‘After School Doctor’ Netflix Series Review - A Reluctant Healer in a Little World

I came into After School Doctor expecting a clean medical-slice-of-life drama with occasional emotional beats. What I found was something that mostly delivers on its promise but also trips over its own earnestness now and then. It is warm, sometimes cloying, occasionally tedious. But I’ll admit: I was charmed more often than I rolled my eyes.

Makino is a recluse by temperament. He doesn’t smile much. He snaps, lectures, and frowns his way through each episode. Yet behind that tough shell is a detective’s eye: he notices subtle shifts in a child’s behavior, an odd bruise, a stifled glance, or a teacher’s offhand comment. Slowly, he teases out the truth hidden beneath, whether it’s an undiagnosed illness, a family problem, or a psychological wound. Meanwhile, he wrestles with his own past traumas, regrets, and things he’d rather keep locked away.

What works quite well is the restraint in many moments. The show doesn’t hammer every breakthrough with a soundtrack crescendo. Some epiphanies land softly. There is patience in the pacing of illness revealing itself, in the walk across a school corridor, in a student finally confessing something. The child patients are not caricatures. They have quirks, misunderstandings, fears, and in many cases, plain old suffering. When Makino intervenes, it often feels earned, not like a deus ex machina.

Also, in a genre that can get melodramatic, this show mostly resists overcooking emotional scenes. When grief seeps in, or when guilt is confessed, it doesn’t always become a full sob fest. You’ll get quiet, messy moments: a child slipping into tears, or a parent’s voice cracking, and you believe them. For stretches, that’s enough. The visuals don’t demand attention, which is appropriate: we’re in elementary school halls, modest consultation rooms, and modest homes. The story doesn’t try to look grander than its bones.

That said, there are missteps. The series leans sometimes too heavily on formula: the mysterious backstory that’s slowly teased, the “secret family issue” that is just waiting for Makino to uncover it, the teacher who resists at first but ends up trusting him. It’s a familiar path, and familiar paths breed predictability. A few episodes felt like I could fast-forward and guess the resolution.

Then there’s Makino’s personality. Being a grouch is fine, but at times, he veers into being unrelatable. His brusqueness is supposed to be endearing in some broken-hero way, but occasionally it comes off as petulance. If you don’t connect with that attitude, it becomes a barrier to empathy. In a few moments, I found myself thinking: “Relax, dude. Be less surly.” A medical drama needs tension, yes, but not constant resistance. It would be nice to see him drop the act more often, to let his guard down rather than let every scene feel like an interrogation.

The supporting cast is hit or miss. Some teachers, guardians, and students are fleshed out with enough depth to feel like real people. Others exist mostly to trigger Makino’s intervention. A few side characters feel thin: their backstories hinted at but never fully explored, as if they were sketches rather than people. Also, the pacing is uneven. Some episodes drag over less compelling patient arcs. The emotional payoffs sometimes arrive too late to rescue a meandering narrative.

Another quibble: the tone. Because the show is earnest about health and emotional well-being, it rarely allows itself to breathe with humor. There are a few light touches of banter in the staff room, a kid saying something blunt, but very few moments that genuinely made me laugh. Given how tense some scenes are (sick child, panic, family secrets), a little levity wouldn’t hurt. At times, I wished for a nurse or assistant who cracked a joke, or a kid who misbehaved, just to lighten the load. Without that contrast, the weight occasionally feels heavy.

But even with these drawbacks, After School Doctor delivers more good than bad. Its heart is in the right place. There is a sincerity to it that’s not easy to fake. When it’s on, the show can stir you, make you pause, reflect, and feel empathy for someone you barely know. A moment when a child finally reveals something they’ve been holding back, or when Makino faces a flash from his past, those are earned. It doesn’t always succeed in surprise, but it often succeeds in emotional connection.

In terms of production, it is modest. The cinematography is simple, the lighting natural, the settings spare. That suits the story: no need for flash, no need to distract. The direction seems confident, especially in quieter scenes. The score is restrained, never overpowering. Acting is solid: Makino’s portrayer carries the weight of stoicism and barely spoken pain. The children, too, largely hold their own, which in a show like this is critical. Any mismatch would have thrown off the balance.

Here’s how I’d put it: After School Doctor is like a slow, steady knock on your chest. It doesn’t shout, but it asks to be heard. Sometimes it nudges too often; sometimes it misses a subtle emotional shift; and its reliance on familiar tropes does make bits predictable. But when it succeeds, it reminds you that healing isn’t always dramatic. Sometimes it’s quiet, incremental, awkward, and yet meaningful.

If you enjoy character-driven medical dramas, emotional storytelling without overindulgence, and shows where the villain is often silent or neglected rather than a bombastic antagonist, this might hit the sweet spot for you. If instead you need plot surges, big reveals at every turn, or a hero who is always likable, you may chafe at Makino’s rough edges.

In the end, After School Doctor left me satisfied more often than skeptical. It’s not perfect, but it’s earnest, it has moments that stick, and it dares to spread its wounds thin across small lives in a way that, much of the time, feels honest. I laughed a little, felt a bit uncomfortable, shed a few small tears, and after the credits, I was okay with remembering it.

Final Score- [6/10]
Reviewed by - Anjali Sharma
Follow @AnjaliS54769166 on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times