Summary
Historical mystery dramas can be a neat combination of genres, especially if they’re likeThe Apothecary Diaries. Based on Natsu Hyūga’s novel, it tells the story of Maomao, an apothecary taken from her home in the red-light district to serve the emperor. At first, she planned to keep to herself, but after learning the emperor’s children were critically ill, she examined them in secret and discovered why they were sick.
This was only the start of her adventures, as Jinshi, an influential eunuch, pulls her into one case or another that requires her medicinal, botanical, and chemical knowledge. After gaining a light novel and manga adaptation, it made the leap to anime, with a series that’s since completed its first season. Until its second season arrives, fans may like to check out these similar historical anime shows.
Updated June 29, 2025, by David Heath:It’s finally here. Season 2 of The Apothecary Diaries started in mid-January and had been trucking by on a weekly schedule. As of this writing, its 6th episode is due to debut on February 14th and will have 17 more to get through, which will keep fans busy through the spring and early summer.
But if they fancy more historical tales about intrigue, mystery, the occasional spot of crime-solving, and a snifter of romance here and there on top of Maomao and Jinshi’s cases, this list has been updated with more choice selections. Some even stick to the medical themes, following doctors and medics, while others use a similar Ancient Chinese setting.
Mushi-shiis one of the most acclaimed shows on this list, though it’s the least likeThe Apothecary Diaries. It’s similar enough, as it’s set in the past, and its lead, Ginko, also seeks to help people by using his brain. The difference is that it’s set in Japan sometime between the end of its feudal Edo period and the start of its modernization during the Meiji era. Ginko is a man who, instead of knowing about medicine, is studying mushi.
Mushi are the most primitive form of life, yet are responsible for all sorts of phenomena due to their ability to mimic other things in the natural world. Few people can even perceive them, with Ginko being one of these rare sorts. He travels the country aiming to use his knowledge as a ‘Mushi Master’ (or ‘Mushi-Shi’) to help people afflicted by these creatures. But its storytelling is more complex than ‘hero stops evil bugs,’ as its mysteries delve into what the mushi are like, and what it means to be moral or human.
2Young Black Jack
Medical Student Starts Their Rocky Journey to Becoming a Surgical Legend
When Osamu Tezuka createdBlack Jack, it was a contemporary story about a surgical genius with a dark side. But that was back in the 1970s, and the strip ended over 40 years ago, in 1983. So, even if it was re-adapted and played straight today, it would feel like a period piece. Then Yoshiaki Tabata and Yugo Okuma went further back in time withYoung Black Jack, detailing how med student Kuro Hazama would earn the ‘Black Jack’ moniker by operating in 1960s Japan.
It’s about as modern as a historical story can get, and it leans more on the medical aspects than mystery ones. Nonetheless, just as Maomao’s medicinal knowledge is put to the test in her cases, Hazama has an uphill climb that puts more than his surgical skills to the test. From being forced to perform Japan’s first heart transplant by loan sharks, to getting caught in the middle of the Vietnam War, Hazama has some difficult choices to make before he becomes ‘Black Jack’.
Manhwa surely love their vaguely European 19th-century-esque settings, and so did Maho Film when they got to adaptDoctor Elise: The Royal Lady with the Lamp. Adapted from Yuin’s original comic, it puts a more curious spin on the reincarnation trope. In her first life, Empress Elise de Clorance was spoiled, hot-tempered, and obsessive, which soon led to her downfall. Reborn as Aoi Takamoto, she atones in modern-day Japan (as per the anime) by becoming a renowned surgeon, until a plane crash cut her life short.
But instead of being reborn into a new life, she finds herself back as Empress Elise, but with all of Aoi’s memories and medical knowledge. Now she aims to rewrite history by using her know-how to make life better for her people, bringing in new reforms that improve her nation’s health and wealth. It offers some royal intrigue too, as Elise also has to find a way to overcome Prince Linden de Romanoff, the man behind her original life’s premature end
TADis technically a fantasy series, but its fictional nation of Ri is based so heavily on Imperial China that it may as well be the old country.Snow White with the Red Hairhas a moretypical medieval European lookto it, but it shares quite a few things in common withTAD. Namely, in how they’re both about forthright women who get caught up in royal drama.
Shirayuki grew up in the Kingdom of Tanbarun, where she set up shop as a herbalist. Though she catches the amorous attention of Prince Raj, she’d rather flee the country than become his concubine. She ends up taking residence in the nearby Kingdom of Clarines, where she saves Prince Zen after he’s poisoned. She becomes the court herbalist, where she helps others with her medical skills and finds love in the process.
