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← darkroomToday was a pretty emotional episode.
She is so beautiful.
Oh no :( Oh god no.
So uhm... Is that... her mother?
Next week is gonna be interesting for sure...
[Spoilers] The Apothecary Diaries - Episode 18 Discussion
Oh no :( Oh god no.
So uhm... Is that... her mother?
Next week is gonna be interesting for sure...
The face scene was so good.
This was by far one of the most powerful images in the manga to date and it legitimately gave me chills when I saw it. It only lasted for literally 1-2 frames in the anime and killed almost any impact it had for me. This is probably one of the rare places where the anime has really dropped the ball in the adaptation for me. It won't change my overall opinion of the adaptation as a whole, but I will admit I am pretty disappointed.
Given the context we already know, the 2 frame jumpscare after the short pause is terrifying in it's own way. And I'm kinda curious what it looks like in the manga. What chapter?
Chapter 29 (volume 6, page 90-91)
Maybe it's because I already saw this scene but yeah I much prefer how the anime did it. Greatly utlizing the fixed pace only in animation, rather than a static moment in the manga
- continue this thread →
I wonder if the impact would have felt different if it lasted for 2 or 3 more frames. I can't process individual frames as quickly as most, so I had to look up pictures after it aired to see what was actually shown to me. Pacing is both a pro and a con in anime because the consumer is no longer in control of the pacing. This allows you to get away with certain artistic interpretations like this, but it also means that the interpretations are not always picked up by everyone, whether it be a mental or physical limitation.
I agree, not even that also the conversation between Rakan and Jinshi was way better in the manga...
I was looking forward for this scene but unfortunately it was a disappointment + Manga has more details into things such as the resurrection medicine Maomao did mention that her father once told her about it.
I honestly prefer the anime version. I've seen the manga so many times so the face only showing up for a second was really shocking and efective to me even though I understand why people would prefer the manga. As for the conversation it was nearly a 1:1 only skipping jinshi's monologue which is kind of a shame but understandable as there was a lot to cover.
https://bu3.mncdnbuv1.com/img/tab_14/02/53/35/zj976692/chapter_29_2_syphilis_part_2/10-n.jpg
(idk how to send an image xD) Anyways if you see here Jinshi said that Maomao is already his lassie which made it feel like he owns her the anime did skip this..
im not really sure what to think of it because they made her look more angry in the show when in the manga she kind of looked more terrified?
As you start learning more about their relationship you come to realize that anger is not really the emotion she is supposed to be showing here. It is extreme displeasure, discomfort, despair, and not wanting anything to do with the man. While the faces made in the anime are vastly different than the ones in the manga they are still appropriate for the situation and convey that Maomao is not happy seeing or hearing about this person.
My real issue was the duration for which the shot appeared on screen. In the manga they dedicated three full pages to her reaction - the first being a full body shot with her looking extremely annoyed with eyes wide open, the second being a half page facial closeup with her appearing distraught and in despair and a half page of Jinshi reacting surprised to the expression (from the back), and the third page is a half page frontal shot of Jinshi looking horrified and really unsettled by her reaction and a quarter of a page of Maomao's mouth with a scared expression. This sequence is incredibly powerful since it is a serious tonal and artistic shift from the rest of the chapter. While the anime gets the artistic and tonal shifts right (just look at that beautiful screenshot) they don't really do justice to the impact that this sequence had in the manga due to their use of a single frame to capture 3 pages worth of emotions.
Interesting episode that establishes far more interesting things than were revealed.
I think it was fairly obvious from a few episodes ago that Lakan was her father and her mother was the sick woman from the Verdigris brothel. The show hinted at it far too much.
What's really interesting though is
- Who is Jinshi really? It doesn't seem as though he's actually a Eunuch
- Why does Suirei need all that Morning Glory for? For those who aren't aware, Morning Glory seeds contain a chemical that can cause hallucinations similar to LSD. Is she planning to use that on someone?
Shit REALLY hit the fan this time!
Speculation:
Is it save to assume, that the one with syphilis is her mother?
That's what I thought too with the whole nightmare scene and all
You know a few things at this point.
These clues are explicitly told to you
1. Lakan lowered the value of a courtesan by impregnating her
- Lakan is Maomao's biological father
- Lakan frequently visits the Verdigris in an attempt to purchase a single courtesan (they do not explicitly tell you which one - they heavily imply it is Maomao, but he has already approached Jinshi asking to purchase her so why would he be going to Verdigris to make this purchase?)
- Despite Baba's intense love of money and willingness to sell anyone she has consistently rejected selling Lakan the courtesan
- Maomao has strong ties to the Verdigris
These clues are more subtle.
1. Lakan frequented the Verdigris in the past to play go or shogi (I don't remember which one) with a courtesan
- The woman with syphilis in the bed set up the stones like a go/shogi board
So, given all of these clues, the answer to your speculation is:
Yes
Yay, I'm smart!
I really love that they did her anger moment in only 1-2 frames that you can barely see, but still scares the crap out of you. Maomao doesn't let her emotions show at all most of the time (at least concerning her family, as she herself mentioned in the beginning of that episode when she kept a straight face for Jinshi), so it's like she let her anger get the best of her for like 0.1 second then held herself back, but it was enough to alarm Jinshi (and us) that her thoughts of Lakan and of her family are much more terrible than what we thought and what she let on.
