Hana Sugisaki & Ryuya Wakaba’s “Unmet” and Its Legendary 14-Minute One-Scene One-Cut

The drama “Unmet: The Diary of a Neurosurgeon” (Fuji TV), which garnered the most attention in the April season, continues to receive a lot of reactions even after its final episode has aired.

 

The story is a medical human drama about a neurosurgeon, Miyabi Kawauchi (played by Hana Sugisaki), who has lost her memory from the past two years and forgets even today’s events by tomorrow, as she saves patients and regenerates herself.

In the final episode, Miyabi, whose tests reveal a recurrence, spends time alone with Sanpei (played by Ryuya Wakaba), who has taken a break.

Sanpei tearfully devours the beef bowl made by Miyabi. As Miyabi lovingly sketches Sanpei’s sleeping face, she is overwhelmed with tears. The continuous scenes depicting Miyabi’s internal struggle as she battles her fragile memory while keeping the flame of life burning are nothing short of stunning.

Eventually, surprising facts about their first meeting in Cape Town and their engagement come to light. However, the relief is short-lived. Miyabi loses consciousness again and is rushed to the emergency room, while Sanpei prepares to undertake a surgery that delves into forbidden territory.

Regarding this drama, Yuki Saito, the chief director known for the “Ossan’s Love” series (TV Asahi), expressed his enthusiasm before the broadcast, saying, 

“I want to create a work that stands shoulder to shoulder with overseas dramas and movies.

His high ambitions were also reflected in the script development. Once the draft was completed, Sugisaki, Wakaba, and producer Takashi Yoneda collaborated to provide feedback to the scriptwriter and finalize the script. It was their relentless effort to embody their roles that generated the documentary-like tension,” commented a producer from the production company.

Episode 9, which is called a “God episode,” showed a different approach to drama production and is already becoming legendary for its 14-minute, one-scene, one-cut final scene.

“In the scene where Sanpei tearfully confesses his past feelings for his brother to Miyabi in the medical office, instead of having fixed lines, the screenwriter summarized Sanpei’s childhood story on a single A4 sheet and gave it to Wakaba-san. He then internalized it and spoke in his own words, creating a unique style.

The directing, camera, lighting, and sound departments spent over an hour setting up and brainstorming to shoot this one-cut scene. That scene was a revolutionary moment in Japanese drama history,” said a director from the production company.

However, the highlight of this scene isn’t just that. There were comments online pointing out Wakaba’s supposed mistake when he leaned close to Miyabi, overlapping his dialogue. But the truth is different.

According to the blog of Takashi Hidaka, who directed episode 9, the line “Dr. Sanpei, you light up my life” was an ad-lib by Sugisaki. Her ability to insert ad-libs into a carefully crafted acting plan showcases her dedication to embodying Miyabi.

“Additionally, the recurring surgery scenes are remarkable. To prepare for these scenes, the two actors practiced vascular anastomosis using neurosurgery training kits starting six months before the broadcast. As a result, in Miyabi’s surgery in the final episode, they were able to demonstrate divine skills,” said the producer.

Wakaba, playing Sanpei, flawlessly completed the vascular anastomosis within eight minutes, a critical point that determined the surgery’s success, under immense tension. He then wakes up and asks, 

“Dr. Kawauchi, do you recognize me?” 

Which Miyabi, portrayed by Sugisaki, responds with tears in her wide-open eyes.

“Yes, I do.” 

The final scene, stripped of any apparent acting, was nothing short of miraculous.

After the final episode aired, chief director Yuki Saito updated his “X” account, expressing his desire to continue the story, 

“I wish, no, I must, depict the continuation of this story!”

If high-quality works like this continue to be produced, the Japanese drama world will undoubtedly transform. 

In ten years, the Japanese drama scene might be divided into two eras: “before ‘Unmet'” and “after ‘Unmet.'”