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==Production Credits==
 
==Production Credits==

Revision as of 02:31, 25 June 2006

Umizaru

Details

  • Title: 海猿
  • Title (romaji): Umizaru
  • Also known as: Umizaru Evolution / Sea Monkey
  • Episodes: 11
  • Genre: Action, Human Drama, Romance
  • Viewership ratings: 13.1%
  • Broadcast network: Fuji TV
  • Broadcast period: 2005.07.05 - 2005.09.13
  • Air time: Tuesday Nights 9:00pm
  • Theme Song: Ocean by B'z

Synopsis

A year after the release of a blockbuster movie that made 1.7 billion yen at the box office, and adapted from a popular manga series that sold over 4 million copies, "Umizaru" is coming back as a drama series. "Umizaru Revolutions" takes place a year after the movie in which Daisuke Senzaki succeeds in becoming a rescue diver.

The shooting of "Umizaru" is done with the full cooperation of the Japan Coast Guard, including the provision of vessels, helicopters, uniforms, and other props.

What is UMIZARU?

Literally translated as "sea monkeys," Umizaru are the young recruits from the Japan Coast Guard who participate in a grueling two-month training to become elite rescue divers. Only 1% of all Coast Guard officers are capable of becoming rescue divers.

About the Movie "UMIZARU"

The movie "Umizaru" is the story of 14 young Japan Coast Guard officers who take part in a grueling training to become rescue divers. They must endure and survive a 50-day training. Daisuke Senzaki (Hideaki Ito) and 13 other recruits take part in the training. With his love for the ocean and dream to work as a rescuer at sea, a rescue diver seemed like the perfect occupation for Daisuke. But when he loses a fellow recruit during training, the shock causes Daisuke to think about giving up diving. On the final day of training, Daisuke is paired up with another recruit, Yuji, his rival during training. When the two are 40 meters underwater, they become trapped, and only have air left for one to reach the surface. The other recruits risk their lives to rescue the two. This incident becomes the turning point of Daisuke's career.

Episode One

Although he became a rescue diver a year before, Daisuke Senzaki was frustrated from having no real life rescue experience. One day, he is transferred to the 3rd Region of the Japan Coast Guard in Yokohama. Daisuke is thrilled that he's able to work in the same city where his girlfriend Kanna lives. He is posted to the patrol vessel "Nagare." The captain is Kotaro Katsuta, the commander of rescue divers is Iwao Shimokawa, and Daisuke's "buddy" (diving partner) is Masaki Ikezawa, an elite rescue diver. Masaki is a professional who is strict both on himself and his colleagues, but he expects nothing from a novice like Daisuke and hardly even talks to him. One day, an oil tanker "The Asian Trip" capsizes and patrol vessel "Nagare" embarks on a rescue mission.

Fuji TV

Cast

File:UmizaruCAst.jpg
Cast of Umizaru - click to enlarge
Correlation Chart - click to enlarge

Production Credits

  • Screenwriter: 福田靖
  • Producer: 関口静夫, 鈴木伸太郎, 橋本芙美
  • Director: 羽住英一郎, 小林義則
  • Music: 佐藤直紀

Episode Titles

  • Ep 1: 「運命の幕開け」Unmei no makuake / The beginning of destiny
  • Ep 2: 「潜水士浮上せず」sensuishi fujouseze / divers rise to the surface
  • Ep 3: 「置きざりの愛」okizari no ai / a love left behind
  • Ep 4: 「海に消えた想いを探せ！」 umi ni kie ta omoi wo sagase! / search for the memories that disappeared in the ocean
  • Ep 5: 「突然の別れ」totsuzen no wakare / the sudden separation
  • Ep 6: 「不審船発射」fushinsen hassha / shots from an unidentified vessel
  • Ep 7: 「人を殺した」hito wo koroshita / (I've) killed someone
  • Ep 8: 「池澤、死す」Ikezawa, shisu
  • Ep 9: 「失われた夏を求めて」ushinawareta natsu wo motomete / wishing for the lost summer
  • Ep 10: 「命にかえて」inochi ni kaete / costing one's life
  • Ep 11: 「この手を離さない」kono te wo hanasanai / (I'll) never let go of this hand

Episode Ratings

  • Ep 1: 17.8%
  • Ep 2: 13.9%
  • Ep 3: 12.1%
  • Ep 4: 13.7%
  • Ep 5: 12.0%
  • Ep 6: 10.7%
  • Ep 7: 12.9%
  • Ep 8: 12.1%
  • Ep 9: 12.6%
  • Ep10: 12.7%
  • Ep11: 13.8%

Related News

'Umizaru' cast, crew brave frigid waters for authenticity

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Are you feeling impatient as you wait for the end of the rainy season and the start of the hot summer months so you can go to the beach? Then envy the crew and actors of Umizaru, who are already on the beach and out at sea--albeit in water that is not as warm as you might think.

The TV drama series featuring a Japan Coast Guard rescue diving team started last week on the Fuji TV network (Tuesdays, 9 p.m.) as a spin-off of the 2004 hit film of the same name, which in turn was based on a popular comic book story. The JCG is cooperating with the production of the TV version, just as they did for the film.

The central characters of the TV version are played by the same actors and actresses from the film, which earned 1.7 billion yen at the box office. They include leading man Hideaki Ito as Daisuke Senzaki, a novice rescue diver at the Yokohama Coast Guard Office, and Ai Kato as his love interest, Kanna Izawa.

The production team is also the same as for the 2004 film.

A sequel to the TV version is to be made into another film next year, forming an unusual trilogy of two films sandwiching a TV drama.

The TV series depicts how the young diver grows as a professional rescuer. In the film version, he had just finished his 50-day training course after overcoming the tragedy of another trainee's death, and now the TV show will follow his early career on the job. Through his early missions, Senzaki is trained and supported by experienced divers and senior officials, played by actors including Saburo Tokito, Toru Nakamura, and Isao Natsuyagi.

In real life, Ito has a "Dive Master" certificate authorized by an international diving organization, PADI Japan, marking him as a diver who is skilled enough to work in the professional diving industry.

However, the difficulty of acting in the underwater film and drama is another matter. "We have to keep acting at a fixed position in moving seawater," Ito said. "But when shooting of last year's film started, it was hard for me to even stay in shot."

The actor continued: "I've got used to that, and I'm much better than before. But I sometimes feel at a loss as it's not easy when you're in the water to let others understand what you're thinking, and also to figure out what they're thinking."

In late June, in a small fishing port on the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture, the crew filmed a scene in which Senzaki rescues a drowning young man.

The sea is still cold in this season, and the water temperature that day was 18 C. Stoves and blankets were essential items to warm the actors and cameramen on the beach.

The atmosphere seemed very serious and tense as they had to complete the shoot in a limited time due to the severe conditions.

After rehearsing on the beach, Ito, costumed in a wet suit and entered the cold water with diving gear on his back.

Checking the shot on a monitor, the director gave detailed instructions to the crew and actors.

The actors are usually also given advice by diving coordinator Masanori Kinjo, 39.

Based on his 23-year diving career, he gives advice on the sea conditions and tells actors and crew how to move safely and smoothly through the water.

"We have more underwater scenes for the TV version, so I'm putting safety before everything else," Kinjo said.

Producer Hirotsugu Usui said: "About 30 percent to 40 percent of the series is shot underwater. I hope viewers enjoy the missions of the rescue divers risking their own lives." (Jul. 14, 2005)

External Links


Previous season:
Rikon Bengoshi 2

Time slot
Kakku

Next season:
Ichi Ritoru no Namida

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