I have to hand it to Doctor Elise for its unorthodox setup compared to other isekai anime. Elise (Yui Ishikawa), the show’s protagonist, is a princess of an isekai kingdom and she gets the axe like an otome villainess. She reincarnates into our world as Dr. Aoi Takamoto and later gets the axe again, reincarnating back as Elise, ten years before she inevitably dies. This isn’t the first reverse isekai that I’ve seen and this is also not the first time I’ve seen an anime isekai someone back and forth like this but both are pretty uncommon to see, let alone together, so points to this show for being a bit more unique.
The funny thing about this premiere is that I quite enjoyed watching Elise’s second life as Aoi. I really dig the concept of a character trying to make amends for her bad deeds in her first life by helping everyone she can in her new one. Her picking up modern medical skills in our world is a great subversion from the usual trope of an isekai protagonist getting a fancy new ability the second they get isekai’d. Aoi is pretty darn likable character herself – very remorseful of her first life and selfless to a fault. I also enjoyed the trifecta between her, her best friend, and an underclassmen of hers. I’m honestly disappointed that this episode is probably all we’re going to get with Elise’s second life, apart from some potential flashback scenes. This could have been the plot of its own show.
Episode 1 ends right when Elise returns to her original world so I would need to watch the next one to see how the real plot of the show will fare. Elise jumpstarting the medical field could be interesting though a lot of isekai has its protagonist bring something modern to the table so I feel this development risks making the show more generic. I can also see Elise using knowledge of her first life to change her fate which again, is something that I’ve seen before, be it in isekai or villainess anime. Again, I should reserve judgment for Episode 2 but I can’t help but feel worried over where the show will go from here.
At the very least, I enjoyed this first episode. It’s a pretty atypical introduction compared to what I’ve seen in this type of show. Isekai has some pretty promising offerings this season so I’m hoping this show will be one of them. The more, the merrier.
Watch Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady with the Lamp on Crunchyroll
Xenodude Scribbles 