Warning: Spoilers Ahead for The Apothecary Diaries Season 2!
The Apothecary Diaries will wrap up its second season in just two episodes as the battle against the Shi Clan reaches its end. Shenmei, the daughter of the previous Clan Head and wife of the current head, was forced to become the previous Emperor’s consort, despite being betrothed to Shishou. She was allowed to return to the Shi Clan after Shishou agreed to marry the previous Emperor’s estranged daughter. That was when Shenmei began planning a rebellion against the Imperial Family and attempted to take over the throne. For over two decades, she had been planning carefully, gathering gun powder, modern weapons, and soldiers to prepare for her revenge.
All this occurred while Shishou remained a bystander and couldn’t bear to go against Shenei. However, Shenmei’s daughter, Loulan, had her own plans while all this was playing out. Considering Shenmei’s evil nature, she never forgave Shishou but still had a daughter with him so she could use her child. She sent Loulan to the Rear Palace as one of the high-ranking concubines, but never anticipated the “puppet” she raised would go against her. Loulan was introduced in the first season of the anime, but her voice actor was revealed only recently.
The Apothecary Diaries Reveals Loulan’s Voice Actor is Asami Seto
Asami Seto is a renowned voice actor best known for voicing Nobara Kugisaki from Jujutsu Kaisen, Mina Ashiro from Kaiju No. 8, and numerous other roles. Instead of releasing Season 2 Episode 23 on June 20th, 2025, the TV network, ABEMA, broadcasts a special episode including the voice actors of Maomao (Aoi Yuki), Jinshi (Takeo Ōtsuka), Loulan/Shisui (Asami Seto), and Suirei (Kaori Nazuka).
The anime has broadcast similar episodes in the past, but this is the first time Seto and Nazuka have made their appearance. Seto shared, “I’m really excited to introduce myself like this and say that I’m playing the role of Shisui/Loulan. I’ve been in the show since the first season, but I wasn’t even listed in the credits as Princess Loulan, so I’m happy to finally be able to say it!”
Seto continued, “I haven’t had a chance to talk about ‘The Apothecary Diaries‘ with everyone, so I’m happy to be able to look back on it together like this.”
Before the episode ended, Seto also urged fans to watch the season finale. She added, “After the dubbing was finished, I felt a sense of accomplishment but also loneliness, so I was happy to be able to look back on it while watching the footage with the other cast members. There are two episodes left, but I hope you won’t miss it until the end.”
Despite being on the team since the first season, Seto’s involvement wasn’t mentioned in the credits because the fact that Shisui and Loulan are the same person was supposed to be a major secret. The anime revealed that Loulan and Shisui were the same person in Season 2 Episode 20, after which, Seto was invited to the ABEMA program to make her first appearance as Loulan’s voice actor.
The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 Sheds Light on Loulan’s Character
Loulan was used by the Shi Clan to gain political influence, but she never wanted that kind of life for herself. She would hire ladies-in-waiting who had similar facial features to her. She was also very particular about their makeup and flashy attire, so it would be even more difficult to tell them apart. Occasionally, Loulan would place a decoy in her pavilion and sneak out to have fun.
Loulan had a major plan to go against her mother during the rebellion, but pretending to be a servant girl was completely unrelated. Instead, she only did that to escape her highly restrictive life and be true to herself. She would chase her hobbies and make friends like Maomao and Xiaolon, all the while pretending to be a common but quirky girl.
She has been doing that since she was a young girl, and realized even her mother couldn’t recognize her because the latter was so uninterested in her. Shisui and Loulan are so completely different from one another that even the genius Maomao couldn’t draw the connection between those two despite their similar build, hair color, and eye color. Maomao did have her doubts, but she didn’t think too deeply about it.
H/T: Mantan Web
The post “I Wasn’t Even in the Credits”: The Apothecary Diaries Hid Famous Voice Actor to Keep the Suspense appeared first on ComicBook.com.
