After School Doctor Review: A Sincere and Heartwarming Portrayal of Childhood

Nowadays, the world seems to become more and more chaotic by the minute, doesn’t it? That’s why we sometimes need a show that reminds us of our human potential to be kind, improve, and help each other. If you’re looking for that warm place of optimism and comfort, let me introduce you to NTV’s After School Doctor.

After School Doctor is originally entitled Houkago Karte (放課後カルテ, lit. After School Clinical Records) and is based on Hinase Mayu’s manga series of the same name. Originally aired on NTV from October to December 2024, it received international distribution through Netflix. The streaming platform, however, took weeks to start subtitling the show. So if you saw After School Doctor on your Netflix homepage but ignored it because of the lack of subtitles, I’m here to encourage you to go back and watch this lovely little pearl of Japanese television.

With a script penned by Hikawa Kayo and directed by Suzuki Yuma, Nishioka Kentaro and Nawashiro Yuji, After School Doctor follows Dr Makino Shun (Matsushita Kouhei), a paediatrician assigned to an elementary school to cover for a school nurse on maternity leave. He is a bit grumpy, which scares kids and teachers alike. However, he’s extremely attentive and wholeheartedly cares about people’s health. With his keen observational skills, Dr Makino can diagnose and treat even the trickiest of conditions, and so he quickly becomes the help the students and their families need.

This review is spoiler-free. Enjoy! But if you’re running short on time, why don’t you pin our spoiler-free summary?

After School Doctor: The Script, Characters & Visuals

After School Doctor is a deeply empathetic series about childhood, upbringing, and self-care. Every episode reminds us of the beauty of kindness, compassion, and perseverance through an ensemble of compelling characters that constantly ignite changes in one another and their environment. Unravelling at a comforting pace, After School Doctor offers a universe bustling with the joy and energy of youth but that never becomes too loud or chaotic. With a subtle, well-written script, the series allows its characters to blossom naturally. Healing and change are always present but they are never miraculous — after all, it takes a long time for people to get better. Instead, the script develops a narrative that perfectly balances engaging fiction and plausible reality, encouraging us to rejoice with small victories and appreciate the patience and dedication required to overcome our physical, mental, and emotional struggles.

Both young and older characters in After School Doctor are well-rounded beings with strengths and weaknesses and the show fleshes out their backstories and personalities bit by bit throughout its 10-episode run. Every scene moves the narrative forward, prompting characters to grow and relate to one another. And so, we’re invited to cheer these characters on and learn alongside them, embarking on an inspiring journey that is equally engrossing and soothing. It’s also worth mentioning that meaningful, effective visuals also support this constant state of comfort. The cinematography and production design create a warm, tender, and bright environment that conveys the optimism that guides this script.

The Relationship Between Adults and Children in After School Doctor

Children are at the heart of After School Doctor. The show explores their inner worlds, their struggles and triumphs, and how they express emotion and establish relationships. It’s their dynamics — with one another and the adults around them — that establish the pace and give energy to the show. Children are full of dichotomies: they are incredibly brave but fearful; they are extremely kind but occasionally self-centred; they are very sociable but also very reserved at times. Their ability to endure, grow, change, and connect with others is explored in every case Dr Makino faces. Through the challenges they face and the relationships they foster, After School Doctor explores the ups and downs of childhood.

The show also places a lot of importance on how adults treat children, questioning the right balance between what they ought to be told and what they want to hear. Adults tend to see children as immature and inexperienced beings who can’t understand more complex ideas and constantly need to be protected from harsh realities. However, Dr Makino sees and treats children as equals, which ignites a relationship of trust and fosters a greater sense of responsibility in them. In that way, children know that Dr Makino won’t lie — they can rely on him to guide them and provide the answers they are looking for.

As our protagonist points out their wrongdoings and the dangers and limits of reality, children become more understanding, considerate, and accountable for their own actions. However, he comes to understand that is also important (and not only with children) to sometimes offer the words that they want to hear. Even though Dr Makino never belittles the suffering of the students around him, he sometimes fails to realise that the cold hard truth might not work all the time. Throughout the series, he finds the balance between reason and emotion without ever losing his own personality.

