Elise: The Problem With The Ingenue

Hello, everyone! How are you feeling? I know this post is late, but I’ve been lazy, then busy. I am about to transition into a new position next month, so I’ve been wrapping up as much as possible in my current position.

Anyway, today, we return to Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady with the Lamp. I wonder when this “lamp” comes into play. It’ll probably happen at the end when no one will care. At any rate, we will discuss Elise as a character. More importantly, we are going to examine why her character falls flat.

What is an ingenue?

Simply put, an ingenue is an innocent girl or woman. TV Tropes expounds on this definition by saying she is “kind, sweet-natured, polite, and optimistic, and on the Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism, she falls very much on the idealistic side”¹. The article goes on to say that “her innocence will inspire protective feelings in heroic characters…”.

She’s a character with big, bright eyes, and she is always humble. Someone compliments her, and she says, “Oh no, please don’t say that!”. She wants everyone to be her friend but is utterly oblivious to the romantic feelings of the men around her. Her voice is usually light and bright, full of sunshine and rainbows.

My favorite ingenues

I’m not the biggest fan of the ingenue. I like my female characters with more grit, or the elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top if you know what I mean. But, there are two ingenue characters that I like.

The first is the absolute gold standard of ingenues, Tohru Honda from Fruits Basket. Her kindness and innocence feel sincere. The people around her are protective because she genuinely needs protection. God knows what would have happened to Tohru if she had not had her circle of friends. Truck-kun would get her in no time (if you know, you know).

The next ingenue is Haruhi Fujioka from Ouran High School Host Club. I love this tomboy-ish play on the ingenue. Yes, Haruhi is innocent and often oblivious, but she’s also wise and no-nonsense. She is charming to both the boys and the girls at Ouran Academy. Ouran High School Host Club is definitely my comfort anime (like anime beef stew). When I want to feel better, I throw it on.

Why Elise falls flat (for me)

For me, Elise falls into a weird place where her ingenue behavior does not match her past life experiences or her present actions. Think about it! She was a cruel menace that brought chaos to her family and kingdom. She reincarnates into a renowned surgeon, cool and calm under pressure. Then, she returns to her original life with all the experiences of those past two lives. Sure, she still displays knowledge, but at the same time, she takes on this ingenue persona. Did I mention that in her first life, she was burned alive?! You do not go through that type of trauma and not develop a little hardness to you. If the show insists on giving Elise this sweet and innocent demeanor, I believe her personality should lean more towards Haruhi than Tohru. It would make more sense for her to display more confidence in herself both in and out of the operating room but be naive about her impact on others.

Wrapping it up

Well, that’s it for Doctor Elise. Next time, we will discuss Mr. Villain’s Day Off. I don’t know what I’ll cover; I’m sure it will come to me. I will see you then!