Kusuriya no Hitogoto Season 3 Ep.03 - Life is hard in this world. Maomao!

Episode 3 of Kusuriya no Hitogoto Season 3 continues from where we left off, with Maomao delving further into her investigation of the disease spreading across the country. The primary focus remains on recovering the multiple books that could reveal the source of the affliction, though there are plenty of side diversions along the way.

The most significant subplot shows Maomao treating a young girl who ate the strange food that the mysterious woman was seen distributing in last week's preview. We don't know the full details yet, but it has to be connected to the insects as well, and Kyou-u seems to know something in between his bouts of amnesia.

I quite like this look of Maomao too, she feels more natural and relaxed compared to the other appearances.

I genuinely don't understand how everyone says that Pairin and the other two are 'the beauties'. They feel mid...

The young girl and her older sister ask to be taken into the pleasure district to escape poverty and their abusive father. That counts as a "happy ending" for them, since at least they won't die from hunger and beatings. This is, of course, strictly from the perspective of an impoverished and harsh setting like the one featured in this series.

Make no mistake: the series misses the mark when it comes to assigning blame to the right people. In the end, the fault for the populace being so poor that they can barely survive ultimately rests on the government, which traces directly back to the Emperor and the very characters framed as the heroes of this story.

The population lives and dies by the policies enacted from above, and a situation where poverty is this widespread points to only two possible causes: either incompetence or malice from the ruling class (yes, including the La Clan), not that either excuse makes the outcome any better for the people.

Then again, this is primarily a story about a seemingly ordinary girl who is actually the daughter of a powerful clan, and her dynamic with the imperial prince. Maybe I shouldn't read too deeply into the socio-political aspects and just enjoy the episodes as they come, but this episode really brought those underlying issues to the surface.

They made the right choice in a world where they had no other choice. It's a sad ending, nothing more.

Maomao sure enjoys her books, not complaining here. I love them too!

The next episode will shift focus back to Suirei, whose knowledge of the texts could be vital in piecing together the puzzle of the spreading disease. Whoever is behind it clearly harbors deep resentment toward the empire, and honestly, it's not hard to see why plenty of people in this world would feel that way.