Black Pean：Season 2, the first in six years, brings together new and old cast members. Who are the people to watch out for heading into the final episode? We asked Producer Iyoda

The drama "Black Pean Season 2," starring Ninomiya Kazunari and currently airing on TBS's "Sunday Theater" slot (Sundays at 9 p.m.), will air its final episode on September 15th (extended by 25 minutes). With Season 2, the first in six years, the cast has grown and new actors have joined, making the teamwork even stronger. We spoke to producer Iyoda Hidenori about the cast.

◇Friendly Kim Mu-jun, "actor" Tanaka Minami also joins in

The original is "Blaze Scalpel 1990" and "Surijie Center 1991" (Kodansha Bunko) by Kaido Takeru, known for the "Team Batista's Glory" series. In Season 1, Ninomiya plays Tokai Seijiro, a genius surgeon known as the "devil of the operating room," and in Season 2, he plays Amagi Yukihiko, a world-renowned expert in coronary artery bypass surgery and a money-grubbing man known as the "Diable (devil)." In the eighth episode of Season 2, it was revealed that the two were twins.

Iyoda said about the cast of this series, when filming for season 2 began, "It didn't feel like we hadn't seen each other for a long time, but rather there was already a sense of teamwork, as if we had been at Tojo University together forever." In this way, the new cast members naturally fit in on set.

Kim Mu-jun, who plays Park Min-jae, who comes to Tojo University as a medical intern, is good friends with Takeuchi Ryoma, who plays Sera, and the pair seem to have become mood makers on set.

Iyoda recalls, "Mu-jun is very friendly, and Takeuchi really felt like he had a younger brother. It was heartwarming to see them talking happily together."

"Mujun has adapted to the way filming is done in Japan. She has studied Japanese properly and is trying to learn about Japan. She sometimes goes back to Korea and when she comes back to Japan, she buys souvenirs for everyone. I think that her feelings were properly conveyed (to the set) through each and every one of them."

Regarding new cast member Tanaka Minami, who plays clinical research coordinator Shiino Misaki, Kato Ayako played the same clinical research coordinator in the previous work, so the connection as a "former announcer" became a hot topic.

Iyoda explained the reason for casting Tanaka, saying, "The connection as a former announcer was just by chance... I wanted to cast someone who was attractive and had a bit of a devilish vibe, but also had a strong core, and Tanaka Minami was just the right fit."

Regarding Tanaka's acting, he prefaced it by saying, "I know, but..." but added, "I thought she was very good. She had created her character well and brought it to the set. When I met her, she had become Minami Tanaka the actor, not Minami Tanaka the announcer."

◇Returning cast members who have grown over the past six years

In season 2, Masashi Sera (Takeuchi), who was Tokai's assistant as a trainee in the previous series, has grown into a surgeon who is in a position to mentor his juniors, and Miwa Hanabusa (Aoi Wakana), a new nurse who is close to Sera, has grown into an operating room nurse who can hand out instruments. In addition, Saeki Kiyotake (Uchino Masaaki), a world authority in cardiac surgery, has risen to the position of hospital director, and each of them has "changed grades."

Which of the returning cast members have you noticed changes or growth in? When asked, Iyoda praised, "Everyone is completely different. As for Ninomiya, he was a top star from the beginning and his acting is solid, so he has continued to maintain that and has become more experienced."

He continued, about Takeuchi and Aoi, "They are clearly different from back then (in the previous work). They were solid back then, but they have the air of grown-up actors now, and it was fun to watch. In the previous work, I thought they were energetic and cute, but now you can see that they are fully alive, and I thought it was amazing."

When asked which person he is personally paying attention to in the final episode, Iyoda chose "Saeki."

"As someone who has only relied on technique, as I've gotten older I've been able to see the bigger picture, and I now have to see it. To borrow Uchino's words, he said that in the previous series he was a bit oily, but that he plans to play the role as he is now older. I personally found Saeki's way of life interesting. His actions towards the final episode were particularly moving," he said, talking about the highlights of the series.

What kind of ending awaits in Season 2? I want to watch it all the way to the end.