Umizaru 3 Movie Review

Title: Umizaru 3

AKA: Umizaru: The Last Message / The Last Message: Umizaru

Genre: Action

Origin: Japan

Release date: September 18, 2010

Cast: Ito Hideaki, Kato Ai, Sato Ryuta, Kato Masaya, Fukiishi Kazue and Miura Shohei.

When a huge accident happens on the drilling plant “Regalia”, a ship colliding in the plant, Senzaki Daisuke (Ito Hideaki) and his buddy Yoshioka Tetsuya (Sato Ryuta) are put to the task to escort the engineer Sakuragi Hiroshiichirou (Kato Masaya) in and out. But due to a typhoon approaching, Daisuke becomes separated from Tetsuya, and gets stuck together with Sakuragi and three other people: Nurse Nishizawa Natsu (Fukiishi Kazue), driller Kizima Hisayoneo (Hamada Gaku) and newbie rescue diver Hotori Takuya (Miura Shohei).

 As the situation grows more dangerous, the rescue helicopters aren’t able get close, and due to Regalia being a combined plant (different countries contributed in the building of the plant), the government officials are more interested in saving the plant, than the actual people.

Now it’s up to Daisuke to save the people inside, and get back home to his wife and new born son…

I can’t believe that for every movie, it just keeps getting better and the quality too! I mean after the drama I really didn’t believe they would be able to make it deep, since 11 episodes is about 8½ hours, but they managed in the second movie to do just that. I really didn’t expect it to be that exciting, but they really overshined themselves. The storyline is as usually heartfelt, and inspiring, though I’ve started to feel as if I’m basically waiting for Senzaki to die, like really. Every movie is him being in a pinch, I mean how he even survives dammit LOL, not a bad thing though.

This movie you can actually watch without seeing the rest, well you can do that with them all, but this one doesn’t seem to be in the same category somehow: yes, it is in water, but we actually only see them diving in the end. Okay, minor detail, but still.

All in all pretty darn good.

☆☆☆☆½ / 4½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥½ / 4½ out of 5 hearts

Yoiko no Mikata Review

Title: Yoiko no Mikata

AKA: Pre-School Guy / Ally of Good Children

Genre: Drama

Episodes: 9

Broadcast period: 2003-Jan to 2003-Mar

Theme song: Tomadoi Nagara by Arashi

Cast: Sakurai Sho, Matsushita Yuki, Fukiishi Kazue and Endo Shozo

This drama follows the story of male nursery teacher, which is unusual in Japan. Suzuki Taiyo (Sakurai Sho) dreamt of becoming a nursery teacher ever since he was attending a nursery himself at the age of 5. His inspiration was his ‘Ojiichan sensei’, a male nursery teacher, who helped him overcome his loss of his parents when he was only 3 years old. So becoming a nursery teacher is somewhat a way to pay him back.

But all that is easier said than done; already on his first day he is met with dislike by his female co-workers, who believe that men can’t be nursery teachers, since they don’t have the motherly love that women have in them. So not only does he have to prove to them that he is capable of doing his job, but he has to do the same to the mothers of the children in the daycare…

This is a sweet and heartwarming drama, with a lot of smiling and crying Sakurai Sho, which in my eyes is pretty no matter what. Though, I think it’s because it’s one of his first dramas, he didn’t act that well, it was to the point of being a bit ridiculous, sometimes. But at times he would do it okay as well. Even though the drama is now 9 years old, it’s watchable, and if you don’t mind a 20 year old Sho, this is a good drama to watch.

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts