English Dub Review: The Apothecary Diaries “Locusts”
Overview:
A locust plague is looming, and mysteriously, a book on insects belonging to the Shi clan appears.
Our Take(Spoilers):
The first thing I want to say is going to be a bit of a PSA for people. If it’s been a while since you watched the last season, I recommend finding a recap. I had to rewatch this episode to regain some context. That’s not a huge deal, but if you’re reading this review to decide if you want to watch it, then I felt duty-bound to mention that at least. To be fair, if you’ve watched the first two seasons, then you probably don’t need this review to decide whether you’re going to continue the series or not, but hey, I’ve got to look out for the people.
We pick up right where we left off in the second season after a failed rebellion. For the beginning of this season, at least it seems like all the political machinations are going to be on the back burner for a bit. For now, we have a potential plague to focus on, and the foreshadowing couldn’t be more in your face.
If you have an aversion to people eating bugs, then this isn’t the episode for you because a lot of bugs get eaten here. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a locust in real life before, but apparently they’re basically grasshoppers. But in case you didn’t know, locusts taste a lot better than grasshoppers if this episode is anything to go by. According to this show, when more grasshoppers are showing up instead of locusts, that is a big indicator of a potential famine. With as much focus as this is getting, I imagine we are about to have an incoming famine arc.
I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s starting to feel like Maomao is the defining role for Emi Lo. I’d heard of her before this show, but I feel like this is what put her on the map, and she’s now one of the bigger VAs in the industry. Kaiji Tang voices Jinshi, the other lead, and he’s well established at this point. To me, Emi Lo brings the character of Maomao to life, and I’m glad she’s been nominated for English VA of the Year any time this show has aired.
The first season aired roughly three years ago but went into 2024. We rarely get anime seasons in sequential years lately, so I’m glad this one is still going. We’re not quite sure where this season will lead us, but this show has rarely missed, so I’m looking forward to where it takes us.
