<figure id="attachment_406113" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-406113" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="cf34d3f2"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/12/c49a7f4524cdd61019995fdd8175d4ee.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-406113" class="wp-caption-text">The interview took place just before the stage greeting for &#8220;Doctor X the Movie,&#8221; but she was not the least bit flustered, and her words were carefully chosen, giving her the air of a great actress.</figcaption></figure>
<h2> I am more than the person I wanted to be, and that is truly thanks to fate and everyone who has helped me become that person,&#8221; she said.</h2>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The actress I play, Masako Daimon, has a huge gap between the surgery scene and the drinking scene. In the operating room, she is working briskly and quickly handing a scalpel to Dr. Michiko Daimon (Ryoko Yonekura), but when she drinks, she goes at Dr. Mamoru Hara (Kosuke Suzuki), Dr. Hideki Kaji (Masanobu Katsumura), and Dr. Kei Ebina (Kenichi Endo) in the Tsugaru dialect. Masako is from Aomori, came to Tokyo as a sort of migrant worker for her family, and was supposed to be a nurse working hard &#8211; but before she knew it, she had become an alcoholic character (laughs).</span></p>
<p> Doctor X the Movie&#8221; opened in theaters on December 6, 2012, and in its three days of release drew more than 440,000 viewers and grossed more than 600 million yen at the box office, once again demonstrating the strength of TV Asahi&#8217;s signature drama series with a 12-year history.</p>
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<p> Five years have passed since Mio Imada (27) appeared in the &#8220;Doctor X&#8221; series.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> When I was first offered the role, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Of course, I had seen the show, but I couldn&#8217;t understand why I would be included in such an eminent cast. I will never forget the day we met. I was always nervous, but the moment everyone entered the room, I lost my bearings and couldn&#8217;t look at anyone else&#8217;s face. So I don&#8217;t remember who was sitting next to me. At the face to face meeting, I would say, &#8216;I&#8217;m Mio Imada, who plays XX,&#8217; and then say a few words, but when it was my turn to say something, I was like, &#8216;Wow! and I felt &#8230;&#8230; sick (laughs). I still get nervous, but it&#8217;s a little different from the nervousness I felt then.</span></p>
<p> Masako Oma, who was initially in charge of &#8220;outpatient&#8221; work, such as refilling drugs and caring for patients, is now assisting the primary surgeon in this film, called &#8220;instrumentation.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> In this film, she assists the primary surgeon, and is called an &#8220;instrument dispenser.&#8221; She hands out instruments such as scalpels, gauze, and forceps to the doctor, but the way and timing of handing them out differs depending on the doctor. Since I was on the outside, I had been watching how they were working together, but when it came time for me to do it, it was a bit of a mess. Mr. Yonekura gave me a lecture on how he wanted me to hand it to him, but I still kept making mistakes. If I was one step late in timing, the operation would stop just because of that.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> In addition to the script, there was a &#8220;medical script,&#8221; which described technical terms and the movements of the operating nurses in detail, so I just studied and studied. When Daimon Sensei said, &#8220;Monopolar! I had to be ready to hand over the electrocautery scalpel as soon as Daimon Sensei said, &#8220;Monopolar! I had a lot of discussions with the nurses who were teaching me and with the people who were playing the roles of doctors, and I prepared myself well and always thought about what my next move would be as I went into the operation.</span></p>
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<p> What do Masako Oma and Mio Imada have in common? &#8220;The fact that they both like to drink? After smiling, she continued, &#8220;I work for my family.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Masako&#8217;s original goal of working for her family changed to &#8220;I want to work for Daimon Sensei, whom I admire,&#8221; and &#8220;I want to be close to patients,&#8221; but at the base of it all, &#8220;I love my job. I think that at the root of it all is the desire to &#8220;love this job. I also came out of Fukuoka to work as an actor, so I understand how Masako feels. However, I could never have imagined myself as I am now. When I came to Tokyo, my goal was to get a script or to have my name in a script. I am more than the person I wanted to be, and that is truly thanks to fate, or rather, thanks to everyone.</span></p>
<p> In the second part of the article, she talks about her behind-the-scenes journey to becoming the heroine of an NHK TV series, her thoughts on the work, and her current &#8220;ideal self&#8221; as she looks back on the year 2012.</p>
<figure id="attachment_406116" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-406116" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="7c0f86bd"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/12/5f2b055e4b047865ba1ce600921621b5.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-406116" class="wp-caption-text"> Mio Imada Special Interview: Heroine of Japan&#8217;s Morning TV Series! The &#8220;me I want to be&#8221; is growing!</figcaption></figure>
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<p><a href="https://friday.kodansha.co.jp/article/406135"> Mio Imada, the long-sought-after &#8220;morning drama heroine,&#8221; has reached a new level of success. <br>
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<p> From &#8220;FRIDAY&#8221; January 3, 10, and 17, 2025</p>


 Hiroyuki Komatsu

 Mio Imada was chosen to play the leading role in NHK's TV drama series for the first half of 2013. It has been eight years since she moved to Tokyo from Fukuoka, and five years since she appeared in the "Doctor X" series. She says that it is "fate" that has allowed her to become more than the "person she wanted to be.

The “me I want to be” grows up! …Mio Imada, “The cutest girl in Fukuoka,” where she is now after 8 years in Tokyo

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