This month, I finally got to watch 2 animes I'd had on my list for ages and despite the somewhat heavy themes, they just might have become part of my favourites ever.
First is The Apothecary Diaries and one might wonder what's heavy about it, but underneath all the cute and cheeky antics, the lives of everyone regardless of rank or social status seemed pretty bleak.
You have the people living in the pleasure district - on the one hand, the objects of fantasy and entertainment, but they'd all rather not be there. On the other hand, the side streets are crawling with the poorest of the poor - discarded, overlooked, wretched... Anyone is fair game there. You don't even need to look pretty to be snatched up and sold off (despite Maomao's best efforts to appear plain) or assaulted by an arrogant patron. Getting sold to a brothel or into the palace grounds locked one into years of (in most cases unwanted) servitude.
Then you have the palace where not even the highest placed are safe from plottings, assaults and poison. Existence within the palace is considered as a duty to the emperor (who has his own struggles) and regardless of who you are, you're a target.
I recall reading the beginning of the manga years ago...not sure I got past the maids discovering Maomao's "freckles" so always knew it was a light story. When I started watching the series, I enjoyed it as such, even though some of these bleak points stood out, it was only in episode 9 after that maid's 'suicide' and with Maomao discussing with Jinshi about deaths in the palace and requesting poisoning if it ever came her time to be punished. That's when I actually choked up. All those women were expendable. You could be a maid who looked too similar to the mistress or be a high ranking concubine advanced in age. Anyone could be cut loose or cut down.
As much as we romanticize period shows and stories, there was nothing romantic happening for majority of the people.
The next is Ōoku: The Inner Chambers.
This for me is actually superior story wise and has such an amazing set of characters, but I just felt so bad for everyone.
From the get go, it's literally a struggle for survival for the males who could catch this disease and die horribly, to the women taking up tasks they'd never thought they would, to living a double life and being recorded in history as a person of another gender, to securing your country with lies cos God forbid invaders find out its mostly women left.
Navigating everyone kept me on edge.
I went in knowing it was a story about dwindling male populations, so when I saw the little boy running into forest, I was like awww, he's about to be snatched up and taken to the palace. But nope, rabid bear appears then the worst type of epidemic erupts.
80 years later, stud samurai appears and soon starts rising in the Ōoku. Finally the main character appears....nope. Destined to be beheaded...but thanks to our badass new Shogun, he can leave and live out his life with his true love. I should have suspected then that a happy ending in the first episode was a setup to so much to come.
My heart broke in so many ways for Arikoto and Gyokuei. They just wanted to live their lives in quiet seclusion. Once again, anyone could be expendable in maintaining the status quo of the ruler.
Loss of dignity, loss of life... but I'm so glad those 2 never really lost their inner light. They really strived and made sure they survived the epidemic and the palace.
Meanwhile outside the palace, the devastation to families, land and life itself is unending.
I really hoped for better for Sato, but alas. Dying so young is another parallel to Iemitsu. Both lived their lives as a duty to their families - one producing heirs for succession, the other working the land to ensure food and stability for her family. One not marrying the man she loves so the other women in the village could stand a chance to bear children while the other taking on different men to bear children since her loved one was incapable of doing so.
Everything is so bleak despite the love story and character growth, but its such a realistic plot I can't help but connect to everyone.
These 2 shows really made my month. Its odd how I took on both of them, one after the other after all this time.
