Gekai Elise

I will be honest, this was a disappointment.

I read the story (multiple times) and I was looking forward to see it happening in an anime, but they butchered the story and the characters a lot resulting in an incoherent and messy story that could've been soo much better.

If I had to describe how this anime feels, then I would see it feels like watching a Hollywood adaptation of a beloved anime.

Look, the new story isn't bad. It's passable.
But is that what you want from an anime?

I do recommend this anime simply because it's pretty unique, but I recommend reading the story more.

I began this isekai anime with high hopes, and it was enjoyable but didn't execute the premise as well as it could have. Elise is an interesting character and starts making her way into the medical field in the past. It excited me to think of what was to come. However, the medical part of the story isn't well developed, the characters feel a bit bland, and there are no interesting challenges for her.

Elise is instantly good at everything medically, which makes sense, but only to an extent. It would have been more entertaining for Elise to have to adjust to the less modern medical ... field, with things to overcome such as not having modern medical equipment, or proving medical treatments are effective before she goes ahead with them. The medical side of the anime is by far the most interesting, but Elise's lack of growth and apparent "all-knowing medical goddess" -ness makes it feel a bit flat.

As for the being the queen side of things, we start with some interesting political input from the main character, which would be cool to explore further, but instead, there's lots of screen time spent on rather boring scenes like being at a ball. I'd personally much prefer if they were to spend less time on noble life, and if there was focus on her engagement for it to be focused on her political opinions and solutions she would implement in the slums to prevent famine or plagues, and how she would prove this is a good idea.

As far as the romance goes, it kind of feels forced. There isn't much chemistry between the main couple, and I'm sorry to disappoint but nearly every guy falls in love with her. Her brother is overprotective too, in that weird reverse harem way. The characters that like her don't have a personality anyways. It's kind of disappointing to see this premise force so much attempted romance into the plot when thats not really what we're here for. Romance is fine, but maybe try to keep it to one or two characters. Just my opinion, as an avid romance enjoyer, this feels kind of badly done.

But the show is enjoyable. At the very least its more interesting than most reverse harems, or isekais, but it's left me disappointed because it had so much potential and was let down a bit.

Doctor Elise isn’t just an isekai—it’s a reverse/double isekai where a spoiled girl from the past is reborn in the modern world, becomes a doctor, and then returns to her old life with all her memories intact.

Aoi Takamoto is a skilled doctor with a reputation for being one of the world’s best surgeons. Maybe it’s my bias as someone who also wants to go into medicine, but I instantly loved her character. She’s poised, professional, and kind both to her patients and her colleagues, important traits in health care that tend to get overlooked in favor of drama. But instead, Aoi embodies the ideal doctor, ... showcasing both in skill and personality why she’s considered the best in her field. Also, she has some quirks outside the hospital, like her sweet tooth. :)

Aoi became a doctor because her previous life ended tragically, both for herself and the people she loved. As a result, she wanted to make the most of her new life and help save as many people as possible. Her desperation is explained well with an early flashback of her execution. However, why she chose medicine in particular is a bit random. We learn a better motivator in the second episode; showing that motivation before Aoi works hard to become a doctor would’ve better explained her new career choice, which is important for reverse isekai.

When Aoi returns to being Elise, her personality shifts so drastically I’m surprised the characters in her first life aren’t more suspicious of her. There’s even a hint of alternative history when Elise uses her modern knowledge of history and geopolitics to influence events in the past—and the other characters just go along with it because she sounds smart (she’s a doctor in a younger person’s body, like Aqua from Oshi no Ko, so of course she sounds smart, but still). Ultimately, it looks like the story is going to be a “you can have your cake and eat it too” deal, as New Elise will likely have it all: her career as a doctor, the crown prince she was in love with, a happy family life, etc. It’s a bit iffy when you realize that New Elise is a full adult woman at least in her late 20s suddenly in the body of a girl coming of age. :P

The art is lovely, with the characters’ eyes following the trend of that luminous glow, though simpler than other modern shows like The Apothecary Diaries. I like that New Elise’s face closely resembles Aoi’s, with her wide eyes and gentle expressions, even if it’s still technically Elise’s face (dark blue eyes instead of Aoi’s light brown ones). And I absolutely love the soundtrack, which is stunningly gorgeous and immerses you in the story.

I recommend this anime if you like at least one of the following: isekai, medicine, romance, aristocratic slice-of-life—apart from shonen, it has something for almost everyone! ^^

As a fresh take on the villainess reincarnation trope, Doctor Elise started out promising. The medical drama aspect is fairly unique for anime, presenting a variety of detailed and somewhat intense medical procedures. The romance is engaging too, with plenty of time spent on the leads growing together naturally.

However, the confused time period of the setting really threw things off. Despite the rest of the setting being vaguely pre-industrial, the medical knowledge and technology is more advanced for some reason, kind of all over the place but usually something like 20th century. A show about an alternate medical history to our own would be fascinating, ... but it feels like very little thought went into this aspect. It boils down to them having many modern tools for safe surgery, but lacking knowledge of more complex procedures, which is extremely convenient for our isekai’d protagonist to show off her superior surgery skills.

