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With The Apothecary Diaries Season 3 nearly here, Maomao is once again preparing to trade palace small talk for suspicious symptoms, strange clues, and mysteries that absolutely refuse to stay buried. The anime returns to Crunchyroll on October 2, bringing back its brilliantly unbothered apothecary for another round of deductions.
Since its 2023 debut, The Apothecary Diaries has distinguished itself by turning medicine, court politics, poison, and human behavior into compelling mysteries. Now, Season 3 is expanding that formula beyond the palace. Here’s when it returns, what the new season has revealed so far, and what viewers should know before Maomao starts investigating again.
The Apothecary Diaries Returns to Crunchyroll With More Mysteries
The Apothecary Diaries originally premiered in October 2023, with its first three episodes airing together in Japan. The adaptation is based on Natsu Hyuga’s light novels, illustrated by Touko Shino, and follows Maomao, an apothecary who is kidnapped and sold into service at the Imperial Palace. Her knowledge of medicine soon makes her indispensable when she begins investigating illnesses, poisonings, and other suspicious incidents.
Instead of relying on detectives, crime scenes, and conventional interrogations, The Apothecary Diaries frequently builds its puzzles from symptoms, ingredients, social customs, and tiny behavioral details. Maomao can look at something everyone else has dismissed as insignificant and immediately start wondering what is actually wrong.
Season 3 now pushes the story outward. The official trailer teases Maomao and Jinshi dealing with a mysterious immortal maiden, warnings of a disaster threatening the nation, and Jinshi’s responsibilities after his true identity as the Imperial brother comes further into focus. The story is also set to move from the rear palace into the wider city and beyond.
The returning creative team includes director Akinori Fudesaka, assistant director Wataru Nakagawa, series composition overseen by Norihiro Naganuma, and character designer Yukiko Nakatani, with OLM handling Season 3’s animation production. A new addition to the cast is Reina Ueda as the mysterious Bai Niangniang.
Musically, Season 3 is getting a particularly intriguing lineup. Yorushika performs the opening theme, “Kumo o Nuke Kazashimo e Watashi Dake,” while Eve’s “AIYOU” serves as the ending theme. The latter was unveiled alongside the September 25 trailer, which gives another glimpse at the season’s more expansive mysteries.
The series has also developed substantial recognition beyond its original audience. In 2025, the franchise reached 40 million copies in print across its light novels and two manga adaptations, with Square Enix noting the anime’s massive popularity as a major factor behind its publication performance. The anime itself was nominated for multiple categories at the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, including Anime of the Year, Best New Anime, and Best Character Design, while Aoi Yuki won Best Anime Voice Artist Performance – Japanese for Maomao. Season 2 later won Best Drama and Best Main Character at the 2026 Crunchyroll Anime Awards.
When Will The Apothecary Diaries Season 3 Episodes Release?
Jinshi from The Apothecary Diaries Season 3. [Credit: TOHO]The Apothecary Diaries Season 3 premieres in Japan on Friday, October 2, 2026, at 11:00 p.m. JST, airing in Nippon TV’s Friday Anime Night block. Crunchyroll has confirmed that it will stream the season as it airs in its Fall 2026 lineup, including in the U.S.
Below is the estimated global release timetable:
| Hawaii Standard Time (HST) | October 2, 2026 | 4:00 AM |
| Alaska Daylight Time (AKDT) | October 2, 2026 | 6:00 AM |
| Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) | October 2, 2026 | 7:00 AM |
| Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) | October 2, 2026 | 8:00 AM |
| Central Daylight Time (CDT) | October 2, 2026 | 9:00 AM |
| Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) | October 2, 2026 | 10:00 AM |
| Atlantic Daylight Time (ADT) | October 2, 2026 | 11:00 AM |
| Brasília Time (BRT) | October 2, 2026 | 11:00 AM |
| British Summer Time (BST) | October 2, 2026 | 3:00 PM |
| Central European Summer Time (CEST) | October 2, 2026 | 4:00 PM |
| South Africa Standard Time (SAST) | October 2, 2026 | 4:00 PM |
| Gulf Standard Time (GST) | October 2, 2026 | 6:00 PM |
| Iran Standard Time (IRST) | October 2, 2026 | 5:30 PM |
| Pakistan Standard Time (PKT) | October 2, 2026 | 7:00 PM |
| India Standard Time (IST) | October 2, 2026 | 7:30 PM |
| Nepal Time (NPT) | October 2, 2026 | 7:45 PM |
| Bangladesh Standard Time (BST) | October 2, 2026 | 8:00 PM |
| Myanmar Time (MMT) | October 2, 2026 | 8:30 PM |
| China Standard Time (CST) | October 2, 2026 | 10:00 PM |
| Korea Standard Time (KST) | October 2, 2026 | 11:00 PM |
| Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) | October 2, 2026 | 11:30 PM |
| New Zealand Daylight Time (NZDT) | October 3, 2026 | 3:00 AM |
| Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) | October 2, 2026 | 2:00 PM |
The season is officially structured as a split two-cour broadcast. The first cour begins October 2, while the second cour is scheduled to begin in April 2027. The exact number of episodes in the first cour has not been officially announced, so projected episode counts should not be treated as confirmed.
So yes, Maomao’s latest mystery is almost here. And considering Season 3 is taking her from palace corridors toward wider territories, mysterious figures, and a looming national threat, her next investigation looks considerably larger than the last.
Will you be watching The Apothecary Diaries Season 3 when it returns?
The Apothecary Diaries Seasons 1 and 2 are available on Crunchyroll.
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