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Maomao fromThe Apothecary Diarieshad a tough life with no positive maternal figure to look to. Her mother, Fengxian, was abusive. Her sickness also caused Maomao to become the caretaker at an early age. The abuse caused her to be more reserved. However, throughThe Apothecary Diaries,she starts opening up more and trusts people.
Lihua was the first person Maomao cured upon her arrival at the palace. When her son was dying, they were clueless about the cause until Maomao’s medical knowledge helped her identify it. While her son did pass away, she was saved by the apothecary later on. Lihua faced a wake-up call at that point and started paying attention to Maomao’s medical opinion.
This led to the duo harboring respect for one another. She starts becoming more affectionate towards the apothecary. What’s noticeable, however, is that this relationship barely existed in the original manga forThe Apothecary Diaries.The anime adaptation has taken more than a few liberties to expand Lihua’s role in the story.
Lihua is more caring and affectionate towards Maomao in the anime
In the recent December visual for Season 2 ofThe Apothecary Diaries,Lihua watches over Maomao looking excitedly at daffodils. She seems amused and endeared by the young girl’s reaction to a simple flower. It gives a hint of care and love she has towards the apothecary that might be explored more in Season 2.
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Lihua, at first, seemed more stuck up and pompous, disregarding the warning about the powder that was slowly poisoning her. However, the loss of her son and the recovery made her trust the apothecary more and also gain respect for her. Moreover, Maomao’s intelligence and how she swiftly solves medical cases possibly made Lihua admire her more.
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It seems Lihua has noticed and is grateful for the apothecary’s role in taking care of everyone. She doesn’t mind Maomao’s quirks either. The anime adaptation adds this touch of gratitude in the side characters for the apothecary’s hard work. She has never had a loving maternal figure but Lihua provides that at times with moments of tranquility and peace, such as giving Maomao a place to rest on her lap.
A maternal relationship for Maomao needs to be explored
Maomao wasfailed by her biological mother and father, although it wasn’t entirely by his choice. Luomen was the only parental figure who took care of her and taught her everything she knew about herbs, medicines, and so on. This gave her opportunities beyond just being a courtesan.
However, she never had a caring motherly figure to look up to. Fengxian damaged her in ways beyond emotional,having the pinky finger to prove it. While the message ofThe Apothecary Diariesis to move past trauma, it doesn’t mean she shouldn’t have a female character she can lean on for emotional support.
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Lihua fits the role perfectly for Maomao and the anime director, Norihiro Naganuma, seems to agree. She has shown significant growth as a side character in comparison to the manga. While their relationship started out quite rough, they’ve grown to care and admire each other.
The Season 2 visual teases more content for the two outside of the manga’s constraint. It might be risky but it will add more emotional depth to Lihua and perhaps show Maomao what true maternal love is like.
The Apothecary Diariesis available on Crunchyroll.
Bidisha Mitra
Articles Published :802
Bidisha is an Anime Content Writer at FandomWire with over 700 published articles. With over 7 years of writing experience, she’s versatile and adept. When she’s not writing, she’s also a voice actor on the side.Bidisha is currently continuing to learn Japanese and gets more fluent everyday. Her expertise is One Piece, Bungo Stray Dogs, and Haikyuu, but has been watching anime for over a decade. She was previously a Content Writer reviewing the latest Kpop music.
