Crunchyroll takes The Apothecary Diaries movie worldwide, excluding Asia but including India
The Late Lady's Treasure opens in Japan on December 11, between the two halves of season 3. Everywhere else, it has no date yet.
Crunchyroll has picked up The Apothecary Diaries: The Late Lady's Treasure, the first film in the franchise, for cinemas in North America and worldwide. The worldwide part comes with an unusual footnote: according to the announcement reported by Anime Corner, it "excludes Asia but includes India".
India is in Asia. The sentence is a description of a rights map, not geography: Crunchyroll gets India, and the rest of Asia stays with someone else. Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment will distribute the film. Theatrical dates outside Japan have not been announced.
The film sits in the middle of season 3
The release plan in Japan is built around the TV series. Season 3 premiered on October 2 and is streaming on Crunchyroll. Its first part runs through the autumn; the film opens in Japanese cinemas on December 11; the second part of the season follows in April 2027. When the third season was confirmed, it was described as two split cours with a movie in between.
- October 2, 2026: season 3, part one, premieres.
- December 11, 2026: The Late Lady's Treasure opens in Japan.
- April 2027: season 3, part two.
- Outside Japan: film dates "to be announced".
Japanese audiences will watch the film between the two halves of the season. Viewers abroad are following season 3 on Crunchyroll this autumn, but whether they see the film before April depends on a release date that does not exist yet.
One film, two English titles
Crunchyroll's title is The Late Lady's Treasure. Universal Studios Japan, which will run an attraction based on the film as part of its "Universal Cool Japan" program from February 10 to June 30, 2027, uses a different English title: The Deceased Empress' Treasure, according to Wikipedia.
The official synopsis that came with Crunchyroll's announcement speaks of a concubine, not an empress. Expect both names to circulate until the international release settles it.
What the film is about
The story is new, written by Natsu Hyuga, the creator of the original light novels. The emperor orders Jinshi to grant the final wish of a concubine who died five years ago: to be returned to her homeland. Examining the remains, Jinshi finds them in pristine condition, as if she were still alive. To solve that mystery, he drags Maomao to Binan-shu, the southern province ruled by the Bi clan.
They arrive in a bustling city on the water. Maomao is thrilled by herbs and medicines she has never seen; meanwhile, pirates are hunting for a treasure their late leader hid away. On the day of the concubine's funeral, a major incident sets off a chain of events.
A split behind the camera
The franchise's two anime studios have gone in different directions.
- Seasons 1 and 2: produced by TOHO Animation STUDIO and OLM. The first season ran for 24 episodes from October 22, 2023, to March 24, 2024, on Nippon TV; the second aired from January to July 2025.
- Season 3: OLM again handles animation production. TOHO Animation STUDIO is notably absent from the staff list. Akinori Fudesaka directs.
- The film: animation production by TOHO Animation STUDIO, directed by Norihiro Naganuma.
Yukiko Nakatani, the character designer, is credited on season 3 and also served as chief animation director on its new opening, which Ayaka Nakata storyboarded and directed.
Naganuma is the link. He is the series composition writer on season 3 and the director of the film. The TV show and the movie that sits in the middle of it are being made by different studios, with one person on both.
The franchise around the film
- Live action: announced on September 3, 2026. Toho and Amazon MGM Studios produce, Yuki Saito directs, Erika Yoshida writes, and Mana Ashida plays Maomao. It is due worldwide on Prime Video in 2028.
- Games: the browser game The Apothecary Diaries Palace Chronicles launched on June 15, 2026, on the G123 platform; a first console game has also been announced.
- Music: season 3 opens with Yorushika's "Beyond the Clouds, Only Me Downwind", written by n-buna.
- Books: Hyuga's novels, illustrated by Toko Shino, are published in English by J-Novel Club; Square Enix publishes the manga.
- Next from the author: Hyuga's The Failure at God School manga is getting an anime adaptation.
What is still unknown
- International release dates, including whether the film reaches cinemas outside Japan before season 3 resumes in April.
- Who distributes in the rest of Asia. The announcement only says Crunchyroll's rights exclude it.
- Dub and subtitle plans for the theatrical run.
- The final English title, given that two are already in use.
Crunchyroll's worldwide rights exclude Asia but include India. In Japan, the film has a date and a place between the two halves of a season. Everywhere else, it has neither yet.