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Episode Notes
October 2026 is going to be an exciting month for fans of The Apothecary Diaries . In addition to releasing the anime's highly anticipated third season, the franchise is also bringing a popular Apothecary Diaries manga series to Western audiences for the first time ever.North American manga and anime distributor VIZ Media recently licensed The Apothecary Diaries: Maomao's Notes On the Inner Palace under its 'Viz Signature' label. The manga, which is illustrated by Minoji Kurata, retells the narrative of the original Apothecary Diaries light novel series by Natsu Hyuga (story) and Touko Shino. Per VIZ Media's official site , Vol. 1 is scheduled for release on Oct. 20, 2026.
Reader Version
The Apothecary Diaries franchise is gearing up for an exciting October 2026, with the release of its highly anticipated third anime season and the Western debut of a popular manga adaptation. The manga, titled The Apothecary Diaries: Maomao’s Notes on the Inner Palace, has been licensed by North American distributor VIZ Media under their Viz Signature label. Illustrated by Minoji Kurata, this manga retells the story of the original light novel series by Natsu Hyuga and Touko Shino. Volume 1 is set to be released on October 20, 2026, coinciding with the anime’s new season launch.
The series has gained a large global following due to its unique blend of humor, romance, mystery, and political intrigue, all set within a Chinese inspired imperial court. The story follows Maomao, an apothecary who is kidnapped from a brothel and sold into service at the Inner Palace, where she uses her knowledge of herbs and poisons to solve mysteries and navigate palace conspiracies. Her relationship with Jinxi, a eunuch overseeing palace affairs, deepens as they uncover secrets and face political dangers together. Interestingly, Maomao’s Notes on the Inner Palace is one of two official manga adaptations of the light novel.
The first adaptation, illustrated by Neko Kurage, began serialization in 2017 in Square Enix’s Big Gangan magazine, while Kurata’s version started shortly after in Monthly Sunday Gene X. Both manga series remain ongoing as of mid-2026. The franchise’s popularity has been significantly boosted outside Japan by the anime adaptation produced by Toho and OM, which aired its first season from late 2023 to early 2024 and its second season through 2025. The upcoming third season of the anime will be split into two parts, with the first premiering in October 2026 and the second scheduled for April 2027.
Additionally, December 2026 will see the domestic release of the franchise’s first anime film, which follows Maomao and Jinxi on a journey to return a concubine’s body to her hometown, uncovering a mystery involving a young boy and hidden treasure along the way. For fans interested in exploring the series further, the original light novels and Neko Kurage’s manga adaptation are available in English through Square Enix. The anime is also accessible on multiple streaming platforms, including Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchyroll. While the host personally looks forward more to watching the new anime season than reading the manga, they remain open to exploring the manga if listeners express interest.
The host encourages listeners to follow the podcast, which focuses on anime, gaming, and manga content, and shares that even small amounts of feedback motivate them to continue producing episodes. They express gratitude for their audience and invite everyone to take care of themselves as they sign off.
Automatic Transcript
Alright, it's official. The Apothecary Diaries is finally getting a new series. So, if I'm correct, this should be the third season. I've seen season 1, I'm yet to watch season 2, but within time I should have caught up to season 2 and then watched season 3. If you're new here, don't forget to follow the podcast. We're all about anime and gaming and mangas as well. There's some TV series. And yeah man, join the podcast because we're very close to 300 followers. Alright, so it says here in the article, October 2026 is going to be an exciting month for fans of the Apothecary Diaries.
In addition to releasing the anime's highly anticipated third season, the franchise is also bringing a popular Apothecary Diaries manga series to Western audiences for the first time ever. More content. Amazing. North American manga and anime distributor Viz Media recently licensed the Apothecary Diaries Mau Mau's Notes on the Inner Palace under its Viz signature label. The manga, which is illustrated by Minouji Kurata, retells the narrative of the original Apothecary Diaries light novel series by Hatsuhyuga and Tokoshino. For Viz Media's official site, volume 1 is scheduled for release on October 20, 2026, which is around the same time the new series dropped. And this is the front page.
She almost looks like a werewolf because of this part. Like a wolf, you know. Anyways, the Apothecary Diaries has amassed a large global following thanks to an artful combination of humour, romance, mystery and political drama, all of which unfold within a unique Chinese inspired setting. While working as an apothecary in a brothel in her nation's red light district, main protagonist Mau Mau is kidnapped and sold to work as a servant at the Inner Palace, a spacious estate dedicated to the Emperor's four favourite concubines. While trying to keep a low profile, Mau Mau's extensive knowledge of herbs and poisons allows her to solve a mystery linked to the deaths of the Emperor's children.
This compels Jinxi, a handsome eunuch who oversees affairs in the Inner Palace, to employ Mau Mau as an official poison taster. In her new position, Mau Mau is allowed to freely indulge her obsessive passion for medicine and poison while unravelling conspiracies and assassination plots connected to the intricate socio political dynamics of the Imperial Circle. As time passes, Jinxi and Mau Mau's relationship becomes more complicated as questions about his origins surface. Mau Mau's notes on the Inner Palace is one of two official manga adaptations released for the Apothecary Diaries.
The first, which utilises the same title as its source material, is illustrated by Neko Kurage and debuted in Square Enix's monthly Big Gangan magazine on May 25, 2017. Three months later, Shoukaku Gukan unveiled Kurata's version in the pages of Monthly Sunday Gen X magazine on August 19, 2017. As of July 2026, both manga works are still ongoing. While the Apothecary Diaries has been a runaway bestseller in Japan for several years, the hit Toho and OM produced anime adaptation has massively elevated the series' popularity outside its home country. The show's first season aired from October 22, 2023 to March 23, 2024.
The series returned to the airwaves in January 2025, airing intermittently until its conclusion in July 2025. The Apothecary Diaries Season 3's broadcast is being split across two separate calls, meaning Part 1, Part 2, so on and so forth. The first of which is slated to premiere in October 2026, called 2's release has been confirmed for April 2027. Notably, December 2026 will also see the domestic premiere of the franchise's first anime film. As revealed in the movie's latest trailer, the plot centres on Mau Mau and Jinxi travelling to a distant country to return the body of a mid ranking concubine to her hometown.
Along the way, a mystery unfolds regarding a young boy and a hidden treasure, both of which are connected to the late concubine. Volume 1 of Mau Mau's Notes on the Inner Palace is currently available to pre order. The Apothecary Diaries' light novel series in addition to Neko Kurage's manga adaptation is available in English, from Square Enix manga and books. The anime is streaming on several different platforms including Netflix, Hulu and Crunchyroll. So that is the news for Apothecary Diaries. I'm much more excited possibly to watch the series more than the manga, but if anybody wants me to do the manga, I might just add it to the list of mangas I've got going on.
There's a lot of things in terms of mangas I need to put out that I don't really have time to be adding new things. Apothecary Diaries, that's the latest news on it. If you enjoyed this, let me know. It really is appreciated. I don't really have a lot of fans, I'm not the biggest podcaster, but when I get a few comments here and there, it does really cheer me up and makes me want to continue making podcasts, even though yes, I still will be doing so. And yeah, I want you guys to take care of yourselves, follow the podcast, we request 300 followers. And if you want more content, check out the description where my socials will be. Take care of yourselves guys, and I'm out. Peace.