you might want to watch this anime in the origional version. you can clearly hear japanese spoken, not chinese. it may take place in china, yet, this anime is made by japanese, therefore, this is not a chinese. think avatar animated series, it looks like a anime, but it isn't a anime. avatar the last airbender animeted series is officualy a cartoon, made by amarika.
Maomao’s addiction to poison is one of the best character traits in history. It’s not even fictional. An actual ruler from Anatolia was immune to poison by doing exactly what she did. Even had poison eating parties and scientists creating new ones just for him. Edit his name was Mitradathes
Surely you're speaking of Mitridathes, a strong Rome's enemy, when he was (finally!) defeated, couldn't poison himself, so he had to rely on a slave's help (to support a sword) to suicide !
It’s not like she doesn’t find him attractive (she does acknowledge that he is a looker ) just to find his attitude to be annoying rather than charming
So real. When I put myself in Maomao's perspective, I can understand why she's not so into Jinshi. Maomao also acknowledges that Gaoshu's a better husband candidate because his personality and capabilities (so real, Gaoshu the number one husband). Then when Jinshi starts showing his more serious and caring side, Maomao is now slightly more interested in him
Well, from maomao persepective (that lived in "service" area), most men she know are handsome with shitty attitude, so if she think jinshi is just annoying, he's better than the average man she know😂
“She’s one of the boy” Nahhh, she’s a true girl’s girl. She did not judge any of the concubines nor the then “pr0st1tut3s“; she always helped any girl who needed help despite their social class 😭😭
TBH instead of thinking of Maomao as one of the boys, I think a huge part of her appeal is that she's one of the girls. She's in a society that gives women a platter of shit sandwiches to choose from, and she gets that and is too realistic to think she can change it, but she still spends her time trying to make things more tolerable, mostly for other women, where she can. It makes her really admirable.
Yeah. Hate it when people say a good female character is "one of the boys". Because good female characters can't be "One of the girls?" There's plenty of other good female characters in this anime too. The concubines all have their own struggles and personalities.
@@2Rice I agree. I don't think the creator of the video realized that that was how it came off, so I'll give him a pass. Being a good character and being one of the girls is not mutually exclusive.
@@mataharii161 Yeah, not critiquing Karu for saying it! I just think it's a key and really enjoyable part of Maomao's character that she's a total girl's girl, even if she isn't classically 'girly' in her own particular interests.
yet no anime female character is actually "one of the boys" most of them usually just abuses the male cast by punching them, kicking them, and always relying on them when they are in danger.
ehh, in my unboish opinion, it's nothing to be offended of, It's a bit like calling guys girl boss or girl failure. Tad cringe, but ultimately just an informal honest impression glazed with memeism.
Theres a good reason Maomao (and Frieren) are written so well: They are both written by women. They are not "one of the boys", they are written like real humans and not objects. They are not rejecting femininity, nor is femininity their whole personality and purpose. Being a woman is only a part of who they are. They are "one of the guys" just as much as Jinshi and Stark are "one of the girls" for being sensitive and unmasculine at times. Which is to say, they are not. They are men.
Most of the worst, least feminine female characters I have ever witnessed were also written by women. The gender of the author isn't necessarily indicative of the quality of the characters.
So, so well written. I am glad to see these points are getting mor recognition, the femininity and masculinity exists in EVERYONE, but it's supposed to be a part of them, more or less. To make that someone's whole personality is what makes that character appear one dimensional
@@chunnilal2111 Not really? You are feminine/masculine already if you were born as woman/man. If boy is soft mentally, or not really tall, don't have abs etc. - doesn't mean that he is feminine. With women the same, so stop spreading this please
An anime that has a good smart female character that doesn't immediately fall in love with someone only because they're hot ? Holy moly I NEED to watch this show!
@@Genburthingthe best part is that, she is literally what most females in real life would be like if someone flirts with them (Most, not all, but most)
Spoilers from the light novels. There's been a few scenes already showing a few glimpses of her mother so it may be revealed in the course of the anime but she was a high class prostitute who chose to have Maomao rather than aborting her. It cost the mother her status and she had to resort to street level work and ended up with a venereal disease that made her go mad. This, and growing up around other prostitutes, has left Maomao with an extremely unromantic, even fearful, view of sex. It's one of the reasons she uses makeup so that she's less attractive. Western audiences would see her freckles and probably think they're cute while in Asia they would be considered a blemish close to having zits. This is why no one recognizes her at first during the dinner party when the ladies-in-waiting clean her up and give her a feminine hair style and makeup job.
That's not was Karu was trying to say btw. He said that as a cringy joke to show that he related to the character. He just used the term wrong u guess. ik that cus thats what he said in responce on another comment here.
Further down the manga, we do learn that women aren't allowed to learn medicine, but they turned a blind eye to her knowing stuff because the knowledge she learnt is much more important than an outdated rule established a long time ago.
Pretty sure she had tacit of not explicit approval the instant he started referring to her as an apothecary and ordered her to treat Lihue, she's essentially a name tag short of basically being court apothecary and from both the episodes we've seen (plus farther along in the manga and LNs) she's definitely respected in that role once the legitimacy of the order is known, hell the emporer's personal cook refers to her and we see court chefs following her instructions, plus when she announced the poison during the event, while the ministers clearly don't believe her, we see the people who immediately react are indeed both the concubines and the emporer.
If my memories serve, it was actually medical knowledge in general and of certain in-depth fields that are forbidden, but medicinal knowledge of herbs and medicine is actually allowed for women to learn. (yeah also unofficially cause they won't be taken in as apprentices or at least not in the forbidden palace)
Maomao is a good character because she acts like a normal girl (as opposed to 'one of the boys'). She's like literally any girl you know only she doesn't hide her inner thoughts. Also I like how she only likes Jinshi when he doesn't act like his fake, carefree self.
nah, maomao is definitely not a normal girl. she is clearly the stereotype of the "mad scientist"( not the villain version, but the comic one ), exaggerated obsessed with drugs and poison. of course she is not only the stereotype, but being this stereotype is a big part of her charisma. and is ok to be like this, is fiction.
@@yurisg92 I think they're more talking about having strange, weird, or wacky interests that she's allowed to be obsessed with. Most girls do, or at least think that they have weird interests, and people don't really relate to her loving poisons, I think they relate to her obsession with a certain thing. Most women in media are kind of portrayed as being above being obsessed with something, or being weird, at least if they aren't a child, or an elderly person. Basically anyone who is a sexual viability. And the only real exception is the manic pixie which is mostly there to service the male character in his personal development, and can only be portrayed in a cute weird, not a gross or disgusting weird. Mao Mao is allowed to be actually weird, her arms are full of scabs and scars, she isn't childishly cute, and she isn't foolishly naive. For the most part. Most importantly, even if Jinshi disappeared, it wouldn't make a difference to her love of what she's doing.
@@lumenx7499 nah, if anyone relate to the exaggerated obssesion of maomao, i'm sorry, but this person is not mentally ok. obsession of something in this level is not healthy, for men and for women. she is like this not to incentivize people that is ok to be this obssessed with something, she is like this to be comic, is funny and sometimes it's cute, because of the art style changes. of course she is not only this comic character, there are some comic scenes and some serious scenes, when maomao is not obsessed with drugs and poison, she only likes work with it and like using her work to help people.
same HAHA the moment i heard the words "wechat ma" and i was laughing nd coughing at the same time trying to control myself so that i can breath 😂😂@@crustydabbs
jinsi isn't a creep, because he's actually 18 or 19. the persona "jinshi" is 23-24. the series was long enough for maomao to turn 18 so they're around the same age. it's just that maomao is shorter or jinshi is absurdly tall.
Maomao is not one of the boys, she's just finally a good written female character. Her being a woman does not deprive her of being a person first with her own ideas and personality traits, separate from male characters. All while being a woman, acknowledging her status and limitations that come with it. Maomao being the Strong Female Character ™ without shouting about it everywhere she goes, but just DOING SHIT THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE is soooooo satisfying Also I think that actually all of the female characters are like this in the anime, all of them have distinct motivations and personalities and none of them are just "the bitch" or "the good one", something most anime really likes to do.
maam he was referring to how much mainstream anime de-evolves female characters that it just feels boring and pretty sexist, and somehow the male characters are actually more human-like than female characters. it wasnt the best comparison he made but you'll see where he's coming from.
Yeah, the big one is Lihua. It's easy to write her off as the "bitch" consort, until you realize that when we first see her, it's literally during the worst time of her life.
@@junkyyard2273 i'm not saying he is sexist, but calling the maomao one of the boys because she is curious and smart is the most hilarious cases of unintentional sexism. It's like that skit of superman ""I'm not sexist. Being sexist is WRONG. And being wrong is for women."
@@junkyyard2273 I don't think they meant to call him sexist, and yes, it is clear to see what the person is trying to say. However, it is true that having a well rounded personality where she is a character that has interests other than the man is perceived as being 'One of the boys'. Being a whole human should not be associated with being like 'the boys', it is just a well-written character that is not reducing a women to the love interest. That being said, I agree with the creator's message and it is a very enjoyable show.
