
From left to right: Abe Sadayo, Otsuka Nene, Koike Teppei, Sakaguchi Kenji, Uchida Yuki, Sasaki Kuranosuke, Mizukawa Asami
The press conference for Iryu Team Medical Dragon 2, the sequel to the drama that made waves when broadcast last April, was held in Tokyo today, graced by a star-studded main cast that included Sakaguchi Kenji, Uchida Yuki, Koike Teppei, Abe Sadayo, Mizukawa Asami, Otsuka Nene, Sasaki Kuranosuke.
Sakaguchi stars as the genius heart surgeon, Asada Ryutaro. The first series illustrated Asada's struggle against an authoritarian university hospital, and the successful Batista operation - a highly difficult heart surgery - his "Team Dragon" pulled off. This work unfolds around the theme "lives vs money" and sees the addition of new member(s) to the reunited team.
Sakaguchi, who reprises his role as Asada after a one and a half year break says, "I can do this sequel because fans said they want to see Iryu again. I'm grateful for it. Asada tends to be the sort who conceals his feelings but in this sequel we want to show a little human touch and kindness." When asked for the highlight of the drama Sakaguchi confidently replied, "It's still the operation scenes. There'll be an expert to give medical guidance just like in the earlier series so it'll be handled perfectly." The sense of speed in the operation scenes in the drama are achieved through exclusive scripts, detailed explanations from experts, and countless rehearsals to go through the motions of performing a surgical operation, before the actual scene is finally shot. In part 1, an hour long operation scene took 10 days and required a considerable degree of concentration and endurance.
On the other hand, Uchida Yuki, who stars as medical journalist Kataoka Kazumi, enthusiastically says, "I'm honoured to act in this production because I'm a fan of the previous series. My character is a smart woman with depth and I would like to portray that." Otsuka Nene, who will play an anesthetist, also professes to be a fan of Iryu. "It's a high quality drama that resonates with people's hearts."
Iryu 2 starts on 11 October.
Links to other photos from the press conference:
http://mainichi.jp/enta/mantan/graph/manga/20071001/