Iryuu: Team Medical Dragon

Institutional corruption is prevalent in many systems, and one such prominent example is the medical field. Present day, one would think such is no longer the case, but as recent events would have it, it is very much an issue. Akira Nagai's Iryuu: Team Medical Dragon takes a fair shot at bringing this injustice to light, displaying the supposed traditional Japanese values that are upheld at the cost of human life. It's easy to get lost in the trappings of immersion when consuming fiction, and as per course, separating reality from it is an important distinction. However, when the subject matter is acutely insightful, it'sjust as essential to look past the dramatic disguise and accept the criticism for what it is, be it against a medical system that no one person could change. The manga follows Ryutarou Asada, a genius surgeon recruited by Akira Katou, vice professor of the cardiothoracic department at Meishin University Hospital, to join her Batista research team that will produce enough results to cement her leadership position. The Batista procedure is an experimental heart surgery with an extremely low success rate to mitigate the effects of dilated cardiomyopathy. Iryuu: Team Medical Dragon takes its medical subject matter incredibly seriously. It is obvious not only in the various procedures and techniques that are named, but the tension of discussion is present when we see doctors engaged in conversation. Mangaka Akira Nagai was a successful doctor, and the accuracy in the story finds a fantastic combination of fiction and education without turning into textbook fare. The learning aspect extends further when we see procedures that reuse certain techniques or apply information the reader may have seen, and now that we are able to recognize these things without being guided, it is inherently fun. A great deal of our introduction to the various dynamics in a hospital workplace is through the eyes of Asada, a carefree man confident in his skills with a knife and seemingly unbothered by anything unrelated to his practice. He's an interesting character because we still know relatively little about him by the end of the story, and the reason is how Nagai has intentionally written how prodigious people are viewed. In the hospital, Asada is put on a pedestal, a larger-than-life presence to the intern he forms an unlikely partnership with. Unlike the usual direction this archetype goes, Asada isn't framed as some kind of self-described fraud or troubled individual. Contrarily, he is uniformly flawless, and thus he rises above being the lead into being a vital character device. This literary mechanic excellently structures the narrative around the people he willingly influences or those simply inspired by him. The character writing in Iryuu: Team Medical Dragon is consistently compelling, often dancing with the many hypotheticals that spawn during a procedure and the repercussions that affect a team. Emphasis on teamwork is the primary motif in the first half of the manga, as the Batista team follows Asada's lead in believing they are the locus of control during a surgery. Subsequently, everyone but Asada is now the main character, or rather, the team itself is. The regular shift in who the spotlight falls upon makes for what can loosely be described as an exciting ensemble cast. When we're not at the heart of surgical terminology, no pun intended, the focus on hospital politics underscores the daily critical surgeries being performed. The corruption that gnaws away at patient finances and turns a blind eye to malpractice is what Katou aims to radically change. At one point, the manga is completely engrossed in the power struggle, and while it could be argued that the time spent could be shortened, I felt it was a worthwhile endeavor. Nagai shows that outside of patient-doctor relationships, the health system is fundamentally a filthy business when power is centralized. This arc sets the stage for an important thought about career trajectory, and it's not often that we see this topic assessed correctly. Earning a promotion is a means to ambition, but for someone like Asada, rising through the ranks may not be as appealing. The dialogue pertaining to stifling medical careers and lack of ability to practice when one is a student is perhaps the most societally dense part of the narrative. Nagai targets the misconceptions and anxieties through an intern, a cog in the medical wheel. Tarou Nogizaka's art in Iryuu: Team Medical Dragon is constantly high quality, with special emphasis on shading. It's heavily incorporated into the manga's ability to highlight expressions during serious climactic moments. However, it's lightly spaced across a wide area, typically using cross-hatching to establish the faces of shock or relief. An especially impressive aspect of the art is the clearly different designs, making it impossible to mistake a face among the numerous characters that come and go. The storytelling frequently uses metaphoric imagery to isolate the degree of surgical precision on the panel, and coupled with the genuine optimism present throughout the storytelling, the manga is life-affirming. Even in the apparent evil forces that oppose the lead characters, the antagonism isn't overbearing to the point of disbelief. Neither are most of the medical procedures that are undoubtedly coincidental, but again, plausible in comparison to the miracles real doctors perform all the time. A captivating criticism of healthcare that avoids being maudlin through its positivity.