Correction at 5:30 - The main character Maomao can read and hides her ability from the Royal Palace until exposed by Jinshi. In the anime, after the garden party we see that Jinshi has a hairpin with the imperial crest which means he has the emperor's protection. The manga and light novel source has progressed much farther than the manga - sofar as the manga has progressed there is no romantic entanglements for Maomao - who stays steadfastly rational and logical and focused on just surviving inner palace politics.
@@axellrosinia9392 spoiler: No, he's pretending. There's a whole funny reveal and everything. His "frog" is still there, and in Maomao's words, is "decently sized" 😂
As someone who has never known a single Chinese word, somehow... I knew that, like when i watched this show, i for some reason knew that maomao means cat, and when her cat ears appeared i was like "ahhhhh literal cat" like idk how i knew this but... Cool thing about how i know a word from a language i never learned.
Definitely. I don't think people get that a character being a woman isn't a character trait, it's a backstory trait. Maybe her experiences as specifically a woman shaped her a lot, maybe they didn't. In either case it's a backstory that informs character. Of course that would first require to actually treat the character like a character and not a plot device, which many fail.
Genuinely yes. While depending on the situation and society of the series it can be important to keep in mind the gender of the character. But in the end, no characters gender should define them as a person
If a writer sucks at writing female characters but gets praise for their male characters-idk why they haven’t figured out that all they have to do is write the female ones in the same way they write the guys 😆 like you already know how to write so just keep doing what you’ve been doin already!
Male characters too. Though I feel like men often are good at writing male characters because they don't see a distinction between them and the characters they write.
im currently reading the manga and boy lemme tell you, its sooo good! like one chapter alone had me gasp for air because it foreshadowed something 16 chapter before my brain was like big after wards! the whole relationship with jinshi and maomao is also so cute, cuz maomao literally doesn't care, she knows jinshi is the most beautiful guy but doesn't care at all, while jinshi is only curious at her and views her as a play thing and entertainment, he doesn't realize what he's actually developing are romantic feelings! i cant wait for them to actually fall in love butt still keep this current relationship going on
That fact that we see her actively geeking out over the cabinet full of herbs, and instantly sussing Jinshi instead of falling head over heels, is everything. ❤
Maomao is well written because she is written like a person, not just some male character's filler love interest to be used for fan service. There are plenty of well written, dynamic, interesting female characters, ESPECIALLY in shoujo and josei.
Yeah I was thinking the same thing, Shoujo has soooo many great female characters, so its weird to me when he said that Maomao is different when there are plenty of well written female characters. Shoujo and josei fantasy should be animated more.
@@xyznightwing actually, there are more shoujo and josei anime in general, shonen tend to not be so good in japan, the thing is that companies outside japan prefer shonen because of the succes of dragon ball, before dragon ball, there was a lot of shoujo and seinen, some shojo are sakura card captor, kaleido star, ranma, sailor moon, Boys over Flowers, Whisper of the Heart, Marmalade Boy, heidi, candy candy, etc..
@@xyznightwing the sad thing is that they probably wouldn't be as successful. I really thought that this was shoujo but then she did that face which struck me as odd and first made me question if this was shoujo but I decided that it was just one one thing. However i heard that they focus on her boobs in one episode.
(Warning : spoilers) In like the very first episode they briefly mention that the only men in the rear palace are eunuchs and the emperor’s kin, and separating the two implies that the emperor’s kin are not eunuchs. I think Jinshi is probably the emperor’s younger brother. This is hinted during the like garden party thing episode when they’re like oh the emperor’s sickly younger brother briefly made an appearance but he’s gone now and later we see Jinshi wearing the fancy hair pin and the fancy clothes. It would also make sense for the emperor to pretend his brother is a sickly shut in but actually have him work as a spy essentially in the rear palace and manage royal affairs from there. That would explain all of Jinshi’s duties and authority, and why he’s always tasked with figuring out the cause of drama. So that’s my long winded theory to basically prove that yes Jinshi has a p*nis
You are not far off, Moamoa does figure it out but keeps her mouth shut about it in the novels. XD I mean, it's actually a secret who he really is anyways, and she doesn't want to be killed for knowing who he is. XD
I mean, there's a big difference between "a Chinese anime" and "an anime with a fictional setting based on ancient China." Also, Jinshi's age is... well, actually quite important and technically a spoiler (though the context for that won't be coming for a decent while anyway)
Yes. Real world Chinese graphic novels/cartoons are subject to CCP censorship which like the 1950s USA comic censorship standards restricts the type of stories and characters that can be published that Japanese Anime don't have to abide to. This allows Japanese Anime more freedom to explore ideas characters and stories that would not make it through Chinese or American censorship standards.
i mean before this, we had Kingdom which is one of the best historical war action anime out there based on chinese history. cant believe people are surprised that theres an anime made by japanese author and studio about china. but no one is surprised that theres alot of shows based on medieval europe?
And now the thumbnail has unnecessarily changed for the worse. Why is it focusing on her age. It’s not relevant to the conversation, and combined with the (still bad) title, it makes even less sense. And spoilers for Jinshi’s age below: Jinshi is pretending to be much older than he is in order to hide his true status. In actuality, he’s literally only one year older than Maomao. There is no age difference. A non-existent problem is being pointed out for clicks.
I love Maomao because she is like a regular real life girl. Anime girls are often written poorly and hyperfeminized. It’s funny that we can say “she’s like one of the boys” but also “she’s like a regular real life girl”. Or at least, the girls I have always associated with throughout my life are all more like Maomao than other anime girls. I should note that I am also a girl like Maomao lol, so I may be biased in saying most girls are actually like this, but that’s from my own experience.
Being an Akatsuki no Yona fan for years, I was really happy with Kusuriya no Hitorigoto, it really has a smimilar vibe, but gets past the introduction very fast to it's advantage (while the whole AnY season WAS the introduction). I really hope it gets animated to the end, which I don't think Akatsuki no Yona will ever (althought the manga is a gem, it's so sad they didn't do at least another season to let it shine)
Jinshi definitely isn't a eunuch. Remember in the episode when he was preparing for the special ceremony, he took a special medicine - I think it was potato flour. HIs servant told him that if he continued taking that medicine, over time it really would make him impotent. He wouldn't have needed it if he was already castrated.
Speaking as a novel fan, totally no need to worry about the romance interrupting Maomao’s story. Their relationship will progress but pretty slow. And it’s actually not bad because considering their status differences and Maomao’s personality there are a lot to work for. It’s pretty logical and gives you more surprise when they finally moved one step forward.
I love the slow burn in Apthecary's diaries. I am so tired of a man chasing woman, she's saying 'no' until realising that it is actually a 'yes' and there is a final scene kiss. Abandoning a romance is also a big no-no, it can be just a background story but love is simply an important part of life, it can't be ignored. Apart of that, I'd love to see an anime where a woman is saying yes for the physical part of love but it doesn't go with the emotional one. I would totally accept a woman character enjoying the attention or even engaging in some relationship with men, without it being love but only desire. It doesn't have to be +18 ofc, actually it being +18 would completely destroy the idea. And the emotional love can also be shown as a slow burn in such story.
@Lee-km7qq I think the issue is when it comes to female characters and there relationships THERE entire characters become " I love MC" There story DOES become a backseat to who they love . There agency is taken away in favour of them being there to support there love interest Nothing wrong with being a supportive partner BUT when that is all you have its bad. This is something that never really happens in Yuri because well, there both women and tend not suffer from the "Men more important than women" that anime does a lot. Romance also does not need to be in every story Some of the worst romances in anime are there because the author feels like there needs to be a romance for no real reason
What I loved about Maomao is she's not put any woman down, not even the wicked one. She protecting every woman in her sight. Also in this setting woman allowed to read, but most doesn't have access to. Maomao taught by her old man a.k.a her granpa 😂. Her mom is smart while her father is a genius. She's kind of has a priviledge but she used it well. I love her. Yes this is better than-
Nah bro I started watching this anime as a joke but I soon started to enjoy it and I am glad I am not the only one who discovered this anime and keep on doing the great work 👍🏽
No doubt I screamed when you put Yona of the Dawn up and Mo Dao Zu Shi on the screen. Yona of the Dawn was one of my childhood anime and I even put my school password based on it back in elementary, it is still the same now. And I'm still obsessed with Mo Dao Zu Shi- I have posters, acrylics, keychains, etc... Anyway, I think you can tell how much I love them based on the fact I even made this comment when it was probably not needed and not at all relevant to anything this videos about. Please feel free to ignore it I just had to fangirl for a second.
Hahaha omg I had like the same reaction 😂 it would seem that great minds are destined have an inevitable obsession with both Yona of the Dawn and MDZS 😌
@@TheSoulCalledZuzia I've never related to a character more lmao. Obviously nowhere near as impressive and hopefully nicer, but still largely too relatable.
@@OatmealTheCrazy I'm not saying she's not, just that there are many characters that are written on a similar level. One just need to know where to look. Of course, there are also personal experiences that allow you to relate to one character and not the other
saying that "she is one of the boys" completely is a false statement lol....she is a girls girl, and a female character thats written very well. just because a female character is written that way doesnt mean that she is one of the boys. comparing senku and maomao feels really fitting tho,,,they do resemble eachother and now that you mention it, it made perfect sense in my mind.