Soon, teachers and parents learn from his approach, which fosters a series of sincere conversations between the children themselves and between them and the adults that follow them. That allows characters and events to be childlike in nature but never childish, making for a much more stimulating watch.

The Importance of Directing Actors

Here, we have to praise Yuma Suzuki, Kentaro Nishioka and Yuji Nawashiro’s ability to direct children. After School Doctor is dominated by child actors who deliver excellent performances — achieved not only thanks to their own acting chops but also thanks to meticulous casting and directing. Young characters in the show all have different personalities, which are conveyed with heart and conviction. At the same time, they express a wide range of emotions throughout: joy, sorrow, fear, pride, and insecurity. They laugh and cry with the same intensity and you can’t help but celebrate their victories and cry with their pain.

That’s not to say that the adult cast doesn’t do their job well. Matsushita Kouhei is excellent. Despite his grumpy exterior, Matsushita’s performance is incredibly nuanced thanks to his very expressive eyes and precise body language that express much more than what a script dictates. We instinctively relate to and love Dr Makino’s flawed self, as he discovers different ways to express his care towards the people around him and dedicates himself to doing his job to the best of his abilities. Morikawa Aoi, who plays the dedicated teacher Shinoya Yoko, balances Makino’s sullen personality with a very warmhearted delivery, offering a teacher who has the very best intentions but who might forget to take care of herself at times. The entire cast gives in-sync, chemistry-filled performances that immerse us even further in the After School Doctor universe.

Upbringing: It Takes a Village to Raise a Child

After School Doctor also provides a bit of insight into Japan’s education system, highlighting how teachers play a vital role beyond the classroom. Even though reality is a lot more complex, the series emphasises that children can only grow in a healthy, happy environment and reach their full potential when parents, teachers, and doctors work together.

Children understand and respond to the problems of the adults around them, whether we like it or not. Financial struggles, marriage problems, family illnesses — children can see it all and are automatically affected by the way that adults handle these situations. That’s why a solid support system should be established between home, school, and hospital. These three circles — personal, educational, and medical — should become a strong community that functions as a safety net. After School Doctor illustrates that if one link of this chain wavers, another one can help find a solution. In that way, children feel less alone and more important. Despite the challenges, they continue moving forward and have their needs looked after.

The show portrays the social role that the school should play, showing the hard work of committed homeroom teachers who worry about their students’ well-being even outside school grounds. After School Doctor leaves us with a bit of food for thought: how can we create healthier, happier, and more compassionate communities for our children? How can families, schools, and hospitals work together to establish safer environments for children to grow up in?

We also discussed this topic in our review of Love Scout. You can read it here.

Self-care in After School Doctor: Looking Beyond What’s Physical

For children to grow up well and adults to live happier lives, it’s not just our body that needs to be taken care of. That’s another interesting aspect of After School Doctor: the series goes beyond physical illnesses to deal with mental disorders and emotional suffering.

Our bodies and minds are intrinsically linked and our health is never only about diseases that can be seen. Often, what makes us suffer the most is invisible to the eye. After School Doctor reminds us that our bodies, minds, and hearts need equal amounts of attention. It reminds us that it’s okay to need and ask for help, whether because something physically hurts or because we have a broken heart. But it’s important to remember that, in order to help and care for others, we should help and care for ourselves first.

By introducing us to a range of physical, mental, and emotional struggles, After School Doctor explores a holistic approach to medicine. That gives the “medical drama” side of the show a refreshing perspective and strengthens the show’s overall themes.

Should You Watch After School Doctor?

Gentle, sincere, and heartfelt, After School Doctor is not only entertaining but profoundly moving. With a group of humane and charismatic characters, the series makes us think about our own lives, childhoods, and values. If you’re looking for a heartwarming, comforting, and enchanting series, After School Doctor might just be what the doctor ordered.

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