2026 is going to be an exciting year for The Apothecary Diaries fans since the anime is all set for its return with its Season 3 and first feature film. Based on a beloved historical light novel by Natsu Hyuga, the anime adaptation concluded its second season in July 2025. Right after the season finale, the series confirmed a sequel with a cryptic teaser and shared more details in October during the anime’s second anniversary. The story has taken a major turn in the second season’s finale and will continue to surprise fans with more mysteries and plot twists. After the fall of the Shi Clan, the kingdom and the lives of Maomao and the others have changed completely.
The upcoming season will continue to follow her struggles as she gets entangled in all kinds of mysterious situations. While fans await the anime’s return, a retrospective screening was held in Japan for the first two seasons. The voice actors also took part in a special stage greeting and talked about their experience working on the show and what fans need to look forward to next. The details of the event were shared by the official website of the anime, where Aoi Yuki, the voice behind Maomao, gives a major update on the anime’s return.
During the latest stage greeting, Yuki talked about Season 3, “The number of cast members has increased, and I realized that so many people are involved. Everyone loves this work, and I was happy to be together and talking to all sorts of people.”
The voice recording for the third season has already begun, and the series is all set for its return in October this year. The anime will release its third season into two cours, and the second one is scheduled to be released in April 2027. The anime will adapt the fifth volume of the light novel, following Maomao after she leaves the Inner Court and returns to the Verdigris House to work as an apothecary. Furthermore, now that his true identity has been revealed, Jinshi has taken over his duties as a member of the royal family.
During the stage greeting, Yuki also mentioned the upcoming film, “I’ve been joking all this time about riding robots or being reincarnated, but actually I already know the content… This is going to be amazing. It’s definitely worth showing in theaters, so I hope everyone looks forward to it.”
While she doesn’t share details on the film, the crowd was hyped over what to expect from the story. It will feature a completely original story by the author, following the main characters dealing with another set of mysterious incidents. The film has only confirmed a Japanese theatrical release in December this year and awaits an international release window. Fans might get an update after the film is released, so we can expect an international release next year.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
