Maomao (The Apothecary Diaries)

Maomao (Japanese: 猫猫（マオマオ）) is a fictional character and protagonist from Natsu Hyūga's light novel series The Apothecary Diaries. Set in a fictional country based on Imperial China during the Tang dynasty,^[1] Maomao is a young girl working as an apothecary in a red-light district, who was kidnapped and sold to the Imperial Palace as an indentured servant. She still retains her curious and eccentric personality and plans to work there until her two years of servitude are over. After learning that the emperor's newborns and concubines are critically ill, she begins to investigate the cause. Using her experience as an apothecary, she successfully solves the mystery of their illness. Even though she intended to remain anonymous, her actions catch the attention of Jinshi, an influential eunuch. She then undertakes the solving of mysteries for the royal court.

Maomao
The Apothecary Diaries character
Maomao as illustrated by Touko Shino
First appearance	Chapter 1: "Maomao" (2011 webnovel, 2012 novel, 2014 light novel)
Created by	Natsu Hyūga
Voiced by	Japanese: Aoi Yūki English: Emi Lo

The character was created by Hyūga to come across as a strong character and gradually more sympathetic individual through her constant works in the district and her relationship with Jinshi. In the anime adaptation, she is voiced by Aoi Yūki in Japanese and Emi Lo in English. Anime director Norihiro Naganuma addresses the series' constant struggle to give her growth of a person who is expressing her emotions for the first time in contrast to her more emotionless state from the drama CD. The character was praised by critics for her strong personality and works involving medicine while also highlighting her subtle relationship with Jinshi.

Creation

As initially, Maomao can come across as too cold, the novelist made her relationship with Jinshi to gradually develop her personality. Yūki said Maomao does not appear to show notable growth in the anime due to her tendency to observe others and later loosen up.^[2] In order to make Maomao a more capable character, novelist Natsu Hyūga said she created the skilled but flawed Doctoro Guen who would be overshadowed by Maomao.^[3]

Maomao is voiced by Aoi Yūki in the drama CD and anime adaptations^[4][5] and Emi Lo in the English dub of the anime.^[6]

Yūki was chosen to follow the world view of the already established drama CD, but the expression method and focus of the story are different from the drama CD, so Yūki was required to take a new approach.^[7] Regarding the role of Maomao in this work, Yuki said, "The picture is cute, so I balance it by removing a little sweetness."^[8] Naganuma commented on Yūki's acting, "Yūki has a very high level of understanding and adaptability to the story. If it's an anime, she will properly adapt to the new approach of the anime. I feel that her response to direction is outstanding."^[9] Yūki describes her work as a harem but was surprised by Takahiro Sakurai's work as Jinshi.^[10] Lo was grateful for doing Maomao's work as she claims her dynamics to be fun and at the same time relatable.^[11]

Anime director Norihiro Naganuma said that Maomao shows a notable growth as a human in the first season when expressing her trauma in the final episodes as she talks with Jinshi about it. Still, the director said Maomao does not understand love which is one of the main themes of the story. In contrast to the anime, Naganuma noted that Maomao is played more emotionless in the drama CD.^[12] In contrast to the novels, Naganuma's adaptation had several changes to make Maomao's perspective the center of the plot, overshadowing sometimes the main events.^[13] For the anime's first opening theme "Be a Flower" by Ryokuoushoku Shakai, the team for the anime suggested self-love as a theme for the lyrics, and Haruko Nagaya wrote the lyrics with this theme by connecting it to Maomao, the protagonist of The Apothecary Diaries, whom she described as the opposite of a typical protagonist.^[14] For "Hyakka Ryōran" performed by Lilas Ikuta, Maomao was illustrated and written as Alice in Wonderland drawing parallels to both protagonists and how their new lives in the narrative affect their characterizations.^[15]

Role in The Apothecary Diaries

The plain-looking daughter of an apothecary who lives on the outskirts of the city, and provides her services to a brothel in the capital and its courtesans. After being kidnapped by bandits who sell her to the Imperial Palace, she is accidentally dragged into palace intrigue, using her knowledge of poisons, medicine, plants, and basic chemistry to become an unofficial forensic pathologist, in addition to becoming a lady-in-waiting and poison taste-tester for one of the Emperor's concubines. While Jinshi is in love with her, she does not reciprocate at all, often looking at him with disgust, resenting his ways of involving her in palace intrigue. Instead she prefers to spend time testing out different poisons and medicines on herself. Even so, she often helps him solve whatever mystery he brings to her attention. Across the series, Maomao meets her mother who suffers from syphilis, and Luomen's medicines are their only treatment. Maomao's true father is the high military official Lakan. Lakan is challenged by Maomao to a game of Chinese chess, with her living with him should he win, much to Jinshi's shock; but him buying out an aging courtesan from the Rokushoukan should he lose. The father is defeated and interpreting the withered blue rose as a message from Maomao, and selects Fengxian, willing to pay any price.

