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Umizaru which literally means Sea Monkey was originally based on a manga. About the elite Japanese Coast Guard divers (the divers make up just 1% of the entire Japanese Coast Guard force), the first movie was made in 2004 by Robot (the same folks who shot the hit Bayside Shakedown films). The wildy popular film became the basis for a hit Fuji TV series Umizaru Evolution in 2005, and this year, Robot has followed up with Umizaru: The Test of Trust, which performed equally well if not better than the first film.
The original film depicted new recruits training to become salvage and rescue divers at the Japanese Coast Guard diving school. It starred Hideaki Ito (Onmyouji, Tentai Kansoku), Ai Kato, Ken Kaito, Atsushi Ito (Densha Otoko). Hideaki plays Senzaki, a former salaryman and experienced diver who seems set to graduate at the top of his class, but faces fierce competition from the equally experienced, cocky realist Mishima, played by Ken Kaito. To qualify, the team of fourteen recruits have to survive a demanding 50-day training period and as part of the training, they are paired with a 'buddy' and made responsible for each other at all times. Senzaki is dealt a blow when his instructor pairs him up with Kudo, played by Atsushi Ito - the weakest member of the team who is so woefully inadequate that everyone labels him a loser.
Ai Kato stars as Kanna, a stressed fashion magazine writer who finally gets her big break but is forced to leave Tokyo to look after her mother who has fallen ill. On one drinking spree with a girlfriend, she encounters Senzaki, who has come to town with the other recruits on their night off. Nana drags him to a nearby hotel room where she passes out.
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It's quite cheesy at times especially the part where they played Journey's Open Arms but Umizaru never really takes itself too seriously and slips well between serious moments in training to chasing skirts in town and camaderie between the recruits. A feel good, entertaining movie with great eye candy and well-shot scenes, particularly the underwater ones. I wouldn't have been surprised if it managed to send many Japanese guys rushing to sign up for the Coast Guard.