Contenta che ti piaccia l' anime. Per rispondere alla tua domanda, era comune il traffico di schiavi all' epoca. Maomao è una ragazza pratica, se fosse scappata o avesse detto a qualcuno che era stata rapita e venduta non sarebbe cambiato nulla, perciò l' unica cosa da fare è rimanere e lavorare aspettando che passino i due anni in modo da aver saldato il debito 😊
3:19 “Frieren would love you.” Yes, she does… Frieren’s VA voices Gyokuyou, the orange haired concubine. ^_^ As for Maomao’s casualness to her situation (like being trafficked), though I’m not really sure, it could be that such things were just matter of fact in those times. She’s just trying to make the best of the situation since she can’t really do anything about it. She also has to be careful in the royal court as servant’s lives are pretty much worthless and any of them could easily lose their lives. Thus, as a defense mechanism, she was trying to lay low, not make waves, but her sense of justice got the better of her and she got noticed by our sharp, pretty boy Jinshi.
Powdered lead was used as a white pigment in paint and makeup, both in the east and the west, well into the 18th century. Even after it's poisonous properties were understood, people still used it!
Maomao is such an amazing character, one of the best written and put together female character in the last 10 years. Even though Maomao is small, she's 17 at the start of the series. I love Xiaolan so much, she's our lil informant and gossip monger as well as being such an enthusiastic friend.... all for the cost of a snack or 2 lol
Weird thing about that time in history of China/Asia as a whole. In the "infinite" Chinese Wisdom, they thought that the freckles and darker skin meant that the person was poor since they had to work for their food and living. Larger Bahongas are more for the fact that it's an anime, in Ancient China they would be chubby/plump since it is a signifier of wealth. Fun fact, some pictures of Ancient Chinese Empresses or High Ranking Concubines will have a fingernail covering on their ring and pinky fingers as a sign as well.
4:53 While some eunuchs in some places only got their testicles removed, Chinese eunuchs had to cut off the entire package and there are lots of photographic evidences showing it. Oh yeah, Jinshi was voiced by Takeo Otsuka, the same VA for Aqua (Oshi no Ko) and Oushi (A Sign of Affection).
Funny how most people would get that this is in China setting when MaoMao walking into the neighborhood budget scene already, but Faroh just found out when she learned Gyokuyou's daughter's name, which is Xiaoling. It's boht funny and intelligence in the same sense, what I did was just laughing XD
honestly most harems in history was either a power trip a political tool/institution and or a way to have a possible connection with very important people.
This series is so great. It is this weird but oddly well put together mix of House MD, Sherlock Holmes and a bit of the political intrigue of the first two seasons of GOT all set in the inner circle of Chinese Royalty. I binged the first half in one day and probably would have done the same with the second half, if it had been possible. Season two can't arrive early enough, because I need some answers to the stuff left unanswered so far. I might have to pick up the source material.
Maomao was pretending to be ignorant in order to fly under the radar. She would be less prone to hinderances to her medical research if fewer people knew about her (sadly kidnappings is just an everyday occurence with the period). Lady Gyokuyou however knows ignorance is a sin, because it was literally killing her child without them even knowing the reason. She heeded the message, while the Crystal Pavilion staff likely considered the hidden message to be some pedestrian hodgepodge and didn't even bother reading the message, which got Lady Lihua's son (and the only heir) dead.
We were so spoiled for anime in the Winter 2024 cour! Frieren, Apothecary Diaries, and Dangers in My Heart (I also loved Villainess Level 99). So much excellent anime! Maomao is completely correct to try to stay as anonymous as possible. This is an era of history where even causing slight embarrassment to a noble could get you murdered with no repercussions to the noble. The only way to make sure you stay alive is to keep your head down and not make waves. But Maomao also wants to help people, and that sometimes gets her in trouble. The thing I love about this series is Maomao's character. It alone could carry the show (although the mysteries are fun, and their implications are good food for thought). Villainess Level 99 is similar in that you watch the series for the main character because she's so fun.
What's sad is back in the day, heavy metals were used in a lot of things and white(ning) powder was one of them, heavily lead based. It's funny that Faroh even showed a pic of Parallel World Pharmacy in this ep. when they brought up lead-based powders as well as blood letting to make the skin more pale and "attractive". This took a darker route with the death of a newborn prince, which still speaks to Gyokuyou's nature as she trusted the flower message where Lady Lihua cast it aside and it destroyed her.
Maomao doesn't bother with accusing her kidnappers of trafficing her because, she doesn't have any proof, and as a women who was 'volunteered/sold' by her 'family' it would be assumed she was trying to avoid her obligations and/or scam the palace. Fighting for her freedom could lead to punishment, possibly even being executed.
Mao-Mao is one of those people that can stay calm in a situation to try and think her way out. also she was probably threatened not tell them she isn't their family member they were selling off.. and its possible her buyer didn't care.
The difference is there status and position. MaoMao knows she has no rights, and practically anyone in this area has the power to order her death for any reason.
Hey would you look at that, my recommendation actually worked and Faroh is reacting to it. For some reason I did not see your channel on my recommended feed while it was usually there during the Frieren reactions, weird. In any case, I'm happy that you are watching the show. It's really good, especially Maomao.
Actually this is not all on Chinese history, the author announces it is based on one of the Chinese concubines called “Yang Guifei”, and some spoken words are in 16th century, and some scientific knowledge are based on 19th century. Overall, this story is “Different world” type, and there is no real country which suits with this.
Maomao isn't wrong though. Pretending to be dumb while actually being clever can make you harder to fool, as people won't put effort in to fool a stupid person. And it'll help you keep out of trouble
Speaking out of turn or having knowledge of things you shouldn’t know as a servant can get you executed. Maomao feigns ignorance and only says what she needs to to not let that happen
The reason Maomao was reluctant to show her intelligence is because if she was literate (and they knew) she'd make more, which means the people that kidnapped her and sold her to the Palace would get more. The kidnappers call MaoMao their "family" so they can get away with it. Also in Warlord Era China, classes were exceptionally strict and even if you spoke out of turn you could be executed for it, which is why she's extremely deferential and has a "take it as it goes" sort of attitude. Bumping against the establishment will only get you killed.