My other issue was with the animation, which is fairly barebones and static. Most of the time it wasn’t too big of a deal, but I was really pulled out of the show during a certain dance scene where they kept going on about how intense it was, but they were just standing there in position the whole time.

By the end of the show, I kind of wished I was rewatching The Saint’s Magic Power Is Omnipotent instead, which has the same VA playing a similar lead character but has more depth and feels less contrived. Regardless, I won’t be too harsh on Doctor Elise—it was entertaining enough as a filler show and scratched the medical drama itch that I haven’t seen anything else do the same way.

I read the manhwa of Doctor Alice a long time ago. The anime starts with Dr. Aoi Takamoto getting isekai'd to her first life, where she led to deaths of her family members and herself. She decides to use her medical and past knowledge to save lives.

The downside is it's unrealistic as Elise can do every type of surgery and never fails. The characters are likeable but similar to many other isekai anime. The art and opening is fine.

Doctor Elise is a good inspiration for young female viewers who want to be a surgeon. It's good for a quick watch but it might ... not stay in your mind for a long time. You might like this if you're looking for isekai, medicine, romance, aristocratic slice of life anime!

Have you ever had that feeling when a series is too fast and too slow at the same time, when it somehow feels completely off the pace? I had exactly that feeling with "Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady with the Lamp".

Apart from the fact that I don't know where the lamp is supposed to be in the series, the anime is about a noblewoman who was executed at the stake by her husband. However, she wakes up in our world and wants to make up for her past mistakes and becomes a doctor who is considered an absolute genius. She is so talented that she ... rescues every injured passenger after an airplane crash without having any tools. In the end, however, she dies from her own injuries, only to wake up again shortly before her engagement! In order to really make up for her mistakes and prevent all the suffering she had to witness in her first life, she does her best to break off the engagement and become a doctor here too.

I have a few problems with the series. I've already mentioned that the pacing seems slightly off. Halfway through, she's still engaged and still not recognized as a doctor, while at the same time she's undergone dozens of surgeries (or the like), all of which we get to see within the few episodes. This makes the show feel rushed when it's about her work as a doctor and too slow when it's about royal diplomacy.
Apart from that, the characters all come across as flat or unsympathetic. The king, for example, allows himself to be influenced too much by his minister and thus comes across as stupid and an asshole, as he makes life difficult for the protagonist even though he made her a promise. Everyone else often only appears very briefly and simply befriends her or falls in love with her, without much backstory or similar. There seems to be some backstory, because stuff is hinted at again and again, but the hints aren't enough to give the characters any depth.

Conclusion: Uff - why am I still watching this? The series somehow has a charm that I can hardly describe and that makes me curious about the next episodes, even though I could hardly stand the previous ones.

Edit: I've now seen the series all the way through and decided that I can leave this review as it is. The biggest problem with the series is the intrigue part, which I can only describe as strange. I admit that it has potential, but the way it's implemented is annoying 90% of the time. The last 10% concerns the finale, which took a step back from the doctors' part and focused more on the intrigue, making for a thoroughly interesting finale, even if the rather open ending is annoying.

I like it. I have read the manhwa beforehand, so I have some expectations. One of them is animation and character design. Elise is just as beautiful as I remember. But I have some complaints in regards to the prince, because his character art is heavily inconsistent (the hair akksks), and the animation isn't the most grandiose either. Just ok enough to get by. But I like the story, they seem to take into account the important points of the original works and execute them pretty well. I don't remember the original story all that much, but the impression that I have from the manhwa ... is very good, so far the anime has yet to disappoint me in the story aspect so I'll continue to watch for that! Hence a solid 7 from me, since I enjoy it this far.

One more thing that would have been nice to see is the medical process. Too bad they didn't really get into detail there, I remember the manhwa being pretty complex about the medical aspects. In the anime, they use many repeating frames to explain the medical process which annoys me a little🥲 and they often cut the part where Elise is performing medical operations, but still ok enough for me to keep watching.

If you like light slice-of-life-ish isekai stories, with some sprinkles of romance, and a touch of medical theme, you might like this. Don't expect a heavy and detailed plot though (and be warned of the prince's hair😭🙏).

Gekai Elise, aka Elise the Surgeon, follows Elise, a formerly selfish noble woman from another, early renaissance period-ish world with some magic, that was reborn into our world after being executed for her crimes in her original world. Suddenly guilt-ridden, she spent her new life (as an unwanted orphan of course) training to become and becoming a world famous surgeon, saving lives to make up for her sins in her former life. She gets famous for the fact she never has made any mistake in any surgery or examination, being haled as a miracle.
On her way to an important conference and an important surgery on ... the other side of the world, her plane crashes, and she literally saves every passenger, despite her organs literally hanging out of her body, collapsing and dying just after saving the last other person, as the rescue personnel rushes towards her. She wakes up, having been reborn into her old life as Elise de Clorence in her original world, a few years before the events that led to her execution. She decides to change her fate, and that of the whole country, by becoming a surgeon there as well, continuing her work, instead of becoming empress/queen. She makes a wager with the King to this extent, and goes under-cover in a hospital as an assistant to prove her worth.

