Maomao no Hitorigoto 3rd Season

Maomao no Hitorigoto 3rd Season is a set of tiny comedy shorts that run alongside the third TV season of The Apothecary Diaries (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto). The shorts are posted for free on the official YouTube channel of TOHO animation. Each one lasts only about a minute. The title is a play on the main show's name: "Kusuriya no Hitorigoto" means "The Apothecary's Monologue", while "Maomao no Hitorigoto" means "Maomao's Monologue". Because the shorts continue the count from earlier batches, the numbering for this set begins at episode 49.

The shorts are drawn in a chibi style. Chibi is a Japanese word for a cute, simple way of drawing characters with big heads and small bodies, often used for jokes. Here, the two leads, Maomao and Jinshi, become little round versions of themselves. In earlier batches, a new short came out with each new episode of the main series, and each one picked up a small topic from that week's story. For example, the first shorts looked at a white powder Maomao studies, a chocolate she makes, and a type of lotus plant. When they first came out, the shorts were in Japanese only, with Japanese subtitles.

To enjoy the jokes, it helps to know the main story. The Apothecary Diaries is based on a light novel series by Natsu Hyuuga, with art by Touko Shino, published in Japan since 2014. (A light novel is a short, easy-to-read novel with anime-style pictures.) Maomao is a young woman trained to make medicine, which is what "apothecary" means. She ends up working as a servant in the emperor's inner palace, where she uses her deep knowledge of herbs, medicine, and poison to solve strange cases. Jinshi is a handsome, powerful palace official who notices her skills and keeps pulling her into new problems. Their odd partnership is a big source of the series' humor.

The third TV season began on October 2, 2026, on Nippon TV in Japan, and is shown with subtitles on Crunchyroll in some countries. It is split into two parts: the first runs from October to December 2026, and the second starts in April 2027. Akinori Fudesaka directs, and Aoi Yuki and Takeo Otsuka return as the voices of Maomao and Jinshi. A first theatrical film for the franchise is also set to open in Japan on December 11, 2026.

The chibi shorts are not a separate story. They are a light, silly bonus for fans who are already watching the main season: a quick laugh, a small fact about medicine or palace life, and a chance to see Maomao's sharp tongue and Jinshi's frustration in a softer, cuter form.