Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady with the Lamp

Elise, an empress in another world, was not a good person. When she dies she reincarnates in modern Japan; here she determines to become a doctor and be of value to society. Then she dies again and reincarnates back into her old life, when she was still young. This time she decides to be a much better Maperson. She wishes to become a doctor so she can use skills she learnt in Japan to help raise medical standards in her homeland. This will mean foregoing the life that had been planned for her.

I thought this series provided an interesting twist to the isekai genre. It starts well showing us glimpses of Elise's life in Japan before her return to her original world. She is now a likeable character and it was fun watching her put her modern medical skills to use in a world that appears to be a century or two behind our own. It was nice to have an isekei world that didn't rely on magic or video game style levelling up. The characters are solid with good designs. Overall I'd say this was a fun series that is worth a watch.

Doctor Elise starts with an original premise that gives it a distinct identity, blending modern medicine and romance in a medieval setting (an uncommon approach in isekai anime).

However, despite this intriguing setup, the series fails to live up to its potential. Shallow character development and a rushed storyline result in a predictable, unengaging narrative. Emotional moments fall flat, and the plot doesn't fully explore its unique concept.

Ultimately, while watchable, Doctor Elise offers little depth, lacks substance, and fails to leave a lasting impression, making it hard to recommend.

Gekai Elise is an anime that combines medical drama with romance. It features a unique storyline where the characters are reincarnated twice and also trapped in a time loop.

Our protagonist, Elise, got a second chance at life after a not-so-great first run (executed, remember?). Turns out, she wasn't exactly an angel in her past life - think bad attitude and prince-obsessed. This time around, she had a loving family and a breeze of a life, but fate wasn't done with her yet. She became a renowned doctor, but sadly kicked the bucket again. (Talk about bad luck!) Now, she's back in her first life, pre-execution, and things are about to get messy. Determined to be a doctor again, she faces a major hurdle: an arranged marriage to the prince on her 18th birthday. The story follows her journey to become a doctor in this unfamiliar world, using her modern knowledge. However, people doubt her and try to throw wrenches in her plans, all because she's destined to be queen.

This anime suffers from several issues. The romance, for one, is poorly executed. Despite having multiple potential love interests for the protagonist, none of the relationships feel developed enough to be considered true romances. My biggest gripe, however, is with Linden, the supposed main love interest. He's about as exciting as watching paint dry. Throughout the entire show, he barely does anything. About the most he manages is the occasional conversation with the protagonist, Elise. Even these talks are pointless - for most of the anime, his knowledge of her seems limited to her love of sweets and her dream of becoming a doctor. He never seems to understand her as a person, yet the show expects us to root for them. Why? There are situations where Elise faces danger or obstacles to her dream, and Linden offers no assistance, even when he clearly could. This character is infuriating, especially considering there are two other men who are far better suited for her. One is intelligent, the other brave and funny.

The biggest issue is the main character, Elise. She's like a superhero with no weaknesses - flawless, universally adored, and inexplicably skilled in everything. In a world where challenges are supposed to make her grow, her constant perfection is tiresome. Even her "struggles" are shallow because she's always right and emerges unscathed. Beyond her intelligence, she simply lacks depth as a character.

This avoids the medical and logical issues to keep things concise. Were there any redeeming qualities? It was nice to see her relationship with Graham and Julian develop, and I also enjoyed seeing her try to prove herself to the entire kingdom despite no one believing her at first.

While the animation is decent and complements the anime's style, it lacks the wow factor. The character designs, particularly the male characters, are rather bland compared to the source material. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this anime. There are many superior historical romance options with well-developed female characters.

(16+) What's up with the combined ratings!? This was an AMAZING series which has an intriguing hook and a very inspiring female protagonist! I'd rate it a 10 except I don't care much for the main male protagonist, honestly, I think there are TWO better matches for her. I think this series is about knowing who you were meant to be, even if it is in a second life. What was remarkable is that even the second life (that is only shown for about 15 minutes) could be made into a WHOLE SERIES by itself! I think 16+ is an appropriate rating because the first episode has a horrible and tragically cruel death but otherwise 14+ is fine. Highly recommended as the voice actors, animation, and story are ALL top notch! You will not be disappointed!

