A retrospective theatrical screening of the second season of the anime "The Shosetsuka ni Naro The Apothecary Diaries ," based on the light novel by Natsu Hyuga that originated on the novel submission site "Shosetsuka ni Narou," was held on April 12th at TOHO Cinemas Hibiya (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo). Aoi Yuki , who plays Maomao , Takeo Otsuka , who plays Jinshi , and Asami Seto, who plays Zicui/Rouran, made an appearance. This was Seto's first appearance at a "The Apothecary Diaries" event held in Japan, and when Yuki said, "You're like a Hollywood celebrity!", Seto greeted the audience by saying, "I'm very happy to meet everyone in Japan (laughs)." The event reviewed the second season with spoilers.
In the second season, as the story progresses, it is revealed that Zicui, a talkative and cheerful insect-loving maid, is actually Loulan, the current emperor's consort and one of the four senior consorts. Zicui is a new character introduced in the second season, but Loulan had also appeared in the first season. Seto said, "In the first season, I played Loulan and had one line, but from now on I've tried not to think about it too much," and regarding the recording of the second season, she said, "I felt heavy-hearted a week before this scene finally came. There were a lot of important lines, so I approached the script while referring to the original work."
In episode 45, the scene where Maomao hesitates whether to call him "Zicui" or "Rouran," and finally calls him "Zicui," to which he replies "What is it?", was particularly memorable. Seto said, "For Zicui, it was all decided, and he was acting out the story. Jinshi and Maomao were just one of the actors in that story, but their relationship has changed, and they are no longer just performers. When Maomao called him 'Zicui,' he felt that the time they had spent together up until then hadn't been wasted. He didn't shed any tears, but I thought it would be okay for him to have a stinging sensation in the back of his nose." Yuuki added, "Zicui had prepared up to this point, the ending was decided, and he had run through it many times in his head. The only miscalculation was that he became too close to Maomao, but that is working to his advantage."
Regarding the recording process, Seto said, "We've never recorded without interrupting the flow like that before. There were hardly any retakes during the actual recording," and Yuuki revealed, "We just went with the flow and relied more on the emotional aspects than the technical ones. The test was passionate, but we decided it would be better to incorporate more of Maomao personality."
Otsuka said, "I think Zicui was someone who could see the bigger picture. When I watched the 'What's up?' scene on TV, I felt the human emotion and was reminded that even though she was from Loulan, she was still Zicui."
In addition to playing Kosui and Rouran, Seto also played Tamamo in the final episode. Yuuki spoke excitedly about the ending of the second season, saying, "It was so good!", while Seto smiled and said, "From Seto's perspective, it made me happy and relieved to know that she was still alive."
Seto said of Kosui, "She's a very capable person... I guess? She has initiative, and even though it seems like she's given up on her life, she hasn't. She's ambitious. Is it a sense of responsibility? Or kindness? It's something that can't be done without love. She inherited some of that from both of her parents, and having Suirei was a big factor. I think having someone she wanted to help has also been a source of strength for her."
"The Apothecary Diaries" is a light novel series published by Hero Bunko (Imagica Infos), and its manga adaptation is also popular. The original series has sold over 45 million copies in total. The story is set in the opulent imperial harem of a certain continent, where a young poison taster named Maomao, along with the handsome harem administrator Jinshi, becomes involved in incidents that occur in the harem, which is rife with intrigue and rumors. The first season of the TV anime aired from October 2023 to March 2024, and the second season aired from January to July 2025.
It has also been announced that a third season of the TV anime and the first theatrical anime film will be produced. The third season of the TV anime will be split into two cours, with the first cour airing on Nippon Television in October and the second cour starting in April 2027. The theatrical film will feature a completely new story with the original author, Natsu Hyuga, in charge of the story concept, and will be released in December.
