Rating: A I expected the intrigue to ramp up a bit with the return of Loumen to the Rear Palace, as a person with his insight, expertise, and experience is the kind of person who could be a catalyst for action even if he’s not directly part of it. Episode 40 shows how completely IContinue reading “The Apothecary Diaries, episode 40”
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The Apothecary Diaries, episode 39
Rating: B+ (first part), A (second part) More so than most episodes of this series, this one is a composition of two completely different parts, one which has its serious aspects but is lighter in general and one which is almost completely serious and introduces a potentially major development for the setting’s status quo. TheContinue reading “The Apothecary Diaries, episode 39”
The Apothecary Diaries, episode 28
Rating: B+ In one respect, The Apothecary Diaries can be a frustrating experience, as its mysteries operate on three different levels and it’s often not clear which level a particular mystery is on. Some of its mysteries are pure stand-alones (such as the military poisoning incident straddling episodes 1 and 2 or the dancer onContinue reading “The Apothecary Diaries, episode 28”
The Apothecary Diaries, Episode 27
Rating: A- Although the circumstances comprising this episode were set up at the end of last episode, this one is largely a self-contained “mystery of the week” style caper, akin to what the series engaged in through much of the first half of the first season. For not the first time, a death is involved,Continue reading “The Apothecary Diaries, Episode 27”
The Apothecary Diaries episode 26
Rating: A- This episode has a bit of everything that makes this series great: expanded world-building, exploration of rich detail, hints of bigger mysteries, behaviors just suspicious enough to warrant investigation, regular cast members being themselves, lots of pretty venues and character designs, and a fun new regular being formally introduced by name. It mayContinue reading “The Apothecary Diaries episode 26”
The Apothecary Diaries, episode 25
Rating: B+ The Apothecary Diaries is back in animation, and all is right with the world! The latter part of the first season was rife with all manner of dramatic events and revelations, but with the franchise’s bona fides now firmly established, it can afford to start off its second run of episodes with aContinue reading “The Apothecary Diaries, episode 25”
The Apothecary Diaries, episode 24 (season finale)
Episode Rating: A Overall Series Rating: A After the dramatic events, revelations, and symbolism of last episode, there was really only one final climax possible for this series, but that doesn’t make Lakan discovering and then picking Fengxian as the courtesan he’s going to buy out any less moving or satisfying. He’s intuitive enough toContinue reading “The Apothecary Diaries, episode 24 (season finale)”
The Apothecary Diaries, episode 22
Rating: A- Though he’s hardly one of the more likable characters in the series, Lakan is still an intriguing one. He’s ferociously smart and a superior judge of character and ability (last episode strongly implied that he is responsible for Lihaku being where he is, for instance), which allows him to maintain a high positionContinue reading “The Apothecary Diaries, episode 22”
USA Anime 