Honestly, I enjoyed this show better than Frieren a lot of the time despite it being pretty formulaic. My wife and I also looooved the hell out of Dr. Stone as well for some reason though.
I knew a lot of the combinations of chemicals and stuff from just...loving science. But she wasn't really a nerd growing up, I think my excitement for a science anime rubbed off on her :D
I like both for different reasons but both are absolute masterpieces. But I think I’m going to give Frieren to a 10 and Mao Mao a 9 just because Frieren is a bit more relatable and I don’t want to throw out two shows from my 10/10 list at once.
It's Sherlock Holmes in ancient/medieval China, with a good amount of character drama. It might not sound amazing but the execution is actually perfect.
Detective series set in medieval China. A lot of thought has gone into writing the characters, as well as the medical / botanical side and the society and culture of that time. (Not saying it is 100% historically realistic; it sacrifices some accuracy for plot reasons.) Also a lot of comedy, mostly revolving around the main character Mao Mao (her name sounds like 'Cat Cat'), who is extremely intelligent but also uncontrollably curious about poisons.
The characters are well thought out with significant development. They are likeable and dynamic.
There is a bit of science behind the main character's work, although the approach is more logical estimating like Sherlock Holmes and less scientific method.