In general, it's one of the best episodes I've watched so far of the show
ok so we're all aware that the woman bedridden is her mom, and lakan is her dad.
Obviously he was in love with the courtesan, and he convinced her to have his child, but it made her value go to almost nill so she hated her child, and on the side, she had her disease which reached this state.
Question is why now Lakan wants to retrieve his daughter.
And obviously maomao is well aware of who her parents are.
And now aware that Jinshi knows too.
To add on, Lakan knows that Jinshi's rank is just a facade to his actual rank, which we are guessing is second emperor, or the son's emperor?
This is getting too much to catch up with.
Someone sum up with meYou are making too many assumptions
Just wait and see, and it all should be made somewhat clearPS: Not to be disrespectful, but the 7th line in your comment makes little sense. If you want help with it, I'll gladly be of service, but I won't do so unbidden. Just thought I'd make you aware of it, is all.
A thing that I have noticed as this anime progresses is that it lacks "focus". The arcs have to many things and just when something develops, the focus is shifted almost instantly.
The seriousness is pretty rare (and those scenes are great) but yes.
Like MaoMao mystery which is practically solved now at this point and then the new girl and everything else. I like this anime buuuut, it feels like a chore to watch now sometimes...
The first couple of episodes still remain my fav experience so far...(Vol 1 mostly Ig)
Also Netflix subs suck(they didnt had the line of "my daughter ffs)Most LN adaptations fit two volumes into one cour. Some even manage to fit three volumes into one cour. The Apothecary Diaries, on the other hand, are so pact with plot that one volume fills one whole cour on its own. Thus you need to watch till the end of the cour to see everything come together. Though there'll still be some loose ends that'll come into play in later volumes (personally I really love authors who plans ahead like this).
I never could have expected this show to have a jump scare in it. It was legitimately unnerving seeing her that angry.
I checked the manga version and while the it has its merits, for an anime, the way they decided to do it was much more impactful than if they had adapted the manga 1 to 1.
More anime should be like this in that they shouldn't adapt everything from the manga, since they're different mediums, utilizing animation to make a more effective adaptation.
It's obvious that the woman she was treating is her mother, I was really surprised that Lakan was her Father though, Also, the jumpscare was so fast that I didn't even react, but it was nice to see that side of ther personality.
I binged all of this in two days and I'm sad I caught up now. Was really hoping Lakan wouldn't be her real father. Also as to Jinshi's actual rank, I agree with one of the comments speculating he's the Emperor's other son, the one who's rumoured to be sickly and never shows in public. I was wondering about this way back during the concubine garden party episode. Though, Maomao should really just ask him to his face why he's a eunuch already so he can clear up that misunderstanding XD surely it's a misunderstanding...
You've got to wait for the frog incident in vol. 3
Interesting episode to catch up on
Maomao's sudden death stare caught me off guard
Most of you have the complete wrong idea about Lakan, Fengxian, and Maomao's situation.
This wasn't SA, or Lakan being particularly scummy: Fengxian WANTED Lakan. When her buyout price exploded to a level that Lakan could not afford, Fengxian deliberately slept with Lakan in order to lower her own price, and became pregnant with Maomao as a result. However, Lakan was forced to leave on a three-year military campaign before he was able to learn what had happened.
(End of season spoiler)
With Fengxian's career at the Verdigris House ruined due to her pregnancy, she was reduced to becoming a streetwalker, resulting in her catching syphilis and going completely insane as a result. When Maomao was born, she was heavily abusive towards her daughter, to the point of almost killing her. She cut off the tip of Maomao's pinky finger (as well as her own) in order to send to Lakan in an act of 'yubikiri' (a 'pinky promise'). The man everyone thinks of as Maomao's 'father' is actually her great uncle (and brother to the granny who owns the Verdigris House).
I don't know where they're going with all of this, because (SUPER SPOILER) in the web novel, Fengxian died during Lakan's three-year absence. In the light novel, she contracted syphilis during her career as a streetwalker, but was eventually found and redeemed by Lakan, ended up marrying him, but passed away from her disease soon afterwards. But now in the anime, she's still alive, living in the annex of the Verdigris House and receiving treatment for her illness.
Mate that's really spoilerish. The anime is yet to show that twist, you shouldn't ruin the surprise, it's part of what makes this early arc so cool to experience :|
You should at least pre-face the comment with "end of S1 spoilers" or something of the sort.
That's kind of debatable though, because the anime is not the same as any of the other sources, so we're likely getting a completely different story, though the thing about the pinky fingers obviously happens as we already saw scenes of it in this episode.
The anime seems very much in line with the LN. I doubt it will get more seasons, so we'll never see it, but the purchase festivities is too good of a moment to pass up.
I mean yeah, but Fengxian is still alive, so that makes me wonder if anything else has changed. As far as getting more AD, this is OLM's biggest success, and it would have taken 2023 completely if not for Frieren, so I think we're probably going to get all of the story.
