The Apothecary Diaries has had a major fan theory debunked by the original creator behind it all, and it even included a surprising reveal about the original idea behind Maomao’s character too. The Apothecary Diaries has become one of the biggest breakout successes of the last few years, and it’s set to continue with even more of the anime later this year with both a third season and a new feature film release now in the works. But in a recent interview, the original creator opened up on some big things behind it.
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The Apothecary Diaries creator Hyลซganatsu recently spoke with scrmbl and opened up about new aspects behind the franchise. When asked about the original inspirations behind the idea and its setting, the creator also confirmed that fans have been wrong about its “ancient China” setting as it’s more of a modern setting than fans might expect, “First of all, ‘ancient’ is wrong here as I would view that timeframe as the early modern period…People get that wrong all the time. The series is not ‘ancient’ in the slightest.”
The Apothecary Diaries Creator Debunks Major Fan Theory
“In Japanese history, weโd place that as during and after the Edo period,” Hyลซganatsu began. “Thatโs almost 1000 years ago, so I donโt think it describes the series at all.” In fact, the creator used it as more of a general guideline and “stole” elements across different eras of China for their story, “Basically what I did was steal all of the most interesting parts of 1000 years of Chinese history and rearrange them as I saw fit…For example, I put woodwind instruments into the story, but the fact is that they had just barely proliferated in the early modern period.”
“People get that wrong all the time. The series is not ‘ancient’ in the slightest,” the creator continued while even noting that the setting isn’t even really China, “Itโs not technically set in China, but the setting is very much inspired by China. There are also some Japanese sensibilities in there, but I guess thatโs par for the course since Iโm Japanese.” It also turns out that Maomao was originally going to be much older of a character when the creator was first putting together the idea for the story.
Maomao Was Almost an Older Mom With Kids
“I initially wanted to make the main character into an older woman with three kids,” Hyลซganatsu revealed when explaining that Maomao didn’t start out the way she’s seen in the final series. “…I thought that an older woman with three kids probably wouldnโt be very popular,” as the creator explained why this was ultimately changed into the Maomao we know. “At the end of the day, if you want your series to get any traction, you have to go with a young girl between the ages of 14 and 17. Thatโs why Maomao is 17 in the story.”
The Apothecary Diaries has some huge plans for its future as Season 3 of the anime is currently slated for a release sometimeย later this October as part of the Fall 2026 anime schedule, and will then return for its second half in April 2027. But during all of this, a brand new feature film release will be coming to theaters across Japan in October as well. So there’s plenty to be excited for next.
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HT – scrmbl
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