"General Otaku Knowledge Learned from 'The Apothecary Diaries': A Lecture on 'Dust Explosion' by Master Maomao"

"Dust explosion," a staple in manga, anime, and games, is a favorite of everyone and has become the key to the truth of an incident in the anime "The Apothecary Diaries." The 14th episode is a mystery round where Maomao's(CV: Aoi Yuki) shows a brilliant deduction, but it was also a round that became a topic with the appearance of "general otaku knowledge," saying, "Where is your dust explosion!?"

"The Apothecary Diaries" is an anime work based on the light novel of the same name by Hyuganatsu. It has also been manga-ized in two monthly magazines, and the total number of copies issued in the series exceeds 38 million. The TV anime has been broadcast continuously for two cour from October 2023, and the detective drama by Maomao, who was appointed to work as a "taster" in the harem, and the comical interaction with the handsome eunuch, Jinshi (CV: Takeo Otsuka), were popular and became a big topic. The second season has been broadcasting since January 2025.

One day, an unexplained smolder happened, and Maomao investigated the scene, which was a food warehouse. The place was scattered with fragments, and it was more like after an explosion than a smolder. Furthermore, Maomao, who found a kiseru fallen, arrived at the truth of the incident from the three clues of "food warehouse, kiseru, explosion."

Saying "a little experiment," Maomao threw a fire into a wooden box filled with flour. Then, the easily combustible flour that danced in the air ignited and caused an explosion. Maomao explained that someone using a kiseru in the warehouse where flour was whirling was the cause of the smolder.

In the story, the clever deduction skills of Maomao, who brilliantly solved the case with the clues scattered throughout, have received widespread praise from viewers. Comments like "The process of uncovering the cause was as impressive as ever" and "Detective Maomao" flooded in. The dust explosion, a familiar trope in fiction, also sparked excitement online. Remarks such as "It's the beloved otaku knowledge of dust explosions" and "Even in 'The Apothecary Diaries,' the general otaku knowledge of dust explosions makes an appearance" created a buzz. Some even noted, "Is it through 'The Apothecary Diaries' that people learn about dust explosions in the Reiwa era?" Where did you first learn about dust explosions?

(C)Hyuganatsu, Imagica Infos/"The Apothecary Diaries"Project