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The Apothecary Diaries Franchise Gets Spinoff Manga About Xiaolan

Square Enix revealed at Anime Japan 2025 on Saturday that The Apothecary Diaries (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto) franchise will have a new manga spinoff titled Kusuriya no Hitorigoto Gaiden: Xiaolan Kaisōroku (The Apothecary Diaries Side Story: Xiaolan's Memories) that launched on Square Enix's Manga UP! website on Sunday. Itsuki Nanao, who draws one of the manga adaptations of The Apothecary Diaries, is also drawing the new manga.

The new manga centers on Xiaolan, a cheerful and gossipy maidservant in the Imperial Palace, and friend to Mao Mao.

J-Novel Club publishes Natsu Hyūga and Touko Shino's original novel series digitally, and it describes the story:

In the East is a land ruled by an emperor, whose consorts and serving women live in a sprawling complex known as the hougong, the rear palace. Maomao, an unassuming girl raised in an unassuming town by her apothecary father, never imagined the rear palace would have anything to do with her—until she was kidnapped and sold into service there.

Though she looks ordinary, Maomao has a quick wit, a sharp mind, and an extensive knowledge of medicine. That's her secret, until she encounters a resident of the palace at least as perceptive as she is: the head eunuch, Jinshi. He sees through Maomao's façade and makes her a lady-in-waiting to none other than the Emperor's favorite consort... so she can taste the lady's food for poison!

Itsuki Nanao and Nekokurage launched the manga adaptation in Square Enix's Monthly Big Gangan magazine in May 2017. Square Enix published the manga's 14th volume in September 2024, and will publish the 15th volume on March 25.

Minoji Kurata's The Apothecary Diaries: Maomao's Notes from the Inner Palace (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto: Mao Mao no Kōkyū Nazotoki Techō) is a separate manga adaptation of the novels (though both adapt the same story). That manga launched in Shogakukan's Monthly Sunday GX magazine in August 2017. Shogakukan's Sunday Webry manga website started publishing the manga online in December 2018. Shogakukan published the manga's 19th volume on December 19.

Original light novel author Natsu Hyūga previously admitted that they do not know why there are two manga adaptations of their novels. Both manga launched only three months apart from each other.

Natsu Hyūga began serializing the original story on the "Shōsetsuka ni Narō" (Let's Become Novelists) website in October 2011. Shufunotomo began publishing the novels in print volume with illustrations by Touko Shino in August 2014.

The light novel series inspired an anime that premiered in October 2023 with the first three episodes, and aired for two cours (quarters of a year). The anime has a second season that premiered on January 10 and is currently airing.

Source: Itsuki Nanao's X/Twitter account