Manga like Kusuriya no Hitorigoto

also known as The Apothecary Diaries

Genres: Drama Mystery

What is The Apothecary Diaries about?

Status: Releasing

Maomao, a young woman trained in the art of herbal medicine, is forced to work as a lowly servant in the inner palace. Though she yearns for life outside its perfumed halls, she isn’t long for a life of drudgery! Using her wits to break a “curse” afflicting the imperial heirs, Maomao attracts the attentions of the handsome eunuch Jinshi and is promoted to attendant food taster. But Jinshi has other plans for the erstwhile apothecary, and soon Maomao is back to brewing potions and…solving mysteries?!



Note: Won the Grand Prize in the Printed Manga category at the Tsugi ni Kuru Manga Award 2019.

Tags: Female Protagonist , Medicine , Detective , Historical , Ancient China , Foreign , Primarily Female Cast , Seinen , Royal Affairs , Drugs , Tragedy , Work , Politics , Crime , Maids , Episodic , Asexual , Adoption , Conspiracy , Heterosexual , Chibi , Ojou-sama , Suicide , Religion
Where to read?

Here is a list of Manga similar to Kusuriya no Hitorigoto

Yona of the Dawn

Akatsuki no Yona

Also known as Yona of the Dawn.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Romance

Yona reels from the shock of witnessing a loved one’s murder and having to fight for her life. With Hak’s help, she flees the palace and struggles to survive while evading her enemy’s forces. But where will this displaced princess go when all the paths before her are uncertain?



Tags: Female Protagonist , Travel , Shoujo , Historical , Found Family , Dragons , Politics , Fugitive , Gods , Mythology , Male Harem , Reincarnation , War , Tragedy , Royal Affairs , Heterosexual , Foreign , Coming of Age , Primarily Male Cast , Animals , Archery , Super Power , Survival , Orphan , Kuudere , Drugs , Pirates
A Bride's Story

Otoyomegatari

Also known as A Bride's Story.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

A Bride’s Story tells the tale of a beautiful young bride in nineteenth-century Asia. At the age of twenty, Amir is sent to a neighboring town to be wed. But her surprise at learning her new husband, Karluk, is eight years younger than her is quickly replaced by a deep affection for the boy and his family. Though she hails from just beyond the mountains, Amir’s clan had very different customs, foods, and clothes from what Karluk is used to. As the two of them learn more about each other through their day-to-day lives, the bond of respect and love grows stronger.



Note: Won the Prix Intergénérations ("Intergenerational Award") at the Angoulême International Comics Festival in 2012 and the 7th Manga Taishou award in 2014.

Tags: Ensemble Cast , Marriage , Historical , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Travel , Seinen , Foreign , Arranged Marriage , Iyashikei , Desert , Indigenous Cultures , Family Life , Rural , Matchmaking , Age Gap , Educational , Cohabitation , War , Food , Religion , Unrequited Love , Language Barrier , Twins , Archery , Nudity , Animals , Female Harem , Military , LGBTQ+ Themes
Snow White with the Red Hair

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime

Also known as Snow White with the Red Hair.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Romance

Shirayuki is famous for her naturally bright-red hair, and the prince of Tanbarun wants her all to himself! But when she escapes into the woods of the neighboring kingdom, a young man named Zen and his two friends come to her aid. But who is Zen really…?



Included one-shots:
Volume 1: Hachigatsu no Shikisai (Four-season Color of August)
Volume 2: Bokura wo Tsunaide. (Bind Us.)
Volume 14: Natsuyasumi 00-Nichime (00 Day of Summer Holiday)

Tags: Heterosexual , Shoujo , Medicine , Female Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Politics , Royal Affairs , Historical , Love Triangle , Swordplay , Unrequited Love , Assassins , Bisexual , LGBTQ+ Themes , Fairy Tale , Male Harem , Twins
The Eccentric Doctor of the Moon Flower Kingdom

Gekkakoku Kiiden

Also known as The Eccentric Doctor of the Moon Flower Kingdom.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Romance

A beautifully illustrated shoujo manga tale of medicine, royal intrigue, and romance in a setting inspired by historical China!

Whether it be for illness or injury, the preferred healing method in Moon Flower Kingdom has always been the country’s special medicinal baths. However, after his party is attacked by a mysterious figure during a regional inspection, Prince Keiun witnesses a never-before-seen lifesaving medical technique. Even more shocking still, the one who performed this feat is a young girl named Koyo! And while luck may have been on their side this time, questions remain. Just who is this girl, and who is after the prince’s life? Shadowy conspiracies, mysterious religions, and deep-rooted beliefs all collide in this beautifully drawn manga series!



Tags: Shoujo , Female Protagonist , Historical , Medicine , Foreign , Royal Affairs , Ancient China , Religion
Colette Decides to Die

Colette wa Shinu Koto ni Shita

Also known as Colette Decides to Die.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Fantasy , Romance

When exhausted workaholic apothecary Colette jumps into a well, instead of dying she finds herself caring for a new patient: Hades, Lord of the Dead. As Colette goes back and forth between her world and the underworld, new patients of every kind arrive daily!



