The Apothecary Diaries manga resumes publication as Minoji Kurata returns from childcare leave
Michelle Topham 
The alternative The Apothecary Diaries manga series — The Apothecary Diaries: The Palace Cloister Mystery-Solving Notebook of Mao Mao — will resume publication in July, after mangaka Minoji Kurata returns from the leave she took due to taking care of the baby she gave birth to in January.
Shogakukan’s Monthly Sunday GX magazine announced the manga’s return this week with a comment that the first new chapters will appear in the July 19th issue of the magazine.
The hiatus Minoji Kurata took was only for a couple of months but, in that time, it has left fans desperately craving more of this compelling story.
The Palace Cloister Mystery-Solving Notebook of Mao Mao, which is an alternative manga to the original manga adaptation of the hit light novels, first began its publication in the magazine in August, 2017, and has since been published in 18 compiled volumes with its latest volume releasing last March.
Yes, Minoji Kurata is apparently that prolific.
The series is written by original light novel author Natsu Hyūga, with Minoji Kurata drawing the illustrations.
Unfortunately, while the original The Apothecary Diaries manga is published in English by Square Enix, The Apothecary Diaries: The Palace Cloister Mystery-Solving Notebook of Mao Mao has yet to receive an English-language translation.
With the incredible success of both the light novel and the Natsu Hyūga and Nekokurage-created manga series since the smash-hit anime adaptation premiered late last year, let’s hope we will get that soon.
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Steven Reynolds 
