Kounodori: Dr. Stork is a Japanese Senin Manga written by Yu Suzunoki. It was published in Weekly Morning from 2012 to 2020.
The series follows the story of Dr. Kounodori Sakura and his fellow obstetricians as they work to help women bring life into the world. As a side note, Kounodori also leads a double life as the famous pianist Baby, who remains to a mystery to everyone else.
A Live-Action Adaptation of the series titled Dr. Storks was produced by TBS and released in 2015. A second season was released in 2017.
This manga contains the following tropes:
- Adaptation Expansion: Some patients' stories are greatly expanded on in the live action. An example is Yano from the first chapter: while her final fate is left unknown, it's revealed she's decided to get a job and leave her newborn baby Kokoro in the hospital's care until she's financially stable enough to properly care for her.
- Ascended Fanboy: One of Koundori's patients, Haruka, mentions she loves Baby and wants to be a jazz pianist just like him. When her parents take her to one of Baby's concert on her birthday, Baby takes a moment to let Haruka play piano with her.
- Bittersweet Ending: Some patients don't have happy endings, but there are still glimmers of hope for them. For example, in "Anencephaly", the Kawamuras have a stillbirth, but a year later they were finally able to have a child, with both parents keeping the dead Tsubasa in their hearts.
- Dark and Troubled Past: It's shown in flashbacks Kounodori was an orphan who was bullied for not having parents.
- Meaningful Name: Kounodori's stage name as Baby is a clear reference to main career.
- Secret-Keeper: Only a few select doctors at the hospital knows Baby and Kounodori are one and the same.
- Shown Their Work: Most of the medical fact shown as quite accurate and covers serious topics.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Some of Baby's concerts don't have him attending concerts at all due to his rather erratic schedule as a doctor.
- Teen Pregnancy: Covered in one episode with the mother wondering if she should abort it.
- Trauma Conga Line: Yano. In her childhood, her father left for another mother and her mother regularly screamed at her baby sibling for crying so much saying they would've got a good man if not for them. Then she winds up pregnant and the baby;s father leaves her.