Check out my comprehensive list of Anime titles to find your next watch - just click my profile link at the bottom left of this review!

The one sentence review: DrE, being both good and flawed, is an enjoyable, educational romance that would particularly appeal to a younger crowd.

She was cold. She was rude. She had a short temper. She was imperious and bossy. She was a mean girl. She was a b!+ch.

She married the Crown Prince and became empress, but she was an IDIOT. And she died. She woke up (reincarnated) in Korea as an orphan. She grew up to be a doctor. Recalling her past life fully, and with her situation no longer a pampered one, her eyes were opened to human suffering (she's suffering!) and the error of her ways. She wanted to make up for the mistakes she made before, as she caused a lot of misery in her past life. She can see that, now. On her way to Germany to do an operation, the plane went down. She woke back up in her old body, in her previous life, on the eve of her betrothal announcement to the crown prince.

Adapted from the Korean Manhwa, DrE is a 2024 release that is rated 7.25 on MAL. It is 1 season consisting of 12 23-minute English dubbed episodes with CC available. This is on a tween level. It is simple, sweet, and contained.

Elise de Clorance-1.0 was a spoiled ignorant brat. Elise-2.0 is a strong, intelligent, and caring 21st century woman & physician in the body of a teen missy in a time of medical skills that are 80-100 years behind her own.

Elise-1.0 had loved her husband, but she drove him to hate her. The thought of repeating their time together is the worst possible future Elise-2.0 can imagine. ANYTHING but that! She will not marry the CP this go-round! She won't ruin both their lives!! He was a cold and detached husband. He spurned all of her efforts to love and care for him, emphatically declaring that he only married her to please his father. He cares nothing for her. Notta thing! Zippo. Goose egg. Total wreckitude.

This is her second spin. She has the benefit of a previous run. She knows what's going to happen. She just needs to tweak the bad stuff. On her first day back she's having lunch with the Royal family. She helps the king avoid a war he would lose. Next, she gave the family enough information so that the royal doctors could stumble onto properly diagnosing the King's diabetes. Finally, she asked the king to break off her engagement to his son. It won't work out. She already knows that. She has a passion for medicine, she explains. She wants to be a doctor, not join his family, she tells the king, to his amazement.

By this point in the lunch, The King was looking at her as if she's extraordinary, and he was positively salivating at the thought of her being the next empress. When additional intelligence ops proved her right about their war plans, the King decided that the Royal family simply MUST possess her. Therefore, he wasn't thrilled at the idea of calling off the engagement. He, however, looks at the quandary as a chess game. The king doesn't think Elise could possibly make it as a doctor. The thought of Elise-1.0 becoming a medical professional is laughable, truly. Medical training is grueling; it's gruesome and bloody, too. His majesty agrees to let her try it for a period of months. If she can make it and prove that she's more worthy to the kingdom as a doctor than as its Empress, she will be permitted to pursue a medical profession. If she can't, she'll put her full attention to being a good empress. It never occurred to the king that he could lose this wager. He doubts she'll last a week.

Linden de Romanoff is our Crown Prince. He's tall, he's dark, and he's brooding. He became very brooding during their marriage. She remembers it well. Now he seems neutral about everything. What Elise-2.0 fails to notice is that the CP noticed her during that extraordinary lunch, too. She's on his radar. Big time.

They set her up at a middle tier hospital a town or two over from the capital.

Graham de Fallon is the doctor charged with training her as a "favor" to a noble. They kept the optics simple, so he has no idea the Royals are the ones asking the favor. Graham is a mixture of aggravated, disgusted, and impatient. He sends her to the most horrifying and hopeless ward in an effort to get her to give up. He'd already given up on these guys. Immediately, E-2.0 blows him (and everyone else) away with her knowledge. She has the place spic and span. She's operating on patients, who were considered hopeless, to enormous success. She's sweet and the people love her - patients and nurses. Graham is just stymied by her skills.

