A surprise announcement has The Apothecary Diaries fans buzzing as the anime wraps up its second season in style.
The final episode of The Apothecary Diaries anime aired over the weekend, and while it marked a bittersweet farewell for fans, excitement quickly returned with a crucial announcement.
Soon after the Season 2 finale aired on Friday (4 July), TOHO Animation released an official teaser video, confirming that a sequel is underway. However, no release window has been announced.
What could Season 3 of The Apothecary Diaries be about?
The preview video begins with former high-ranking consort Loulan handing Jinshi a note, saying that it contains everything that might happen to the kingdom in the near future. The video teases a new mystery arising in the kingdom and a new land.
The trailer also seems to hint at an ongoing famine and general unease in the land. Most likely, given the pace of Seasons 1 and 2, Season 3 will cover the events from volumes 5 and 6 of the light novel. These follow the birth of Empress Gyokuyou’s son and will introduce new, important characters to the series. This also means that, with Jinshi freed from his cover as the head eunuch of the rear palace and Maomao released from her responsibility as Lady Gyokuyou’s poison tester, the story will begin to move beyond the confines of the rear palace and delve into the mysteries and political tensions within the Li Kingdom.
On top of that, the slowest slow-burn romance between Jinshi and Maomao also seems to be progressing ever so slightly, especially since, toward the end of the season, Jinshi has become much more direct with his advances towards Maomao. Therefore, fans can expect the dynamics between them to continue shifting, and at times, becoming entangled in something more complex.
Set in a fictional country inspired by China’s Tang Dynasty, The Apothecary Diaries follows Maomao, a clever young woman raised by her apothecary father. After being sold to serve in the emperor’s palace, she eventually catches the attention of Jinshi, a high-ranking Eunuch with secrets of his own. Through his prodding, she quietly uses her medical knowledge to solve problems and aid those within the inner court.
The Apothecary Diaries was adapted from Natsu Hyuuga’s original light novel, Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (Apothecary's Soliloquy), with illustrations by Touko Shino. The series first appeared online in 2011 on the user-generated publishing platform Shōsetsuka ni Narō. It was later picked up by Shufunotomo, who initially published it as a single-volume novel in 2012 and then relaunched it as a full light novel series in 2014.
The series was adapted into two separate manga in 2017: one serialised in Monthly Big Gangan by Square Enix and another in Monthly Sunday Gene-X by Shogakukan.
The anime adaptation, produced by TOHO Animation Studio and OLM, aired its first season from October 2023 to March 2024, with a second season following from January to July 2025.
