The Apothecary Diaries

***The Apothecary Diaries*** (薬 (くすり) 屋 (や) のひとりごと, *Kusuriya no Hitorigoto*?) is a Japanese media franchise that started with a web novel written by Natsu Hyūga and illustrated by Touko Shino. It was serialized online since 2011 on the user-generated novel publishing website *Shōsetsuka ni Narō*. In the following year, it was acquired by Shufunotomo, who initially published the series as a novel with a single volume in 2012 and then in 2014 began to publish it yet again, this time as a multi-volume light novel. Later in 2017, two manga adaptations started serializing, *The Apothecary Diaries* in *Monthly Big Gangan* from spring of that year and then *The Apothecary Diaries: Maomao's Rear Palace Mystery-Solving Notebook* in *Sunday Gene-X* from late summer.

## Plot

There is a certain large country in the central plains of the mainland. In the imperial court of its emperor, there is a girl. Her name is Maomao, a pharmacist from the pleasure district, currently working as a maidservant in the inner palace. The girl, surely not considered a beauty, is keeping a low-profile waiting for her contract to end. She was confident that she would not be 'visited" by the emperor. During that, she learned about the short lives of the children of the emperor. Maomao, hearing that the two surviving children are critically ill, begins her investigation for the cause—.

Set in the middle ages of the East, the “Food Taster” girl continues to solve difficult cases in the imperial court one after another.

## Light Novel

*See *The Apothecary Diaries* light novel (薬屋のひとりごと,* Kusuriya no Hitorigoto*)**...*
In 2014, Shufunotomo began to publish the series in their Hero Bunko imprint, which is mostly made of acquired *Shōsetsuka ni Narō* titles. Since then, the series continued to get more volumes with the story continuing, unlike the previous novel version which had just one volume.

### List of Light Novel Covers

**Volume 1**
Release date: August 29, 2014**Volume 2**
Release date: January 31, 2015**Volume 3**
Release date: June 29, 2015**Volume 4**
Release date: September 30, 2015**Volume 5**
Release date: April 30, 2016**Volume 6**
Release date: November 30, 2016**Volume 7**
Release date: February 28, 2018**Volume 8**
Release date: February 28, 2019**Volume 9**
Release date: February 28, 2020**Volume 10**
Release date: January 29, 2021**Volume 11**
Release date: April 30, 2021**Volume 12**
Release date: July 29, 2022**Volume 13**
Release date: February 25, 2023**Volume 14**
Release date: September 29, 2023
## Manga

*See *The Apothecary Diaries* manga (薬屋のひとりごと,* Kusuriya no Hitorigoto*)* *and *The Apothecary Diaries: Maomao's Rear Palace Mystery-Solving Notebook* manga (薬屋のひとりごと～猫猫の後宮謎解き手帳～,* Kusuriya no Hitorigoto：Mao Mao no Kōkyū Nazotoki Techō*)**...*
It has received two manga adaptations in 2017, with one of the same name published by Square Enix in *Monthly Big Gangan* from May 25, and another published by Shogakukan in *Sunday Gene-X* from August 19 titled *Kusuriya no Hitorigoto: Maomao no Koukyū Nazotoki Techō* (薬屋のひとりごと~猫猫の後宮謎解き手帳~ "The Pharmacist's Monologue: Maomao's Diary of Solving Mysteries in the Inner Palace").

### List of Manga Covers

Kusuriya no Hitorigoto**Volume 1**
Release date: September 25, 2017**Volume 2**
Release date: February 24, 2018**Volume 3**
Release date: July 25, 2018**Volume 4**
Release date: February 25, 2019**Volume 5**
Release date: July 25, 2019**Volume 6**
Release date: March 25, 2020**Volume 7**
Release date: November 25, 2020**Volume 8**
Release date: May 25, 2021**Volume 9**
Release date: November 25, 2021**Volume 10**
Release date: June 23, 2022**Volume 11**
Release date: February 25, 2023

Monthly Big Gangan ft. Kusuriya no Hitorigoto**2018 Volume 2****2019 Volume 3****2019 Volume 8****2020 Volume 5****2020 Volume 12****2021 Volume 7****2022 Volume 1****2022 Volume 8****2023 Volume 3****2023 Volume 10**

Kusuriya no Hitorigoto: Maomao no Koukyū Nazotoki Techō**Volume 1**
Release date: February 19, 2018**Volume 2**
Release date: July 19, 2018**Volume 3**
Release date: September 19, 2018**Volume 4**
Release date: February 19, 2019**Volume 5**
Release date: June 19, 2019**Volume 6**
Release date: November 19, 2019**Volume 7**
Release date: February 19, 2020**Volume 8**
Release date: June 19, 2020**Volume 9**
Release date: October 16, 2020**Volume 10**
Release date: February 19, 2021**Volume 11**
Release date: June 18, 2021**Volume 12**
Release date: October 19, 2021**Volume 13**
Release date: February 18, 2022**Volume 14**
Release date: June 17, 2022**Volume 15**
Release date: November 17, 2022**Volume 16**
Release date: February 25, 2023**Volume 17**
Release date: September 29, 2023
## Anime

*See *The Apothecary Diaries* anime (薬屋のひとりごと,* Kusuriya no Hitorigoto*)**...*
On February 15, 2023, an anime adaptation of the novel was announced. It premiered on October 22, 2023.

## External links

* *The Apothecary Diaries* at Wikipedia
* 薬屋のひとりごと at Japanese Wikipedia