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Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for The Apothecary Diaries.
At Anime Expo 2024, Director Norihiro Naganuma revealed that the visual element of the animation played an important role in the series’ popularity. Ever since its premiere in 2023, the series has become a global phenomenon. The Apothecary Diaries is based on the Japanese light novel series written by Natsu Hyūga and illustrated by Touko Shino, which began serialization back in 2011. A second season of the anime adaptation is set to premiere in 2025.
In an interview with ComicBook, Director Norihiro Naganuma explains why the anime resonates so well with the global audience. He believes the visual elements, thanks to studios Toho Animation and OLM, helped bring the series to life. “It’s not just about the movement of characters, of course, or even our use of color. There are many different ways you express and enhance emotions for the audience.”
Norihiro Naganuma states that he specifically catered the content for an international audience. “I think it’s clear there’s a lot of international interest in The Apothecary Diaries. I think vibrance is one of the keywords that comes to mind when I think about an international audience. I really tried to think about how we could make a drama between characters in such a short amount of time,” said the director.
Naganuma also mentions that he wanted to use as many colors as possible so that he could portray the nuances of the light novel as accurately as possible. Be it Maomao’s change in expressions or a different scenery, the director wanted to make the series vibrant. The manga adaptations have sold over 31 million copies.
The Apothecary Diaries follow the story of Maomao, a young woman who is kidnapped and sold to the Imperial Palace as a servant. There, she secretly makes use of her medical skills to help others. Though she tries to remain anonymous, her antics are spotted by the court eunuch, who raises her to a more influential position.
Along with directing Season 1 of The Apothecary Diaries, Norihiro Naganuma was also supervising the scripts, with Akinori Fudeskaka serving as assistant director. Season 1 of the anime ran for two consecutive cours, with Season 2 of The Apothecary Diaries being announced in the Season 1 finale. Stay tuned for more updates on the upcoming sequel.
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HBO did not spare a good opportunity to expand on the world of Westeros. House of the Dragon’s Season 2 finale was followed up with a teaser for the new Game of Thrones spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
The network unveiled an exciting seven-second teaser trailer on Sunday night, August 4, that offered fleeting glimpses into Ser Duncan The Tall and his squire, Egg’s exploits as they travel across Westeros. It will follow Ser Duncan’s journey to become the titular Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and Egg as the future Aegon V Targaryen.
The update comes soon after author George R. R. Martin confirmed that HBO is developing a batch of spinoffs– Aegon’s Conquest, which revolves around Aegon I Targaryen’s reign over Westeros, and an animated series following Lord Corlys Velaryon’s Nine Voyages, titled The Sea Snake, per Collider.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will be set in a timeline 77 years after the Dance of the Dragons began and 89 years before the Game of Thrones. The spinoff will be based on George R. R. Martin’s collection of novels, Tales of Dunk and Egg, which includes the first three books, The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword, and The Mystery Knight.
The first novella, The Hedge Knight was published in 1998, and the Dunk and Egg book series are expected to comprise 12 novels at best. Therefore, each season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is expected to follow the events of each book in the series.
The debut season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will likely follow the introductory storyline of the first book, The Hedge Knight.
It revolves around a wandering knight not sworn to any lord, called a hedge knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, the name taken following the death of Ser Arlan of Pennytree, to whom Dunk was an honorable squire. Inheriting his armor and horses, Dunk embarked on a journey to Ashford and took up a young boy, Egg as his squire along the way, who would go on to become the future reigning King Aegon V.
By the second book, 2003’s The Sworn Sword, Dunk and Egg return from Dorne and are finally sworn to Ser Eustace Osgrey of Standfast in the Reach. It focuses on the Blackfyre Rebellions caused by the legitimized bastards of House Targaryen, done so by HOTD’s Queen Rhaenyra.
Amid an altercation between House Osgrey and House Webber, Dunk learned about his lord’s treachery to the Crown resigned from his service to Ser Eustace, and set out on a journey to the Wall in the North.
The Mystery Knight was published in 2017 and delves deeper into the Blackfyre Rebellions. Dunk and Egg travel to Winterfell and assist Lord Stark in dissipating a Greyjoy rebellion but find themselves headed towards a tourney at Whitewalls with a dragon egg for its prize. Ser Glendon Ball is falsely accused of stealing the egg but Dunk, with the help of John the Fiddler a.k.a the Mystery Knight, exposes the truth and is rewarded for their bravery.
The Tales of Dunk and Egg elaborate on Dunk’s rise to power as a legendary knight of King Aegon V’s Kingsguard and shall also explore the mystery around the Tragedy at Summerhall when Dunk and Egg meet their fateful ends.
An official logline for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms reads, “A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros… a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg.”
It further explains that the Targaryen line still presides over the Iron Throne and the memory of the last dragon still exists in living memory and “great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends,” per Forbes.
However, though compelling, the brief teaser did not reveal much about the show’s storyline and whether A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will abide by the books is unknown.
HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms stars Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan the Tall/Dunk and Dexter Sol Ansell as Aegon V/Egg. Other cast members include Finn Bennett, Sam Spruell, Bertie Carvel, Daniel Ings, and Tanzyn Crawford. New actors will also likely grace the brewing cast of the forthcoming series.
The first three episodes of the spinoff’s debut season will be helmed by Owen Harris, best known for Black Mirror, The Twilight Zone, and Misfits. Martin and Ira Parker will write and serve as executive producers alongside HOTD showrunner Ryan Condal, Sarah Bradshaw, and Vince Gerardis.
Fans have a long wait ahead of them as The Game of Thrones spinoff series only began filming in June 2024 in Belfast and is expected to premiere in late 2025, per Collider. The debut season is confirmed to house all the drama in only six episodes. An official release date is not yet revealed.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will likely premiere before the House of the Dragon Season 3, which is expected to premiere not before 2026.
With viewers sulking over the sub-par HOTD season finale and a two-year wait before they return to the fictional continent of Westeros, the spinoff series will allow them to delve into a new chronicle embedded between the events of HOTD and Game of Thrones.
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