How Natsu Hyūga’s Apothecary Diaries Redefines Gender Roles in Imperial China

From medicinal knowledge and a murder mystery to a historical dramedy, comedy of errors, and a journey into the social layout of Imperial China, Apothecary Diaries or Kusuriya no Hitorigoto has created an undeniable appeal to readers and viewers from all walks of life.

By breaking the cooking cutter mold of the typical anime female protagonist, Natsu Hyūga places Maomao at the forefront as a strong, original, and intelligent lead without falling back on the usual feminine stereotypes of the industry.

Natsu Hyūga’s Journey

Hyūga-san started her writing journey in 2011 through poignant stories on the user-generated novel platform of Shōsetsuka ni Narō. After gaining immense popularity from her direct interactions with readers, the light novel ‘Apothecary Diaries’ was born and serialized in 2014.

By 2017, the first manga was illustrated by Nekokurage and published in the ‘Monthly Big Gangan’ while a second manga titled ‘Maomao’s Notes from the Inner Palace’ illustrated by Minoji Kurata was published in ‘Monthly Sunday Gene-X’ simultaneously to expand the reach of the series to readers. Soon after, the light novels and manga were licensed for online release in the US by J-Novel Club and printed by Square Enix to be enjoyed in other languages by an international audience.

However, ‘Apothecary Diaries’ gained significant global popularity after its anime adaptation by Toho Animation and OLM. The anime’s colorfully sharp attention-to-detail drawing style left audiences in awe when its first season aired from October 2023 to March 2024, while Season 2 premiered on 10th January 2025, which will also feature 24 episodes.

After the anime’s massive success, by early 2024, around 1.35 million copies of the light novel were sold while its manga was ranked fourth with a sale of over 4.7 million copies. The heightened appeal for the novel and manga series is primarily because they are far ahead in the plot and cover several aspects that haven’t been adapted into the anime.

As hoped by Hyūga-san, Apothecary Diaries’ robustly engaging storytelling, historical elegance, and air of mystery have made it a standout series in anime and manga culture in the last few years. 

Inspirations To Aspirations

Drawing on her fascination for Imperial China and ancient medicinal practices, Hyūga-san created Maomao as a female protagonist who uses her in-depth herbal medicine passion and knowledge to solve mysteries and assist female courtesans with their health as their resourceful lady-in-waiting. Despite bursting through the concrete of what seems like the Tang Dynasty’s patriarchal structure, Hyūga-san outlines Maomao’s delicate balancing act of trying to remain inconspicuous and knowing her place in the social hierarchy of that time.

By exploring the complex cultural nuances and social dynamics of Imperial China, Hyūga-san tries to weave an intricate plot by borrowing authentic historical facts peppered with fictional developments and modern solutions as the crux of every event in the story. She employed her herbal medicine and traditional healing knowledge to provide an intellectual takeaway for readers and viewers in each chapter and episode while creating intrigue in even the seemingly uneventful moments and interactions.

Hyūga-san plays around with the idea of gender roles and ingrained characteristics through the secondary main character, Jinshi, who is portrayed as a strikingly handsome eunuch who is the administrator of the Inner Court responsible for the welfare of the Emperor’s concubines. By pairing his flirtatiously charming grace with Maomao’s inquisitive, deadpan, and straightforward demeanor, she tries to color outside the lines of classic gender tropes, while creating a passionate, slow-burn spark between the characters through everyday challenges in the Imperial Court.

Above all else, what Hyūga-san hoped to do is portray the personal struggles and uncanny quirks of each character and the multifaceted nature of a human being’s experience during those times in a way that can still be deeply relatable for contemporary audiences today. 

Catch Apothecary Diaries on Crunchyroll

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