I love it when girls girls are written correctly. But called one of the boys because of it. If anything she’s one of the girls and I live for that. Because as a girl it’s easy to relate to looking out for fellow women and friends who are girls. But at the same time it doesn’t entirely define us. She’s smart and clever but at the same time she can be caring and observant. It’s theese things that make her such a. Great written female Charcter. It sounds complicated but honestly it’s not that hard to write them. Don’t write them as a male, or even a female. Write then as a person in general. Also if I’m correct I think she’s written by a girl so yeah.
@@TheFandomGirlCreations I actually thought that by "one of the boys" he meant as a character, that gets to have an actual personality, which if often something only boys get to have in anime. But I definitely also felt the ick, since "one of the boys" is one of the stereotypes for one dimensional female characters in any type of fiction.
Maomao reminds me of Shirayuki from Akagami No Shirayukihime, which is a shoujo romance series. Their thirst for knowledge, bravery and willingness to act are admirable. I just wished Shirayuki would get more recognition.
It baffles me how hard it is for male authors to write good female characters. Like, just make them actually act like a real human being rather than an object or use them as just plot progression. Develop the character like how you would with male characters. Maomao is one example of how to make an actually good female character
Because you are reading/watching the wrong genre, you want deep characters then watch seinen & josei, and not shounen & shoujo where deep characters are an exception and not the standards because it meant for kids & teens(i want you imagine what deep means for teens) and if you think its only women characters that are shallow in those genre i want you to look at the main characters really hard like goku, naruto, luffy, ichigo & saitama are this really what people consider deep characters?
@@chaoschalice calling Luffy a shallow character is crazy. Besides, I still think they could, y'know, have more effort in making them have personality? They don't have to be deep, just someone who feels like they're an actual individual.
@@Lazuley_they could but i want you think on how long will that take to flesh out a single character, and imagine a mangaka new or old trying to published their work, do you think they could afford to do so?
It has been heavily implied that he is related to the emperor (the hair pin he wears during the meeting event of the concubines with the emperor), therefore he could be in the Rear Palace without having to be an eunuch.
I hope. It's still not likely though. The whole point of them being Eunuchs is to prevent any mishaps, so unless the Emperor trusts him A LOT, that's not likely.
hhe is a semi eunuch, he drinks contraceptive medicine that stops his frog from getting strong and stops producing testosterone too, thats why hes so beautiful
Within the 3 countries most people think about when they hear east asia, China, Korea, Japan, while Korea has kpop and Japan has anime, China's biggest cultural export has unironically been memes lmao, and mainly known for being criticised for their government and gambling gacha games, so Im glad it's getting at least some light shed onto it even if it isn't entirely accurate. (also the chinese language is too hard wtf i've studied it over 8 years regularly and still don't understand shit lmao because there is almost no situation where i use it in real life and i can't grasp it or maybe im just braindead in the brain)
I'm currently learning Japanese. I live in the UK so I don't get to meet any Japanese people. Have you tried having a pen pal where write to Chinese people? For me I like watching Japanese commercials so I can noticed people using Katakana and hiragana I'm familiar with.
It feels like a change of pace after not seeing much mainstream anime about "China" (air quotes cos it's supposed to be fictional) so I liked it as well
Bro canto is worse. I grew up speaking cantonese and i thought i was pretty good at it. After visiting my grandparents after not seeing them for 4 years cuz of covid, i didn’t understand fuckall😭 i can‘t read or write either so i am back again the level of a kindergardener
@@kung4660Ouch. Sorry, watching anime always helps me keep up with my Japanese. Try watching shows in Cantonese. And Chinese for the comment above you.
@@karu Based on the manga and the pace the anime is going at, we should be seeing some major hints dropped in the next couple of episodes as to who he really is.
The reason why she's awesome is coz she's just a normal girl , and and she isn't over exaggerated like the other anime girls, she's so relatable and I got the that feeling a lot whilst watchg it, she's her normal self around everyone and has a passion just like any other girl, and she's very pretty though not everyone can see it, the author did a really great job!❤
ironically both this and 'yona of the dawn' have one of the best designed female leads [ I am head over heels for each character of yona of the dawn , it's the first show/manga --- {as I don't think it is getting a season 2 but my hope is there} where none of the single character can be hated completely yeah other than the obvious ones "kum-ji , Gobi the priest" and they did a very good job to hold the audience by showing how Yona would be in future and then showing how she transformed as if it wasn't the case most of the people would have thought her as rich spoiled brat
Yes! I've been looking for a comment about this!! Her character development is way better than a lot that I've seen; it's carefully thought out and well written which is clear in the manga as you go on. It's a shame the anime only did one season because reading the manga you can further see how she grows and matures not only as a person, but in her archery skills and strategic thinking, as well as knowledge about royalty (since she's the rightful heir to the throne and it was clear in the beginning she didn't care about being the queen). I could rant about it all day if I could honestly, it's my favorite manga.
@@blooshroomxo it's ending ( chapter 252 currently next will come on Feb 5th ) ... and spoilers:- All dragons are dead/sealed idk.. just Zeno is left.. Soo Won has announced Yona as ruler to Hak.. and it's just sad.. especially when I read from chapter 67 to 251 in a row my emotions gave me heart ache for a whole day until I slept and buried it last month
I just had to get back to this video to say thank you! I watched it now to the last ep that´s out right now and I really love this anime because Maomao is just such a great charakter and not so anime tropy.
ik the titles some sort of clickbait but for people who came here confused: the chinese equivalent of anime is donghua, there's usually more cgi but many 2d ones are insanely well animated, and some LN/WN/manhua adaptations are really good as well kusuriya no hitorigoto/the apothecary diaries is based off of ancient china, but i think all of its content is entirely made in japan (japanese author, manga artist, animators, etc.), i feel like the writing styles are sorta similar but perhaps its because i look for content like knh
1:57 ayup, i can indeed read those words… the Maomao and Senku comparison suddenly made it click for me why she feels so familiarly lovable, galaxy brained connection karu
This is one of the freshest anime I have seen in a while because the main character is like Sherlock Holmes but with medicine and poison. Every episode is also unpredictable and the animation is gorgeous!
6:26 Spoilers for the manga!! In chapter 63, it's implied at the end of the chapter that Jinshi still has his... manhood. Maomao somehow touches the area after falling bc a frog fell on her and Jinshi catched her, she realizes he might not be a true eunuch. (I'm not joking; she literally squeezes that area twice or smth 💀) She says, "There's a man [Jinshi] in the inner palace who isn't a eunuch. What would happen if he laid his hands on one of the consorts and got them pregnant?" This line implies that Jinshi does, in fact, have his manhood since you need it to impregnate a woman. I actually laughed when karu said he might still have his d*ck because he's not wrong.
@@tomatosoup1304eh, I'm tired of the unfair cliche of "girl can grope a guy on accident without consequences. But if a guy accidentally falls on a girl he gets his ass kicked" It's insufferable
@@MALICEM12same but there are tons of anime out there where female characters are sexualized and even assaulted but it’s made okay cough cough seven deadly sins
6:40 Gaoshu tells her to stop giving him her kind of attention. Because it turns out he enjoys being "mistreated" the way she does (which is in fact just her rejecting his obnoxious approaches) and he looks forward to their encounters, to the point it's hindering his work performance
Maomao is such a well written character, she's got intellect and is quick witted, is kind but is not kind at her own expense which I LOVVEEE cz anime's love to make female characters who are unrealistically kind. Best new anime of 2023 as well
It's not Chinese though 😊 But the main heroine's attitude matches many of FL's from Chinese comics (manhuas). She is quick witted, knowledgeable, independent, has strong character and doesn't easily fall for the first hot guy pursuing her. That makes that hot guy wanting her even more ❤
@cyberastranova Yes, but, that is different from an anime produced in China. The title have these two words "Chinese anime" in them which makes it misleading as people will think that this anime was produced in China. They would not think of it as a Japanese anime with the setting inspired by ancient china.
It's not set in ancient China either. It's set in a fictional universe in a country called Li that happens to have a culture similar to (but not quite the same as) ancient China.
You can find more stories like this in historical shoujo webcomics, theirs a lot of historical shoujos with a strong female lead with an actual personality and are placed in the past
she's not 'one of the boys' she's just a person, and under the patriarchy men are taught to think that women are not as complex as them, and have that men have more rich or bountiful or whatever the hell inner worlds and thoughts processes and that men are just more deep and interesting. it's why men sometimes view and treat women as practically an entirely different species, because that's what they think they are
Yeah it basically indicates 'guys are interesting, women are not, and if we rarely find an interesting woman, it's because she behaves like a boy. Interesting women don't exist'. That line really pissed me off.
If you liked this anime, then I highly recommend "Raven of the Inner Palace". It also takes place in Imperial China and is about this concubine that can't be touched by the emperor because that's not her job. She's basically this supernatural detective that solves the mysteries of the inner palace when given a decent payment. I love her as a character and how the show goes into the lore of her role, her tragic backstory, and how she copes with it and makes friends along the way. This is a very bare bones way of describing the plot but I hope you give it a shot. It's an underrated gem, and it's use of colors is fantastic.
