Reiji Kirio was once an ordinary salaryman until he somehow stepped into a fantasy world. Setting up a drugstore in the Kalta village, he saves a werewolf named Noella who becomes the mascot of the drugstore, and is assisted by a ghost girl named Mina.
Drugstore in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist (Cheat Kusushi no Slow Life: Isekai ni Tsukurō Drugstore) originally started off as a web novel written by Kennoji, which was released on the site Shousetsuka ni Narou from 2016 to 2020. It was later picked up for publication in 2017 as a light novel series illustrated by Shouji Nigo, later changing illustrators to Matsuuni. The series was adapted into a manga in 2018, and later an anime adaptation that premiered in July 2021. The light novels and the manga adaptation are licensed in English by Seven Seas Entertainment.
The light novel provides examples of:
- Abhorrent Admirer: Several examples.
- Kururu the elf to Reiji. Aside from Kururu being openly gay and Reiji being straight, Reiji is having none of Kururu's extremely aggressive and flamboyant flirting and come-ons.
- One of the middle-aged male adventurers in town to Mina. Aside from him and his other two adventuring companions being completely, utterly useless and leaving the completion of their quest entirely to Reiji and Noella, Mina does not like how he looks at her and how aggressively he's trying to court her. In the manga, Mina discreetly tells Reiji to claim she's not in the store.
- Demon King Garou Ezil to Noella. The former has fallen in love with her at first sight and had literally pledged half the world to her name as a dowry, but Noella is firmly loyal and in love with Reiji.
- Adaptation Deviation: The anime changes the order and details of a lot of plot points and events.
- The original series and earlier adaptations all show Reiji mysteriously stepping into another world, celebrating his escaping his corporate slave life, and getting his bearings with his new Appraisal and Potion Making skills. The anime's first episode starts with Kirio Drugstore already opened, and Reiji in negotiation with Mr. Alf, the General Store owner. If it wasn't for the title, one would be excused to not even realize this is an Isekai.
- The anime skips over the entirety of Kirio Drugstore once being a dilapidated wreck no one bothered to use or tear down and thus, Reiji's first meeting with Mina. This was also supposed to introduce Gaston, the carpenter, and the running gag of him reverting to his "legendary" skills with the help of super (energy) potions. Anime Gaston's first use is some time after the potions have already been in wide circulation in Kalta, and he was working on the Rabbit Restaurant than Kirio Drugstore.
- The rokushou nuts were originally delivered by the Kodora, Kalta forest's guardian dragon. In the anime, this role is instead given to a random squirrel that Reiji cures and who starts giving them regular deliveries of the stuff in gratitude.
- Kururu the elf was supposed to be the first of the elf siblings to meet Reiji, and Ririka met him afterward due to Kururu's (unsuccessful) attempts at wooing Reiji and talking about his beloved "Daisy". In the anime, Ririka goes to Reiji for help first and Kururu meets him during the hunting festival.
- Adaptational Early Appearance: The Demon King was in Chapter 38 of the original Web Novel, several months in-universe and Reiji has had numerous other misadventures and ground-breaking inventions since then. In the anime, he shows up in the previews of Episodes 2 and 3, alongside being part of the ED from the start.
- Androcles' Lion: The Kodora is a dragon subspecies and the guardian beast of the forest near Kalta. Though normally pacifistic and reclusive, letting the humans pass by and do their jobs without issue, after accidentally ingesting some hallucinogenic, indigestion-inducing grass it goes on a fire-breathing rampage. Reiji manages to feed it a detoxification potion and cure it of its condition, and in gratitude, it rewards him with regular deliveries of the extremely rare, extremely valuable rokushou fruits.
- Art Shift: In the manga, the art style can occasionally shift to looking like Dragon Ball, Case Closed and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure for comedic effect.
- Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": There seems to be a very broad term when it comes to the definition of "medicine". As anything from an Energy Potion to Dish Cleaner is called "medicine".
- Casting Gag: This has not been the first time Jun Fukushima has played a character thrown into another world and who has a thing against "normies", though this world is much, much kinder and pleasant than that one. He has also played a native of a fantasy world who was involved with potion-making, though as an herb farmer and an assistant to the head scientist.
