The best manhwa like Doctor Elise depends on what kept you reading: the surgery, the second life, or the court romance. Few series do all three, so the nine picks below are grouped by which part they match. For the medicine, read The Apothecary Prince. For a woman given a second chance to undo her old life, read The Villainess Lives Again. For the romance, read The Reason Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion.
Recent updates:
- October 16, 2026: Full fact check and new picks. Removed A Returned Heroine Wants to Live Quietly (we couldn't find the series), The Lady and Her Butler and Miss Not-So-Sidekick; added The Apothecary Prince, Doctor Player and The Villainess Lives Again. Fixed wrong statuses and platforms: Lucia is still releasing, Beware the Villainess! has 144 chapters, not about 84, and I'm the Tyrant's Secretary is a finished Tapas series. Two unrelated images (True Beauty, Omniscient Reader) are gone.
- October 15, 2026: Tapas closing note added.
Doctor Elise in brief
Tapas sums it up: "Dedicated to making up for the sins of her past life, Song Jihyun devotes herself to mastering the art of surgery." She dies in a plane crash and wakes up "in her old body, that of the emperor's consort, Elise De Clarence." The Korean series is finished at 156 chapters, by Yu-In (story) and mini (art). In English it's complete on WEBTOON, Tappytoon, Lezhin and Tapas.
The anime ran 12 episodes from January 10 to March 27, 2024, and streams on Crunchyroll. KADOKAWA's teaser:
*KADOKAWAanime's official teaser for the Doctor Elise (外科医エリーゼ) TV anime (YouTube).*Readers don't read it for medical accuracy. In a thread arguing that Elise "is not a doctor," one of the top replies put it plainly: "Most of the story is just Florence Nightingale in a fantasy setting." The picks below keep that mix of doing good work and being admired for it.
Heads-up on Tapas: it closes on March 31, 2027, and episodes unlocked there go with it. Four picks below (Doctor Player, I'm the Tyrant's Secretary, Beware the Villainess! and This Villainess Wants a Divorce!) have no other English web home; Beware the Villainess! also has Yen Press print volumes. (What the shutdown means)
The nine at a glance
| # | Series | What it shares with Doctor Elise | Status | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Apothecary Prince | A doctor reborn into a sick royal | Ongoing | WEBTOON |
| 2 | Doctor Player | Same original author; medicine vs. magic | Completed, ended early | Tapas |
| 3 | I'm the Tyrant's Secretary | A modern professional at court | Completed | Tapas |
| 4 | The Villainess Lives Again | A second life to undo the first | Completed | Tappytoon, Manta, Tapas, WEBTOON |
| 5 | The Villainess Turns the Hourglass | Sent back before her execution | Completed | Tappytoon, Tapas, Yen Press |
| 6 | The Reason Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion | Noble survival, a deal with a duke | Completed | Tappytoon, Tapas, Yen Press |
| 7 | Beware the Villainess! | Wakes up as the villainess, refuses the script | Completed | Tapas, Yen Press |
| 8 | Lucia | Saw her future, changes it by marriage | Releasing | Tappytoon, Lezhin |
| 9 | This Villainess Wants a Divorce! | Married villainess with poor health | Completed | Tapas |
Statuses from AniList, checked October 16, 2026.
If you came for the medicine
1. The Apothecary Prince
The Apothecary Prince Korean cover. © Mun Baek-gyeong, Dadaeng, Ha Kang-ho, Lee Na-rae. Via AniList.
Ongoing: up every Thursday · WEBTOON
The closest medical match. WEBTOON: "Doctor Han Lee is reborn as Lachiel, the sickly Crown Prince of the Empire of Magentano," and he is "armed with medical knowledge and skills found nowhere else in this new world." Like Elise, he wins people over by healing them. Episode 123 went up on October 14, 2026, with five more in the app.
Where it differs: The doctor practiced Korean medicine, so it's herbs and acupoints, not surgery, and the lead is a man. A reader who suggested it in an r/OtomeIsekai thread on doctor stories warned: "It's from a ml point of view & it's also on webtoon."
2. Doctor Player
Doctor Player Korean cover. © Yu-In, Soy Media, Rico Daram. Via AniList.
Completed: 65 episodes, ended early · Tapas
From Doctor Elise's own author: AniList credits Yu-In with the original story. Tapas: Raymond, "the poor, illegitimate son of the king," wants to be a healer, but "his healing ability is abysmal" until he starts receiving "something called 'medical science,' which can cure things that healing can't!"
Where it differs: It ends abruptly. Tapas's finale notice: "This series concluded with Episode 65 as the final episode. We apologize for the sudden end." It's also Tapas-only in English.
3. I'm the Tyrant's Secretary
I'm the Tyrant's Secretary Korean cover. © Lee In-hye, Jay, Gi-O. Via AniList.
Completed: 118 chapters · Tapas
Professional skill at court, minus the scalpel. Tapas, in her voice: "To save my family from certain doom, I offered to become the Emperor's secretary in place of my clumsy brother. I excelled at work in my previous life." She does the job too well, and when she tries to quit, the emperor asks, "Do you want to die?"
