The Apothecary Diaries Film Reveals Bi Clan Cast Ahead of December 11 Release

Three new voices join the family at the center of the mystery

Nobuo Tobita, Kumiko Watanabe and Hirofumi Nojima have joined the cast of The Apothecary Diaries: The Late Lady's Treasure, the franchise's first anime feature film, which opens in Japan on December 11, 2026. A character trailer released by TOHO animation on October 12 introduces the Bi clan, the family governing the waterside destination where Maomao and Jinshi investigate a consort's death and hidden treasure.

Tobita voices clan head Birō, Watanabe plays his wife Shūu, and Nojima voices their eldest son, Bisen. They join previously announced cast member Mariya Ise as Mu Qing, Birō's youngest son, whose exclusion from the family is one of the trailer's central revelations.

The casting announcement gives the film's mystery a more specific human focus. Birō is the father of Ruoqing, a consort who died in the imperial rear palace five years earlier. Maomao and Jinshi arrive to return her remains, bringing them into contact with a household divided by grief, status and the circumstances of Mu Qing's birth.

The film features a completely new story conceived by original novelist Hyuganatsu, rather than an announced adaptation of a particular novel volume. Its Japanese title is Kusuriya no Hitorigoto: Bōhi no Hihō. Crunchyroll has acquired distribution rights covering North America and other territories outside Asia, with India included as an exception. No release date outside Japan has been announced.

Who are the Bi clan?

The family rules the water city described as Minanshu, in a southern region below the imperial capital. Birō welcomes the visiting party, while the trailer introduces his wife, eldest son and youngest son as people with sharply different positions within the household.

English spellings are not yet confirmed consistently. Reports use Bi or Mi for the clan, Minanshu or Binan Province for the setting, and Bilou, Qiuyu and Biquan as alternatives to Birō, Shūu and Bisen. These are variations in rendering the same names, not separate characters or destinations.

The new actors bring recognizable credits from other anime. Tobita is known for Kamille Bidan in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and Sueo Maruo in Chibi Maruko Chan. Watanabe voices Keroro in Sgt. Frog and the mother in Atashin'chi. Nojima's roles include Shūya Gōenji in Inazuma Eleven and Meng Tian in Kingdom.

Mu Qing turns the family introduction into a personal conflict

Mu Qing is Birō's youngest son, born to a concubine and ostracized by the clan. That description establishes a difference between belonging to the ruling family by birth and being accepted by it. The trailer places his distress alongside the household's public welcome for Maomao and Jinshi.

Mu Qing, the boy voiced by Mariya Ise, expresses that rejection directly in the trailer:

I wasn't born because anyone wanted me.

Shūu is also shown calling for someone to stop the boy. The sequence connects his isolation with the family's emotional turmoil, although it does not explain what he intends to do or why she is trying to prevent him from leaving. Her separate grief over Ruoqing adds another unresolved relationship to the household.

Ise has confirmed that Mu Qing is an original character created for the film. He appeared alongside Maomao and Jinshi in the earlier teaser visual, and her description identifies him as a boy they meet at their destination who holds the key to the story.

Ise describes the care behind her performance

Mariya Ise, the voice of Mu Qing, said joining the franchise through a new character was a particular honor:

I feel truly honored to be part of the world of The Apothecary Diaries, a series loved by so many people, as Muqing, an original character created for the theatrical film.

Her statement also describes how she approached a boy whose family background affects his emotions and relationships:

In portraying him, I carefully considered his background and tried to stay true to each of his emotions.

The comment confirms his importance without revealing his connection to the treasure or the consort's remains. Taken together, the casting announcement and trailer establish Mu Qing as more than a passing acquaintance on the journey, while leaving the mechanism of his role in the mystery undisclosed.

A body preserved for five years draws Maomao south

The journey begins with an imperial command to fulfill the deceased consort's wish to return home. Ruoqing is identified in the detailed Japanese story descriptions as a consort of middle rank who died five years before the film's events. Birō's relationship to her makes the destination both her hometown and the seat of her father's authority.

Jinshi becomes suspicious because her body remains beautiful despite the time since her death. He brings Maomao, whose knowledge of medicines and poisons makes her suited to examining that puzzle. The first character trailer also shows her questioning why the return is happening only now.

The film's official Japanese introduction provides the premise: the Emperor orders Jinshi to fulfill the deceased consort's final wish to return to her hometown, and an examination finds her body still beautiful, appearing to sleep as if alive. To investigate, Maomao travels with Jinshi to Minan Province, the southern region governed by the Bi clan. The synopsis says the crisis escalates after a major incident on the day of the consort's funeral.

There is a difference in how the deceased woman is described. Some English summaries refer to a secret concerning an Empress's remains, while the more detailed descriptions identify Ruoqing as a consort of middle rank. The announced plot therefore should not be treated as confirming that she held the title of empress.

