The Apothecary Diaries: Season 1, Part 2 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

The Apothecary Diaries: Season 1, Part 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

The Apothecary Diaries: Season 1 Part 2 continues the first season of the popular anime series. Created by Natsu Hyūga, The Apothecary Diaries: Season 1 Part 2 expands on the narrative of the slice-of-life style historical romance drama. The Apothecary Diaries: Season 1 Part 2 features original character designs by Touko Shino. Executive produced by Kazutaka Yamanaka (Jujutsu Kaisen, Dr. Stone: New World), The Apothecary Diaries: Season 1 Part 2 features voice work by Aoi Yūki and Takeo Ōtsuka.

The Apothecary Diaries features engaging theme songs performed by Shingo Anami (opening one), YAS  (opening two), Huwie Ishizaki (ending one), and Yōhei Hashiguchi (ending two). The Apothecary Diaries has beautiful animation produced by OLM and Toho Animation Studio (Yo-kai Watch, Pokémon: Diamond & Pearl). The Apothecary Diaries: Season 1 Part 2 features series production by Fumi Kawamura, Hiroshi Mutou, Junya Okamoto (Jormungand Perfect Order, Black Lagoon), Katsuji Morishita (Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror, Dead Leaves), Mitsuteru Hishiyama (ONIMAI: I'm Now Your Sister!, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation), Tomoko Fujimura (Vermeil in Gold, Mr. Villain's Day Off), and Yuito Hirahara (Teasing Master Takagi-san. My Life as Inukai-san's Dog). The first season continues with The Apothecary Diaries: Season 1 Part 2 providing episodes 13 to 24. Fans of the series will enjoy the ongoing adventures.

Maomao (Aoi Yūki) has new adventures in store for herself. The journey isn’t over for Maomao and she has gone through a lot of changes while adjusting to her new life within the Imperial harem. The role is one that brought many rules and duties for her to fulfill. Now in this position, Maomao finds she has a lot of work cut out for her while working in Jinshi (Takeo Ōtsuka)’s personal home.

As the story of The Apothecary Diaries unfolds, Maomao finds herself exploring the secrets of the established brothel while uncovering new mysteries. Mysteries involving deadly plots, unexpected poisoning, and even a warehouse explosion. Can Maomao fulfill her role while resolving these surprising twists and turns? Maomao has a lot on her plate – such as resolving her past.

As the lead character of The Apothecary Diaries, Maomao is a compelling protagonist for the anime series. The character has her own unique journey to go on. The character faces a lot of unexpected challenges as she navigates her own role. The odyssey from being in a low- class position to being surrounded by the elite is something that adds to the series character development. Maomao is someone who goes through a lot of changes as a character and it is a compelling aspect of the production.

The Apothecary Diaries: Season 1 Part 2 showcases excellent character designs by Yukiko Nakatani (Precure Miracle Universe, Tropical-Rouge! Precure). The character designs are well-done and are certainly essential to the production. The series aesthetic is enhanced by the character art and the designs showcase both the lead and supporting characters on the series. The designs continue to be in line with the first collection.

One of the best components of The Apothecary Diaries: Season 1 Part 2 is the animation. The animation style looks outstanding. The Apothecary Diaries: Season 1 Part 2 showcases the efforts of the animation team wonderfully. There is so much beauty in the art style. The animation works well at showcasing the efforts of the animators. The Apothecary Diaries: Season 1 Part 2 features art direction by Katsumi Takao (Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!, Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle). The animation manages to highlight the production beautifully. The art showcasing background animation, line art, and more of the intricacies of the production.

The series cinematography by Rumi Ishiguro (The Piano Forest, Akiba Maid War) is well-done and is one of the most essential elements of the series. The cinematography shines with great vibrancy and style. The visuals add a great deal to the production. The cinematography highlights the animation itself – showcasing the lighting and beauty of the series aesthetic.

The original score composed by Arisa Okehazama (Jujutsu Kaisen, The God of High School), Kevin Penkin (The Rising of The Shield Hero, Made in Abyss), and Satoru Kōsaki (Nisekoi - False Love, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya) is one of the major highlights of the production. The score is beautiful and adds a sense of charm to the storytelling. The music plays a pivotal part in the series and is a good backdrop to the series. The score helps accompany the journey of the lead character.

From writer-director Norihiro Naganuma (My Little Monster, The Ancient Magus' Bride), The Apothecary Diaries: Season 1 Part 2 continues the first season adventures. The series creates a compelling art style and the tone of the series manages to imbue both the serious and silly elements of the production. A reasonably well-directed anime, The Apothecary Diaries: Season 1 Part 2 continues to showcase the efforts of Naganuma. Fans of the series will want to continue the journey.

The Apothecary Diaries: Season 1, Part 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Crunchyroll, The Apothecary Diaries: Season 1 Part 2 is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high- definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The release has a robust and pleasing high-definition presentation. The video has impressive presentation merit with the color reproduction looking excellent on the release.

The vibrancy of the animation is highlighted well. The background animation and line art are well reproduced. The series is crisp and benefits from the aesthetic of modern high-definition anime. The release has an impressive modern aesthetic and it is much more impressive looking compared to older standard definition upscales. The native high-definition visuals certainly help to showcase the animation well.

The Blu-ray release benefits from solid encoding. The encoding is a good highlight of the release. One of the strengths of physical media is that there can be a consistency to the presentation that is sometimes not the case on streaming – perhaps due to variances in internet speeds, number of connected users, and other outliers. The physical format offers a physical option and solid compression. It might be a subtle difference but there can sometimes be one.

The Apothecary Diaries: Season 1, Part 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (with English subtitles). The Blu-ray release preserves the original sound direction of Shōji Hata (The Ancient Magus' Bride, Bakugan Battle Planet). The audio presentation impresses with good clarity and overall depth. The level of detail on the release impresses and is something that enhances the presentation. The score is well reproduced on the release and the presentation sound mixing handles the score well. The 5.1 option on the English dub has a somewhat more enveloping quality to it. Even so, the 2.0 Japanese language audio is engaging and fans will be pleased with the soundstage. The English subtitles are free from egregious spelling or grammatical errors.

Physical media offers an advantage over streaming services with lossless audio encoding. Streaming video services only offer subscribers lossy (non-lossless) audio encoding. For home theater enthusiasts and audiophiles alike – who are wanting the best possible audio quality – there can be gains with the physical media option over streaming. Enthusiasts appreciate these aspects of the Blu-ray disc format. The release can provide higher audio bit-rates and encoding depth.

The Apothecary Diaries: Season 1, Part 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release includes a nicely designed o-card slipcover. The slipcover is limited to the first print run of the release. The slipcover features compelling artwork and it adds to the collectability of the release. The release also includes alternate artwork underneath the slipcover. The result is a package design giving a "dual artwork" sensation that is well worth appreciating. Slipcover fans and collectors will appreciate the collectability of the release.

On disc supplements include:

Disc 1:

Mini Anime (HD, 9:18)

Textless Opening Song (HD, 1:32)

Textless Closing Song (HD, 1:32)

Disc 2:

Mini Anime (HD, 10:30)

The Apothecary Diaries: Season 1, Part 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Apothecary Diaries: Season 1 Part 2 continues the historical drama. The second part of the season picks up where the first set left off and provides more episodes of the first season. The series has an impressive aesthetic – the animation and production values are excellent.

The Blu-ray release has a worthwhile presentation with quality high-definition video, lossless audio, and a assortment of bonus features – including a mini anime offering. The first print run of the release also provides a nice o-card slipcover for collectors. Fans will be tempted to pick up the set and add it to their growing Blu-ray collection. Recommended.