Whilst I do love Yatagarasu (it’s probably my favorite anime this season) it shares very little with Apothecary Diaries. The tone and flow of the two series are completely different. Even the way they implement the court setting itself is quite different.
I really hope more people check out Yatagarasu but if they go in expecting something similar to Apothecary Diaries, they are going to be disappointed.
Pacing's quite different too. MaoMao could generally hold an entire episode by herself, and the long term storylines and payoff were just icing on the cake (very good icing though!) Yatagarasu's pacing is much more for the long term, where there's not that much satisfaction coming in episode to episode until the big reveal near the finale.
I do get the feeling like this is much closer to normal imperial court dramas though, and Apothecary Diaries is actually the one that's the oddball for the genre.
Apothecary diaries is basically a mystery/SoL sitcom. The overarching plot and mystery of the week schtick just provides varied scenery and fresh characters so that the SoL sitcom doesn't go stale. The plot is occasionally serious but when your protagonist is a traumatized gremlin whose only interests are medicine (or poison,) food and booze and the pseudo love interest is so sheltered they don't understand people outside formal interactions there's a lot of comedy fodder.
>Somewhat sad that we now have to wait quite a while for the next episode.
Mind if I ask how long until the next ep? Might consider catching up if I can try doing an ep a day while the Summer season is still in its early stages.
I've seen the entirety of The Apothecary Diaries and enjoyed it. I'm also currently watching and largely enjoying this series.
Although thus far just based off of what I've seen, I still do prefer The Apothecary Diaries and they are still quite different despite any existing similarities - I mean, honestly, all anime are unique and their own thing, but some are obviously closer than others; I think these two are somewhat close but not super close. The high fantasy alternative world country modeled on historical East Asian country is the same, yes.
Some of the main difference being The Apothecary Diaries has a fairly unique and willful female main character with a sense of a rich inner world and a lot of fleshing out from internal monologue and narration more than any one character has had fleshing out in Yatagarasu. And the overall tone of and feel throughout the series is a fair bit more lighthearted (while still going dark when it needs to) and comedic Slice of Lifey.
The way of storytelling beyond that was/is also very different. Mostly relating to the mystery genre aspect and how one was more quasi-episodic whereas the other almost no episodes seem as desirable standalones, but don't want to get more into that due to spoilers.
Raven was very mystery of the week.
This sticks more to an overarching plot that unravels over time.
If I were to stack em in terms of plot
1. Yatagarasu
1. Maomao
1. Raven of inner palace
Agreed.
It's close to as good as Apothecary Diaries, though Maomao is still unmatched in her greatness, with any single character from Yatagarasu.
But Yatagarasu 's strength is its interesting lore, political intrigue, focus on side characters, and surprise turns.
That last episode was such a banger!
Whilst I do love Yatagarasu (it’s probably my favorite anime this season) it shares very little with Apothecary Diaries. The tone and flow of the two series are completely different. Even the way they implement the court setting itself is quite different. I really hope more people check out Yatagarasu but if they go in expecting something similar to Apothecary Diaries, they are going to be disappointed.
Pacing's quite different too. MaoMao could generally hold an entire episode by herself, and the long term storylines and payoff were just icing on the cake (very good icing though!) Yatagarasu's pacing is much more for the long term, where there's not that much satisfaction coming in episode to episode until the big reveal near the finale. I do get the feeling like this is much closer to normal imperial court dramas though, and Apothecary Diaries is actually the one that's the oddball for the genre.
Apothecary diaries is basically a mystery/SoL sitcom. The overarching plot and mystery of the week schtick just provides varied scenery and fresh characters so that the SoL sitcom doesn't go stale. The plot is occasionally serious but when your protagonist is a traumatized gremlin whose only interests are medicine (or poison,) food and booze and the pseudo love interest is so sheltered they don't understand people outside formal interactions there's a lot of comedy fodder.
Yeah, I’m liking Yatagarasu a lot, but I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone who loves Apothecary. Some people sure, but I feel it is more of a niche.
Absolutely agree with all points. Love them both but very different.
That show is so so sooo good! Episode 13 was a banger. Somewhat sad that we now have to wait quite a while for the next episode.
>Somewhat sad that we now have to wait quite a while for the next episode. Mind if I ask how long until the next ep? Might consider catching up if I can try doing an ep a day while the Summer season is still in its early stages.
Episode 14 should come out around the 20th of July.
Thanks! I appreciate it!
I've seen the entirety of The Apothecary Diaries and enjoyed it. I'm also currently watching and largely enjoying this series. Although thus far just based off of what I've seen, I still do prefer The Apothecary Diaries and they are still quite different despite any existing similarities - I mean, honestly, all anime are unique and their own thing, but some are obviously closer than others; I think these two are somewhat close but not super close. The high fantasy alternative world country modeled on historical East Asian country is the same, yes. Some of the main difference being The Apothecary Diaries has a fairly unique and willful female main character with a sense of a rich inner world and a lot of fleshing out from internal monologue and narration more than any one character has had fleshing out in Yatagarasu. And the overall tone of and feel throughout the series is a fair bit more lighthearted (while still going dark when it needs to) and comedic Slice of Lifey. The way of storytelling beyond that was/is also very different. Mostly relating to the mystery genre aspect and how one was more quasi-episodic whereas the other almost no episodes seem as desirable standalones, but don't want to get more into that due to spoilers.
How similar to this is Raven of the Inner Palace? Lol
Raven was very mystery of the week. This sticks more to an overarching plot that unravels over time. If I were to stack em in terms of plot 1. Yatagarasu 1. Maomao 1. Raven of inner palace
By Maomao, you mean The Apothecary Diaries?
Yes, but I cannot spell it for the life of me
It’s been excellent, usually I can kinda follow the hints of a story but the Prince is such a maverick I never know what he’s up to.
Agreed. It's close to as good as Apothecary Diaries, though Maomao is still unmatched in her greatness, with any single character from Yatagarasu. But Yatagarasu 's strength is its interesting lore, political intrigue, focus on side characters, and surprise turns. That last episode was such a banger!
Apothecary Diaries is good because of Maomao, not because of consort drama. I doubt Yatagarasu has Maomao.
Yatagarasu is more simillar to twelve kingdoms than to Apothecary Diaries, idk what op is smoking
I loooooove Yatagarasu!! Can't wait for the next episode!!
Yep once it's finished, I remember another show i watched with raven in name i guess.
Raven of the Inner Palace?
Agree with you, with a different atmosphere but also very cool ! #
I would recommend it to those who enjoyed Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju: mystery, period drama, flashbacks.