[upcoming] [japan Movie 2010] 海猿 Umizaru

[Guest t3n5h1_chu_k015h173]

ITO HIDEAKI,KATO AI,SATO RYUTA,MIURA SHOHEI

Shohei Miura recruited for next "Umizaru"

Mon, July 27, 2009 (3:06am EDT)

The next "Umizaru" movie has been officially scheduled for 2010, and the primary cast has been unveiled. Hideaki Ito, who has starred in the two "Umizaru" movies and the television series, will this time be teaming up with young actor Shohei Miura (21), who barely made his acting debut last year.

The "Umizaru" franchise, which revolves around a Japan Coast Guard rescue diver named Daisuke Senzaki (Ito), started in 2004 as a feature-length film. It continued with a drama series on Fuji TV in 2005, followed by a hugely popular movie sequel in 2006. This third film was first announced last summer.

The new film will start with Daisuke and his love interest Kanna (played by Ai Kato) getting married and having their first child. Daisuke is then sent on a rescue mission after an accident occurs in a multinational undersea oil project. Miura plays another diver on the same mission.

Miura, who was appointed to the role in May, has been undergoing special training for a month. He is also expected to go through boot camp for the Japan Coast Guard before filming starts next month.

Besides Ito and Kato, the returning cast members include Ryuta Sato. An exact release date for the film has not yet been decided.

[Guest Chakra'ca]

I'm so excited for this!

Umizaru's my favorite Japanese series, and my favorite actor is Ito Hideaki.

I don't really like Kato Ai, I find her acting hard to watch but oh well, it's not like they could replace her now.

They could've easily let the series end with the 2nd movie and let us all assume they live happily ever after but I'm glad they didn't!

[Guest novemberbaby]

I never finished the drama but I loved the movie Umizaru: Limit of Love. I hope this one will be just as good.

[Guest t3n5h1_chu_k015h173]

EXILE does "Umizaru" theme song

Thu, June 24, 2010 (8:32am EDT)

One of Japan's biggest music artists will be doing the theme song for one of Japan's biggest movie franchises. It was revealed on Wednesday that EXILE has been tapped to provide a song for the upcoming film "THE LAST MESSAGE: Umizaru," which opens in theaters on September 18.

EXILE has been one of the most popular artists of the past few years. In 2008, they were the #1 artist in the country in terms of total sales, and last year they ranked #2 behind Arashi.

"Umizaru," on the other hand, started out as a popular manga. It was turned into a movie in 2004, followed by a drama series in 2005, then a movie sequel in 2006. That second film, titled "Umizaru: Limit of Love," grossed 7.1 billion yen, making it the second-highest earner in history among Japan's domestic live-action films.

Still starring Hideaki Ito (34) as a rescue diver for the Japan Coast Guard, "THE LAST MESSAGE: Umizaru" is said to be the exciting conclusion of the movie franchise, and it will be shown in 3-D. EXILE's song, "Motto Tsuyoku," is expected to build even more hype for the film. The song itself will be released as a single this fall.