Today it was announced that the popular series, "Umizaru" will be getting a fourth movie called "Brave Hearts: Umizaru" next summer.

"Umizaru 4" will once again star actor Ito Hideaki as 'Senzaki Daisuke', one of the rescue divers of the Japan Coast Guard. This time they are going to adapt the greatest accident that happened in the original manga - a jumbo jet crash-landing on the sea. It will be the most difficult rescue operation for Senzaki, now part of the special rescue team, and his comrades.

The pre-production of the movie was suspended for a while due to the big earthquake in March, but at the same time this tragic event also motivated everyone on the team again to work even harder to convey the series' theme of hope. Thousands of fans of "Umizaru" who were struck by the earthquake and the tsunami signed a petition that asked the production team to continue the series.

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Producer Usui Hirotsugi commented, "With 'Umizaru' we try to show the spirit of people who never give up and that every life is important, and now is the perfect time to convey this again."

Ito felt the same way and stated, "The earthquake made us aware again that there are many people who fight for the sake of others. I hope that many people will receive courage by watching Senzaki again."

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The previous two movies have been the most successful live-action adaptations in their respective years, with "Limit of Love: Umizaru" (2006) grossing 7.1 billion Yen (91.7 million USD) and "The Last Message: Umizaru" (2010) grossing 8 billion Yen (103 million USD). Therefore it's expected that the fourth installment is going to have the biggest budget in the series, followed by the biggest revenue. It will also be the first movie of the series to open in July, right during the summer holidays, another big factor that will help aiming for the 10 billion Yen (129 million USD) mark.

Sato Ryuta and Ihara Tsuyoshi are also going to be a part of the special rescue team. Sato already appeared in the previous movies and drama. Kato Ai, Miura Shohei, Tokito Saburo, and others are going reprise their roles from the previous works as well. There will also be two new characters played by actress Naka Riisa and actor Hirayama Hiroyuki.

The filming for "Brave Hearts: Umizaru" is scheduled to begin on September 17th.

Source: Sanspo [2]