On an errand which will take him near the hospital where Elise is working, the CP decides to check in on her progress. Conveniently, the royal family are Masters of Disguise. Prince Linden disguises himself as a tall blonde man, Lord Ron. His Aid is shot in a robbery attempt and they end up at the hospital before they intended. The head doctor says that they can't stop the bleeding and the situation is hopeless. E-2.0 proceeds to treat them to the nation's first splenectomy. A legend is born.

We'll learn early on that Prince Lindon has an illness that he's trying to keep hidden. Elise eventually turns her attention to "Lord Ron" who has a persistent cough. She encourages him to come for treatment. He doesn't come right away. One day, she finds him wandering around the hospital property. He claims he was just "passing by," but she surmises that he's there for medical evaluation. The scene where she's examining him is adorable. She explains that palpation is the only way to evaluate skin temperature and numerous other factors, as she intermittently holds and strokes his face. All he's thinking is: "Does she touch up all the other patients like this😟?" He's crestfallen when he hears that he's at the last visit a few months later. Even worse, there'll be no palpation on this visit! He's healed - 👋see ya later, Lord Ron 😱.

The King's birthday celebration is approaching. The crowd collectively gasps as the CP walks into the ball EARLY. He hates these things! When other young Lords are attempting to ask E-2.0 to dance, he steps in. At this point we are about midshow. The tension is that the king now /must/ have E-2.0 as the next empress, the Crown Prince is falling for her, and she's determined NOT to marry him again because it hurt too much the first time around. She isn't over him. That much is obvious. She's willfully blind to it, though. She refuses to indulge feelings at all.

Elise looks 12 or 13. She's tiny with pale blonde hair and indigo jellybean eyes. She regrets her past behavior and has discovered the joy of helping others. One of her favorite targets used to be de Childe Julian. Not only is Juian's family a political rival to Elise's, but Julian is also quite obviously in love with CP Linden. E-2.0 shocks the girl by apologizing for her prior acts of aggression. Why did they ever have to fight so much? It looks like the two women may be able to be friends now (at least as long as Elise remains unengaged to Linden).

That's the gist of it. Every episode offers a short anatomy lesson. They give the best explanation of a pneumothorax that I've ever seen. The high IQ is one of the things I love about anime. The art is simple and flat. People are drawn for cuteness, not reality. The backgrounds are detailed and lovely. It seems obvious that these old world romance animes are a lot of work because the backgrounds have to be so ornate. There's ornate furniture and bobbles and vases and picture frames and wallpaper and gilded gold on everything. There's beautiful dresses, jewelry and hairdos.

The drawback is that this would be too simple for many. It's actually best suited for tweens. My rating reflects how lightweight the show is, at times. Nevertheless, the good outweighs the bad sufficiently to pull it out of average range. It's good enough to watch. The Romance is shaping up rather nicely; Linden has fallen for E-2.0. She fell for him a lifetime ago. Literally. What will it take to heal this relationship?

IMHO〰🖍

📣7 📝6.5 🎭7 💓5 🦋6 🎨7 🎵/🔊6 🔚? ▪ 🌞7⚡5 😅1 😭3 😱2 😯2 🤢3 🤔5 💤0 🤗4.5

Age 10+ Rated: PG-13

Re-📺? On to the next!

💘 Ouran High School Host Club-8,, Ao-chan Can't Study-7.8, Special A Class 💓8.2, Maid Sama-10, Why Raeliana Ended up at the Duke's Mansion-8.4, Mischievous Kiss, Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun-7.7, Colourcloud Palace-7.5, Hakkenden, 7th Time Loop-7.9, Honey & Clover, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU, Princess Principal 8.6, Sugar Apple Fairy Tale-7.5 My Happy Marriage-8.3, My Happy Marriage-8.3, Real Girl-7.5, My Happy Marriage-8.3, Your Lie In April-9, Violet Evergarden-9.5.