39 Shows Like The Apothecary Diaries (2023) to Watch When You're Done
Updated August 2026
View The Apothecary Diaries details →This acclaimed anime follows Maomao, a sharp-witted apothecary sold into the emperor's palace, who solves poisonings and court intrigues with cool deductive brilliance. Elegant, clever and quietly subversive, it blends mystery, history and slow-burn romance. If its detective wit and palace intrigue hooked you, seek out mystery anime and historical dramas led by brilliant, observant women.
If you loved The Apothecary Diaries (2023) by Takahiro Sato, here are 39 TV series that share its content DNA. iRankMovies measures real similarity using cosine similarity across eight weighted dimensions — genre (50%), tone (12%), pace (10%), structure (8%), era (7%), theme (6%), audience (4%) and narrative perspective (3%) — not just the rating. The closest matches according to our analysis are Classroom of the Elite, Death Parade, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-. Every title is ranked by how closely it matches and backed by the iRank Score, a composite of IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and TMDb across 12,000+ analysed titles.
The Best Shows Similar to The Apothecary Diaries
Selected for their real similarity in content, these are the shows that share the most with The Apothecary Diaries in terms of theme, narrative tone, and cinematic style. Every recommendation goes beyond genre — we evaluate the type of conflict, pacing, dramatic context, and the experience they create for viewers.
Classroom of the Elite
2017
Kiyotaka Ayanokouji enrolls at the prestigious Tokyo Koudo Ikusei Academy, but is assigned to Class 1-D, where students with behavioral problems are housed. The school awards points equivalent to 100,
In common: Animation · Drama · Mystery
Death Parade
2015
There is a place after death that’s neither heaven nor hell. A bar that serves you one chance to win. You cannot leave until the game is over, and when it is, your life may be too.
In common: Animation · Drama · Mystery
Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-
2016
Natsuki Subaru, an ordinary high school student, is on his way home from the convenience store when he finds himself transported to another world. As he's lost and confused in a new world where he
In common: Animation · Drama
Monster
2004
Kenzou Tenma, a Japanese brain surgeon in Germany, finds his life in utter turmoil after getting involved with a psychopath that was once a former patient.
In common: Animation · Drama
Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun
2020 · Yohei Fukui
To be united with her crush, a hopeless romantic summons the ghost in the girls' bathroom at her school. But she's shocked when the ghost is a boy!
In common: Animation · Mystery
Another
2012 · Tsuneo Takechi
When Kouichi arrives at his new school, he immediately senses something frightening in the atmosphere of his new class, something that no student wants to talk about and that seems to be related to a
In common: Animation · Drama · Mystery
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
2009
Disregard for alchemy’s laws ripped half of Edward Elric’s limbs from his body and left his brother Alphonse’s soul clinging to a suit of armor. To restore what was lost, the brothers seek the Philoso
In common: Animation · Drama
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
2006
Japan has been invaded and conquered by the Britannian Empire. Japan is now known as Area 11 and its citizens known as Elevens. The Britannian Empire takes away Japan's autonomous power and imposes it
In common: Animation · Drama
Saint Seiya
1986
Ages ago, the goddess Athena was served by fighters called Saints who channeled the power of the Cosmos within them. Now a youth named Seiya has trained to become a Saint himself by earning the mystic
In common: Animation · Drama
High School of the Dead
2010 · Hiroyuki Omori
A small group of students at Fujimi High are fighting for their lives after surviving a zombie outbreak. It is up to Takashi to unite the survivors and escape the horrors that surround them. In this n
In common: Animation · Drama
Vinland Saga
2019
For a thousand years, the Vikings have made quite a name and reputation for themselves as the strongest families with a thirst for violence. Thorfinn, the son of one of the Vikings' greatest warriors,
In common: Animation · Drama
Golden Time
2013
Banri Tada is a freshman at a Tokyo law school. After an accident, he suffers severe memory loss. Despite the incident, he befriends fellow freshman, Mitsuo Yanagisawa, which leads him to the beautifu
In common: Animation · Drama
Charlotte
2015
All thanks to the special ability that he developed, Yuu was able to cheat his way into a very prestigious high school. With his power, he thought nothing was going to stand in his way, until he met
In common: Animation · Drama
Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas
2009
The Sacred war tale that took place during the 18th century is now unveiled. Tenma, Alone and Sasha, three orphans living their childhood protecting each other and then separated at diferent ages made
In common: Animation · Drama
Candy Candy
1976
This story is about a girl, Candy, who is a orphan. She is a nice and optimistic girl and she has a warm heart. When she was a child, she lived in an orphanage called Pony's Home. She had a good frien
In common: Animation · Drama
Violet Evergarden
2018 · Masayuki Nishide
The war is over, and Violet Evergarden needs a job. Scarred and emotionless, she takes a job as a letter writer to understand herself and her past.
In common: Animation · Drama
BEASTARS
2019
In a world where beasts of all kinds coexist, a gentle wolf awakens to his own predatory urges as his school deals with a murder within its midst.