- Crapsaccharine World: Since the story follows the daily life of Reiji running his drug store in a quiet village, it looks like a Sugar Bowl. But in this world, there are bandits that regularly attack the village, powerful monsters risking the lives of people who venture too far outside the safety of settlements, and the humans are currently engaged in a large war with the demons. We don't get much of the figures but a war still has countless hapless young souls taken from their families along with displacing people and ruining lives, as happened with Noella.
- Encounter Bait: To help Lilica the elf win a hunting competition despite her poor long-range shooting skills and using a less powerful short bow, Reiji invents a monster-attracting spray so the targets come to her instead of vice versa. Though she does win the tournament, she ends up almost overwhelmed by the ensuing swarm of monsters and it was only thanks to funneling them through a choke point and bringing lots of arrows that she made it through the event in one piece.
- Encounter Repellent: Beast-be-Gone is an extremely effective anti-monster-and-predator spray, frequently used by farmers and aristocrats plagued by crop-destroying pests. Unfortunately for Reiji, it's just as effective on werewolves like Noella and she absolutely refuses to get close to any area dosed with it or Reiji himself after brewing or using the stuff.
- Eye Scream: Reiji manages to make capsaicin fluid bombs to help the Red Cat Brigade fight bandits. During the brewing process, he makes a too-large batch, and due to ignorance, tragic overconfidence, or an accident, the Red Cat Brigade and Reiji all end up pepper-spraying themselves in the eyes. The bandits this product was made for also get the same treatment and promptly flee the town screaming, never to return.
- Great Offscreen War: There's an ongoing battle between humanity and the Demon King's forces, but we rarely get to witness any reference to the fighting as Kalta is very, very far from the frontlines and is not a strategic hold or particularly valuable territory, at that. It does have rippling effects, though:
- Before Reiji started producing a steady supply of super (energy) potions, they were both in short supply and horribly expensive due to most of them being commandeered by the military.
- Many able-bodied young men and workers are off fighting as soldiers, leaving aging old men, women, and young children to pick up the slack with manual labor.
- Mercenary companies have to be hired to supplement the town guard, with the only ones left being the old veterans that are at greater risk of being injured and killed than managing to drive off the bandits taking advantage of the war.
- In Garou Ezil's introductory chapter, his servant and adviser Belial is warning him of the potential risk of humans performing a wide-scale adoption of a healing potion that is not only incredibly effective at treating wounds and illness, it also has none of the drawbacks of being offensive to the senses and is frequently drunk for pleasure, to boot.
- The war is the reason Reiji stumbled onto Noella in the first place: her original home got too close to the encroaching battle lines and Noella either fled alone or was separated from the rest of her group, ending up alone in Kalta.
- Hot-Blooded: Gaston the carpenter is this under the effects of a super (energy) potion. Apparently, he was like this all the time in his prime, which is how he became a legendary figure among carpenters everywhere.
- Incompatible Orientation: Krull the elf is an out-and-proud effeminate gay man with a torch for Reiji, but Reiji is neither interested in men nor welcoming of Krull's extremely aggressive advances.
- Lighter and Softer: The anime tones down a lot of the violent, offensive, or black comedy of the original.
- Mr. Alf, the general store owner, is first encountered fleeing his home with a black eye and other serious injuries courtesy of his beloved wife. In the anime, he's first encountered in perfect health, begging Reiji to let Alf act as a distributor for Reiji's super (energy) potions, and at no point in time is Alf's wife ever portrayed as physically abusive.
- When Mina accidentally gives Reiji her reminder to get woolen panties than a grocery shopping list, Reiji has an Imagine Spot of her putting them on. In the manga, Mina's skirt is raised and the panties are clearly seen, while in the anime, she slips them on while her skirt is still covering her.
- During Feris and Zeral's introductory chase, in the manga, Noella wastes no time putting the basket over her head and pretending she can't see anything, leaving Reiji and Zeral to their fates. In the anime, Noella doesn't hesitate to put herself up to protect Reiji.
- In an attempt to "motivate" Reiji to do a good job reversing aging or giving the appearance of it, Countess Flam Valgas relays to him all the insults and mean-spirited talk that other nobles have made at Lady Valgas's expense. Reiji believes it's more depressing than anything else but is wise enough not to say it out loud to his client's face.
