Natsu Hyuga's debut work, the light novel "The Apothecary Diaries" (Hero Bunko), became a huge hit. It has also been adapted into a comic and a TV anime, and the series has sold over 40 million copies in total. We spoke to Natsu Hyuga about the behind-the-scenes story of the creation of "The Apothecary Diaries."
◇The trigger was the Great East Japan Earthquake
"The Apothecary Diaries" is set in a glamorous harem on a certain continent, where a young poison Maomao and the handsome harem manager Jinshi get caught up in an incident that occurs in the harem, which is full of conspiracies and rumors. The first season of the TV anime aired on Nippon TV from October 2023 to March 2024. The second season is currently airing on Nippon TV's anime slot "FRIDAY ANIME NIGHT (Fura-ani)."
Natsu Hyuga wrote novels when she was a student, but she never aimed to become a professional.
"I wrote when I was in college to earn some pocket money. I wrote because I had free time, and I once entered a competition for the prize money. I won a little bit, and it became pocket money for a poor student. But that wasn't enough to make a living. The family I grew up in had a philosophy of "be cautious before you cross any bridge," and as a child I wanted to get an honest job. There was a time when I wanted to be a police officer, but I gave up because I wasn't tall enough. There was a time when I thought about becoming a farmer, but my family wasn't farmers, so I had to start by preparing the land to farm, so I gave up. I was told that I should become a civil servant, but for one reason or another I ended up becoming an ordinary company employee."
Natsu Hyuga began serializing " The Apothecary Diaries " on the novel submission website " Shosetsuka ni Naro " in October 2011. Although she had never aimed to become a writer, she reveals that the reason she picked up her pen again was "I was bored."
"I was in the Kanto area when the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred, and there was a lack of entertainment at the time. I was browsing the internet at home when I found the Shosetsuka ni Naro. I had written novels when I was a student, but I hadn't written any since."
◇The initial concept was a woman with three children
Novels of various genres are posted on "Shosetsuka ni Naro". Among them, fantasy stories such as reincarnation into another world were particularly popular at the time.
"There are a lot of other people writing fantasy stories, so I thought maybe I don't need to write one. Originally, I had in mind a story about a woman with three children living in a mining town. It was a mystery about discovering someone dead from poisoning, but I thought it probably wouldn't be well received. There are a lot of Shosetsuka ni Naro, and I thought it would be better to have a young person as the protagonist."
The protagonist of "The Apothecary Diaries,"Maomao, was born from the idea of "a woman with three children."
"If the main character was a teenager, she wouldn't have been an experienced woman with children. By making her a pharmacist, I was able to give her knowledge of medicine. A mining town would be a bit gloomy, so I set the story in the glamorous harem. In the harem, it wouldn't be strange for there to be poison, so I decided on this location by a process of elimination."
"The Apothecary Diaries" is a popular work due to its mystery elements, but when it comes to mysteries, "I can only say that I'm average. When I look at my writer friends, they read dozens of books a month, but I don't read that much. I read Kyogoku Natsuhiko, and when it comes to Chinese-style novels, I read "Twelve Kingdoms."" He says he wasn't a particularly avid reader.
When it comes to medicines and poisons, she says, "It's all stuff that everyone already knows. Basically, you don't need that much specialized knowledge. When I was a student, I was fascinated by Empress Wu Zetian. She was an empress from the Tang Dynasty. I researched her all the time, and my knowledge of medicines started from around there."
Searching for an ending
In "The Apothecary Diaries," the plot is gradually unravelled. A small incident leads to a major incident that shakes the nation.
"I write on Shosetsuka ni Naro as a plot. When it becomes a book, I consider the balance and cut, add, or change the order, so there are parts of the story that are different, but it's just a different branch, the trunk remains the same. I wrote it up to about volume 11 of the published version with the intention of finishing it off. However, it continued on, so I'm looking for the next ending. You can finish reading The Apothecary Diaries after volume 1, or you can be satisfied with volume 2. If you're interested in more than that, I hope you'll keep reading on... that's the feeling I'm giving it."
Although the "next ending" is also a matter of concern, Natsu Hyuga said, "I think it will continue a little longer. I will try my best to find an ending that will satisfy everyone." What will happen next...? Future developments will also be of interest.
