The Apothecary Diaries has never needed sword fights or supernatural powers to keep its audience guessing. The anime instead follows Maomao, an exceptionally clever apothecary whose knowledge of medicine and poisons repeatedly pulls her into dangerous mysteries within the imperial court. Her habit of noticing what everyone else misses has made the series one of anime’s biggest recent hits.
The story began as a light novel series written by Hyuganatsu before expanding into manga and anime adaptations. Its combination of palace intrigue, slow-burning romance, and elaborate investigations also makes it unusually well-suited to an interactive adaptation. Maomao is finally getting the opportunity to solve those cases with some help from players.
Koei Tecmo and Gust have officially announcedThe Apothecary Diaries: The False Imperial Brother, the franchise’s first console game adaptation. The mystery adventure will feature an original story conceptualized by Hyuganatsu and send Maomao across the rear palace, pleasure district, and capital city. It is scheduled to arrive in early 2027 for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.
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Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Personality Quiz Which Sci-Fi Hero Are You Most Like? Paul Atreides · Captain Kirk · Princess Leia · Ellen Ripley · Max Rockatansky
Five iconic heroes. Five completely different ways of facing an impossible universe. One of them shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of refusing to back down. Eight questions will tell you which one.
🏜️Paul Atreides
🖖Capt. Kirk
✊Princess Leia
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🔦Ellen Ripley
🔥Max Rockatansky
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01
How do you lead when the stakes couldn’t be higher? The way you lead under pressure is the most honest thing about you.
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02
What is your greatest strength in a crisis? The quality that keeps you alive when everything else fails.
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03
What is the thing you’d sacrifice everything else for? Your deepest motivation is your truest compass.
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04
How do you relate to the people around you? Who you are to others under pressure is who you really are.
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05
You’re facing a threat that no one else believes is real. What do you do? How you respond when you’re the only one who sees it defines everything.
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06
What has your heroism cost you personally? Every hero pays. The question is what — and whether they’d pay it again.
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07
How do you feel about the rules of the world you’re in? Every hero has a relationship with the system. What’s yours?
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08
When everything is on the line, what keeps you going? The answer is the most honest thing about you.
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Your Hero Has Been Identified Your Sci-Fi Hero Is…
Your answers point to the iconic sci-fi hero who shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of facing the impossible.
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Arrakis · Dune
Paul Atreides
You carry a weight most people would crumble under — the knowledge of what you’re capable of, and the burden of what you might have to become.
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You see further ahead than others and you plan accordingly, even when the vision frightens you.
You are driven by loyalty to your people and a sense of destiny you didn’t ask for but can’t escape.
Paul Atreides is not simply a hero — he is someone who understands the cost of power and chooses to bear it anyway.
That gravity, that willingness to carry what others won’t, is exactly you.
USS Enterprise · Star Trek
Captain Kirk
You lead with instinct, warmth, and an absolute refusal to accept a no-win scenario — because you’ve always believed there’s a third option nobody else has thought of yet.
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You take the mission seriously without ever taking yourself too seriously.
Your crew would follow you anywhere, not because you demand it, but because you’ve earned it.
Kirk’s genius isn’t tactical — it’s human. He reads people, bends rules with purpose, and wills outcomes into existence through sheer conviction.
That combination of warmth, audacity, and relentless optimism is unmistakably yours.
The Rebellion · Star Wars
Princess Leia
You are the kind of person who holds the line when everyone else is losing faith — not because you’re fearless, but because giving up simply isn’t something you’re capable of.
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You lead through conviction. Your voice carries because your belief is unshakeable.
You gave up everything ordinary the moment you chose the cause, and you’ve never looked back.
Leia is not a supporting character in her own story — she is the moral centre of the entire rebellion.
That same fierce, principled, unbreakable core is what defines you.
The Nostromo · Alien
Ellen Ripley
You are not reckless, not grandiose, and not particularly interested in being anyone’s hero — you just refuse to stop when it matters.
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You see threats clearly, you document the truth even when no one listens, and when the time comes you handle it yourself.
Ripley’s heroism is earned, not performed. She doesn’t have a speech — she has a flamethrower and a plan.
You share her composure under the worst possible pressure, and her refusal to pretend the monster isn’t there.
When it counts, you don’t flinch. That’s everything.
The Wasteland · Mad Max
Max Rockatansky
You have been through fire that would break most people — and what came out the other side is something the world underestimates at its peril.
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You don’t ask for help, don’t need validation, and don’t wait for anyone to tell you the rules no longer apply.
Your loyalty, when it finally arrives, is absolute — but it’s earned in silence and tested in action, not in words.
Max is not a nihilist. He is someone who lost everything and found, against his will, that he still has something worth protecting.
That bruised, stubborn, ultimately human core is exactly yours.
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Maomao Has Five New Mysteries To Solve
A girl smiling widely in The Apothecary Diaries animeImage via OLM
The story begins shortly after Maomao starts working as a maidservant in the rear palace, where rumors spread about incidents collectively known as the “Five Mysteries.” These include a faceless eunuch, a storehouse that mysteriously wails every night, and garments suddenly turning deep red. Jinshi tasks Maomao with investigating the strange events using her medicinal knowledge, observation skills, and talent for finding evidence. Maomao later befriends a traveling actor named Guanyu while visiting the pleasure district, but his personal troubles gradually pull her into another unfolding drama. After the Shi clan’s rebellion is defeated, a similar collection of incidents known as the “Five Curses” begins affecting residents throughout the capital. The investigation eventually leads Maomao to a masked vigilante claiming to be the imperial younger brother, despite Jinshi insisting the impersonator is not him.
Players will investigate incidents, gather evidence, present theories, and solve each mystery as the two apparent conspiracies begin connecting. The structure sounds like a natural extension of the series, where the real satisfaction comes from watching Maomao assemble small, easily overlooked details into an answer everyone else failed to see. The False Imperial Brother does not have an exact release date yet, but it will bring Maomao’s latest investigation to consoles and PC in early 2027.
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