Personally, I love the fact that the relationship between MaoMao and Jinshi isn't rushed, or timeskipped. We get to see the slow buildup of tolerance. Not love, but she begins to "tolerate" his shenanigens more. I like that about this anime. 10/10 from me 👍
A similar anime is Raven of the Inner Palace! It also has mystery-solving aspects set in Ancient China, along with some more fantasy aspects and a dash of romance. The animation is super beautiful too
I LOVE the manga, I was SO excited when I saw they were making an anime--and they did such a great job!! Can't wait for season 2 😆 (Also, akatsuki no yona is dope AF, need to rewatch that asap and get caught up on the Manga, its been a couple years 😅)
I love that you say "you aren't used to Ancient China as a setting if you haven't watched these" and show a picture of Mo Dao Zu Shi... I am a fan of MXTX's works and am a woman, I guess I'm automatically part of the bros here lol
Maomao is absolutely my favorite female character in anime. She was genuinely interesting to watch. It was refreshing to see the way she didn’t fall in love with Jinshi. I’m not saying she’s aroace but she definitely gave off that vibe and I found that very relatable. Also Jinshi has the same dub voice actor as Gojos dub voice actor.
in light novel she did fall in love with Jinshi. She just didn't fall in love with him right away (like some female characters in harem/ecchi anime) and their romance took time to blossom.
Heh watching this as someone who read the manga and light novel is super fun. I can't wait for the shoe to drop. Also don't worry about the romance aspect. They're still not together in the manga, just light stirrings of something more. Their relationship progression is actually pretty natural.
02:24 She's promoted to Lady in Waiting. Poison tasting just happen to come with it. Lady in waiting are still dispensable though.\ Anyway, this anime needs 2 to 3 more seasons.
I always read the disclaimer at the beginning of each episode as, "dear Chinese government, PLEASE don't blacklist our show and deprive us of the massive number of potential viewers in your country."
At first I thought this was gonna be typical Shoujo main female protag instantly falls for the very Shoujo manga looking love interest, I'm so glad I was wrong. I loved what I watched of the anime now I'm reading the manga. This shit is peak drama, I love it
I've never seen this anime but it looks really cool! Maomao kind of reminds me of a story I read in Chinese class about a man named "Shennong". I'm copy pasting this from Wikipedia because I'm lazy: "Shennong is credited with identifying hundreds of medical (and poisonous) herbs by personally testing their properties, which was crucial to the development of traditional Chinese medicine. Legend holds that Shennong had a transparent body, and thus could see the effects of different plants and herbs on himself." Really cool!
I can't lie, I had this anime on my radar at first simply because it was set in imperial china and a lot of the Chinese cultivation/power fantasy novels I read take heavy inspiration from this setting. Recently started it and caught up to episode 20 and it's been great.
THIS MADE MY DAYYYYYYYYYYYYY THE APOTHECARY DIARIES IS LITTERALLY ONE OF MY FAV!!! i read the whole manga to its latest chapter and the anime and its just SO CREATIVE
2:37 OMG YOU ACTUALLY SHOWED MDZS???? Im subscribed. For life. and yes I watched the apothecary dairies after seeing your thumbnail. it was the best anime I've ever watched.
Your browser is holding you back. Level up here: operagx.gg/karu
Idk why this sounds weird
you might want to watch this anime in the origional version.
you can clearly hear japanese spoken, not chinese.
it may take place in china, yet, this anime is made by japanese, therefore, this is not a chinese.
think avatar animated series, it looks like a anime, but it isn't a anime.
avatar the last airbender animeted series is officualy a cartoon, made by amarika.
no chinese spyware for me
@@faultysaber3760 I'm not downloading it for Badger, not downloading it for anyone
Yes
Maomao’s addiction to poison is one of the best character traits in history. It’s not even fictional. An actual ruler from Anatolia was immune to poison by doing exactly what she did. Even had poison eating parties and scientists creating new ones just for him.
Edit his name was Mitradathes
Man, history is wild 😳
Surely you're speaking of Mitridathes, a strong Rome's enemy, when he was (finally!) defeated, couldn't poison himself, so he had to rely on a slave's help (to support a sword) to suicide !
Maomao called, she wants to marry him (for the poisons, obviously)
@@alessiodecarolis yep. Thank you OSP and all the hilarious historical facts they have brought to light.
@@TheSoulCalledZuzia that’s exactly what she would do
It’s not like she doesn’t find him attractive (she does acknowledge that he is a looker ) just to find his attitude to be annoying rather than charming
story of my life
So real. When I put myself in Maomao's perspective, I can understand why she's not so into Jinshi. Maomao also acknowledges that Gaoshu's a better husband candidate because his personality and capabilities (so real, Gaoshu the number one husband). Then when Jinshi starts showing his more serious and caring side, Maomao is now slightly more interested in him
@@kuroharudere2735 Not to mention his fake persona
She says the fakeness that he’s exuding and she doesn’t like it
Well, from maomao persepective (that lived in "service" area), most men she know are handsome with shitty attitude, so if she think jinshi is just annoying, he's better than the average man she know😂
@@karu as the person feeling annoyed or being annoying for others? ^^
“She’s one of the boy” Nahhh, she’s a true girl’s girl. She did not judge any of the concubines nor the then “pr0st1tut3s“; she always helped any girl who needed help despite their social class 😭😭
TBH instead of thinking of Maomao as one of the boys, I think a huge part of her appeal is that she's one of the girls. She's in a society that gives women a platter of shit sandwiches to choose from, and she gets that and is too realistic to think she can change it, but she still spends her time trying to make things more tolerable, mostly for other women, where she can. It makes her really admirable.
Absolutely, you described it perfectly.
Yeah. Hate it when people say a good female character is "one of the boys". Because good female characters can't be "One of the girls?"
There's plenty of other good female characters in this anime too. The concubines all have their own struggles and personalities.
@@2Rice I agree. I don't think the creator of the video realized that that was how it came off, so I'll give him a pass. Being a good character and being one of the girls is not mutually exclusive.
@@mataharii161 Yeah, not critiquing Karu for saying it! I just think it's a key and really enjoyable part of Maomao's character that she's a total girl's girl, even if she isn't classically 'girly' in her own particular interests.
@@danaroth598 absolutely, yeah
She’s really not “one of the boys” she’s simply a good female character! She’s a girls girl, truly, and we love her for it
YES
Right? She looks out for other women in and outside the harem even if they cross her.
Glad I'm not the only one who heard that went, huh?
yet no anime female character is actually "one of the boys"
most of them usually just abuses the male cast by punching them, kicking them, and always relying on them when they are in danger.
ehh, in my unboish opinion, it's nothing to be offended of, It's a bit like calling guys girl boss or girl failure. Tad cringe, but ultimately just an informal honest impression glazed with memeism.
Theres a good reason Maomao (and Frieren) are written so well: They are both written by women.
They are not "one of the boys", they are written like real humans and not objects. They are not rejecting femininity, nor is femininity their whole personality and purpose. Being a woman is only a part of who they are.
They are "one of the guys" just as much as Jinshi and Stark are "one of the girls" for being sensitive and unmasculine at times. Which is to say, they are not. They are men.
Most of the worst, least feminine female characters I have ever witnessed were also written by women. The gender of the author isn't necessarily indicative of the quality of the characters.
So, so well written. I am glad to see these points are getting mor recognition, the femininity and masculinity exists in EVERYONE, but it's supposed to be a part of them, more or less. To make that someone's whole personality is what makes that character appear one dimensional
Stop this shit with "feminity" and "masculinity", it's really annoying
@@goansichishig Those two are parts of everyone tho
@@chunnilal2111 Not really? You are feminine/masculine already if you were born as woman/man. If boy is soft mentally, or not really tall, don't have abs etc. - doesn't mean that he is feminine. With women the same, so stop spreading this please
An anime that has a good smart female character that doesn't immediately fall in love with someone only because they're hot ? Holy moly I NEED to watch this show!
even better
She is disgusted by the Hot Guy trying to flirt with her with a plot-relevant reason!
@@Genburthingthe best part is that, she is literally what most females in real life would be like if someone flirts with them
(Most, not all, but most)
@@Ashleylol_26literally
Better than Marvel
Spoilers from the light novels.
There's been a few scenes already showing a few glimpses of her mother so it may be revealed in the course of the anime but she was a high class prostitute who chose to have Maomao rather than aborting her. It cost the mother her status and she had to resort to street level work and ended up with a venereal disease that made her go mad. This, and growing up around other prostitutes, has left Maomao with an extremely unromantic, even fearful, view of sex.
It's one of the reasons she uses makeup so that she's less attractive. Western audiences would see her freckles and probably think they're cute while in Asia they would be considered a blemish close to having zits. This is why no one recognizes her at first during the dinner party when the ladies-in-waiting clean her up and give her a feminine hair style and makeup job.
Mao Mao isn't "One of the boys", it's just that every other anime girl isn't "one of the girls"
fr!!
