Apothecary is a must watch if you like detective mystery stories. And the anime adaptation is outstanding. I liked it better than the LN which is , lets say, rare for me.
Shangri-La on the other hand… If you are in the market for some hype shounen action then better watch Solo Leveling. It’s better and more hype. Shangri-La on the other hand has a super cute bunny character (as in Alice in Wonderland White Rabbit type and not an anthropomorphized playboy bunny) that gives it bonus points.
megane_kun@lemm.ee 7 months ago
I jumped into watching Apothecary Diaries quite late in the game (I was at an out-of-town trip and had nothing to do, so I decided to watch a few episodes). I didn’t really expect much out of it, just that it not a huge waste of time. I ended up pleasantly surprised. The writing is decent, if not good. There were some parts that I think would stretch my suspension of disbelief, as well as some deus-ex-machina that pushes the story along (and I suppose would make way more sense as more of the material is adapted to anime). However, the way these plot points are developed is surprisingly good. I found myself strung watching one episode after the other.
Shangri-La Frontier, as the other commenter said, is a bit a niche thing. The shonen action is quite decent, but I am more into the worldbuilding aspect of it, and it is surprisingly decent. I also approached this series with no expectations whatsoever, and ended up pleasantly surprised.