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 which 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, appeared at the event. Yuki and the others talked about the April Fool's Day project that was announced on April 1st.
For the April Fool's Day project, Lee Entertainment, which has launched numerous artists who have gone on to achieve global success, announced the debut of two new groups: the girl crush group "bubbles" and the classic boy group "Edel Glanz." Concept visuals and a video were released for this project.
"bubbles" consists of three members: leader and rapper Maomao, visual and main dancer Zicui, and main vocalist Xiaolan. The group's catchphrase is "Pop Your Heart!". "Edel Glanz" consists of three members: leader and visual Jinshi, main dancer Mashen, and main vocalist Li Bai. Their catchphrase is "Heavenly brilliance for you." The visuals of Gao Shun, known in the industry as a highly capable manager, were also revealed.
Yuuki was excited, saying, "We got to see what everyone wanted to see!" and "Isn't the April Fool's Day project a bit too much effort!?" Otsuka said, "The projects for ' The Apothecary Diaries, but every time. We recorded the April Fool's Day episode with all the members of the unit. Since it was an 'IF' scenario, we thought about how we should do it and how to balance it."
Seto revealed, "I recorded with Xiaolan (Misaki Kuno), and as the sexy character, I recorded several different styles, including a seductive one." Yuuki added, "I wondered how far I could push Maomao? She has a loud voice, so she might actually be suited to being an idol. She does the job she's told to do properly. While recording, I listened to the voices of the two of them (Zicui and Xiaolan) and thought to myself that I shouldn't get any more energetic than this."
"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.