Compared to the other series on this list,Gosick(based onthe Japanese pronunciation of ‘gothic’) practically takes place in the modern day. Set in 1924, Kazuya Kujō is sent from Japan to the fictional Alpine nation of Sauville to study at St Marguerite Academy. He’s treated with suspicion as, aside from racism, the school has a superstition that says, “the traveler that comes in spring brings death with him”.
The only ‘friend’ he makes is Victorique de Blois, an elegant beauty with a genius intellect, and an abrasive personality. He ends up as the unwitting Watson to her Sherlock Holmes as the two solve crimes together, where he often suffers from her barbed remarks. Nonetheless, the two gradually warm to each other as time goes on, especially when Victorique’s past comes back to bite her.
Speaking of Sherlock Holmes,Moriarty the Patriotessentially tells the classic detective stories from the perspective of its main villain. Kind of. Set during the late 19th century, it sees Albert Moriarty adopt two orphans as his brothers, and the trio plots to bring down the corrupt British nobility. The middle brother, William, is the most ambitious, coming up with elaborate schemes to create the perfect crimes.
The only obstacle in his way is, of course, Sherlock Holmes. When he figures out one of William’s plots, William frames him for murder just to see how he’ll wriggle out of it. From there, the two end up forming an odd relationship where William tries to use Sherlock in his plans to reform society, while Sherlock would rather not be involved yet still sees William as a friend. In the show, Watson’s accounts become the classic Sherlock Holmes novels.
Moriarty the Patriothas the historical setting and mystery elements ofThe Apothecary Diaries, though it has more bromance than romance. By contrast, and as its title suggests,Emma: A Victorian Romancehas romance and history, but not really any mystery-solving. It makes up for that by being a surprisinglyrealistic take on 19th-century Britainand its social classes.
Emma was kidnapped from her Yorkshire village to serve in a London brothel, but she managed to escape. Left on the streets, she’s taken in by Mrs Stownar to become her maid in training. Things only get complicated when William, the heir to a rich middle-class family, falls for her rather than someone in his caste. With his family urging against them, but their friends supporting them, Emma and William’s love becomes a complicated affair.
Emma: A Victorian Romanceshows what happens when a mixed-class relationship all works out.The Rose of Versaillesis what happens when it all falls apart. It doesn’t have any mystery solving, but it takes things back to royalty as it follows Marie Antoinette in the court of Versailles, and Oscar Francois de Jarjayes, a woman raised as a man to take her father’s place in the Royal Guard. It offers a web of romantic intrigue, as palace servant Andre Grandier has an unrequited love for Oscar, as do most of the women in court.
But Oscar prefers Count Axel von Fersen, who’s in the midst of an affair with Marie Antoinette. His departure drives the future Queen of France to overspend, and the combination of Antoinette’s ignorant attitude, the loss of love, the stress of acting like a man to get ahead in life, and the suffering of the common people drives Oscar to wonder if she’s serving the wrong side. IfEmmaandTADtreat royalty too nicely for one’s tastes,The Rose of Versailleswill give them something grittier. It’s even available on free streaming sites like PlutoTV, Plex, and Freevee.
Undead Murder Farcepretty much does what it says in the title, as it’s a farce featuring a wild mix of horror, action-adventure, and 19th-century novel characters rather than a grounded drama. Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty turn up, as does Phileas Fogg fromAround the World in 80 Days, the Phantom fromThe Phantom of the Opera, and real notorious figures from history like Jack the Ripper and Aleister Crowley.
But the main heroes of the story are a duo wronged by a mysterious villain known only as M. They decapitatedthe immortal yōkai Aya, reducing her to a talking head. Then they injected oni blood into the oni hunter Tsugaru, which gave him extra strength but doomed him to eventually fully becoming a demon. With Aya’s maid Shizuku in tow, the two head to Europe to find M, get Aya’s body back and get revenge.
10House Of Five Leaves
Humble Samurai Questions His Morals After Helping Bandits
All these adventures in Europe are fine enough, but if fans are after something closer toTAD, they may prefer something closer geographically too.House of Five Leavesheads back East but goes a little too far past China and into feudal Japan, where the ronin samurai Akitsu seeks work. He’s fantastic with a sword, though his timid personality doesn’t make him particularly desirable to employers.
He gets a breakthrough when a man called Yaichi hires him as a bodyguard for his group of bandits, the Five Leaves. At first, Akitsu is unaware of their illegal activities, but once he finds out, he’s split between leaving them on moral grounds or staying to earn some decent cash. He eventually stays as, aside from the money, there’s a mystery behind Yaichi and his past that he wants to figure out.