- Mega Meal Challenge: In one story, Mina, Anabelle, Paula and Krull drink a drug that largely increases their appetite, so they all participate in a competition where they have to eat a huge spaghetti.
- Mundane Utility: Super (energy) potions are revolutionarily effective medicine, capable of healing grievous wounds, temporarily granting the user a surge of incredible energy, and can even temporarily reverse the effects of aging, like with Gaston the carpenter. Jobs that would have taken him hours or weeks to finish end up done in the blink of an eye with plenty of strength to spare afterward. Since they're also extremely delicious, many healthy, uninjured people drink them for pleasure, notably Capt. Anabelle of the Red Cat Brigade and Noella.
- Noodle Incident: Reiji asks Zeral why he doesn't break up with Feris, who was then acting like a jealous, violently possessive, and obsessed girlfriend. Zeral offers to tell Reiji what happened when he suggested just that, Reiji decides he's better off not hearing it.
- No Sense of Personal Space: Villagers, often customers, tend to get all up in Reiji's face much to his displeasure.
- Old Master: Deconstructed with the seasoned carpenters who build the drugstore. They have a lot of knowledge from their decades of work, but all of them are slowed down by their age. Reiji invents an energy drink just to help them.
- Once an Episode: In the anime, there will be at least one musical montage of Reiji producing the episode's conflict-solving product. This is usually interspersed with someone either helping him with the process or just being cute. Episode 3 is notable for featuring the first montage with just Reiji, then a second, shorter version in the usual multi-character format.
- Piggyback Cute: After Mina loses a Mega Meal Challenge, Reiji gives her a piggyback ride back home.
- Product Displacement: Real-life energy drinks, vitamin drinks, and other pharmaceutical products from Japan are frequently referred to in all but their exact, uncensored names. This is mostly to give a comparison as to what Reiji has managed to make a magical equivalent to in this world, with his most popular product, the super (energy) potion, being a fantasy version of Red Bull or similar energy drinks.
- Product Placement: Parioded. In the first couple of episodes, anytime Reiji made a new medicine, the audience would get comments on how good it is by several villagers as if they are trying to sell them in real life.
- Shout-Out: After Reiji promises to help Flamme with her appearence, she has an Imagine Spot of him wearing Edward Elric’s outfit with Noela in Alphonse’s armor.
- Slow Life Fantasy: Reiji Kirio, a Japanese salaryman, gets Trapped in Another World and starts a drugstore, where he learns how to treat all sorts of magical and unusual ailments plaguing different people and fantasy races. The story is almost entirely without violent conflict, and is more about the wacky hijinks of the main case of lovable goofballs.
- Standard Japanese Fantasy Setting: The fantasy world Reiji finds himself in is the typical medieval European-inspired fantasy setting, complete with a Demon Lord (who's really just a goofball).
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: The capsaicin fluid bombs are extremely effective at debilitating and driving off bandits. After the first batch, Reiji decides to produce only on-demand, and even then, only as a last resort, otherwise the world may have a spate of people and guards being terrorized, blinded, and brought to agonizing tears by a mysterious drug that will inevitably be traced back to him.
- Toilet Humor: When Reiji force-feeds the raging, hallucinating Kodora a detoxification potion, the Kodora releases all those toxins by peeing with the force of a burst pipe, and completely by accident, all over the terribly unhelpful, middle-aged adventurers that dragged Reiji into the quest to subdue it.
- Yandere: Feris initially believes that Zeral was cheating on her with other women in the village, and the whole reason Zeral begged Reiji for help was because she was chasing him with a knife. However, it turns out that she only became like this because of a lack of sleep and after being prescribed soothing tea, she returns to normal.
- You Don't Look Like You: In the anime, a few characters, like Alf and Doz as the most obvious examples, differ from how they look in the manga. To be specific, Doz in the manga was a bald, serious-looking man who wears plate armor, looking like a professional mercenary or a regular soldier, while in the anime he looks much more like a cartoonish gang enforcer; he wears a red cat beanie rather than a bald head; a leather jacket, shirt, and jeans than metal armor; and he wields a club that looks like a red cartoon cat paw.
