(with some notes and thoughts scattered throughout. sorted by timestamp)
2:08-2:14 (vol 6 ch 28 pg 60)
One of many examples of differences in the anime and manga character designs. Maomao is drawn with more overt expressiveness in the manga, with a variety of facial shading and shapes used to convey emotion in the simpler, smaller illustrations on the page. In the anime (and particularly in dramatic scenes), Maomao’s character design is more rigid and kept on-model, so instead emotion is shown through extra details, color, and in Aoi Yuuki’s vocal performance as Maomao.
(even though the anime is more concerned with staying on model, we do still get some fun, cartoony moments in the anime, such as the many shots Maomao with cat ears and stars for eyes or the variety of chibi moments scattered throughout the series)
2:24-2:46 (vol 6 ch 28 pg 61-62)
An example of changes made between the manga and anime that extend past differences in art style. The manga has Maomao letting her emotions show as soon as she turns away from Jinshi, and the chapter ends with Maomao silently bidding him farewell (with no connection to the flashback that opens the next chapter). In the anime, Maomao’s true feelings aren’t reflected on her face until a new shot added after her farewell, added as a segue into the flashback scene as she walks away from the red lights of the pleasure district and into the greens of the flashback we’re about to watch.
2:57-3:08 (vol 6 ch 29 pg 65-66)
Another example of differences in the anime/manga character designs, and how each medium communicates the same emotions through different expressions. Note how the anime reduces the size of Maomao’s irises and uses details on her brow to show her fright and concern after waking up from her nightmare, whereas the manga instead uses eye shape/style, shading, and unsettled hair to show these same things.
3:59-4:10 (vol 7 ch 35 pg 89)
I can’t speak to the LNs as I’ve only read the manga, but the entire Verdigris entryway scene and the later bath scene (post Meimei/Maomao conversation) are either anime-original or weren’t included in the manga adaption. Regardless, both feel like meaningful additions in comparison to the manga as the Three Princesses have (in my view) flown under the radar a bit in the anime. These scenes help make up for that gap between the two adaptions, and in particular help to flesh out Pairin and Meimei as they stand to become more relevant in the future (Joka will become relevant too, but maybe not this season).
The manga panel in this case is not a direct comparison to the anime, but comes from a later chapter and shows that Pairin… is just kinda like that.
7:21-7:50 (vol 6 ch 29 pg 74)
8:06-8:20 (vol 6 ch 29 pg 76)
Even more differences between the anime and manga, extending past art style and character design and into paneling, storyboarding, and framing.
9:39-10:11 (vol 6 ch 29 pg 79)
Another example of different expressions in the anime and manga conveying the same emotion. In this case the scene has entirely changed from the Verdigris annex to the bath and Maomao’s perspective (and ours) has changed - in the manga, eye contact between Maomao and Meimei is implied and shown in her expression, whereas the anime has us viewing Meimei from the side as she gazes wistfully into the distance. The end result is two very different facial expressions and drawings, yet it’s the same bittersweet longing (and love?) conveyed in both versions of this moment.
(vol 6 ch 29 pg 80)
One of my all-time favorite single pages in manga. Maomao very clearly emphasizes that romantic love is something she not only can’t get a read on but possibly even beyond her grasp entirely. Maomao’s line in the anime implies she “left” the emotion of love with her birth mother (rather than the vague expression in the manga translation), but both versions are a direct, unsubtle statement that Maomao does not fit into the same allonormative mold that other fantasy protagonists do. It’s hardly the first scene in this show like this (weird how Maomao never seems to fall for the same charm Jinshi so effortlessly casts on others), but from my perspective the series could not be any more explicit about Maomao’s aroace-coding than in this moment. The girl who can’t help but see love and sex as transactional (even beyond what could be expected from her upbringing), is always immune to (but not unaware of) the physical charms of others, and feels like she must’ve left the feeling of love behind is, at minimum, demi-aroace, and that’s a hill I’ll die on even when this series inevitably decides to say otherwise.
