The Apothecary Diaries Art Book

by Touco Shino

Experience all the gorgeous art from the first fourteen volumes of the best-selling The Apothecary Diaries light novel series!

Get immersed in the historical setting and intriguing characters of The Apothecary Diaries, the original light novel series that inspired the hit manga and anime! This jacketed, hardcover volume includes more than 300 lavish pieces of art from light novel illustrator Touko Shino. In addition to every illustration from the light novel series, this collection includes previously unpublished character designs, promotional and exclusive art, and an interview with Shino. Every turn of a page delves deeper into the world of this enthralling series!

Genres: Manga, Art, Romance, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fantasy

168 pages, Hardcover

Published May 6, 2025

About the author

Touko Shino (しのとうこ, Shino To-uko?), stylized as Touco Shino, is the Japanese illustrator of The Apothecary Diaries light novel.

Reviews

[Alba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es precioso

[mar · Rating 5 out of 5]

GORGEOUS.

[☆Olivia☆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Touco Shino's artstyle is so pretty! It always shocks me that it's been 11 years since KNH's first light novel. I hope this artist keeps up the good work!

[afton · Rating 4 out of 5]

just beautiful omg

[Ansley E Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite anime, so seeing the concert art and details behind the creation of the show was such a gift!

[Ximena · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡hermoso! cada una de las ilustraciones es maravillosa

[Haddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing to learn about how the Anime / Light Novel / Manga was made! I've loved the anime and the Manga so much!

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I managed to snag this art book really cheap and I’m glad I did! Even though I haven’t read the light novels yet (I hope too eventually) I LOVED the anime when I watched it earlier this year. The opportunity to read directly from the perspective of the artist was fascinating and enjoyable. They have a style that is both emblematic of the genre yet detailed in its craft. The intentional focus on creating iconic looks for these characters that translates well across mediums required quite a lot of research, and that comes through with the large cast all being so easily recognisable! It’s been over 10 years since the first light novel came out, and the stylistic growth and confidence as time passed in the work is evident. I hope the partnership continues until the series conclusion and long into the future. 💖

[Am Y · Rating 3 out of 5]

I must confess I had no idea what The Apothecary Diaries was until I picked up this book and did some research on it. This title caught my eye solely because of the attractive artwork and the fact that it features characters in period Chinese costumes. Even if you're not a fan of this Japanese light novel series that later became a manga, and more recently, a popular anime, you will still appreciate this book if you like art featuring ancient Chinese culture. It's even more interesting that this series was entirely created by a Japanese and not Chinese person. As the latter, I must say the art depiction, at least, is very accurate. There are both monochrome and full colour artworks featured in this book. The coloured works are very well done; I would say in fact that the colour is what defines the artwork in most pieces.

[Shrivrae · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be completely honest, it's just nothing special. There are some nice illustrations, but most of them have that typical light novel style you see everywhere and that exactly it - it's mostly illustrations from the light novel volumes with a few additional (new) drawings, some fanservice, and 7 or 8 pages of concept art.

[Elliana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly love Shino’s art style, and her portrayal of the characters in Apothecary Diaries is my favorite depiction. This book highlights the more mature, elegant looks of the characters (I also like how they’re drawn in the manga, but I have beef with the anime). Not much reading, but still a 5/5 lol.

[Isabel Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are gorgeous, but i was expecting more original art and concept art of the characters, instead most of it are the illustrations of the light novels. Still, it looks great and the interview with the artist was quite nce.

[Julia França · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful art. Great for a fan of the series.

[Cheshire · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who enjoys the series.

[Emma (littledollreads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the art of this series so much.

[Nicole Elías · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amo tanto tener este libro en mi colección, es precioso ♡

[mayday · Rating 5 out of 5]

worth it

[Daniella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorg!!!

[Giovanna Tufano · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’ll read everything from this world!

[Rikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really good art book. They chose a really good artist to bring this series to life.

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely collection of art from “The Apothecary Diaries”.

In it are some concept designs from the anime as well as all of the art from the light novels, including commentary from the artist. This collection is slightly over-sized, too, which allows readers to see more of the details in these illustrations than you may if just encountering them in the standard manga/light novel format.

There’s an interview towards the end of the collection where the artist talks about the experience of working on this series for a decade. I found it to be an interesting glimpse into the inspiration behind bringing this truly beautiful series to life.

Definitely a must-read for avid fans of this series~

[Cindya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall not bad, but I prefer the style of the anime over the manga/light novel one.

***

How could I possibly think this?? Now I think the anime style is just generic and the manga one is soo boring… too similar to it. Changing is certainly fascinating though, isn’t it?