The Apothecary Diaries Film Sets December 11 Opening, Cast Preview and Limited Story Booklet

Maomao and Jinshi head to cinemas with a new mystery

The first anime film in The Apothecary Diaries franchise will open in Japan on December 11, 2026, with an original mystery devised by series author Natsu Hyuga. Before that, six cast members will attend a December 5 preview in Tokyo, while the first cinema giveaway will bring readers a new story about Maomao and Jinshi after the film's events.

The Apothecary Diaries: The Phantom of the Empress's Treasure follows the pair as they return the body of a consort who died five years earlier to her homeland. A missing head, a troubled family and a search for hidden treasure turn that journey into a much larger investigation.

Seven newly announced developments cover the preview, advance tickets, a cinema booklet, a television special, streaming compilations, books and a manga adaptation, and a new collection of character illustrations. Together, they set out a schedule running from October 31 through the film's opening day.

The largest giveaway is a booklet containing a short story written by Hyuga, with 1.5 million copies allocated across Japan. A separate clear file offered with advance tickets at cinemas is limited to 50,000. Those are different promotions, with different starting dates and ways to obtain them.

A new trailer, a visual gathering the main characters and a character relationship chart also introduce the film's expanding cast. Singer and songwriter Kenshi Yonezu has written and performs the theme song, Haru ga Tomori, adding another original work to a release built around a new chapter rather than a compilation of television episodes.

What draws the pair into the treasure mystery?

Maomao and Jinshi travel south to return the remains of Jakusei, a consort who died in the rear palace five years earlier. Their destination is Minan Province, territory directly controlled by the Mi clan, where they meet Ginzan, Jakusei's former head lady in waiting, and Mu Qing, the clan's youngest son.

Mu Qing is excluded by other children in the family because he was born to a concubine. Ginzan protects him and speaks to him gently, leading Maomao to see something resembling a relationship between mother and child.

The arrival of the pirate leader Suija changes the atmosphere. He is searching for treasure hidden by the clan's previous leader, who has died. Meanwhile, someone steals the head from Jakusei's body, linking the journey to return her remains with a series of new incidents.

Hyuga supplied the original story concept. For viewers familiar with Maomao's investigations inside the imperial palace, the film moves the central pair into a southern setting involving a city on the water, clan secrets and competing interests surrounding the dead.

Six cast members will attend the December preview

The December 5 screening is scheduled at an undisclosed venue in Tokyo and is being presented as the first opportunity anywhere to watch the completed film. It takes place six days before the Japanese cinema opening.

Aoi Yuki, who voices Maomao, and Takeo Otsuka, who voices Jinshi, will appear alongside four performers playing characters central to the film: Ai Mikami as Ginzan, Mariya Ise as Mu Qing, Kensho Ono as Suija and Miyuki Sawashiro as Jakusei.

Applications are planned through the franchise's official website, its official LINE account and TOHO-ONE, among other channels. The precise venue, application deadlines and selection details have not been specified in the announcement.

The audience booklet continues the film's story

Cinemas will begin distributing the first audience gift on December 11. The booklet, titled Kiro no Himawari, contains a newly written short story by Hyuga following Maomao and Jinshi after the events of the film.

The story gives the giveaway a narrative purpose as well as a place among collectors' items. Readers will be able to follow the central pair beyond the cinema ending, with the continuation written by the same author who developed the film's original story concept.

The booklet also includes interviews with Hyuga, Yuki, Otsuka and Ise, alongside character design material and original artwork for the teaser visual. Its contents bring together the written continuation, the performers' perspectives and material showing how the characters were presented during production.

The nationwide allocation is 1.5 million copies. Distribution begins on opening day and is subject to that quantity, so a cinema ticket and the availability of a booklet are separate practical considerations for anyone planning a visit.

Advance tickets arrive in two designs

The second edition of MoviTicket advance tickets goes on sale from November 13. Two designs are planned: one showing Maomao and Jinshi in their film costumes, and another using original artwork of Maomao, Jinshi and Mu Qing from the latest main visual.

The design available depends on the sales channel. Participating cinemas will offer a teaser artwork clear file as an advance purchase bonus, with 50,000 available across Japan. The audience booklet's allocation of 1.5 million is 30 times that figure, although the two gifts are distributed through different promotions.

