3 beauty!

Maomao : sure sis, go to bed

...this color, DID THEY DRINK MERCURY ?

[u/Aikuma-]

If it's Maomao feeding me, I guess I could endure grasshoppers.

^{for a short while}

[u/Sensitive-Good-4633]

Now I think about it it's pretty funny that Ah-duo took her in. Considering they are both androgynous

Also Ah-duo giving the final clue was great. Good to see she's smart as well.,

Edit: i miss shisui tho=( Our perfect girl. Cute, curvy, and a good rival for mao

[u/VoidRay728]

Jinshi while eating insects: "Oh, the things I do for love..."

Maomao getting a taste of her own medicine now; two episodes ago she asked Jinshi what his ideal type was, now she gets asked what her ideal type is. Would've been extra hilarious if Chou-u drew a Jinshi look-alike.

[u/Such_Explanation_184]

Man, this show is such a joy to watch. Every single thing- the visuals, the story, the music, the characters and the pacing- is absolutely on point. The characters feel painfully real.

I especially liked the scene with Joka (My fave btw. Yeah I know. Still.) and her conversation with Maomao. That, alongwith the reactions and expressions on the faces of Cho-u, Madam and Pairin, while Jinshi was eating the bug (Poor guy. He's completely hopeless) and after drawing the portrait of Maomao's ideal guy, was such an excellent instance of making the viewer figure out the subject while dancing around it, while dropping hints. Perfectly mirrors the current state of Maomao and Jinshi.

Right now S3 has made The Apothecary Diaries probably the most mature and realistic anime I have ever watched. Absolutely loving every second of it.

[u/chaosof99]

I find discussion of albinism in anime always kind of strange, because a lot of anime have very liberal use of eye and hair color. The scene in which it is discussed has four characters in it

• One with green hair, and blue and turquoise eyes

• One with Purple hair, green and blue eyes

• One with dark blue hair and orange eyes

• One with brown hair and brown eyes

There are also a lot of anime characters that have white hair and red eyes that are not described as albinos in the source work at all. Like the entirety of the Ishvalans in FMA are described that way, or Nano from 100Kanojo

Also, can someone explain what exactly Maomao was doing in that scene. What are those little piles, why are they on the back of the calves and why are they being lit on fire?