Kusuriya no hitorigoto

Maomao is a refreshing main character. She is intelligent, decisive, independent, and unafraid to confront or criticize her peers. She has her weaknesses though and won't hesitate test herbs on herself or drink poison for the fun of it! She is utterly unphased by the advances of Jinshi (whose beauty swoons every other girl), causing him to take interest in her.

The emotional tones are well placed. I feel the humor, sadness, anger, and excitement of the characters. It presents serious themes with enough room for the audience to process them, and it pokes fun by humorously portraying characters as cats or mice to reflect their personalities.

The show is set in an imperial Asian country and it injects all the taboos and social conventions from that time. It's interesting to see how this class-heavy, patriarchal environment affects the character's motives and decisions. Certainly a unique setting that is incorporated into the plot very well.