Welcome to AniMedica!
So I want to let you all know that this is a digital information project and all these posts can be accessed on my social media pages. I will be making a List on Twitter of each post that way you can check out the entire process all at once. Each post, I will talk about health/medically relevant character from some show; their story, their role in the show, any special qualities, and my own personal take on what makes them special and what type of healthcare worker they would be in our society. Since this is the first week, my posts will be daily until next Sunday (Sept 20th, 2020), from then posts will be coming on Sundays and Thursdays in the early evenings! With that out of the way, let’s talk about our first character.
Today we are covering my, dare I say waifu?, Dr. Tae Takemi from the Persona 5 (Royal) series. Dr. Takemi is a young doctor who owns a clinic in Yongen-Jaya 四軒茶屋 (based on Japan’s actual Sangen-Jaya 三軒茶屋), the home area of the Persona 5 Protagonist. She often engages in clinical research while occasionally providing medical care and prescriptions to the residents of Yongen-Jaya, including the protagonist.
Dr. Takemi is also notoriously known as the “Dark Physician”, “The Plague”, and the “Back-Alley Doctor” due to issues stemming from her past.
SPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILERS
Prior to running her own clinic in Yongen-Jaya, Dr. Takemi worked at a hospital in Tokyo and was highly acclaimed as both a researcher and a clinician. One particular patient that she developed a connection with was a young girl who suffered from the fictional illness, Crawford-Ende’s Syndrome (CES). This disease was described in such a way that, “certain cells indiscriminately attack other cells throughout the body”, which is similar in nature to many realistic auto-immune diseases, and “When it reaches the muscles, the patient slowly begins to die.” (2). Seeing the development of this illness in a patient she was so fond of spurred the doctor’s mission to develop a drug that could cure this illness (2). That is actually how the protagonists gets involved with Dr. Takemi’s story, specifically as “her little guinea pig” (1). The protagonist serves as a test subject for Dr. Takemi’s experimental drug. I would like to add note that her process of drug development and testing SLIGHTLY mimics phase 1 clinical trials according to the FDA but in a very limited case (5). Please remember that this is a fictional story and I believe that this practice is not utilized to develop medicine here in the United States. I cannot speak for Japan, but I imagine there are standards to maintain the safety and efficacy of drugs before administering them to patients at large.
Back to Dr. Takemi and how she acquired her infamous titles. The root cause of it all was jealousy. Being a well-revered young physician in her field, excelling both clinically and in research, her Director, Dr. Shoichi Oyamada, was jealous of her ability and not only blamed her for a failed clinical trial she was not involved with, but also blamed her for killing the young girl she wanted to save. To protect the hospital’s image from Dr. Takemi’s assumed shame she was fired, her history was kept a secret from the public, and she was blackmailed to discontinue practicing medicine. Despite the risk, she fortunately continued practicing, but in secret. (1), (2)
Onward to the fun facts! (Thank you to the Persona 5 Wiki).
Firstly, I find it interested that Dr. Takemi is also labelled as the “The Plague” (usually referencing the Black Death or the Bubonic Plague – Yersinia pestis) a major disease that ran rampant throughout Europe in the Middle Ages and killed nearly a third of the population. I think it is important to note that while physicians work to keep their patients alive and healthy, sometimes dancing with illness can be a reminder to the inevitable end. Memento Mori. (1), (3), (4)
A little extra note (also spoiler): As you play through P5 Tae Takemi can become an ally, or confidant, to the protagonist. When she does, she helps you as the Death Confidant (or Arcana whichever you prefer). Despite that being the case, the abilities that you gain as you advance your connection with her are: Rejuvenation, Sterilization, Immunization, Discounted (for discounts on medicine) and Resuscitation. Personally, I appreciate these medically related connections. As patients we often seek medical care for rejuvenation and resuscitation, and within that process medical professionals utilize proper sterilized tools like syringes to administer certain medicines or immunizations (DON’T FORGET TO GET YOUR IMMUNIZATIONS IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY!). The one thing I don’t get is the discounted skill, because I have not heard of any medical discounts. I would love to have my annual check up come with a coupon for ½ off on any necessary surgery, but you know. (1)
Secondly, many gamers and nerd analysts like to draw parallels between Dr. Takemi and Dr. Naomi Kimishima from the video game series, Trauma Center. Both of these physicians share many similar qualities both in style and life experiences. They are both excellent, well-acclaimed doctors with a taste for dark, punk fashion who, through unfortunate circumstances, have had their public image ruined and are forced to treat patients in the back alley. Throughout the course of their stories, they experience challenges related to death, loss, acceptance, and an ultimately revived will. I would love to talk about Dr. Kimishima, but you’re just going to have to hang around with AniMedica for a while 😊 (1)
Thirdly, many believe that Dr. Takemi is actually based on the 20th century Japanese physician, Dr. Taro Takemi, who served as an advocate for “the weak” and promote the listing and usage of Kampo (traditional Japanese medicine based on Chinese medical thought) by the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare. (1)
Based on what we’ve learned about Dr. Takemi, I think she’d probably be a Family Practice or Primary Care Physician working adjacent to a large city, don’t you think? You also might be wondering what happened to our young patient and Dr. Takemi’s Drug? Well I’ll leave you to play Persona 5 (P5R) and find out for yourself 😉. Well that’s all I got for Dr. Takemi! See you tomorrow!
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