Hulu and Netflix Are Now Streaming One of the Best Mystery Anime of All Time

With the way in which streaming services are constantly fighting over licenses for new anime releases, it always comes as a relief to fans when their favorite shows are available across multiple platforms. Finally, fans of The Apothecary Diaries have the ability to catch the show on Netflix and Hulu instead of being exclusive to Crunchyroll. The Apothecary Diaries has rapidly solidified itself as one of the more popular anime releases from 2024 going into the new year, so it’s incredible that more anime fans will have the opportunity to get caught up with every mystery Maomao has been solving around the palace.

The Apothecary Diaries follows Maomao, a relatively unassuming looking apothecary who lives in the outskirts of a city in a fictionalized Ming Dynasty era China until she’s taken to work in the Imperial Palace. Despite initially planning to keep to herself and eventuall work her way toward freedom, she ends up outing herself for her intense love and knowledge of poisons and becomes a poison taster and lady-in-waiting to the Emperor’s concubines. She begins solving a number of strange occurrences around the palace and eventually gets acquainted with Jinshi, a eunuch who acts as her own personal Watson.

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The Apothecary Diaries Has Everything an Anime Fan Could Ever Hope For

With loads of mysteries to solve, political drama, and even the tiniest dash of romance – The Apothecary Diaries has truly made a name for itself among anime fans for being something of a Swiss Army Knife in terms of narrative flexibility. Not to mention its two leads, Maomao and Jinshi, have impeccable chemistry that make every moment where the two of them share screen time impossible to look away from. The anime has succeeded in being a near-perfect adaptation of the novels it’s based on, faithfully adapting the story while adding just enough visual flair to allow it to stand on its own, or leaving its audience feeling as though they’re missing out on something from the source material.

The level of effort and care that has gone into the series has proven to be successful. Aside from the enduring success of the anime’s first season and the second cour of Season 2 which is currently airing as part of the Spring 2025 anime season, The Apothecary Diaries was ranked as one of the best-selling light novel series published in 2019, and by 2024 had 38 million copies in circulation. The anime adaptation recently earned thirteen nominations for the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, taking spots in categories including Anime of the Year, Best New Series, Best Drama, as well as a nomination for Best Director to honor Norihiro Naganuma, who previously worked on other phenomenal anime series like Death Note as a key animator and The Ancient Magus’ Bride as the lead director and storyboard artist. In addition to technical awards, The Apothecary Diaries was also nominated for the Best Character award to recognize Maomao as a protagonist.