#TOHO Serves The Apothecary Diaries Season 2’s Opening Animation Ahead of Series Premiere

The creditless opening animation for The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 has premiered on the TOHO animation YouTube channel hours ahead of the anime’s start.

The opening is set to Lilas Ikuta‘s “Hyakka Ryouran” and contains multiple memorable sections, some standing out for their imagery and others for the combined effect of the drawings, slightly stylized colors, and post-processing effects. There are also some slightly mind-bending cuts, including an Escheresque shot near the end.

The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 premieres in Japan on January 10, 2025 at 11 PM JST. Netflix and Crunchyroll will stream the show. 

The Apothecary Diaries is based on the Shufunotomo-published light novel series written by Natsu Hyuga and illustrated by Toko Shino. The synopsis for Season 2, which will have two consecutive cours like the 2023-2024 first season, reads:

When a favored concubine becomes pregnant, Maomao is put to the test as her food taster. She must keep her wits sharp, not only to protect the concubine but also against rising dangers in the palace. A new concubine with powerful ties, an unsolved attempt at Jinshi’s life, and a foreign envoy with impossible demands hint at a grand conspiracy poised to engulf the empire.

The Apothecary Diaries was originally a web novel that debuted on Shousetsuka ni Narou in 2011. The light novels, which are published under the Hero Bunko imprint, began in 2014 and have 15 volumes as of March 2024. J-Novel Club describes the light novel series as:

In the East is a land ruled by an emperor, whose consorts and serving women live in a sprawling complex known as the hougong, the rear palace. Maomao, an unassuming girl raised in an unassuming town by her apothecary father, never imagined the rear palace would have anything to do with her—until she was kidnapped and sold into service there. Though she looks ordinary, Maomao has a quick wit, a sharp mind, and an extensive knowledge of medicine. That’s her secret, until she encounters a resident of the palace at least as perceptive as she is: the head eunuch, Jinshi. He sees through Maomao’s façade and makes her a lady-in-waiting to none other than the Emperor’s favorite consort… so she can taste the lady’s food for poison! At her lady’s side, Maomao starts to learn about everything that goes on in the rear palace—not all of it seemly. Can she ever lead a quiet life, or will her powers of deduction and insatiable curiosity bring her ever more adventures, and ever more dangers?

The light novel series has two manga adaptations, one published by Square Enix and the other by Shogakukan. The artist of the the former, Nekokurage, recently ran into legal issues over unpaid tax and was handed a suspended sentence in July this year. In September, they posted a message on X (formerly Twitter) in which they mentioned that they had engaged the services of a reliable tax accountant and swore that the issue would never occur again.

Series staff (reprising Season 1 role unless stated otherwise)

• Chief director and series composer: Norihiro Naganuma (Season 1 director and series composer) 
• Director: Akinori Fudesaka (Season 1 assistant director)
• Assistant director: Ko Nakagawa (Season 1 Episode 6, 13, and 19 storyboard artist and director, Episode 24 director)
• Character designer: Yukiko Nakatani 
• Color designer: Misato Aida 
• Background art director: Katsumi Takao
• Compositing director: Mayo Suzuki (The Apothecary Diaries project PV)
• Music composer: Alisa Okehazama 
• Music composer: Kevin Penkin 
• Music composer: Satoru Kosaki 
• Animation production: TOHO animation STUDIO and OLM

Cast

• Aoi Yuki as Maomao 
• Takeo Otsuka as Jinshi

Source: TOHO animation YouTube channel