Interestingly, the addition of the bath scene gives an easy segue into the imagery of Maomao sinking underwater that a more 1:1 adaption of the manga might’ve lacked.
12:28-13:02
It goes unstated at times, but Apothecary Diaries has quite a bit to say on status divides. Maomao never remains unaware of her place in palace society - frequent remarks on how one small mistake or step out of line could cost her her head, and having to act passive or deferential in situations she could’ve otherwise assisted with much sooner. As a result, Maomao’s low status remains a far greater limitation on her mystery-solving ability than any challenges to her wit or intelligence. Yet as Suiren states, only viewing her options based on status means she’ll miss out on the opportunity to take actions she knows are necessary… and in many cases she’s already risked her head to do so. Even as far back as episode 1, Maomao was doing what she could with her limited resources and status as a servant girl in the inner palace to try and prevent tragedy befalling the children of the emperor. It could be viewed as Maomao having a sense of responsibility as an apothecary, maybe an effect of learning from her adoptive father Luomen - but in that same vein, it could also be an attitude of self-preservation, knowing how bad luck always seemed to follow Luomen as a result of his low status and untimeliness.
This scene is also a change in event order between the manga and anime - in the manga, this scene takes place between the two Suirei scenes, and both Lakan-related scenes instead follow the return from the pleasure district.
16:52-17:24 (vol 6 ch 29 pg 86)
Lakan’s disdain for Jinshi is clear in the first shot from the anime in this moment, whereas it only becomes more visually apparent in the manga during a later chapter. What is clear in both versions, however, is Jinshi’s ever-increasing disgust with Lakan, a revolting figure whose military and strategy genius belies the vile, terrible personality he very willingly flaunts in front of Jinshi.
17:24-17:40 (vol 6 ch 29 pg 87)
seriously tho fuck this guy lol
18:04 (scene from 17:44-18:25) (vol 6 ch 29 pg 90-91)
2 pages in the manga. 2 frames in the anime. Devastation in two forms.
What’s most striking about the difference between the manga and anime’s approaches to this moment was the stark contrast in duration between the two versions. In the manga, the moment of Maomao’s reaction to hearing Lakan’s name is a full two-page spread with no words, instead filled with Maomao’s dread over possibly being forced to interact with the man she has long avoided at all costs. Filled with scratchy, vertical linework around Maomao, it’s an image you can’t help but linger on for a long few seconds, as if it’s pulling you in and drowning you in a wordless roar until the page is finally turned.
And yet the anime took what is seemingly the complete opposite approach, a lengthly and silent pause on wide shots of Jinshi and Maomao facing one another, interrupted for the briefest of moments by two blink-and-you’ll-miss-it frames of Maomao’s face contorted in hatred. Maomao’s expression is not something the anime holds on like the manga does, but the impact is felt like a sting in the continuing silence afterwards, all the way until the scene mercifully changes to Maomao continuing with her errands.
This was a moment I’ve spent the better part of 6 months waiting to see adapted, both with anticipation and concern (and a small bit of fear) over how one of the most impactful pages in the manga would be shown on screen. But despite the drastic change in presentation, both versions hit a knockout punch with the devastating weight of a single name out of Jinshi’s mouth. The two-page spread in the manga is dramatic and striking; the two frames in the anime are a flash of terror; and both make very clear that the stakes of Maomao’s association with Jinshi are now much higher than they were before.
20:14-21:00 (vol 6 ch 30 pg 121)
Perhaps the biggest benefit of the anime switching the Suiren and Lakan scenes is the tone the anime is able to convey through this scene. The manga uses shading and dark shadows to convey a sense of foreboding throughout Maomao’s second conversation with Suirei; the anime instead carries over the uneasy tone created from the previous two scenes involving Lakan or mention of him, and builds on it using the dark purple skies in the background and an unsettling piano melody to create that same foreboding feeling the manga was able to convey.
What will come of morning glories when they bloom…