Where it differs: Office competence, played for comedy. There's no medicine and no atonement arc.
If you came for the second life
4. The Villainess Lives Again
The Villainess Lives Again Korean cover. © Mint Han, Peach Berry. Via AniList.
Completed: 230 chapters · Tappytoon, Manta, Tapas; WEBTOON is running it weekly
The closest to Elise's guilt. WEBTOON: Artezia was her brother's "most valuable ally in seizing the empire's throne," was betrayed and imprisoned, and wakes "several years earlier back in time" ready to "forsake her own family." Like Elise, she spends her second life paying for what she did in her first.
Where it differs: Her skill is scheming, not healing, and the tone is darker. WEBTOON is serializing it every Monday and had reached Episode 40 on October 11, 2026; the full story is on Tappytoon.
5. The Villainess Turns the Hourglass
The Villainess Turns the Hourglass Korean cover. © Sansobi, Ttaelkkam, BABARA. Via AniList.
Completed: 125 chapters · Tappytoon, Tapas, Yen Press
Tappytoon: Aria "is about to be executed" when her stepsister reveals she was set up, then "she sees a curious hourglass that takes her back into the past." It has the same structure as Doctor Elise: a woman remembers how her first life ended and uses that knowledge to change it.
Where it differs: This is revenge, not redemption. Aria uses her knowledge to destroy Mielle, while Elise uses hers to make amends.
If you came for the court romance
6. The Reason Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion
The Reason Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion Korean cover. © Milcha, Go-Rae. Via AniList.
Completed: 158 chapters · Tappytoon, Tapas, Yen Press
Tapas: Raeliana is "fated to die at the hands of her fiancé," so, "using her knowledge of future events and political secrets, she makes a deal with the male lead." One reader recommending it to Doctor Elise fans wrote: "love the interaction between fl and ml, well written, set in similar setting to dr Elise." Our Raeliana review gives it 8/10.
Where it differs: Raeliana has no profession to fall back on; she trades secrets instead. Both leads have to talk their way into being taken seriously.
7. Beware the Villainess!
Beware the Villainess! Korean cover. © Ppongttamatseukeuryuba, Yeolmae, Blue Canna. Via AniList.
Completed: 144 chapters · Tapas, Yen Press
The comedy pick. Tapas: "a modern-day college student awakens as the story's villainess, Melissa Foddebrat," and is "doing things her way," old-fashioned society or not. She wants nothing to do with the love interests the story hands her.
Where it differs: Lighter in every way, with no redemption arc and no profession. It's Tapas-only online, so Yen Press's print volumes are the backup after March 2027.
8. Lucia
Lucia Korean cover. © Haneul Garigi, Taruvi. Via AniList.
Releasing · Tappytoon, Lezhin
Tappytoon: Lucia, "the sixteenth princess of the kingdom, has seen her future through a strange dream," so "she suggests a contract marriage to Duke Hugo Taran, a well-known womanizer." Like Elise, she knows how her life would go and steps in before it does.
Where it differs: It's a slow romance with no work plot. Tappytoon's version is "the revised version adapted for a wider audience"; there's also a Steamy version.
9. This Villainess Wants a Divorce!
This Villainess Wants a Divorce! Korean cover (also known as Survive as the Hero's Wife). © Nokki, Abin. Via AniList.
Completed: 118 chapters · Tapas
Tapas: she wakes up as "Carnelia Easter, the awful secondary villainess" who "trapped the prince in marriage," and her plan is to "convince him to divorce me instead!" On top of that, she has "my terrible health" to deal with.
Where it differs: The old article listed it as Survive as the Hero's Wife on Tappytoon. Its English release is this one, on Tapas only.
Our take
Start with The Apothecary Prince if Elise's surgery is what you miss. Like Elise, its doctor wins a court over by treating people. If the guilt and the second chance mattered more, The Villainess Lives Again is the best match, and it's finished. For the romance, Raeliana is the safest choice: it's complete, on three platforms, and our 8/10. Read the Tapas-only picks before March 2027.
Related Reading
- Best Doctor Manhwa: nine medical manhwa ranked, with Doctor Elise among them.
- Raeliana Review: our 8/10 verdict.
- Manhwa Like Raeliana: more noble-survival picks.
- Villainess Manhwa Hub: where to start in the genre.
- Best Villainess Manhwa 2026: a ranked list.
- Tapas Shutting Down: What We Know: dates and what happens to your library.
References
- Doctor Elise on Tapas
- Doctor Elise on WEBTOON
- Doctor Elise on AniList
- Doctor Elise anime on AniList
- Doctor Elise on Wikipedia
- The Apothecary Prince on WEBTOON
- Doctor Player on Tapas
- I'm the Tyrant's Secretary on Tapas
- The Villainess Lives Again on WEBTOON
- The Villainess Turns the Hourglass on Tappytoon
- The Reason Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion on Tapas
- Beware the Villainess! on Tapas
- Lucia on Tappytoon
- This Villainess Wants a Divorce! on Tapas
- Tapas end-of-service notice
