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”
Tag Archives: The Apothecary Diaries
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 23
Rating: A The Apothecary Diaries is undeniably Maomao’s series, though Jinshi has increasingly had his viewpoint represented of late. That makes episode 23 a major aberration, since not once during the episode is Maomao’s perspective used. However, despite our adorable little freak being limited to what essentially amounts to a supporting role, and despite theContinue reading “The Apothecary Diaries, episode 23”
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”
The Apothecary Diaries, episode 21
Rating: B+ Though The Apothecary Diaries has been set up almost from the beginning to ship Maomao with Jinshi (and Jinshi is clearly starting to see her romantically even if Maomao is still repulsed), romance is not a major element in the series. It is not entirely devoid of romance, but those elements are locatedContinue reading “The Apothecary Diaries, episode 21”
The Apothecary Diaries, episode 20
Rating: A The Incident may be over, but the mysteries surrounding it aren’t, and as this great follow-up shows, they may not be for quite some time. Jinshi has always given the impression of having far more on his plate than Maomao was ever aware of, and this episode only codifies more clearly how broadContinue reading “The Apothecary Diaries, episode 20”
The Apothecary Diaries, episode 19
Rating: A+ This episode represents the biggest dramatic peak in this part of the story. It is the culmination of everything that has happened so far this season and some details going back to last season, too, all bound together into one grand scheme, one greater even than the schemers who are active parts ofContinue reading “The Apothecary Diaries, episode 19”
The Apothecary Diaries, episode 18
Rating: A I was going to skip reviewing this one separately and just combine it with episode 19, rather than post a review this late. However, episode 18 turned out to be loaded, the culmination of many hints and mysteries presented to date, and the previews suggest that next episode will be even more loaded.Continue reading “The Apothecary Diaries, episode 18”
