The anime adaptation of "The Apothecary Diaries" will begin airing on October 21st, with episodes one through three airing in one go. The official website proclaims, "The highly popular harem mystery-solving entertainment is finally being made into an anime!" The original work is a novel by Hinata Natsu, and has been adapted into a manga in two magazines, Monthly Big Gangan (Square Enix) and Monthly Sunday GX (Shogakukan), so it's a hugely popular work, and expectations are high. In this article, we'd like to introduce you to what kind of work "The Apothecary Diaries" is.
Firstly, why is the story set in the harem?
As mentioned briefly in the article introducing author Natsu Hinata, when Hinata was writing her own novel, she thought, "Oh, there's a website called Let's Become a Novelist... hmm," and submitted "The Apothecary's Notes" as a way to practice. Hinata herself describes herself as "twisted," but at the time, she was considering a subject that hadn't been submitted to Let's Become a Novelist, and decided on a mystery story set in the harem. She explained that she didn't feel the need to write what other people were writing, and that if she were to write something, she wanted it to be a subject that no one else had written.
The Down-to-Earth Character of Professor Hinata Natsu
Although Hinata describes herself as "twisted," she actually has a very down-to-earth side. As a university student, her first written work won an award in a contest, but she attributes it to "beginner's luck" and says she calmly chose to get a down-to-earth job. She didn't become independent as a novelist until three years ago, in 2020, and had been working at the company she first joined. Speaking of 2020, "The Apothecary's Notes" has already been adapted into a manga, and the light novel must have sold a considerable number of copies. Apparently, Hinata's father told her, "It's not social insurance, so I can't quit my job," and she found it difficult to quit. I think Hinata is a writer with a unique sensibility.
What is the setting of "The Apothecary's Notes"?
薬屋の時代背景について。
活動報告でも書きましたし、前につぶやきましたがもう一度。モデルは唐代、楊貴妃の時代を中心に衣服や花街、後宮はイメージ。
文化レベルは、十六世紀ごろ。ネタ的に、紙不足にさせたりすることもあれば、科学的知識は十九世紀ごろくらいまでなら使うようにしています。— 日向夏🐗 (@NaMelanza) August 16, 2018
"The Apothecary's Notes" is set in the harem of a fictional Chinese dynasty called "Li." Hinata has explained the historical background on Twitter and on Let's Become a Novelist. "The model is the Tang Dynasty, focusing on the era of Yang Guifei, with the clothing, red-light district, and harem as inspirations. The cultural level is around the 16th century. For plot purposes, I sometimes create paper shortages, and I try to use scientific knowledge up to the 19th century." Let's dig a little deeper.
What's Hinata-sensei's favorite?
Hinata-sensei's favorite characters are evil women, and she's done a lot of research. Her favorite is Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history. She became the empress of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty and later founded the Zhou Dynasty, replacing the Tang Dynasty. She even has a character based on Wu Zetian in her work. Apparently, this makes it easier for readers to visualize her.
What are the character designs?!
Now that we've introduced the setting of "The Apothecary's Notes," we'll also introduce the characters. Hinata-sensei has introduced the characters on his blog, so we'll quote from there.
NekoNeko
She has straight black hair, is about 153 cm tall, and weighs 33-41 kg (this varies depending on the situation). Her facial features are unremarkable, for better or worse, but her expression is twisted, and she often has a sullen look. She wears her hair loosely tied back, or sometimes the other maids tease her into a bun or a ring. Her clothing is subdued in color when she's a maid, but becomes a little more colorful after she's been promoted.
Jinshi
He has straight black hair, is about 180 cm tall, and weighs about 70 kg. He's a bit more muscular than he looks, but he's a truly gentle man, and his handsomeness is so obnoxiously good-looking that it's hard not to admire him. The character's atmosphere is perfectly reminiscent of the Matsuda version (illustrator Emi Matsuda), so I'd be happy if you could create it in that direction.
Hime Tamaba
She has red hair, green eyes, and slightly wavy hair that she often wears up. She also wears a red flower on her forehead. She's a kind-hearted beauty, but deep down, she's mischievous. Red is her image color. She looks under 20, but her exotic heritage gives her a slightly more mature appearance.
Gaoshun
He's a middle-aged man, around 35, with a thin build and well-defined features. His brow furrows and his appearance suggest he's quiet, but he's actually quite playful and diligent. He regularly helps with housework.
Shoran
A lower-ranking court lady. Approximately 14 years old. Cute, but not very intelligent. Sometimes she wears her clothes incorrectly. She's often seen stuffing her mouth with sweets.
An image of Hinata-sensei
These are the characters introduced on the official website. The introductions are directly quoted from Hinata-sensei's blog. Since they are based on the published version, they may differ from the anime version, but please use them as a reference.
Let's dig a little deeper!
I've quoted Hinata-sensei's blog for the character settings, but there are many other settings I'd like to introduce.
What is Hinata-sensei's image of Nekoneko?
NekoNeko has a strong curiosity and obsession with poison, and even experiments on her own body. This was inspired by an Okinawan snake that Professor Hinata saw on TV, where he was impressed by the image of a snake biting him to create a serum. She was originally supposed to be a former prostitute working as a miner and a single mother with three children, but she thought that wouldn't be popular with the general public, so she was changed to a girl from the entertainment district.
What is your image of NekoNeko's adoptive father?
Kang Ruomen, Nekoneko's adoptive father, was formerly a eunuch in the Imperial Court medical officer position and now works as a doctor in the red-light district. He is described as having "experience studying abroad in a Western country." As for the image of Professor Hinata, he is said to be inspired by France or Italy. He is also said to be inspired by Baiyin and Baijin, characters from Kazuhiro Fujita's "Karakuri Circus." This is likely due to the fact that the two are brothers originally from China who travel to Prague, Czech Republic, to study alchemy.
The world of "The Apothecary Diaries"!?
地図（仮） pic.twitter.com/EUBlEOPiQx
— 日向夏🐗 (@NaMelanza) February 6, 2023
This is a map of the world of "The Apothecary's Notes," posted by Hinata-sensei on Twitter. The green area represents the country of "Li," where the story takes place, and the brown triangles are mountain ranges. Apparently, this map traces some of the cities and towns in Fukuoka Prefecture, which may be due to Hinata-sensei's hometown.
A Summary of the Work's Worldview and Character Settings
This article introduces the worldview and character settings of "The Apothecary Diaries." References were made to Hinata's blog, Twitter, and interviews. While the work has been adapted into a manga in two monthly magazines, it's also reported that Yukiko Nakatani will be working on new character designs for the anime. See for yourself how the settings introduced here translate to the anime. Thank you for reading to the end.
