When you thought Maomao had seen it all within the walls of the imperial palace, a new adventure outside the capital promises to test her detective skills and Jinshi’s patience. The official website of the feature film The Pharmacy Diaries (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto: Bouhi no Hihou) surprised everyone by presenting a completely new video trailer, an impressive promotional image, and confirmation that renowned singer-songwriter Kenshi Yonezu will perform the main theme.

This new cinematic installment will offer an entirely new story conceived by the original novel author, Hyuganatsu. The plot follows Maomao and Jinshi on a journey to the homeland of a concubine who died five years ago in the imperial harem, aiming to return her remains to her home. However, what seemed like a peaceful mission becomes complicated when they encounter river pirates, hidden treasures, mysteries about the empress’s remains, and a mysterious young man who holds the key to the entire conflict.

The main theme of the film will be titled “Haru ga Tomori” and feature the unmistakable voice of Kenshi Yonezu, promising to heighten the emotional weight of key scenes. Alongside the trailer, significant additions to the voice cast were revealed. Renowned actress Mariya Ise will play Mu Qing, while Nobuo Tobita will voice Biro, Kumiko Watanabe will voice Shuu, and Hirofumi Nojima will voice Bisen, all members of the Bi clan. On the side of the Kajadan river pirates, Kensho Ono will portray the leader Suija, joined by Ryota Takeuchi as Eisho and Jiro Saito as the former leader Kaja. Finally, Miyuki Sawashiro will portray the deceased courtesan Ruoqing, and Ai Mikami will voice her former maid Yinshan.

To complement this anticipated cinema release scheduled for December 11 in Japan, author Hyuganatsu personally wrote a novelization of the film, which will be released on December 9 with new material. Additionally, the first 1.5 million theatergoers will receive a special pamphlet featuring the short story “Kiro no Himawari,” a story centered on Maomao and Jinshi that serves as an epilogue to the film, accompanied by exclusive interviews and production sketches.

About The Pharmacy Diaries

The Pharmacy Diaries is a acclaimed series of light novels written by Hyuganatsu and illustrated by Touko Shino. The work began its digital publication on the website Shosetsuka ni Naro in October 2011, making the leap to print under the Shufunotomo label in August 2014. Its immense popularity led to a successful manga adaptation illustrated by Nekokurage in the Monthly Big Gangan magazine by Square Enix since May 2017.

The anime adaptation has been a huge success since its debut in October 2023 with its first season of two parts. The second season aired consecutively in January 2025, while the third season began airing its first half on October 2 of this year, with its second part scheduled to premiere in April 2027.

What do you think of Kenshi Yonezu’s involvement in the main theme for this film?