Becoming a doctor is not easy. You need to be smart and hardworking. Many smart people fail to get into this field. Also, a bit of luck is involved. You need parents who can pay your college fees, and support you till you start earning a good amount. Not all kids are lucky to have such support. Some parents are rich enough to “buy” a private medical seat for their kid, especially if they own a hospital/clinic. In such a setting, it is a remarkable achievement to be a doctor. It has prestige, money and most importantly you can save lives. Nothing is greater than that. Sorry forranting, but this manga really hit me in the feels.

In Japan it’s particularly difficult to become a doctor. The guy in our story named Dr.Goto Kensuke worked in a prestigious Tokyo hospital. That’s the dream of many doctors.
But then he came to the small island of Koshiki. A place small enough that everyone knows everyone. People were initially suspicious of him, his story didn’t make sense. Why would a successful doctor come here to the backwaters?
Did he commit a crime? In the initial chapters the manga shows beautifully how challenging gaining the trust of patients can be. Of course Dr.Koto succeeds.
He is a kind, smart, humble easy going guy who believes “See the person, not just the disease.” He’s also incredibly skilled and knowledgeable.
He performs a difficult appendectomy and finally becomes accepted by the village folk as a capable, trustworthy doctor. He receives great help from his reliable and smart nurse Ayaka Hoshino.

He goes on to become a vital member of this close knit island, and that is the real charm of this story.

His real name is Goto Kensuke, but the village folk call him Koto.
Shinryoshou means Clinic in Japanese, hence the name of the manga is Dr.Koto’s clinic aka Dr.Kotou Shinryoushou.

Story. 8/10
The premise is simple- new Doc in town. The manga is mainly episodic, every chapter or bunch of 2-3 chapters have mini-arcs. As time progresses the characters get older too. Over time we, as readers get to know the various people on the island and see them as friends.

The story initially had mystery elements as to why the doctor came to the island. This was shown nicely in one arc.
Most chapters are just people showing up with weird symptoms and Dr.Koto treating them. He also performs a LOT of surgeries, given the small population. But that much is a given, for the manga to keep running.
From time to time he goes to the mainland to perform challenging and sometimes borderline impossible operations. He’s as skilled as Black Jack, and charges almost nothing. Best offer ever!

There is a romance angle between Goto and Hoshino, and it’s quite nice. Just a subplot though. Medical action/drama is the main genre here. Comedy scenes also pop up from time to time.

I love the slice of life aspect of this manga. Can read it without a care in the world. Light, simple, friendly manga. And it also tackles many medical topics deftly eg,.Organ trafficking, senior doctors taking credit and pushing blame, people being distrustful of doctors until they really need them, doctors asking for unnecessary investigations to raise the bill,etc.
There is no dearth of material here. And guess why?
After seeing the terminology used here I was sure that a doctor has to be involved in making the story. So I looked up the author. Many years ago, Yamada Takatoshi, the mangaka started thinking about making a manga about a guy who moves to an island. His editor told him about a doctor in Koshiki island who actually does that.
Yes! This manga is based on a true story! There is actually a doctor called Dr.Setou Kenjiro who lives on Koshiki island. He went there temporarily but fell in love with that place, and has been there since more than 30years, serving the people. He abandoned his private practice. So the mystery of the accurate and relatable stories is solved.
The mangaka adds stuff to make the story exciting, but the appendix surgery part actually happened.

Art. 7/10
The art is good, not great. I have no complaints, it’s just that it isn’t amazing.
I wish the people had more expressions. Maybe I’m just getting used to more modern style of manga. The surgeries are shown nicely, pretty accurate.

Characters. 8/10
I loved the main guy, coz he is something we can aspire to be. He’s a fool at times, gets tricked too easily. But he’s kind, smart, and does his job with passion. He’s willing to take risks.
This story would have been lonely without Hoshino. She is a really sensible character in the manga. I’m tired of seeing stupid side characters, she is a breath of fresh air.

The island folk are great too. Mr.Hara is a loyal friend of Koto. Shige-san, the fisherman association’s head is an annoying old man. He can be helpful, but only when others really need him. Wada, Mrs.Tsuchi, Kuni, etc are great too.
Dr.Ebato reminded me of Black Jack’s nemesis Dr.Kiriko. Some characters that are annoying initially, later turn a new leaf.

One problem I had with the story was when evil people kept showing up to the island to exploit the people again and again. That was repetitive. Otherwise, I can’t complain.

Overall. 9/10
I had fun reading this manga, and that’s the most important part. I don’t usually write such long reviews, but this time I thought I’ll just write whatever comes to my mind.
This is such an underrated manga, no reviews, few users. I hope more people can discover this brilliant story.

There is no fighting, superpowers, and barely any romance.

You’ll love it if you enjoy slice of life, doctor related manga, medical/action/drama, island life type, simple, easy going episodic stories.

Thank you for reading!!