The Professionals - Season 11 / Year 2024

Capsule toys are in a record-breaking boom. Parents and children form lines in store corners dedicated to capsule machines. While over 300 new products are created each month, 54-year-old Honda Tsuneyuki has made mega-hit after mega-hit. He's changed the concept of capsule toys, with his masterpiece series "The Diversity of Life on Earth" even used as school teaching materials. He was once pushed out of project development and took a 20-year detour to find his current path in life. The behind-the-scenes of development is revealed for the first time, and a new challenge begins to create a capsule toy of unprecedented size. What goes into making these 7-centimeter spheres?

From devices that enable people with hearing disabilities to experience music to autonomous wheelchairs, researcher Ochiai Yoichi seeks to use technology to break down barriers and tackle social issues like disabilities and discrimination. What future does this "modern-day magician" envision? Once a boy with no interest in people, he found a new way of life when his child was born with a disability. Now, with AI evolving at a rapid pace, we reveal the true self of this young pioneer as he strives to form a bridge between people and technology.

Reconstructive surgeon Yamamoto Takumi (41) has restored injured body parts through unprecedented transfer surgeries, from severed hands and legs to lost breasts and lymphedema. Using supermicrosurgery, he's helped patients who were told they had no means of treatment. Doctors from around the world visit him to learn his extraordinary techniques. Once a shy boy who couldn't read the room, he's forged new paths for his field that astound professionals around the world. We explore behind the scenes of this doctor hailed as a young genius.

As Noto Peninsula recovers from an earthquake, people strive to restore everyday life. We focus on the "unbreakable" leader of the Wajima-nuri lacquerware world, Kirimoto Taiichi. What thoughts does this man who loves Wajima-nuri put into his "unbreakable vessels?" Once featured on The Professionals, we also focus on world-famous gelato artisan Shibano Taizo as he reunites with his ingredient producers on Noto and creates a new gelato to make a comeback. Called "A god of sake brewing," master brewer Noguchi Naohiko chooses to pass his techniques on to the next generation. These are the professionals that call Noto home.

Known as the last resort for damaged shoes, shoe repair artisan Murakami Rui (41) is flooded with requests from all around the world. He never turns down a repair, even when other shops and the makers themselves throw in the towel. Failing his university entrance exams three years in a row and dropping out of university, he spent his twenties feeling half-hearted, until meeting an old artisan known as "the god of shoes" changed his life. Now, he uses his skills not only to restore shoes to their former glory, but also to bring back the memories and time they spent with their owners. In a little workshop that shines like a beacon on the edge of town, we watch a drama story unfold around a single pair of shoes.

Heretic architect Baba Masataka (55) is a pioneer of renovation who has given new life to abandoned structures, from empty houses to buildings slated for demolition. Something about the places he works on draws people together and makes them smile. In his past, he wandered off the beaten path, harboring doubts about designing new architecture. With his eyesight deteriorating, he uses the time he has left to pursue designs that demonstrate the future of renovation. We look at the story behind Baba's architecture, which has the power to change people's lives.

Over 5,000 surgeries performed, with a mortality rate of 0.03%. In thoracic surgical treatment such as lung cancer, Yasufuku Kazuhiro is a doctor who has built an astonishing track record. Leading an elite team from around the world in Toronto, Canada, he pursues cutting-edge cancer treatment. He's a pioneer of "minimally invasive treatment" that not only removes the cancer, but puts as little burden on the patient as possible. Even a 95-year-old has received surgery from him, and the majority of his patients can walk out of the hospital the next day. This is the story of a doctor who is entrusted with the dawn of cancer treatment.

The global hit manga series Detective Conan, also known as Case Closed, has reached thirty years in 2024. NHK is allowed rare access into the world of its creator Aoyama Gosho. How are the tricks selected and incorporated into the mystery? Aoyama's mantra is to trust his young readers. Never make anything "for children," because they will see through it. The program reveals the never-before-told account of how Conan came to be, how Aoyama wore himself dangerously close to the edge, and the story he really wanted to tell. The life and mystery of the man who never lost his childlike sense of wonder.