The Apothecary Diaries Series Surpasses 57 Million Copies, Fans Thrilled by Unstoppable Momentum: "The Scale Is Just Different"

It has been announced that the cumulative circulation of The Apothecary Diaries series has surpassed 57 million copies worldwide, including overseas translated editions in 16 languages, sparking a huge wave of excitement.

The series is a mystery work (Hero Bunko) written by Hyūganatsu with illustrations by Touko Shino. It tells the story of a young apothecary raised in the pleasure district who solves a variety of difficult cases. Manga adaptations are published separately by Square Enix and Shogakukan.

The series' cumulative circulation stood at 24 million copies before the first season of the TV anime began airing (as of the end of September 2023), then surpassed 33 million copies by the end of the first season. It rose to 45 million copies following the second season, and now, ahead of the upcoming third season, the combined total of the original novels and comics, including digital editions, has set a new record of 57 million copies.

The record has sparked a flood of surprised and admiring reactions on social media, with comments such as "57 million copies — the scale is just different," "Isn't this one of the best-selling light novels of all time?! Amazing," and "Whoa, The Apothecary Diaries is incredible."

Looking ahead, the third season of the TV anime has been confirmed to air in two split cours. The first cour will begin on October 2, 2026, airing weekly on the Nippon TV network at 11:00 p.m. every Friday, while the second cour is scheduled to begin in April 2027. In addition, The Apothecary Diaries: The Deceased Empress' Treasure, a completely new story written by the original author, is set to be released on Friday, December 11, 2026.

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