Episode 52 of The Apothecary Diaries season 3, titled "Saigo no Issatsu" (最後の一冊, roughly "The Last Volume"), aired in Japan on October 23, 2026. According to an Anime! Anime! roundup of viewer reactions, the scene that drew big laughs on social media showed Jinshi eating a grasshopper Maomao fed him.
Spoilers for episode 52 follow.
Maomao visits Suirei for leads on an illustrated guide about locusts, and Ah-Duo is there too. They learn that one volume of the guide is missing. After thinking it over, Maomao remembers seeing an insect guide at the clinic. That last volume holds illustrations of grasshoppers sorted by species, and the characters discuss which species cause swarm damage and how to prevent it. Some posts in the roundup said the realistic insect artwork was hard to look at.
While the group looks for solutions, Maomao suggests turning grasshopper dishes into court cuisine. Jinshi is clearly unenthusiastic, which gives her an idea, and a plate of simmered grasshoppers is set in front of him. Expecting him to refuse, she holds one to his mouth with an "aaah" and starts to pull it back, but he bites it anyway. Gaoshun is appalled, and posts quoted by Anime! Anime! called the moment "baby play" and accused the pair of flirting (translated).
Other scenes covered in the roundup include:
- Asked what type of man she likes, Maomao pictures Lakan and thinks fox eyes are the worst. The resulting portrait ends up looking like the quack doctor.
- Joka, one of the three princesses, smokes a pipe and speaks cryptically.
- Meimei relays a rumor that an albino woman with white hair and red eyes is performing as a spectacle at a theater in the capital.
The episode ends at a suspicious gathering, where a woman thought to be the rumored immortal maiden slowly drinks a mysterious liquid. After the broadcast, some viewers speculated that it was mercury, according to the roundup.
Season 3 normally airs Fridays at 11 p.m. JST in Nippon TV's FRIDAY ANIME NIGHT block, simulcast nationwide on 30 affiliated stations. Episode 53 is scheduled for October 30 at 11:40 p.m. JST, 40 minutes later than usual. The season is split into two cours: the first began in October 2026, and the second is scheduled for April 2027.