REVIEW: ‘The Apothecary Diaries’ Episode 19 – “Chance Or Something More”

While Lakan’s (Takuya Kirimoto) concerning presence continues to hover at the periphery of Maomao’s (Aoi Yûki) world,  The Apothecary Diaries (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto) Episode 19 “Chance or More” brings a more imminent peril into the young apothecary’s path.  One that will force her to face great pain if she is to save an innocent life.

The opening portion of Maomao’s story this week is dominated by a visit from Lihaku (Kenji Akabane). This visit pertains to the recent warehouse fire she helped him investigate. As more information comes to light, The Apothecary Diaries Episode 19 quickly shows that there is more going on in the palace than it seems.

As Maomao and Lahaku pull on the narrative strings surrounding the warehouse fire, more and more coincidences come to light. The man who should have been managing the warehouse is the same one who got sick with seaweed poisoning. That the man in charge before him is the same who died of a salt overdose was the one in charge before draws more hints. As the episode reveals each strange occurrence, Maomao begins to see a pattern that seems less and less likely to be the work of random occurrence.

The presentation of this sequence does a great job of drawing the viewer into the unraveling puzzle. The camera work relentlessly strives to put the viewer in the moment. As Maomao and Lihaku go back and forth over the details, the episode makes the viewer feel like they are between the two, watching the scene unfold before them.

The Apothecary Diaries Episode 19 follows this moment with a bit of levity. Finding herself in Master Jinshi’s (Takeo Otsuka) office, Maomao explains to him the strange occurrences she and Lihuka were investigating. This conversation gets derailed when Jinshi mentions that a rare form of medicine has appeared in the Palace. The item is one that Maomao desires to get her hands on. This leads the protagonist into one of her comical fits, as she implores her master to acquire the item in question for her.

This largely inconsequential moment becomes far more meaningful at the end of the episode. The joy shared between the duo shines brightly. But in the aftermath of what is about to occur, it will feel even more precious.

Once Maomao takes her leave of Jinshi, she finds herself doing further research into the warehouse fire and the motivations behind it. She soon learns what the final goal of all these desperate elements is, and that a ceremony occurring in a nearby temple is in great danger. Maomao rushes off to attempt to stop a tragedy from occurring.

The epicenter of The Apothecary Diaries Episode 19 narrative occurs as Maomao arrives at the temple. Stopped by a guard who refuses to allow a mere servant to interrupt the proceedings, Maomao does whatever she can to get past. When the guard refuses to let her enter, Maomao switches tacts, hoping to draw those within outside. To do this, she infers that the guard’s motivation to stop her isn’t his duty, but a possible involvement with the crime about to occur. This sees Maomao struck hard by the guards club.

How Maomao is thrown bodily through the air by the guard’s assault is reeling for the viewer. The guard moves in on her again and we see Maomao’s perspective as she struggles to maintain conciseness. As the light in her eyes flairs to painful extents, the audience fully understands the brutal blow Maomao has suffered. While she regains her feet and continues to attempt to gain entry, the moment is dragged even lower due to the appearance of her unfortunate savior.

As the guard moves to once more exert his authority over the diminutive Maomao, he stops in his tracks when Lakan appears behind her. As brutal as the blow to Maomao’s skull was, the character’s reaction to hearing Lakan’s voice feels just as piercing. The way the episode depicts Maomao’s struggle not to look back at her unwanted shadow is some of the most powerfully subtle animation work I’ve seen recently. As soon as Lakan offers to take responsibility for Maomao’s entrance into the temple, she immediately breaks away from the scene, confident that her ingress will not be halted.

With mere moments remaining, Maomao manages to cross the temple’s main hall and shove the individual at the ceremony’s center out of the way before a falling beam can crush them. Only then does she discover that Jinshi is the one in danger. As the pair struggle to understand how the other is in the temple, Maomao succumbs to her wounds, much to Jinshi’s panic.

The Apothecary Diaries Episode 19 ends with a long, uncomfortable sequence that sees JInshi bear Maomao out of the temple in his arms. As a trail of blood from Maomao’s freshly injured leg marks their passage, everyone bows in respect to the duo. All but Lakan. This final moment ends the episode on a painfully cold note. Compared to the joy the pair had shared just minutes earlier, the chill in this sequence is heart-breaking.

As the viewer is left to sift through the menagerie of emotions The Apothecary Diaries Episode 19 leaves them with, it cannot be doubted that this episode manages to build a superlative moment that is one of the hardest- hitting this season of anime has delivered.

The Apothecary Diaries Season 1 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.