As Maomao spends more time in the palace, the emperor takes Jinshi and Maomao to the shrine to attempt the test once more. Following a series of tests involving the previous emperor, Maomao continues to wonder about Jinshi, this time no longer seeing him as "just the emperor's favorite eunuch". When Jinshi takes Maomao to the hunting trip in the northern province, the two are attacked by an unknown assassin. While escaping, Maomao accidentally touches Jinshi's crotch, discovering he is not an eunuch. Maomao reflects on the unanswered questions from the day's events and suspects the involvement of the foreign envoys; and the reason why she is slow to understand other people's feelings.

Shenlü threatens Maomao with violence on Shisui unless she leaves the rear palace with her, also baiting her with the formula to the resurrection medicine. Suirei takes Maomao and Shisui by ship and boat to a remote hot spring village. On the way, as Maomao exposes Shisui after she protects Suirei from a snake she tossed, she discovers they're sisters, and deduces how they had been in contact with each other in the rear palace. Suirei in return reveals she knows Lakan is her father, Maomao believing she was taken as leverage against him.

Besides several adaptations based on The Apothecary Diaries, Maomao has been featured alongside Jinshi in a series of animated shorts dealing with gags.^[5]

Reception

Popularity

Maomao has been a popular character among cosplayers.

In the 2024 Readers' Choice Awards from the website Anime News Network, Maomao won the category "Leading Woman of the Year" with the writer noting her victory was impressive as highly surpassed other famous female characters like Momo Ayase from Dandadan or Kumiko Omae from Sound! Euphonium.^[16] In the 2024 Anime Grand Prix, Maomao took fifth place in the Best Character category,^[17] eventually won in the following year while Aoi Yūki was awarded Best Voice Actor for her performance as Maomao.^[18]

In February 2024, Maomao's image received an endorsement by the Japanese government appearing on the front cover of its public relations magazine featuring an interview with her voice actress.^[19] Merchandise based on Maomao and Jinshi's looks was produced.^[20] Maomao also placed third in Anime Corner's "Best Girl of 2023 Ranking" garnering 6.22% of the votes,^[21] she also placed third in Anime Corner's "Best Female Character of the Year Ranking" for 2024 garnering 8.55% of the votes.^[22] At the 9th Crunchyroll Anime Awards, Maomao was nominated for "Best Main Character". Three of Maomao's international voice actors were nominated for the "Best Voice Artist Performance" category, namely Aoi Yūki (Japanese), Gigi Patta (Portuguese), and Desireé González (Spanish); Yūki won the award, while Patta and González lost to Charles Emmanuel's Sung Jin-woo and Miguel Ángel Leal's Eren Jaeger, respectively.^[23]

Critical response

Critical response to Maomao's character has been positive. Collider compared Maomao's cases and relationship with Jinshi to K-dramas due to how they often involve cases of medicine with a high level of detail and how different is the latter's relationship from other women. The writer added "Maomao is a brilliant protagonist who is instantly loveable from her passion for apothecary and nosy brain." praising the evolution of her relationship with Jinshi and how the second season of the anime can build on this after seeing previews.^[24] Polygon was pleased with Maomao's portrayal in the anime's second season as she shows a distinctive intelligence to solve cases each episode provide her with notable knowledge of the world. She compared her cases with political and medical dramas. Nevertheless, she provides an entertaining premise for not wanting to change the status quo while working which appealed to Collider.^[25] IGN said most of the series' entertainment comes from how Maomao reacts to the characters' facades as well as her hostile and playful interactions with Jinshi.^[26] The Mary Sue regarded Maomao as an effective unreliable narrator considering the audience does not know the protagonist's connections with her parents which are revealed at the end of the first season and at the same time it helps to develop and show the depth of these characters thanks to the twist.^[27]

Screen Rant made an article titled "The Apothecary Diaries Marks Anime's Best Forbidden Romance in Ages" which addressed the multiple barriers that separate the two leads despite their close relationship as such as the society's rules which adds tension to the character as Maomao has to follow every rule. The subtle way the romance is portrayed also applied to the writer due to Jinshi's playful behavior and how Maomao reacts by analysing him, noticing an apparent facade.^[28] Game Rant in particular said that Maomao's characterization is a major departure from common tropes and cliches seen in anime as she shows a unique skill when solving cases as well as a strong resolve. He referred to her relationship with Jinshi as "nothing short of brilliant" as they balance each other due to their notable traits subtle moments that help slowly develop their bond.^[29] In retrospect, Polygon said the relationship was also entertaining, considering the true nature behind their casual interactions as they constantly hide secrets from each other.^[30]