BODY: Maomao is coming back to Osaka — and this time she's bringing a movie with her.
Universal Studios Japan has announced a second collaboration with the hit anime The Apothecary Diaries (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto), running February 10 through June 30, 2027. It will headline Universal Cool Japan 2027, the park's annual rotating showcase of Japanese IP, alongside a returning Sailor Moon tie-in revealed at the end of September.
The content is a full reset rather than a rerun. The 2025 edition centered on a "Mystery Walk," a walkthrough in which guests solved a case alongside the apothecary-turned-palace-sleuth Maomao. The 2027 program instead links directly to Gekijōban Kusuriya no Hitorigoto: Bōhi no Hihō — the feature film arriving in Japanese theaters in December. USJ describes a floating water city setting where the leads appear "as if they have leapt straight out of the work," language that points to live performance and immersive set dressing rather than a puzzle route.
That framing matters. USJ has been shifting Cool Japan away from pure walkthrough attractions and toward street-level shows and character encounters, which handle far higher throughput during the spring peak — a window that covers Japan's school holidays, cherry blossom season, and Golden Week.
Full details on attractions, food, and merchandise have not yet been released. Based on past Cool Japan cycles, expect a specifics drop in the autumn-to-winter window, with express passes selling out within hours of going live.
The insider take
Cool Japan has become USJ's most reliable barometer of which anime franchises have actually crossed into the mainstream here, and a repeat booking is a stronger signal than a first invitation — the park rarely re-ups unless the numbers were there. The Apothecary Diaries earned it: the series turned into a genuine family-viewing phenomenon in Japan, pulling in an audience well beyond the usual late-night anime demographic. Timing the park program three months after the film gives distributor and park a shared runway, and for overseas fans it's worth noting that February through April is when Osaka hotel rates climb hardest. Book before the detailed lineup is announced, not after.
Originally reported by GAME Watch (Japanese).