When it comes to romance, there are many ways to go about it in anime and manga for everyone. Some focus on the friends-to-lovers trope, a classic narrative that can be found in anime like Wotakoi or even Tomo-chan wa Onnanoko.
There’s also the opposite scenario, where both people initially dislike each other but develop into a romantic relationship, as seen in anime like Kaguya-sama. What if you meet in the middle, where one hates the other who loves them, can it form love still?
Slow-Burn Romance Like The Apothecary Diaries And Why They Work
Slow-burn romance like the Apothecary Diaries is one that’s often overlooked due to how slow it can be sometimes, which is why it has that name. The whole point of it is to cause some tension in the relationship so both sides can grow and learn.
Slow-burns can also have different ways to show growth in a loving or hating way within a relationship as well. They can be anything from an argument turned into apologies to a bloody fight turned into sob stories.
So, what kind of romance is the Apothecary Diaries? It is often what people ask before reading or watching. The truth is that it’s a love-hate romance, where one side hates the other that loves them, turning into a relationship.
We follow the protagonist, Maomao, a female servant who is in love with poison to the point that she always consumes it. She wastes no time trying to get that she hates almost everyone, favoring her love for toxins instead of people.
Maomao quickly notices that two princesses and their babies are dying due to a poison in the makeup they use. She warns them both, with one listening and saving her baby, the other doesn’t, losing her child and almost herself.
The prince quickly notices that it is her and promotes her to the princess’s lady-in-waiting and poison tester due to her love. There’s a twist, as the prince falls in love with Maomao, due to how rude and hateful she is.
This causes a subplot of the two’s romance to begin, and over time, Maomao learns to slightly love the prince. While she loves poisons more than anyone else still, the two end up together while keeping the relationship hidden.
They slowly burn away the hate with love, compassion, and poison to keep Maomao happy and the prince alive. A confusing relationship built on deadly drugs and toxins, but a strong relationship in the end.
Love is an amazing feeling, even if it’s the most confusing one that we can feel at the end. So go out and be happy, as long as you aren’t in love with deadly poisons, that is.
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