The Apothecary Diaries Anime Adaptation Covers Just 4 Light Novel Volumes in 48 Episodes
If you’ve been enjoying The Apothecary Diaries anime, you might be surprised to learn that despite having 48 episodes over two full seasons, the adaptation has only covered the first four light novel volumes of the original story.
The Apothecary Diaries Anime Adaptation Is Taking Its Time
The Apothecary Diaries light novel series began in 2014 and currently has 16 volumes published. Yet, only volumes 1 through 4 have been adapted in the anime so far:
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Volume 1: Episodes 1–12 of Season 1
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Volume 2: Episodes 13–24 of Season 1
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Volume 3: Episodes 1–12 of Season 2
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Volume 4: Episodes 13–24 of Season 2
The The Apothecary Diaries anime adaptation clearly values depth over speed. While most anime based on light novels adapt 3 to 4 volumes in a single season, this series is doing the opposite—dedicating 12 episodes to each volume.
Just to give you an idea of how dense the content is, here’s the page count of the first four volumes (pages in the japanese version)
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Volume 1: 344 pages
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Volume 2: 360 pages
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Volume 3: 408 pages
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Volume 4: 392 pages
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Total: 1,504 pages adapted over 48 episodes
For comparison, Re:Zero adapted 15 light novel volumes in 50 episodes, showing just how slowly The Apothecary Diaries is moving. But that’s part of its charm—it allows for rich storytelling, deeper character development, and faithful adaptation of the source material.
With only 4 out of 16 volumes adapted so far, there’s a long journey ahead. If this pace continues, we could easily surpass 200 episodes before reaching the end. Luckily, a continuation has already been announced, and the next season will start with volume 5.
So, fans of The Apothecary Diaries can look forward to many more episodes of Maomao’s clever investigations and palace intrigues.
via Você Sabia Anime
