The Apothecary Diaries Film Sets December 11 Premiere, Reveals Trailer and New Cast
The film's original story by series author Natsu Hyūga and its placement between the two halves of the third season make it a narrative bridge rather than a standalone side story, a rare structure for a TV anime film.
Reporting from 2 sources: Anime News Network, Anime Corner.
The official website for The Apothecary Diaries anime began streaming a trailer on Friday for the upcoming film, revealing its title, Kusuriya no Hitorigoto: Bōhi no Hihō (The Apothecary Diaries: The Deceased Empress' Treasure), a December 11 opening date, and a key visual. Mariya Ise joins the cast as a character named Mu Qing. The film stars returning leads Aoi Yūki as Maomao and Takeo Ōtsuka as Jinshi. The story follows Maomao and Jinshi as they travel to the hometown of a concubine who died five years ago in the imperial harem, to return her remains. There, they encounter pirates, hidden treasures, the secret of the Empress' remains, and a mysterious boy. The film features a brand-new story written by original novel series author Natsu Hyūga. The film is set to release in Japan in December 2026, between the two cours of the third television anime season. The third season's first cours premieres in October 2026, and its second cours premieres in April 2027. Crunchyroll confirmed it will stream the third season.
Mariya Ise, who voices Mu Qing, is the only new cast member named in the trailer. The character's English romanization has not been confirmed.
The film's original story by series author Natsu Hyūga places it between the two halves of the third television season. The third season's first cours premieres in October 2026, and its second cours premieres in April 2027. Crunchyroll confirmed it will stream the third season.
The first anime season premiered in October 2023 on Nippon TV's FRIDAY ANIME NIGHT programming block and ran for two cours. The second season premiered in January 2025 and also ran for two consecutive cours. Crunchyroll streamed both seasons as they aired in Japan and also produced English dubs.
Hyūga began serializing the story on the "Shōsetsuka ni Narō" website in October 2011. Shufunotomo began publishing the novels in print with illustrations by Touko Shino in August 2014. A manga adaptation by Nekokurage launched in Square Enix's Monthly Big Gangan magazine in May 2017. J-Novel Club publishes the novel series digitally, and Square Enix Manga & Books releases the manga adaptation in English.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.