Exactly, like he can't see that most female characters aren't written like real women in the first place😂
Yesssw
@@niraxlevi9930or humans for that matter
Personally I feel that almost no anime boy is "one of the boys" either so can relate
Whats annoying to me is describing her as "one of the boys" as if a girl can't thirst for knowledge and be smart and still be a girl 😭
That's not was Karu was trying to say btw. He said that as a cringy joke to show that he related to the character. He just used the term wrong u guess. ik that cus thats what he said in responce on another comment here.
ISTGGGG😭🔪🤚🏻
Further down the manga, we do learn that women aren't allowed to learn medicine, but they turned a blind eye to her knowing stuff because the knowledge she learnt is much more important than an outdated rule established a long time ago.
Saving two of his wives and one of his heirs probably had something to do with that
Pretty sure she had tacit of not explicit approval the instant he started referring to her as an apothecary and ordered her to treat Lihue, she's essentially a name tag short of basically being court apothecary and from both the episodes we've seen (plus farther along in the manga and LNs) she's definitely respected in that role once the legitimacy of the order is known, hell the emporer's personal cook refers to her and we see court chefs following her instructions, plus when she announced the poison during the event, while the ministers clearly don't believe her, we see the people who immediately react are indeed both the concubines and the emporer.
If my memories serve, it was actually medical knowledge in general and of certain in-depth fields that are forbidden, but medicinal knowledge of herbs and medicine is actually allowed for women to learn. (yeah also unofficially cause they won't be taken in as apprentices or at least not in the forbidden palace)
Y mucho más adelante en la novela ligera entra como asistente de los médicos de la corte
@@jakeschreiner9348People are not giving the emperor enough credit, he's actually very wise and caring, even if the plot doesn't show it enough.
Funny thing... Jinshi is actually voiced by Gojo in the English Dub
And Jinshi is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai, who voices Geto...
@@calico_queen8976 no? he voiced by otsuka takeo/aqua from oshi no ko
@@calico_queen8976actually Jinshi is voiced by Takeo Otsuka while Geto’s is Takahiro Sakurai
@@calico_queen8976 I think he was going to be voiced by takahiro but than got replaced by takeo otsuka bc of affair scandals
@@daphney3098 honestly deserved (L sakurai). i think takeo's a good fit for jinshi!
This video aged like fine wine… as fine as wine can get in three months.
???
@@Novaurawr you and me both.
@@Ozone289 wdym?
Maomao is a good character because she acts like a normal girl (as opposed to 'one of the boys'). She's like literally any girl you know only she doesn't hide her inner thoughts. Also I like how she only likes Jinshi when he doesn't act like his fake, carefree self.
It's not the best phrasing, but I'm 90% sure that's what he meant there. Compare that to the Naruto women mentioned. She's an actual person.
nah, maomao is definitely not a normal girl. she is clearly the stereotype of the "mad scientist"( not the villain version, but the comic one ), exaggerated obsessed with drugs and poison. of course she is not only the stereotype, but being this stereotype is a big part of her charisma. and is ok to be like this, is fiction.
@@yurisg92 I think they're more talking about having strange, weird, or wacky interests that she's allowed to be obsessed with. Most girls do, or at least think that they have weird interests, and people don't really relate to her loving poisons, I think they relate to her obsession with a certain thing. Most women in media are kind of portrayed as being above being obsessed with something, or being weird, at least if they aren't a child, or an elderly person. Basically anyone who is a sexual viability. And the only real exception is the manic pixie which is mostly there to service the male character in his personal development, and can only be portrayed in a cute weird, not a gross or disgusting weird. Mao Mao is allowed to be actually weird, her arms are full of scabs and scars, she isn't childishly cute, and she isn't foolishly naive. For the most part. Most importantly, even if Jinshi disappeared, it wouldn't make a difference to her love of what she's doing.
@@lumenx7499 nah, if anyone relate to the exaggerated obssesion of maomao, i'm sorry, but this person is not mentally ok. obsession of something in this level is not healthy, for men and for women. she is like this not to incentivize people that is ok to be this obssessed with something, she is like this to be comic, is funny and sometimes it's cute, because of the art style changes. of course she is not only this comic character, there are some comic scenes and some serious scenes, when maomao is not obsessed with drugs and poison, she only likes work with it and like using her work to help people.
@@yurisg92 Having "exaggerative [obsessive]" hobbies are fine. People act like her all the time
that chinese attempt made me laugh so hard.
I heard the "wechat ma" And I just couldn't hold it.
same HAHA the moment i heard the words "wechat ma" and i was laughing nd coughing at the same time trying to control myself so that i can breath 😂😂@@crustydabbs
as a chinese person i can confirm it is valif
Same af
Average chinez
jinsi isn't a creep, because he's actually 18 or 19. the persona "jinshi" is 23-24. the series was long enough for maomao to turn 18 so they're around the same age. it's just that maomao is shorter or jinshi is absurdly tall.
Maomao is not one of the boys, she's just finally a good written female character. Her being a woman does not deprive her of being a person first with her own ideas and personality traits, separate from male characters. All while being a woman, acknowledging her status and limitations that come with it. Maomao being the Strong Female Character ™ without shouting about it everywhere she goes, but just DOING SHIT THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE is soooooo satisfying
Also I think that actually all of the female characters are like this in the anime, all of them have distinct motivations and personalities and none of them are just "the bitch" or "the good one", something most anime really likes to do.
maam he was referring to how much mainstream anime de-evolves female characters that it just feels boring and pretty sexist, and somehow the male characters are actually more human-like than female characters.
it wasnt the best comparison he made but you'll see where he's coming from.
Yeah, the big one is Lihua. It's easy to write her off as the "bitch" consort, until you realize that when we first see her, it's literally during the worst time of her life.
Agree. All of the women are so well written and unique
@@junkyyard2273 i'm not saying he is sexist, but calling the maomao one of the boys because she is curious and smart is the most hilarious cases of unintentional sexism. It's like that skit of superman ""I'm not sexist. Being sexist is WRONG. And being wrong is for women."
@@junkyyard2273 I don't think they meant to call him sexist, and yes, it is clear to see what the person is trying to say. However, it is true that having a well rounded personality where she is a character that has interests other than the man is perceived as being 'One of the boys'.
Being a whole human should not be associated with being like 'the boys', it is just a well-written character that is not reducing a women to the love interest.
That being said, I agree with the creator's message and it is a very enjoyable show.
Correction at 5:30 - The main character Maomao can read and hides her ability from the Royal Palace until exposed by Jinshi. In the anime, after the garden party we see that Jinshi has a hairpin with the imperial crest which means he has the emperor's protection. The manga and light novel source has progressed much farther than the manga - sofar as the manga has progressed there is no romantic entanglements for Maomao - who stays steadfastly rational and logical and focused on just surviving inner palace politics.
I love that for her
pls spoiler me, is jinshi ppless or not?😂
@@axellrosinia9392 spoiler:
No, he's pretending. There's a whole funny reveal and everything. His "frog" is still there, and in Maomao's words, is "decently sized" 😂
@@Someone-or8tpLmao reading that scene was hilarious
@@axellrosinia9392 allowed to be there because he's an illegitimate child of the Emperor
6:25 hits different when you have read the manga 💀💀
The frog
@@CharmanderCharlie96shhh how are they gonna animate that 😭😭
Ribbit ribbit
Took the words out of my mouth 😂
Frog.. ToT
Fun fact: MaoMao name translated is Cat and in the manga during funny momments she is sometimes depicted with cat ears :3 I just wanted to share this
Can't wait till BaoBao gets introduced
In the anime too, she has been depicted with cat ears and other cat attitudes like screeching many times.
@@OatmealTheCrazybau bau?
@@OatmealTheCrazy would be GouGou in chinese tho
As someone who has never known a single Chinese word, somehow... I knew that, like when i watched this show, i for some reason knew that maomao means cat, and when her cat ears appeared i was like "ahhhhh literal cat" like idk how i knew this but... Cool thing about how i know a word from a language i never learned.
I think the best written female characters are the ones who are written as *_PEOPLE_* first, and females second, or even third.
Definitely. I don't think people get that a character being a woman isn't a character trait, it's a backstory trait. Maybe her experiences as specifically a woman shaped her a lot, maybe they didn't. In either case it's a backstory that informs character.
Of course that would first require to actually treat the character like a character and not a plot device, which many fail.
Genuinely yes. While depending on the situation and society of the series it can be important to keep in mind the gender of the character. But in the end, no characters gender should define them as a person
If a writer sucks at writing female characters but gets praise for their male characters-idk why they haven’t figured out that all they have to do is write the female ones in the same way they write the guys 😆 like you already know how to write so just keep doing what you’ve been doin already!
@@MaddieFishblob EXACTLY lmao
Male characters too. Though I feel like men often are good at writing male characters because they don't see a distinction between them and the characters they write.
The Chinese at around 4:20 sounded legit af. Very nice.
im currently reading the manga and boy lemme tell you, its sooo good! like one chapter alone had me gasp for air because it foreshadowed something 16 chapter before my brain was like big after wards! the whole relationship with jinshi and maomao is also so cute, cuz maomao literally doesn't care, she knows jinshi is the most beautiful guy but doesn't care at all, while jinshi is only curious at her and views her as a play thing and entertainment, he doesn't realize what he's actually developing are romantic feelings! i cant wait for them to actually fall in love butt still keep this current relationship going on
im only chaper 48
I've just finished all the available light novels. It's so hard to put it down that I finished all 9 volumes in less than a week.
