The second season of the TV anime " The Apothecary Diaries ", based on the light novel by Natsu Hyuga, which was born from the novel submission site " Shosetsuka ni Naro ", aired its final episode on Nippon TV's anime slot "FRIDAY ANIME NIGHT" on July 4th with the 48th episode "The Beginning". The true identity of the chatty and cheerful insect-loving maid, Shisui, is Lou Lan, the current emperor's wife and one of the four senior concubines, and she has been following the rebellion plotted by her mother, Kamimi. Furthermore, the true identity of Jinshi, who was thought to be a eunuch, is revealed... and so the second season unfolded with a storm of events. We asked Aoi Yuki , who plays the main character Maomao , and Asami Seto, who also played Shisui, Lou Lan, and Tamamo in the final episode, about their thoughts on "The Apothecary Diaries".
*Contains spoilers up to the final episode aired on July 4th.
◇Sadness and loneliness
--What are your honest thoughts now that the second season has finished?
I feel like I've finished it, Yuuki-san !
Seto-san, you must have felt a sense of accomplishment.
Yuki-san: The ending was so beautiful that I feel a sense of accomplishment that we were all able to reach this end, but I also feel a sense of loneliness. A sequel has also been announced, but if it follows the original story, Kosui won't be there, so there will be sadness and loneliness. But I also feel like we all made something really great!
--The response was enormous.
I'm very happy for Seto-san . When I read the comments on Yakuya's hashtag, I could feel the feelings of the fans.
Yuuki-san: That's right. I got some feedback from my mother's friends.
Mr. Seto: My mother was watching it, and so were her friends.
Yuuki-san: A lot of different people have been watching it, and it was nice to hear the feedback so naturally.
-- At the end of the final episode, Tamamo, played by Seto-san, also appeared. What were you conscious of when you were playing the role?
Seto-san , I thought Tamamo was Kosui. Kosui is the essence of Loulan, and how she wanted to live. When the battle was over, lives were connected, and the question of how to live was raised, I felt that she would live with the same feelings she had when she was Kosui. Perhaps after this, they would never meet again, and each would live their own lives, but they would be connected somewhere. It was a new life, and I wanted to leave everyone with a bright and cheerful feeling at the end.
Yuki-san is very refreshing. I imagined that she might be linked to Tamamo-no-Mae (the incarnation of the fox spirit) and travel to Japan to become a figure that stirs the world.
After hearing the story of Tamamo-no-Mae from Seto-san and Ao-san, I did some research myself. The fact that she is a fox also connects her to Loulan.
◇ Maomao is a perfect fit for the role
--What did you feel while working together for two seasons?
Yuki-san's dialogue was really fun. I had been working with Seto-chan on various scenes, so I had a sense of trust. When I read the original work, I wondered how to connect Shisui and Loulan in the play, but when I heard that Seto-chan would be playing it, I thought, "I see!" The slightly tricky part of Shisui and the clever part of Loulan coexist, and Seto-chan is the only person in this industry who can play them seamlessly. When the recording started, Loulan was much more powerful than I had imagined. I like that power. The power that can be seen in millimeters from Shisui is also amazing, and the balance is exquisite. It feels good to see a good performance. It was a lot of fun, and Maomao is a downer character who shouldn't get excited, but I personally got excited. Now we have a great dialogue! I thought to myself.
Seto-san, I'm happy. I've always thought that Ao-san is very skillful and can do anything. She's played a lot of different roles, but Maomao is a perfect fit for her. To me, a perfect role is a very positive word, and it's rare to come across a role that suits you in your acting career, but Ao-san's Maomao fits her perfectly. In the second season, I had more opportunities to see her on set than in the first season, and thankfully there was a lot of dialogue, which was amazing! There were a lot of lines, and it was almost all monologue. When I read the script, I thought, how would I play Maomao? Every time I went to the set, I realized that this was the right answer!
--Did you enjoy the dialogue?
Seto-san: That's right. In episode 46, in the scene where Maomao tries to stop Kosui, I really enjoyed the scene where she showed an expression that Maomao doesn't usually show. I felt like I wanted to follow Ao-san because I trusted her, and since we had recorded so many times, I saw Ao-san as Maomao. When recording, there are many things to consider, such as not overlapping lines, but the words came out naturally. I was happy that we were able to record without losing that atmosphere. I've co-starred with her before, but I was really happy to be able to work with her on "The Pharmacy."
Yuki-san: I think that actors, especially voice actors, have the role of connecting the script and the picture, but also connecting the parts that don't connect, so that the viewer can watch it without feeling out of place. By filling in those gaps neatly, the viewer can be immersed in the story without feeling out of place. There aren't many such gaps in "The Apothecary Diaries" to begin with, but I felt that the gaps were neatly filled in the 46th episode.
Mr. Seto , even though you intentionally left the space empty, you later matched it up in the drawing.
Yuki-san: It's the gap between the scene in episode 45 where Maomao calls out "Komidori" and responds with "What is it?" There was a gap from the beginning, but I adjusted the gap to match Seto-chan's acting. Maomao repeats her monologue and lines, so we tend to overlap, but apart from the times when we do overlap, I work with everyone else. The sound staff's skills are also amazing. It was also fun to be able to act comfortably.
--Even though there is a lot of information, it is still conveyed clearly.
Yuki: It's because people from all different sections are carefully organizing and creating it. The resolution is so high, it's really amazing.
◇What will happen in the sequel?
--At the end of the second season, it was announced that a sequel will be made.
No one has said that the next story will be told according to Seto-san's original work, and we don't know what will happen. Since the ending of the second season was beautiful, I have mixed feelings.
Yuki-san's "Tamamo's Monologue" might start (laughs). The first season was great, so I thought the bar was already set high before the second season began, but the bar is set even higher when it comes to a sequel. We're thinking a lot about how we can make everyone even happier. That's how much we love the work, and we want to keep going without losing the enthusiasm that everyone has given us. We don't know yet what form it will take, but we're working hard to make the sequel better than the second season. Everyone in every section is enthusiastic, and we're preparing various measures for the future. We'll be going to events in various places, and we're looking forward to various collaborations. Please read the original work and look forward to future developments!
