"LOVED ONE," a Fuji TV drama airing Wednesdays at 10 PM and starring actor Dean Fujioka, will premiere on April 8th. Dean Fujioka will play Mizusawa Masumi, an eccentric genius forensic pathologist. Actress Kumi Takiuchi will play Kiryu Maho, an elite bureaucrat on the brink of ruin who partners with Masumi. This marks Dean Fujioka's first starring role in a Fuji TV drama in about six and a half years, and his first time co-starring with Takinouchi.
The title, "LOVED ONE," is a phrase used by forensic pathologists to express respect for a deceased person. The drama follows the members of the newly formed forensic team "MEJ (Medical Examiner Japan)" as they tackle numerous difficult cases, tracing the silent final traces left behind by people who were once family, lovers, or friends of others.
In the first episode, forensic pathologist Masumi Mizusawa (Dean Fujioka) has worked in the United States for 15 years as a "medical examiner," visiting not only the autopsy room but also crime scenes to determine the cause of death with his own eyes.
Despite her gentle demeanor, Masumi has a personality that cannot overlook even the slightest inconsistency, often confusing those around her. With her arrival, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has established a new forensic medicine specialist team, "Medical Examiner Japan (MEJ)." Bureaucrat Maho Kiryu (played by Takinouchi) is chosen as the center's director, but she is practically a novice in both forensic medicine and crime investigation, and can't help but complain to her junior colleague, Takumi Shinozuka (played by Takuya Kusakawa), "Why was I demoted?"
The day before MEJ's launch, Maho was getting ready with a gloomy expression when Masumi, who had just returned from the US, appeared before her, but their conversation didn't connect. The next morning, as Masumi was lying in the staff room, he received a call from the field. Masumi and Maho headed to a 40-centimeter-deep pond where a 17-year-old boy had collapsed.
Detective Honoka Dojima (Sayaka Yamaguchi) believes it was murder, but Masumi decides to perform an autopsy. At MEJ, they are greeted by forensic pathologists Masato Honda (Yusei Yagi), Rensuke Takamori (Keito Tsuna), Suzune Matsubara (Seira Anzai), and laboratory technician Yukiko Yoshimoto (Asuka Kawadoko). With everyone watching, MEJ's first autopsy begins. Why did the boy lose his life in a pond only 40 centimeters deep? Was it an accident, a crime, or something else...?
