The Apothecary Dairies New Year greetings visual stars Gaoshun and Basen
Michelle Topham 
The Apothecary Diaries anime series has released a New Year, 2026 greetings visual that is incredibly appropriate.
Appropriate considering it features father and son Gaoshun and Basen, who are both members of the Ma family.
Ma (or 馬) being Mandarin Chinese for ‘horse’, and 2026 being The Year of the Horse. (Well, starting on February 17th, 2026).
The Ma family has served the Imperial family for many generations, with several members currently serving the Emperor in various capacities.
So, yes, it’s perfect that the father and son were chosen to wish the rest of us a Happy New Year, isn’t it?
Season 3 of the anime and a full-length film releasing in 2026
Along with releasing The Apothecary Diaries‘ New Year greetings visual for this year, the anime’s official X account reminded fans Season 3 of the hit anime series will begin airing in October, 2026.
2026 will also feature a theatrical release of a full-length stand-alone movie starring Maomao, Jinshi, (Gaoshun and Basen) and the rest of our favorite characters.
So, yep, 2026 is most definitely going to be an Apothecary year. And I can’t wait.
Season 1 of The Apothecary Diaries premiered on October 22nd, 2023 and quickly became one of the year’s most popular anime.
Its second season dropped January 10th this year, and ran through July 4th, with Season 3 being announced as already in production as soon as Season 2 ended.
Meanwhile, The Apothecary Diaries, Season 2 was the highest rated anime series of 2025 on My Anime List, with an 8.91 out of 10.
It is also currently the 20th highest-rated anime of all-time on the website.
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Steven Reynolds 
