"Nice proof" that the unit of the left Kan extension of $F$ is an isomorphism, if $F$ is fully faithful Let $F: \mathbf C \to \mathbf D, G: \mathbf C \to \mathbf E$ be functors. Assume that $\mathbf C$ is small, $\mathbf D$ is locally small and $\mathbf E$ is cocomplete. Then, I can compute the left Kan extension $\mathrm{Lan}_F(G)$ as a coend:
\begin{equation}
\mathrm{Lan}_F(G) = \int^c \mathbf D(F(c),-)\cdot G(c). 
\end{equation}
Now, assume that $F$ is fully faithful. Then, if I consider $\mathrm{Lan}_F(G) \circ F$, I can compute:
\begin{equation}
\mathrm{Lan}_F(G) \circ F = \int^c \mathbf D(F(c),F(-)) \cdot G(c) \cong \int^c \mathbf C(c,-) \cdot G(c) \cong G,
\end{equation}
where the last isomorphism comes frome the co-Yoneda lemma. Now, what I want to show is not only that $\mathrm{Lan}_F(G) \circ F \cong G$, but that the unit of the Kan extension
\begin{equation}
\eta_G \colon G \to \mathrm{Lan}_F(G) \circ F
\end{equation}
is an isomorphism. I think that the above chain of isomorphisms actually gives the unit $\eta_G$ (MacLane in X.4.2 gives an explicit formula for that). Is there a "nice" proof of this? Or, a nice direct proof that $\eta$ is an isomorphism? I'm thinking of something which avoids trivial but tedious computations. This is the advantage of using end and coends, after all.

There is a useful trick for dealing with this. The following appears as Lemma 1.3 in [Johnstone and Moerdijk, Local maps of toposes].
Proposition. Given an adjunction
$$L \dashv R : \mathcal{D} \to \mathcal{C}$$
if $\mathrm{id}_{\mathcal{C}} \cong R L$ (as functors) then the unit $\eta : \mathrm{id}_{\mathcal{C}} \Rightarrow R L$ is (also) a natural isomorphism.
Proof. Let $\mu = R \epsilon L$, where $\epsilon : L R \Rightarrow \mathrm{id}_{\mathcal{D}}$ is the counit. Then (by the triangle identities), we have a monad. We can transport this structure along any natural isomorphism $\theta : \mathrm{id}_{\mathcal{D}} \Rightarrow R L$, so that e.g. 
$$\begin{array}{rcl}
\mathrm{id}_{\mathcal{C}} & \overset{\theta}{\to} & \mathrm{id}_{\mathcal{C}} \\
{\scriptstyle \eta} \downarrow & & \downarrow {\scriptstyle \eta'} \\
\mathrm{id}_{\mathcal{C}} & \underset{\theta}{\to} & R L
\end{array}$$
commutes. But (using naturality) any comonad structure $(\eta', \mu')$ on $\mathrm{id}_{\mathcal{C}}$ must consist of natural isomorphisms, so we deduce that the original $\eta$ and $\mu$ are also natural isomorphisms.　◼