@@edisonuy7707 OH YEAH!!!! once i started reading the manga, i also couldn't stop!!!
If you're talking about the latest chapters .....OMFGGGGG I WAS SCREAMING
@@edisonuy7707 please tell me are they couple i have red till light novel 5 and couldn't wait longer then dropped please spoil me
That fact that we see her actively geeking out over the cabinet full of herbs, and instantly sussing Jinshi instead of falling head over heels, is everything. ❤
She also never stops doing that. Maomao chooses poisons over Jinshi every single time, even when he's trying to tell her something important.
So in reference to 6:25 he does have it. It is stated later that he is taking medicine to keep down any manly reactions to give it away.
Yes!I was looking for this comment!
Maomao is well written because she is written like a person, not just some male character's filler love interest to be used for fan service. There are plenty of well written, dynamic, interesting female characters, ESPECIALLY in shoujo and josei.
Yeah I was thinking the same thing, Shoujo has soooo many great female characters, so its weird to me when he said that Maomao is different when there are plenty of well written female characters. Shoujo and josei fantasy should be animated more.
Interresting female character are good.
Like maki from jjk
No fan-service.
Perfect
@@xyznightwing actually, there are more shoujo and josei anime in general, shonen tend to not be so good in japan, the thing is that companies outside japan prefer shonen because of the succes of dragon ball, before dragon ball, there was a lot of shoujo and seinen, some shojo are sakura card captor, kaleido star, ranma, sailor moon, Boys over Flowers, Whisper of the Heart, Marmalade Boy, heidi, candy candy, etc..
@@xyznightwing the sad thing is that they probably wouldn't be as successful.
I really thought that this was shoujo but then she did that face which struck me as odd and first made me question if this was shoujo but I decided that it was just one one thing. However i heard that they focus on her boobs in one episode.
Can you suggest me few shojo and josei shows with strong female characters?... Iam looking forward to start some new anime
I love the mad scientist vibe MaoMao gives off - part of what makes her such an entertaining character
ikr she kinda reminds me of shinobu
(Warning : spoilers) In like the very first episode they briefly mention that the only men in the rear palace are eunuchs and the emperor’s kin, and separating the two implies that the emperor’s kin are not eunuchs. I think Jinshi is probably the emperor’s younger brother. This is hinted during the like garden party thing episode when they’re like oh the emperor’s sickly younger brother briefly made an appearance but he’s gone now and later we see Jinshi wearing the fancy hair pin and the fancy clothes. It would also make sense for the emperor to pretend his brother is a sickly shut in but actually have him work as a spy essentially in the rear palace and manage royal affairs from there. That would explain all of Jinshi’s duties and authority, and why he’s always tasked with figuring out the cause of drama. So that’s my long winded theory to basically prove that yes Jinshi has a p*nis
what about the assistant? i want the assistant more
You are not far off, Moamoa does figure it out but keeps her mouth shut about it in the novels. XD I mean, it's actually a secret who he really is anyways, and she doesn't want to be killed for knowing who he is. XD
Someone’s gonna tell him about the identity thing? (Deeper than you think😌)
The deductive lengths we will go through to prove that jinshi has a wurst.
There is a frog.
As a Chinese person i can confirm asking for someones WeChat is the ultimate way of flirting
HAphapaphphaahah
u got big eyes small face whats yo wechat 😎
the age of 在？微我50
6:40 Jinshis only a year older... and 6:14 I cant wait to see your reaction further into the anime lmao
I mean, there's a big difference between "a Chinese anime" and "an anime with a fictional setting based on ancient China."
Also, Jinshi's age is... well, actually quite important and technically a spoiler (though the context for that won't be coming for a decent while anyway)
isnt he 19 but fakes as 24
Yes. Real world Chinese graphic novels/cartoons are subject to CCP censorship which like the 1950s USA comic censorship standards restricts the type of stories and characters that can be published that Japanese Anime don't have to abide to. This allows Japanese Anime more freedom to explore ideas characters and stories that would not make it through Chinese or American censorship standards.
i mean before this, we had Kingdom which is one of the best historical war action anime out there based on chinese history. cant believe people are surprised that theres an anime made by japanese author and studio about china. but no one is surprised that theres alot of shows based on medieval europe?
And now the thumbnail has unnecessarily changed for the worse. Why is it focusing on her age. It’s not relevant to the conversation, and combined with the (still bad) title, it makes even less sense. And spoilers for Jinshi’s age below:
Jinshi is pretending to be much older than he is in order to hide his true status. In actuality, he’s literally only one year older than Maomao. There is no age difference. A non-existent problem is being pointed out for clicks.
@@ftu2021
I mean it's rare that's why. There are not many Chinese culture based anime as compared to Europe.
4:19 As Chinese I have never laughed so hard in my life
I unironically like Chinese donghuas better than Japanese anime cause it's not always over exaggerated and there's always a fantasy aspect to it:D
SAME LMFAOO
FRR
REAL
0:05 damn bro, can't believe you snapped pics of me and my bro fighting haha 😂
I love Maomao because she is like a regular real life girl. Anime girls are often written poorly and hyperfeminized. It’s funny that we can say “she’s like one of the boys” but also “she’s like a regular real life girl”. Or at least, the girls I have always associated with throughout my life are all more like Maomao than other anime girls. I should note that I am also a girl like Maomao lol, so I may be biased in saying most girls are actually like this, but that’s from my own experience.
Being an Akatsuki no Yona fan for years, I was really happy with Kusuriya no Hitorigoto, it really has a smimilar vibe, but gets past the introduction very fast to it's advantage (while the whole AnY season WAS the introduction).
I really hope it gets animated to the end, which I don't think Akatsuki no Yona will ever (althought the manga is a gem, it's so sad they didn't do at least another season to let it shine)
Saiunkoku no monogatari is also a good one tbh
Song of the Long March is another manga you'll probably like if you haven't already read it.
it's coming back TRUST (I will forever be coping)
One hundred and forty third thumb
Years and years and we don't get a second season :(
Kinda sad considering that the arcs in the manga after the anime are SO GREAT.
Jinshi definitely isn't a eunuch. Remember in the episode when he was preparing for the special ceremony, he took a special medicine - I think it was potato flour. HIs servant told him that if he continued taking that medicine, over time it really would make him impotent. He wouldn't have needed it if he was already castrated.
Speaking as a novel fan, totally no need to worry about the romance interrupting Maomao’s story. Their relationship will progress but pretty slow.
And it’s actually not bad because considering their status differences and Maomao’s personality there are a lot to work for. It’s pretty logical and gives you more surprise when they finally moved one step forward.
I love the slow burn in Apthecary's diaries. I am so tired of a man chasing woman, she's saying 'no' until realising that it is actually a 'yes' and there is a final scene kiss. Abandoning a romance is also a big no-no, it can be just a background story but love is simply an important part of life, it can't be ignored. Apart of that, I'd love to see an anime where a woman is saying yes for the physical part of love but it doesn't go with the emotional one. I would totally accept a woman character enjoying the attention or even engaging in some relationship with men, without it being love but only desire. It doesn't have to be +18 ofc, actually it being +18 would completely destroy the idea. And the emotional love can also be shown as a slow burn in such story.
@@stopkaralublin7578 have you seen Scum's Wish? Seems to be right up your alley
@@stopkaralublin7578I WOULD LOVE THAT!!!! When will we ever have female character that is feminine and is not afraid to explore her options omfg
@@stopkaralublin7578 I disagree romance does not always need to play a part
@Lee-km7qq I think the issue is when it comes to female characters and there relationships
THERE entire characters become " I love MC"
There story DOES become a backseat to who they love .
There agency is taken away in favour of them being there to support there love interest
Nothing wrong with being a supportive partner BUT when that is all you have its bad.
This is something that never really happens in Yuri because well, there both women and tend not suffer from the "Men more important than women" that anime does a lot.
Romance also does not need to be in every story
Some of the worst romances in anime are there because the author feels like there needs to be a romance for no real reason
> notices well written female lead
> calls her ''one of the boys'' and obscures the fact she is a woman
yes this is very big encephalon time
the only flaw in this video. everything else is really, really good
True!! It seems like being a good woman is just having a so called "masculine" trait.
a good review with no massive spoilers... never thought i'd see the day
What I loved about Maomao is she's not put any woman down, not even the wicked one. She protecting every woman in her sight. Also in this setting woman allowed to read, but most doesn't have access to. Maomao taught by her old man a.k.a her granpa 😂. Her mom is smart while her father is a genius. She's kind of has a priviledge but she used it well. I love her. Yes this is better than-
better than ?
He's not her grandpa.
blud really left us on a cliffhanger
6:10 wait till bro finds out about the jinshi frog scene
FROG🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸
ugh.... (starts googling)
@@karu oh no🙃
She went from decent to pretty impressive frog 🐸😏
🐸
Nah bro I started watching this anime as a joke but I soon started to enjoy it and I am glad I am not the only one who discovered this anime and keep on doing the great work 👍🏽
same tbh
No doubt I screamed when you put Yona of the Dawn up and Mo Dao Zu Shi on the screen. Yona of the Dawn was one of my childhood anime and I even put my school password based on it back in elementary, it is still the same now. And I'm still obsessed with Mo Dao Zu Shi- I have posters, acrylics, keychains, etc... Anyway, I think you can tell how much I love them based on the fact I even made this comment when it was probably not needed and not at all relevant to anything this videos about. Please feel free to ignore it I just had to fangirl for a second.
