The Apothecary Diaries Just Broke a Major Rule, But That's Why the Anime Is So Good

In a bold and unexpected move, The Apothecary Diaries recently took a sharp detour from its usual story structure, and fans are loving it. Season 2, episode 18, veered away from its main heroine, Maomao, and instead focused almost entirely on the mysterious Jinshi. For a series so deeply tied to Maomao’s sharp mind and grounded point of view, dedicating an episode to someone else, especially a male character in a story driven by a female lead, could have been a risky move. But it paid off in spades.