The story also introduces unusual medicines and plants that attract Maomao's attention, water bandits pursuing hidden treasure, and a major incident on the day of the funeral. None of the announcements explains how the preserved body, the treasure and the funeral incident connect. Their connection is the film's central unanswered mystery, rather than a solution already revealed by the promotion.

Returning characters face danger beyond the palace

The October 11 trailer focused on Maomao and Jinshi's traveling party and brought several familiar characters into view: Gaoshun, Basen, Lahan, Lihaku, Lakan and Lushun. Aoi Yūki returns as Maomao, with Takeo Ōtsuka voicing Jinshi.

The footage describes water bandits responsible for destroying several villages. It also shows an attack by assassins, Basen in combat, Lihaku arriving at the confrontation, and Lakan searching desperately for Maomao. These scenes establish threats beyond the ruling family's private tensions, without identifying who ordered the attack or what the attackers want.

Jinshi's position also receives attention. Although often introduced through his palace role as a eunuch, the trailer addresses his responsibilities as the emperor's younger brother. The mission consequently places his imperial duties beside Maomao's investigation. Her enthusiasm for rare medicines remains visible, even as the journey becomes dangerous.

Four character videos map out the film's cast

TOHO animation organized the character introductions across four consecutive days. The Bi clan video is the second installment, following the travelers' introduction and preceding two further presentations scheduled for October 13 and 14.

• October 11, 2026: Maomao, Jinshi and their companions.
• October 12, 2026: The Bi clan, with Tobita, Watanabe and Nojima announced as new cast members.
• October 13, 2026: The Kaja Troupe character video is scheduled.
• October 14, 2026: A video featuring Ruoqing and the character variously rendered as Yi Shan, Yinshan or Ginzan is scheduled.
• December 11, 2026: The film opens in Japanese theaters.
• April 2027: The second part of the television anime's third season is scheduled to begin.

The remaining videos are expected to introduce more of the people involved in the journey, but the current announcements do not establish the Kaja Troupe's connection to the treasure or clarify the role of Ruoqing's companion in the final scheduled video. The varying English spellings should likewise be treated as provisional.

The creative team builds a new story for theaters

Norihiro Naganuma directs the film, with Yuko Kakihara writing the screenplay and TOHO animation STUDIO handling animation production. Hyuganatsu is credited for the original work and story concept, while Touko Shino provides the original character designs. Yukiko Nakatani serves as character designer and chief animation director.

The music credits name Satoru Kōsaki, Kevin Penkin and Arisa Okehazama. Shōji Hata is sound director, Daisuke Imai is editor, and TOHO handles Japanese distribution. These credits distinguish the author's new story concept from the screenplay and the animation team's work bringing it to the screen.

The teaser visual places Maomao, Jinshi and Mu Qing beside treasure illuminated by torches inside a cave. Across the water, fire and numerous flaming arrows suggest the violence surrounding the search. Together with the trailer's waterside city, those images move the film's setting away from the palace interiors associated with much of the television series.

The announcements do not reveal the film's running time, the solution to the body's preservation, or whether the new characters will later appear elsewhere in the franchise. Mu Qing's description as an original film character establishes where he was introduced, not what future plans may exist for him.

Japan has a release date, while international audiences wait

Japan's December 11 opening is confirmed for 2026. Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment are expected to announce the international release date later. The rights arrangement excludes Asia apart from India, so it should not be read as confirmation that Crunchyroll will distribute the film in every Asian market.

The theatrical release arrives during another period of expansion for the series. The third television season began on October 2, 2026, at 11 p.m. in NTV's Friday Anime Night block and on 29 affiliated channels. Its second cour begins in April 2027. A cour is a television broadcast block lasting roughly three months.

The anime's first season began in October 2023, and the second aired from January through July 2025. Crunchyroll streamed those seasons and provides English dubs. The reports give no separate confirmation of the film's English voice cast or dubbed release schedule.

The franchise has passed 57 million copies in worldwide circulation, a publishing measure rather than a count of anime viewers or individual readers. A live action television drama starring Mana Ashida is also planned for 2028. For the film, the immediate confirmed milestones remain the next character videos and the Japanese theatrical opening, with overseas dates still unannounced.

Key Points

• Nobuo Tobita voices Birō, Kumiko Watanabe voices Shūu, and Hirofumi Nojima voices Bisen.
• Mariya Ise plays Mu Qing, the clan head's youngest son and an original character created for the film.
• The Bi clan governs the waterside destination where Maomao and Jinshi return Ruoqing's remains.
• The mystery connects a consort who died five years earlier, a strangely preserved body and hidden treasure.
• Hyuganatsu devised the new story; Norihiro Naganuma directs, with a screenplay by Yuko Kakihara.
• The film opens in Japan on December 11, 2026. International release dates have not been announced.
• The television anime's third season continues with its second part in April 2027.