I started watching Yona of the dawn on Crunchyroll after falling on this series at random and i like it. I didn't know it was that old.
Hahaha omg I had like the same reaction 😂 it would seem that great minds are destined have an inevitable obsession with both Yona of the Dawn and MDZS 😌
Maomao is really just written like a real girl. She's not one of the boys. They just did her justice.
Don´t forget about Frieren . She´s amazingly written and Blue Eye Samurai has two incredible Female Characters.
Nah, Frieren isn't *that* well written. She's good written but not amazingly.
@@TheSoulCalledZuzia I've never related to a character more lmao.
Obviously nowhere near as impressive and hopefully nicer, but still largely too relatable.
@@OatmealTheCrazy I'm not saying she's not, just that there are many characters that are written on a similar level. One just need to know where to look.
Of course, there are also personal experiences that allow you to relate to one character and not the other
@@TheSoulCalledZuzia Which part of Frieren is not that well-written? Kanehito pretty much nailed her elven personality.
saying that "she is one of the boys" completely is a false statement lol....she is a girls girl, and a female character thats written very well. just because a female character is written that way doesnt mean that she is one of the boys. comparing senku and maomao feels really fitting tho,,,they do resemble eachother and now that you mention it, it made perfect sense in my mind.
I love it when girls girls are written correctly. But called one of the boys because of it. If anything she’s one of the girls and I live for that. Because as a girl it’s easy to relate to looking out for fellow women and friends who are girls. But at the same time it doesn’t entirely define us. She’s smart and clever but at the same time she can be caring and observant. It’s theese things that make her such a. Great written female Charcter. It sounds complicated but honestly it’s not that hard to write them. Don’t write them as a male, or even a female. Write then as a person in general. Also if I’m correct I think she’s written by a girl so yeah.
Some people think anime is just for men
@@aaronhotchnerzoltfbi8085 Those are weirdos. Don't mind them.
@@TheFandomGirlCreations I actually thought that by "one of the boys" he meant as a character, that gets to have an actual personality, which if often something only boys get to have in anime. But I definitely also felt the ick, since "one of the boys" is one of the stereotypes for one dimensional female characters in any type of fiction.
2:38 MDZS MY BELOVED 😻
Maomao reminds me of Shirayuki from Akagami No Shirayukihime, which is a shoujo romance series. Their thirst for knowledge, bravery and willingness to act are admirable. I just wished Shirayuki would get more recognition.
Shirayuki was great! I was waiting for it to update so I haven't checked in on it in awhile. Thanks for reminding me!
@@LilianaKali the mangaka is on a long hiatus and still we don't know when she'll be releasing a new chapter.
It baffles me how hard it is for male authors to write good female characters. Like, just make them actually act like a real human being rather than an object or use them as just plot progression. Develop the character like how you would with male characters. Maomao is one example of how to make an actually good female character
Because you are reading/watching the wrong genre, you want deep characters then watch seinen & josei, and not shounen & shoujo where deep characters are an exception and not the standards because it meant for kids & teens(i want you imagine what deep means for teens) and if you think its only women characters that are shallow in those genre i want you to look at the main characters really hard like goku, naruto, luffy, ichigo & saitama are this really what people consider deep characters?
@@chaoschalice calling Luffy a shallow character is crazy. Besides, I still think they could, y'know, have more effort in making them have personality? They don't have to be deep, just someone who feels like they're an actual individual.
@@Lazuley_they could but i want you think on how long will that take to flesh out a single character, and imagine a mangaka new or old trying to published their work, do you think they could afford to do so?
writing realistic women makes for boring characters usually (for example, Sakura from Naruto is super realistic but everyone calls her trash lol)
@@manee2412no way in hell is Sakura like a real women.Trust me I’m one as well.
Have you met an actual woman?
The animation is really top level, and the colors! You haven't spoke of colors?!?!
It has been heavily implied that he is related to the emperor (the hair pin he wears during the meeting event of the concubines with the emperor), therefore he could be in the Rear Palace without having to be an eunuch.
I hope. It's still not likely though. The whole point of them being Eunuchs is to prevent any mishaps, so unless the Emperor trusts him A LOT, that's not likely.
hhe is a semi eunuch, he drinks contraceptive medicine that stops his frog from getting strong and stops producing testosterone too, thats why hes so beautiful
@@zoraackerman1684 he is the emperors brother, and hes currently the crown prince.
@@user-cl6tg6cg4y You mean the one that supposedly died, causing Maomao's "dad" to lose his job?
@@martylund8411 sort of, someone speculated that the children were swapped thats why jinshi looks very similar to the consort
Within the 3 countries most people think about when they hear east asia, China, Korea, Japan, while Korea has kpop and Japan has anime, China's biggest cultural export has unironically been memes lmao, and mainly known for being criticised for their government and gambling gacha games, so Im glad it's getting at least some light shed onto it even if it isn't entirely accurate.
(also the chinese language is too hard wtf i've studied it over 8 years regularly and still don't understand shit lmao because there is almost no situation where i use it in real life and i can't grasp it or maybe im just braindead in the brain)
I'm currently learning Japanese. I live in the UK so I don't get to meet any Japanese people.
Have you tried having a pen pal where write to Chinese people?
For me I like watching Japanese commercials so I can noticed people using Katakana and hiragana I'm familiar with.
It feels like a change of pace after not seeing much mainstream anime about "China" (air quotes cos it's supposed to be fictional) so I liked it as well
加油！
Bro canto is worse. I grew up speaking cantonese and i thought i was pretty good at it. After visiting my grandparents after not seeing them for 4 years cuz of covid, i didn’t understand fuckall😭 i can‘t read or write either so i am back again the level of a kindergardener
@@kung4660Ouch. Sorry, watching anime always helps me keep up with my Japanese. Try watching shows in Cantonese. And Chinese for the comment above you.
Literally made me watch Apothecary diaries and I'm not regretting it one bit.
There is way too many hints that Jinshin is actualy "uncut"
guess im a prophet
@@karu Based on the manga and the pace the anime is going at, we should be seeing some major hints dropped in the next couple of episodes as to who he really is.
maomao actually accidentally touched his frog, and its a big frog
@@Gomjibar the mere fact he is very slim alone makes it already unlikely .. a sudden and utter lack of testosterone is a BMI killer
@@user-cl6tg6cg4yno spoiling for the non reader cmon
It's not like Maomao doesn't find him hot, it's just that genjutsu on that level doesn't work on her.
The reason why she's awesome is coz she's just a normal girl , and and she isn't over exaggerated like the other anime girls, she's so relatable and I got the that feeling a lot whilst watchg it, she's her normal self around everyone and has a passion just like any other girl, and she's very pretty though not everyone can see it, the author did a really great job!❤
As a Japanese who can speak fluent Chinese 4:21 was absolutely hilarious
ironically both this and 'yona of the dawn' have one of the best designed female leads [ I am head over heels for each character of yona of the dawn , it's the first show/manga --- {as I don't think it is getting a season 2 but my hope is there} where none of the single character can be hated completely yeah other than the obvious ones "kum-ji , Gobi the priest" and they did a very good job to hold the audience by showing how Yona would be in future and then showing how she transformed as if it wasn't the case most of the people would have thought her as rich spoiled brat
Yes! I've been looking for a comment about this!! Her character development is way better than a lot that I've seen; it's carefully thought out and well written which is clear in the manga as you go on. It's a shame the anime only did one season because reading the manga you can further see how she grows and matures not only as a person, but in her archery skills and strategic thinking, as well as knowledge about royalty (since she's the rightful heir to the throne and it was clear in the beginning she didn't care about being the queen). I could rant about it all day if I could honestly, it's my favorite manga.
@@blooshroomxo it's ending ( chapter 252 currently next will come on Feb 5th ) ... and spoilers:- All dragons are dead/sealed idk.. just Zeno is left.. Soo Won has announced Yona as ruler to Hak.. and it's just sad.. especially when I read from chapter 67 to 251 in a row my emotions gave me heart ache for a whole day until I slept and buried it last month
I’m still hoping for season 2
I just had to get back to this video to say thank you! I watched it now to the last ep that´s out right now and I really love this anime because Maomao is just such a great charakter and not so anime tropy.
She is anime tropy though?
ik the titles some sort of clickbait but for people who came here confused:
the chinese equivalent of anime is donghua, there's usually more cgi but many 2d ones are insanely well animated, and some LN/WN/manhua adaptations are really good as well
kusuriya no hitorigoto/the apothecary diaries is based off of ancient china, but i think all of its content is entirely made in japan (japanese author, manga artist, animators, etc.), i feel like the writing styles are sorta similar but perhaps its because i look for content like knh
1:57 ayup, i can indeed read those words…
the Maomao and Senku comparison suddenly made it click for me why she feels so familiarly lovable, galaxy brained connection karu
I've sniffed out two MaoMaos in the comments so far
6:20 People who have read the manga... 💀
I WAS JUST THINKING THIS
Same 😂😂😂
"Imagine Jinshi not being cut" had me dying
I'm dying at the fact you describe this 4:07 part over here so elegantly and then Jinshi's movement and gesture is the complete opposite😂
This is one of the freshest anime I have seen in a while because the main character is like Sherlock Holmes but with medicine and poison. Every episode is also unpredictable and the animation is gorgeous!
