‘Baby Pharmacist Princess’: A Wholesome Isekai Adventure

‘Baby Pharmacist Princess‘ (Korean: 아기 약사 황녀님) is a Korean isekai webtoon-manhwa, released in 2023 – based on a web novel written by Ryeo-Won Eun (Korean: 은려원) and illustrated by Mapi (Korean: 마피), has been originally published by Kakao and adapted in English by Tapas.io.

Yun Chae-Ri aka Cherise „Cherrie“ Wynn Castalia

Yun Chae-Ri, who is a regular everyday Korean, gets dragged into her VR game world, where she is supposed to become the next Empress of the Castalia Empire. She possesses Cherise Wynn Castalia, an orphaned illegitimate princess, who is the original protagonist of the game. In-game Cherise is supposed to help one of her siblings or cousins to ascend to the throne, but now she is supposed to become the next heir herself.

Now a 4-year-old Cherise, Yun Chae-Ri is supposed to beat the game she never managed to complete, even after spending all her free time and money on it, starting from the beginning, with a boatload of debt and most of her skills gone – well, at least she got to keep her SSS class pharmacist skill, which is her ticket to success.

The World of ‚Baby Pharmacist Princess‘

This webtoon is set in a medieval fantasy world with nobility, kingdoms, and empires – Cherise must navigate all kinds of tightropes, for example the church who banned regular people from making medicine and even organized a witch hunt a couple decades ago. Not only that, but she’s also got to participate in a fierce battle for succession with other imperial descendants. While she’s also of royal blood, she’s got a lot less of their inherent dragon power than a full-blooded descendant, making her journey just THAT much harder.

Characters

Cherise’s adoptive father Vikal Wynn Castalia, the prince of the northern part of the empire, originally her uncle does everything he can to give her happy and safe upbringing, constantly worrying about her and not even being able to get any important work done because he’s way too busy doting on Cherise. Now he’s most definitely her ‘Daddy’, giving both Cherise and Yun Chae-Ri a relationship they didn’t know they needed.

Her cousins, now adoptive brothers Gergys Wynn Castalia and Idsys Wynn Castalia treat Cherise just as if she was their actual sister – both absolutely adore her, dote on her without end and would gladly slice up anybody who’d dare to even think about touching Cherise.

Then there is Alexandra Jen Castalia from a different branch family who used to relentlessly bully and abuse Cherise until she got saved by Vikal, she is a certified Villain, who is just inviting the future destruction to her doorstep, while she hasn’t managed to do much yet, it is obvious, her and her minions, are going to try to make Cherise’s life hell or might even try to take it at some point.

There isn’t much known about the male lead yet, he has gone through some form of time travel from the future and vanished (?), anyways, neither his name nor affiliation is known yet, but you can assume we will learn after a future time skip (dating minors in an isekai wouldn’t make an enjoyable romance webtoon anyways, that would only be creepy).

Art & Style

Baby Pharmacist Princess’s art is one of its definite strong suits – especially character design is very well done. Cherise and her family are depicted in an appealing way, making you fall in love with the cast. Villains are shown to carry their ugly insides to their appearance as well – making it quite easy to tell who friend and foe is quite quickly (this applies to most romance webtoons though).

In general, most scenes are drawn with a lot of detail, in a modern, very chic looking, art style, breathing a lot of life into the world of Baby Pharmacist Princess – all in all the modern illustration serves as a fantastic base for the story to rest and build upon.

What’s great

This webtoon manages to create such a wholesome atmosphere around Cherise and her loved ones, and results in a lot of heartwarming moments while reading.  Besides being very heartwarming and wholesome, Cherise, the main protagonist, is cute as hell, she is just adorable, there are rarely such precious characters as her (this gets boosted by Yun Chae-Ri knowing how cute Cherise looks)

Should I read ‘Baby Pharmacist Princess?

If you enjoy a light and wholesome read, Baby Pharmacist Princess is a definite recommendation, while it is by no means some kind of Picasso, it is an inherently pleasant read for an afternoon or weekend evening. There is some light action too, so don’t get discouraged if you’re a classic isekai lover, even though this is by no means your classic ‘stuck in a vr game and I can’t leave because my sister will die for some random ass reason’ story – it is nonetheless or maybe even more, making it an enjoyable diversification to the regular recipe.

Be aware before reading

The first three chapters make it look like the story is going to be a constant loop like Re:Zero, but this isn’t really the case, while there is a constant worry about being reset to the beginning of the story, this isn’t a main trope of the story and doesn’t get brought up often.

‘Baby Pharmacist Princess’ is a romance webtoon featuring a female protagonist, if this isn’t your cup of tea, you should most definitely avoid this manhwa. Besides that, if you get annoyed by ‘cute’ and ‘overthinking’ protagonists who tend to worry a little too much, you might want to be cautious before jumping right in.

Another important note, while writing this recommendation, the webtoon release is at chapter 36, making it quite hard to predict whether the webtoon has the potential to do a nosedive or maybe even finish on a high note – especially since the web novel translation seems to be on an indefinite hiatus. Nonetheless there are currently no signs of decline now, and I look forward to seeing how the story will play out in the future.

Special Features

Cherise has access to a “system” style shop and ‘microtransactions’ (more like gigatransactions), which often gives her an advantage, helping to move the plot along in an organic fashion without seeming too forced.  

Summary

The art style is a standout feature, with detailed character designs and vibrant scenes bringing the world of “Baby Pharmacist Princess” to life. For anybody searching for a light-hearted and heartwarming experience, “Baby Pharmacist Princess” offers a delightful read. Despite its occasional action sequences, the focus remains on the endearing interactions among characters and the protagonist’s journey to fulfill her destiny. Additionally the webtoon shows promise with its unique elements like the system shop and microtransactions. ‚Baby Pharmacist Princess‘ stands as an enjoyable and engaging webtoon with plenty of potential for continued growth and development.

Tl;dr

‘Baby Pharmacist Princess‘: A heartwarming isekai-romance webtoon set in a medieval fantasy world. As the main protagonist, Yun Chae-Ri navigates political intrigue and a succession battle while inhabiting the body of princess Cherise Wynn Castalia. With charming character designs, delightful interactions, and occasional action, this webtoon offers a wonderful read, but note the uncertainty surrounding its future trajectory due to the hiatus of the original web novel translation.