Anime

The Apothecary Diaries Returns for Special Surprise Ahead of Season 3 and Movie

The Apothecary Diaries has some big plans for the future of the anime’s franchise beginning next year, but thankfully the series has returned with a special surprise for fans long ahead of those new entries. The anime adaptation for Natsu Hyugaย and Touko Shinoโ€™s original light novel series has been a massive hit ever since it made its debut with Crunchyroll a couple of years ago, and has already gone on to have two successful seasons of episodes so far. And it turns out that those seasons were a big enough hit that the anime is continuing with even more very soon.

Videos by ComicBook.com

The Apothecary Diaries is going to be making its return next year with a brand new movie hitting theaters and a full season of the TV anime as well. While it’s got some big plans that fans can look forward to in the year ahead, there’s also plenty to enjoy now as the anime has returned with a special new key visual. Highlighting both Ah-Duo and Lishu to help commemorate the Fall season heading into the new year, you can check out the newest look at The Apothecary Diaries below.

What to Know for The Apothecary Diaries Future

November 2025 poster for The Apothecary Diaries
Courtesy of TOHO Animation

The Apothecary Diaries is coming back two-fold next year as Season 3 of the anime is currently scheduled to make its debut in October 2026 as part of the Fall 2026 anime schedule. The new season will be split into two cours of episodes with Part 2 slated for a debut a few months later in April 2027 as part of the Spring 2027 anime schedule. Next Fall is going to be huge for the franchise as its new movie is going to be hitting theaters around the very same window too.

The Apothecary Diaries will be hitting the big screen with a new feature film coming to Japan in October 2026 as well. International release plans have yet to be announced as of the time of this writing, but it will be featuring a brand new story not seen in the original light novels or manga releases written by original series writer Natsu Hyuga themselves. But unfortunately as of this time as well, very little has been revealed about what to expect from the new movie either in terms of its very mysterious story.

What’s So Special About The Apothecary Diaries?

The Apothecary Diaries Season 3 key art
Courtesy of TOHO Animation

The Apothecary Diaries has been a rather special series with fans because it has been able to incorporate many different genres and elements across its first two seasons. Although it’s technically a classical romance story, it’s more of a mystery that unfolds over the course of each of its episodes. Each week its led, Maomao, discovers something off about the world around her and investigates it to find the explanation behind it. All the while, it’s all building towards a much bigger mystery that unfolds over the course of its multiple seasons.

All the while each of these episodes bring Maomao closer together with the ever mysterious Jinshi, who has some secrets of his own that he’s been keeping from her this entire time. As The Apothecary Diaries gets bigger and bigger with each new season and entry, it’s only going to get even more popular from this point on. It’s time to catch up with it all on Crunchyroll.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in theย ComicBook Forum!