In common: Animation · Drama
Banana Fish
2018 · Nobumasa Sawabe
A teenaged gang leader in New York City faces his abuser and rival gangs alongside a photojournalist from Japan as they investigate a deadly new drug.
In common: Animation
Kakegurui
2017
Run by a corrupt and sadistic school council, the “system” at Hyakkaou is based on gambling, with losers who cannot cover their debts being demeaned by their peers and forced to serve their debtholder
In common: Animation · Drama
Serial Experiments Lain
1998
Lain—driven by the abrupt suicide of a classmate—logs on to the Wired and promptly loses herself in a twisted mass of hallucinations, memories, and interconnected-psyches.
In common: Animation · Drama · Mystery
ERASED
2016
Satoru Fujinuma is a struggling manga artist who has the ability to turn back time and prevent deaths. When his mother is killed he turns back time to solve the mystery, but ends up back in elementary
In common: Animation · Drama · Mystery
BLUE LOCK
2022 · Junichi Kimura
High school soccer players from across Japan gather for a controversial project designed to create the best — and most egoistic — striker in the world.
In common: Animation · Drama
Elfen Lied
2004
The Diclonius, a mutated homo sapien that is said to be selected by God and will eventually become the destruction of mankind, possesses two horns in their heads, and has a "sixth sense" which gives i
In common: Animation · Drama
My Dress-Up Darling
2022 · Hirotaka Kaneko
High schooler Wakana Gojo wants to become a kashirashi—a master craftsman who makes traditional Japanese Hina dolls. Though he's gung-ho about the craft, he knows nothing about the latest trends, and
In common: Animation · Drama
Black Lagoon
2006 · Jungo Maruta
The story follows a team of pirate mercenaries known as the Lagoon Company, that smuggles goods in and around the seas of Southeast Asia in the early to mid 1990s. Their base of operations is located
In common: Animation
Your Lie in April
2014 · Atsuhiro Iwakami
Kousei Arima was a genius pianist until his mother's sudden death took away his ability to play. Each day was dull for Kousei. But, then he meets a violinist named Kaori Miyazono who has an eccentric
In common: Animation · Drama
Blue Exorcist
2011 · Atsushi Higashiyama
Humans live in the world of Assiah, demons in Gehenna. The two dimensions are not meant to interfere with each other, but demons still possess creatures in Assiah in spite of this. The humans who can
In common: Animation · Mystery
Tower of God
2020 · Haruhito Nakayoshi
Reach the top, and everything will be yours. At the top of the tower exists everything in this world, and all of it can be yours. You can become a god. This is the story of the beginning and the end o
In common: Animation · Mystery
Horimiya
2021 · Masanori Miyake
A secret life is the one thing they have in common. At school, Hori is a prim and perfect social butterfly, but the truth is she's a brash homebody. Meanwhile, under a gloomy facade, Miyamura hides a
In common: Animation · Drama
DON'T TOY WITH ME, MISS NAGATORO
2021 · Noriyuki Akita
"A girl in a lower grade just made me cry!" One day, Senpai visits the library after school and becomes the target of a super sadistic junior! The name of the girl who teases, torments, and tantalizes
In common: Animation · Drama
Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai
2018 · Yumi Taniike
Puberty Syndrome—a rumored, mysterious syndrome that only affects those in their puberty. For example, a bunny girl suddenly appeared in front of Sakuta Azusagawa. The bunny girl's real identity is Ma
In common: Animation · Drama
DARLING in the FRANXX
2018
The distant future: Humanity established the mobile fort city, Plantation, upon the ruined wasteland. Within the city were pilot quarters, Mistilteinn, otherwise known as the “Birdcage.” That is where
In common: Animation · Drama
The Quintessential Quintuplets
2019 · Yoshio Kaneko
Fuutarou Uesugi is a poor, antisocial ace student who one day meets the rich transfer student Itsuki Nakano. They argue but when Uesugi realizes he is to be her tutor, he tries to get on better terms.
In common: Animation · Drama
Komi Can't Communicate
2021
At a high school full of unique characters, Tadano helps his shy and unsociable classmate Komi reach her goal of making friends with 100 people.
In common: Animation · Drama
The Promised Neverland
2019
Emma, Norman and Ray are the brightest kids at the Grace Field House orphanage. And under the care of the woman they refer to as “Mom,” all the kids have enjoyed a comfortable life. Good food, clean c
In common: Animation · Drama · Mystery
Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor
2017
The Alzano Imperial Magic Academy is located in the southern part of the Alzano Empire and is among most prominent magic schools in the world, where students can learn the highest forms of magic. All
In common: Animation
Death Note
2006
Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects—and he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whos
In common: Animation · Mystery
Winx Club
2004
In a magical universe, witches, warriors begin fighting in the name of good .vs. evil! At a magic school, five teenage girls are selected to defend the universe with their magic.
In common: Animation
Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated
2010
This incarnation of the popular cartoon series finds Scooby and the gang living in Crystal Cove, a small town with a long history of ghost sightings, monster tales and other mysteries ripe for the sle
In common: Animation · Mystery
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