There is no question of The Apothecary Diaries’ impact on the anime community, and it was even more evident during Anime Expo 2024. Many artists displayed fanart of Maomao and Jinshi at their tables, and the Main Events Hall, one of the largest rooms in the convention center, was completely filled for a panel that featured Norihiro Naganuma, the director behind the series. Crunchyroll gave Anime Trending the unique opportunity to sit down with Naganuma-san, so that we can take an even deeper dive on his journey as director for this critically acclaimed anime.
Can you describe your journey into directing The Apothecary Diaries and what drew you to the series in the first place?
Norihiro Naganuma: I was working on The Ancient Magus’ Bride and was thinking about what I should be doing next. That’s when I got the call to direct The Apothecary Diaries. I was moved by Maomao, her attitude towards life, and how she faces many issues and deals with them. I was very intrigued and very appreciative of that part of her. I am also a fan of how Maomao is a little bit cold towards Jinshi and how their interactions are very funny!
There are anime fans who aren’t fully aware of what series directors do in anime. Can you describe to us your responsibilities as the director for The Apothecary Diaries?
So there are many different types of directors. Just talking about myself as a director, I really pay attention to how I package the stories with the colors and the sound. That’s why I do a lot of structuring, scripting, storyboarding, and also sound directing — I do all of them. My job is to communicate with a lot of staff on those issues and that’s how we make the anime together.
Aside from directing, you’re the series composer for the show as well. What were the biggest hurdles in structuring this two-cour first season?
During the production process, I cannot see the audience’s faces, and that was the hardest part for me. I wasn’t sure that the fans would enjoy it.
What aspect of your work in the series are you most proud of? For example, perhaps there’s an episode you’re very proud of or a specific scene?
The fact that I delivered the whole series to the audience, that’s what I’m most proud of!
Moving onto more specifics about the series, in The Apothecary Diaries, plants and flowers are a constant motif due to their ties to medicine and poison, and viewers noticed the special focus on the flowers in the series whether it was the opening sequences or backgrounds of scenes. What was the process behind integrating the importance of flowers into scenes?
In regards to the importance of plants, an apothecary is a pharmacist of plants in this world. Plants are necessary for humans to live and to live with. Associated with plants are flowers. The flower is the representation of beauty and the beautiful ladies in the series, but it could also be poisonous, so that’s how I tried to integrate the meaning of the flowers into different aspects of the stories. The creeping wood sorrel is the flower that represents Maomao. It’s a kind of a weed that grows everywhere, but it’s very small and very strong. That’s how we represented Maomao.
How did you account for the setting in The Apothecary Diaries?
So I wanted to make this world a gorgeous place, and make the representation of the royal palace like “hanamachi,” [red light district] which is a phrase in Japanese that can be roughly translated to “a place for the beautiful ladies to live.” I wanted to show the difference between the outside world and the palace. I also paid attention to each character — specifically how convincing they can be so the audience feels like this world is a real world.
What has impressed you most about the cast of The Apothecary Diaries? Were there any memorable recordings you remembered you can share with us?
So Maomao’s voice actor, Yuuki-san, and Jinshi’s voice actor, Otsuka-san, have a good and interesting balance. In fact, they’re very similar to the original characters, so it’s very fun to see them interact. We chose cast members who are so similar to the characters that they can be representations of the characters themselves. When recording scenes, it was really fun to see them together.
The Apothecary Diaries has grown a large fanbase overseas. When did you first find out about the success overseas and how did you feel when you found out?
I don’t feel that yet! It still hasn’t sunken in for me. Just now seeing many of you and hearing all of this [at Anime Expo 2024], it’s just now started to sink in.
Currently, The Apothecary Diaries is nominated for Anime of the Year on Anime Trending Awards thanks to the fans voting consistently and loyally on the charts. Did you ever think of the possibility of the series winning awards?
Really, anime of the year? It would be so wonderful if we could, and it would be a great souvenir for the original author, Hyuuga-sensei, and the whole staff who worked on it!
The Apothecary Diaries season 2 has already been announced. What are you most nervous about going into the second season? What are you most excited about?
There are so many things that I’m nervous about. I’m also excited to complete the second series and to be able to deliver it to all the fans around the world. Ultimately I am both concerned and excited for it.
Can you give some final words to the fans of the series who are eagerly awaiting season 2 (myself included)?
Thank you for watching season 1! I will do my best to complete and deliver the second season to all the audience who are waiting patiently for us!
Gracie Qu and Melvyn Tan both contributed questions to this interview.