6:26
Spoilers for the manga!!
In chapter 63, it's implied at the end of the chapter that Jinshi still has his... manhood. Maomao somehow touches the area after falling bc a frog fell on her and Jinshi catched her, she realizes he might not be a true eunuch. (I'm not joking; she literally squeezes that area twice or smth 💀) She says, "There's a man [Jinshi] in the inner palace who isn't a eunuch. What would happen if he laid his hands on one of the consorts and got them pregnant?" This line implies that Jinshi does, in fact, have his manhood since you need it to impregnate a woman. I actually laughed when karu said he might still have his d*ck because he's not wrong.
Also she calls it 'decently-sized'. That whole chapter was hilarious 💀
@@tomatosoup1304 real 💀
@@tomatosoup1304eh, I'm tired of the unfair cliche of "girl can grope a guy on accident without consequences. But if a guy accidentally falls on a girl he gets his ass kicked"
It's insufferable
@@MALICEM12same but there are tons of anime out there where female characters are sexualized and even assaulted but it’s made okay cough cough seven deadly sins
@@tomatosoup1304any chances of it being covered in 2nd cour?
this was so interesting I finished the anime and manga in two days god bless you for this recommendation I am gonnna watch everything you recommend
6:40 Gaoshu tells her to stop giving him her kind of attention. Because it turns out he enjoys being "mistreated" the way she does (which is in fact just her rejecting his obnoxious approaches) and he looks forward to their encounters, to the point it's hindering his work performance
No he has a pp
4:12 had me dead on "hey beautiful,can i get your wechat",its so realistic on how chinese guys or girls do that sometimes
Maomao is such a well written character, she's got intellect and is quick witted, is kind but is not kind at her own expense which I LOVVEEE cz anime's love to make female characters who are unrealistically kind. Best new anime of 2023 as well
It's not Chinese though 😊 But the main heroine's attitude matches many of FL's from Chinese comics (manhuas). She is quick witted, knowledgeable, independent, has strong character and doesn't easily fall for the first hot guy pursuing her. That makes that hot guy wanting her even more ❤
Well, its an anime based in ancient China.
@cyberastranova Yes, but, that is different from an anime produced in China. The title have these two words "Chinese anime" in them which makes it misleading as people will think that this anime was produced in China. They would not think of it as a Japanese anime with the setting inspired by ancient china.
It's not set in ancient China either. It's set in a fictional universe in a country called Li that happens to have a culture similar to (but not quite the same as) ancient China.
@@animelovergirl8461 True. The last donghua to be mainstream is The Untamed,
@@PrecureJunkieand you know Li is a common Chinese spelling? That's like saying game of thrones is not based on European culture
You can find more stories like this in historical shoujo webcomics, theirs a lot of historical shoujos with a strong female lead with an actual personality and are placed in the past
she's not 'one of the boys' she's just a person, and under the patriarchy men are taught to think that women are not as complex as them, and have that men have more rich or bountiful or whatever the hell inner worlds and thoughts processes and that men are just more deep and interesting. it's why men sometimes view and treat women as practically an entirely different species, because that's what they think they are
6:27 bro just spoiled vol 3's end 😭
Anyways this anime actually lives up to the hype it's refreshing to say the least
Anyone else get annoyed when he described an actual functional female character as "one of the boys"
Frrr
Yeah it basically indicates 'guys are interesting, women are not, and if we rarely find an interesting woman, it's because she behaves like a boy. Interesting women don't exist'.
That line really pissed me off.
The hivemind focusing on one tidbit and spamming it to get more visibility on YT's comment algo.
@@oompalumpus699I really don’t think he said it with that intent💀 otherwise good video though
0:37 yes I noticed BECAUSE EVERYONE KS DOING AN AD FOR IT
If you liked this anime, then I highly recommend "Raven of the Inner Palace". It also takes place in Imperial China and is about this concubine that can't be touched by the emperor because that's not her job. She's basically this supernatural detective that solves the mysteries of the inner palace when given a decent payment. I love her as a character and how the show goes into the lore of her role, her tragic backstory, and how she copes with it and makes friends along the way.
This is a very bare bones way of describing the plot but I hope you give it a shot. It's an underrated gem, and it's use of colors is fantastic.
Thank you, I am looking for the suggestions like this. I'll definitely watch this.
I hope we'll get second season. I'm curious about that goddes and Owl
2:36 Well, wasn't prepared to get called out this quick xD (you forgot heaven offical's blessing)
ohh right, i was missing that
Personally, I love the fact that the relationship between MaoMao and Jinshi isn't rushed, or timeskipped. We get to see the slow buildup of tolerance. Not love, but she begins to "tolerate" his shenanigens more. I like that about this anime. 10/10 from me 👍
A similar anime is Raven of the Inner Palace! It also has mystery-solving aspects set in Ancient China, along with some more fantasy aspects and a dash of romance. The animation is super beautiful too
5:53 the scene ended up being more funny than in the manga (I didn't watch the anime, I read the manga at my local library)
I LOVE the manga, I was SO excited when I saw they were making an anime--and they did such a great job!! Can't wait for season 2 😆
(Also, akatsuki no yona is dope AF, need to rewatch that asap and get caught up on the Manga, its been a couple years 😅)
I love that you say "you aren't used to Ancient China as a setting if you haven't watched these" and show a picture of Mo Dao Zu Shi... I am a fan of MXTX's works and am a woman, I guess I'm automatically part of the bros here lol
Same. OMG twinsies
Indeed that welcome was very appreciated (and so spot on)!
same
Maomao is absolutely my favorite female character in anime. She was genuinely interesting to watch. It was refreshing to see the way she didn’t fall in love with Jinshi. I’m not saying she’s aroace but she definitely gave off that vibe and I found that very relatable.
Also Jinshi has the same dub voice actor as Gojos dub voice actor.
What? Kaiji Tang again?!
She's not, trust me.
in light novel she did fall in love with Jinshi. She just didn't fall in love with him right away (like some female characters in harem/ecchi anime) and their romance took time to blossom.
maybe more demi than aroace
@@kage2670 I see what you mean
5:23 the fact that this is a thing is great writing.
4:28 “I’m gonna say something super cringe” BRO YOU SAID SOMETHING CRINGE 10 SECONDS AGO 😂🤣
4:50 someone called this horny chocolate in the episodes comment section and I just can't bro.
BAHAHHAHAHA
Heh watching this as someone who read the manga and light novel is super fun. I can't wait for the shoe to drop.
Also don't worry about the romance aspect. They're still not together in the manga, just light stirrings of something more. Their relationship progression is actually pretty natural.
02:24 She's promoted to Lady in Waiting. Poison tasting just happen to come with it. Lady in waiting are still dispensable though.\
Anyway, this anime needs 2 to 3 more seasons.
As a mandarin speaker, your pickup line got me ROLLING. also nice transition to that ad btw
I appreciate the welcome lol! This anime is a manga too and is pretty good. It has some spin-offs and copycat series.
I always read the disclaimer at the beginning of each episode as, "dear Chinese government, PLEASE don't blacklist our show and deprive us of the massive number of potential viewers in your country."
At first I thought this was gonna be typical Shoujo main female protag instantly falls for the very Shoujo manga looking love interest, I'm so glad I was wrong. I loved what I watched of the anime now I'm reading the manga. This shit is peak drama, I love it
I've never seen this anime but it looks really cool! Maomao kind of reminds me of a story I read in Chinese class about a man named "Shennong". I'm copy pasting this from Wikipedia because I'm lazy: "Shennong is credited with identifying hundreds of medical (and poisonous) herbs by personally testing their properties, which was crucial to the development of traditional Chinese medicine. Legend holds that Shennong had a transparent body, and thus could see the effects of different plants and herbs on himself." Really cool!
7:18 i understand its a joke, but do some people unironically think the animations of these season werent a masterpiece?
Love that someone is talking about this series. It's been one of my favorite watches this season.
I can't lie,
I had this anime on my radar at first simply because it was set in imperial china and a lot of the Chinese cultivation/power fantasy novels I read take heavy inspiration from this setting. Recently started it and caught up to episode 20 and it's been great.
3:03 Ah yes a fellow So-yeon fan
🤝
yes very nice
THIS MADE MY DAYYYYYYYYYYYYY THE APOTHECARY DIARIES IS LITTERALLY ONE OF MY FAV!!! i read the whole manga to its latest chapter and the anime and its just SO CREATIVE
2:37 OMG YOU ACTUALLY SHOWED MDZS????
Im subscribed. For life.
and yes I watched the apothecary dairies after seeing your thumbnail. it was the best anime I've ever watched.
MDZS MENTIONED!!😍😍😍