Story & Characters: 5,6/10
The story is fine enough, but there's really nothing special about it. It has an enjoyable, but not complex plot. Elise's world seems to fit an early renaissance, yet they have medical knowledge and tools, like those from the early 20th century, with medical terms picked straight out of our modern medical world.
Most of the problems with the story revolves around it's characters, despite there being several interesting characters, these characters are not fleshed out properly and are left un-finished (something I hope they remedy if there comes a second season). Some of these characters are relatively un-important, but some have major roles in the story (such as both the princes).
One of the most major character issues (to me at least) is the MC, Elise. To put it simply, she is a definite Mary Sue character. We are shown backflashes to her first life throughout the series, showing her behavior and "crimes", as well as often flashing back to the moment crown prince Linden executes her, yet, despite Linden in that moment explaining that her actions were so vile that her whole family had been executed and the country was in ruins, the crimes we are shown are mostly... her being friends with his younger brother Mikhail, leader of the noble faction (which opposes the royal faction, lead by Linden), and her being selfish. Elise is never shown as actually doing anything bad, other than being a spoiled brat. There is nothing to justify how she and her family was executed (she "did no wrong"). On top of that, Elise is literally stated to NEVER have made ANY mistake in ANYTHING medical. She is literally written as the "perfect miracle doctor/surgeon", being 100% correct in everything, to the point that all other characters in the medical field, in both worlds, basically bows to her as a goddess and sucks her metaphorical dick. Prince Linden, which had liked her when they were children, but who had grown to despise her (despite her unconditional and obsessive love for him), quickly fell in deep love with her after she started working in a hospital, as well as Mikhail loving her for some reason, the doctor she works with falling hard for her, the King adoring her, etc. etc. Basic Mary Sue trait, as literally everyone loves her except for the unredeemable bad guys. She is always the center of attention, being the smartest and most beautiful, etc., and her only faults are that she originally was spoiled and self-centered, but now only have a terrible handwriting and can't fight.

Art & Sound: 6,3/10
The visuals of the show are fine, with pretty, though a bit generic, character designs, but is dragged down by mediocre animation whenever there's action, which luckily is quite in-frequently.
The sounds and voice acting is fine. Not much more to say about that.

Overall: 5,9/10
Gekai Elise is an enjoyable show, but the character is an un-faultable Mary Sue in most situations, which makes the stakes feel shallow, and unimportant. Overall, I would still recommend it, but I would ask those about to watch it to lower their expectations of they're expecting a well-crafted, complex narrative. I hope there's a 2nd season and that it improves upon the 1st one and makes up for it's shortcomings.

At first glance, 'The Anime' didn't seem to offer anything new. It fell into familiar tropes of reincarnation and second chances, leaving me somewhat disinterested. However, after giving it a chance and watching the initial episodes, I found myself unable to look away.

The anticipation for the next episode was palpable, but rather than waiting idly, I delved into the source material—a Korean manhwa. The depth and detail I found there only heightened my excitement for the anime's continuation.

Yet, upon returning to the anime, I was sorely disappointed. While the characters and storyline remained, the essence of what made the manhwa captivating seemed lost in translation. ... Alice's transformation from a mere noble to a remarkable doctor was glossed over, robbing the series of its emotional depth and complexity.

Despite the potential hinted at in the source material, the anime failed to deliver. It rushed through pivotal moments and omitted crucial character development, leaving viewers like myself feeling unsatisfied and longing for what could have been. Ultimately, 'The Anime' fell short of its promise, leaving me disappointed and wishing for more.

Gekai Elise a decent adaptation of a manhwa but unfortunately not memorable.

The anime tries to be a medical drama, but it fails in an important point of this genre, the explanations. Usually when we see a medical product, what is most attractive is knowing what the disease is, why it hurts and how to cure it. Elise skips all this, only respecting the diagnosis and cure part but with very little information on her part to the viewer. The story focuses more on being a redemption story for Elise. How he reconnects with his family, how he makes friends with those who previously got along ... badly, and how he will have the opportunity to love, but this time it will be reciprocated.

In terms of adaptation, there are chapters that seem to me to be much better worked than in the manhwa version. To give an example, we have the first chapter, which I consider one of the best first chapters of the winter season. The way we are introduced to the protagonist, her profession and outcome, everything is worked in such a way that the viewer can feel empathy for what they are seeing. Afterwards, the rest of the chapters respect a rhythm without trying to rush the work, taking their time so that we can understand what Elise is facing in this new life.

In conclusion, if you read the manhwa, this adaptation can meet most of the expectations you have. On the other hand, if you are only looking for a medical drama, let me tell you that this is a bad option, since it has quite a few good things except medicine.