Note: Chapter count includes 11 extras and a one-shot.

Tags: Shoujo , Female Protagonist , Mythology , Gods , Medicine , Heterosexual , Rural , Afterlife , Skeleton , Work , Male Harem , Demons
Blissful Land

Tenju no Kuni

Also known as Blissful Land.

Status: Finished
Genres: Romance , Slice of Life

Khang Zhipa is a 13-year-old doctor’s apprentice living in a mountain village in 18th-century Tibet. One day, when he gets back from collecting medicinal herbs, he finds a bride-to-be and her wedding party will be resting at his home for the night. The bride’s name is Moshi Rati and it turns out she’s actually Khang Zhipa’s fiancee from another land, here to stay! Enjoy this heartwarming slice-of-life tale woven by a kind-hearted boy and his mysterious bride.



Tags: Medicine , Rural , Iyashikei , Arranged Marriage , Foreign , Historical , Family Life , Marriage , Primarily Child Cast , Male Protagonist , Heterosexual , Educational , Animals , Indigenous Cultures , Shounen , Food , Nudity
Ascendance of a Bookworm ~I'll do anything to become a librarian!~ Part 1 If there aren't any books, I'll just have make some!

Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen Dai 1-bu - Hon ga Nai nara Tsukureba Ii!

Also known as Ascendance of a Bookworm ~I'll do anything to become a librarian!~ Part 1 If there aren't any books, I'll just have make some!.

Status: Finished
Genres: Fantasy , Slice of Life

Manga adaptation of Part 1 of Honzuki no Gekokujou.

A certain college girl who's loved books ever since she was a little girl dies in an accident and is reborn in another world she knows nothing about. She is now Myne, the sickly five-year-old daughter of a poor soldier. To make things worse, the world she's been reborn in has a very low literacy rate and books mostly don't exist. She'd have to pay an enormous amounts of money to buy one. Myne resolves herself: If there aren't any books, she'll just have to make them! Her goal is to become a librarian. This story begins with her quest to make books so she can live surrounded by them! Dive into this biblio-fantasy written for book lovers and bookworms!



Note: Includes Chapter 12.5, 33.5, and 7 extras.

Tags: Female Protagonist , Isekai , Reincarnation , Economics , Work , Primarily Child Cast , Family Life , Magic , Educational , Food , Shounen
The Story of Saiunkoku

Saiunkoku Monogatari

Also known as The Story of Saiunkoku.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Romance

Shurei Hong, destitute but of noble birth, has always dreamed of working as a civil servant in the imperial court of Saiunkoku, but women are barred from holding office. The emperor Ryuki, however, refuses to take command, leaving everything to his advisors. Shurei is asked to become a consort to the emperor to persuade the ne’er-do-well ruler to govern.

Shurei enters the palace as Ryuki’s consort, but he has yet to seek her out. It is rumored that men, not women, share the emperor’s bedchamber. Shurei must think of a way to stop the emperor from shirking his responsibilities, but she has to find him first!



Tags: Josei , Historical , Foreign , Unrequited Love , Ancient China , Kingdom Management , Work , Female Protagonist , Politics , Male Harem , Royal Affairs
Where to read?
Witch Hat Atelier

Tongari Boushi no Atelier

Also known as Witch Hat Atelier.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Fantasy

In a world where everyone takes wonders like magic spells and dragons for granted, Coco is a girl with a simple dream: she wants to be a witch. But everybody knows magicians are born, not made, and Coco was not born with a gift for magic. Resigned to her un-magical life, Coco is about to give up on her dream to become a witch … until the day she meets Qifrey, a mysterious, traveling magician. After secretly seeing Qifrey perform magic in a way she’s never seen before, Coco soon learns what everybody “knows” might not be the truth, and discovers that her magical dream may not be as far away as it may seem...



Notes:
Nominated for the 11th Manga Taishou Award in 2018.
Won the Daruma d'Or at Japan Expo in 2019.
Won Best U.S. Edition of International Material - Asia at the Eisner Awards in 2020.
Won the Best Manga Award at the Harvey Awards in 2020.

Tags: Witch , Magic , Found Family , Memory Manipulation , Female Protagonist , Teacher , Drawing , Coming of Age , Revenge , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Female Cast , School , Medieval , Conspiracy , Primarily Child Cast , Tragedy , Politics , Dragons , Disability , Seinen , Philosophy , Spearplay , Rehabilitation , Foreign , Travel , LGBTQ+ Themes , Amnesia , Iyashikei , Twins
Sengoku Komachi Kuroutan: Noukou Giga

Sengoku Komachi Kuroutan: Noukou Giga

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Drama , Slice of Life , Supernatural

One fateful day, a girl time slipped into the Sengoku Era. It was an abrupt enough event to be dubbed god’s whim, done to sate hellish boredom. The girl has no power to change the world. She was a very ordinary, common, and plain girl that can be found anywhere. And that girl can do no more than a single thing. Survive the Sengoku Era ——– that’s all.

Tags: Female Protagonist , Historical , Food , Agriculture , Military , Rural , Time Manipulation , Samurai , War , Shounen

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