The Apothecary Diaries is giving Season 3 viewers a new puzzle to solve before each episode. The official portal launched #猫猫謎謎 on September 30, describing a series-linked riddle project that runs ahead of the anime’s Friday TV broadcasts in Japan. Each puzzle is meant to lead to a keyword for the next episode.
The first puzzle is a visual sequence, with three text prompts around the two character portraits. Jinshi points toward Maomao, one line says “the opposite of east,” and another asks which sea creature the sequence represents. The clue text on the card is Japanese, and the official post does not include an English-language version. The launch image gives viewers the puzzle itself, while the solution is reserved for a later answer post.
A puzzle maker joins Maomao’s world
Puzzle creator Serizawa Nina (芹沢仁菜) is designing the new riddles. The anime portal describes her as a puzzle creator popular on social media and says it has brought her in to prepare full-fledged puzzles for Season 3.
Serizawa’s own Note series offers a glimpse of her usual format. She describes the posts as brain-teasers she publishes daily on X, and lays them out in order: problem image, hints, then an explanation. The #猫猫謎謎 collaboration takes that puzzle-making work into a weekly anime schedule, with each challenge aimed at the next episode’s keyword.
Season 3 starts October 2 in Japan
Season 3’s Japanese TV broadcast begins Friday, October 2, at 11 p.m. JST, according to a separate official announcement. The first #猫猫謎謎 answer is set for noon Saturday, October 3—about 13 hours after the premiere. Viewers can work through the visual clue before the first episode, then check the official solution after it airs.