TOHO animation STORE ONLINE will also sell advance tickets bundled with exclusive merchandise. FamilyMart will offer convenience store tickets paired with original Famima Print material. Buyers choosing between channels will therefore be choosing a package as well as a ticket design.

A television special adds four minutes of animation

Nippon TV's Friday Road Show will broadcast a special edition of The Apothecary Diaries on December 11 at 9 p.m. Japan time, the same day the film opens. The programme mainly reorganises the second half of the television anime's second season.

About four minutes of newly produced footage will lead into that season's final scene. The addition gives returning viewers something new within a programme largely assembled from an existing story, while bringing the television narrative back into focus on the film's opening night.

Three streaming compilations will arrive beforehand, each covering a different part of the series. The rear palace arc, drawn from the first half of season one, begins streaming on October 31. The outer court arc, covering the second half of that season, follows on November 14. The imperial court arc, based on the first half of season two, arrives on November 28.

All three are scheduled to begin at midnight in Japan on their respective dates, with distribution across streaming platforms. The sequence moves through the earlier television story before the December special concentrates on the later part of season two.

Yonezu's song and the trailer point to family ties

Kenshi Yonezu wrote Haru ga Tomori specifically for the film and performs it in the new trailer. He said he studied the screenplay while making the song and drew particular inspiration from the children's songs Tulip and Antagata Dokosa.

Yonezu's explanation focused on what people pass to one another, and how those connections and choices can take shape without formal approval or official procedures. His comments sit alongside a story in which family status, exclusion and Ginzan's care for Mu Qing are already visible in the preview.

The main visual shows Maomao and Mu Qing battered, Jinshi holding a sword, and Jakusei and Ginzan in poses resembling prayer. Gaoshun, Lakan and the pirate group also appear. Flower petals and faint lettering are presented as clues, while the accompanying relationship chart helps viewers place the larger cast before the mystery begins.

Books and a manga adaptation arrive before opening day

December 9 brings three related book releases, including Hyuga's own novel version of the film. The other announced titles are volume 23 of The Apothecary Diaries: Maomao's Rear Palace Mystery Notebook and The Apothecary Diaries Gaiden: Xiaolan's Memoirs.

The film's manga adaptation will also begin serialisation on Sunday Webry that day. The timing puts both a prose version and the start of a comics version into readers' hands two days before the cinema release, giving audiences several routes into the new story.

A separate illustration series, Kusuriya Animals, turns 14 characters, including Maomao and Jinshi, into fluffy animal versions. Further uses are planned for the designs. It is the merchandise and character illustration element of an announcement otherwise centred on screenings, stories and ways to revisit the anime.

The dates to keep track of

The release campaign has several distinct starting points. The compilations come first, followed by advance tickets, the cast preview and the publishing releases. December 11 combines the cinema opening, the start of the booklet giveaway and the evening television broadcast.

• October 31, 2026: The rear palace arc compilation begins streaming at midnight in Japan.
• November 13: The second edition of advance tickets goes on sale, with designs and bundles varying by seller.
• November 14: The outer court arc compilation begins streaming at midnight.
• November 28: The imperial court arc compilation begins streaming at midnight.
• December 5: Six cast members attend the preview screening in Tokyo.
• December 9: Three related books are released and the film's manga adaptation begins.
• December 11: The film opens in Japan and distribution of the audience booklet begins. The television special airs at 9 p.m.

The preview offers the earliest screening, while the television special provides a separate event on opening night. For readers following the story across formats, the December 9 publications are the next major step immediately before the film reaches cinemas.

Key Points

• The Apothecary Diaries: The Phantom of the Empress's Treasure opens in Japan on December 11, 2026.
• Natsu Hyuga devised the original story, which connects a deceased consort's remains with family secrets and hidden treasure.
• Six cast members will attend a December 5 preview at an undisclosed Tokyo venue.
• The opening audience gift includes Hyuga's story about Maomao and Jinshi after the film, with 1.5 million booklets available nationwide.
• Advance tickets launch November 13, with a cinema clear file bonus limited to 50,000.
• Kenshi Yonezu wrote and performs the theme song, Haru ga Tomori.
• A December 11 television special adds about four minutes of animation, following three streaming compilations.