Wikipedia
Umizaru is a 2004 action film directed by Eiichiro Hasumi. It is the first feature-length film of the Umizaru projects, preceding the 2005 11-episode Fuji Television and Kyodo Television drama series Umizaru Evolution and the 2006 film Limit of Love: Umizaru. The film is the first of the 3-part film and television project. The project is adapted from the popular 12 Shogakukan manga books Umizaru written by Yōichi Komori and illustrated by Shūhō Satō from 1998 to 2001. The film stars Ito Hideaki as Japan Coast Guard (JCG) rescue diver Senzaki Daisuke, and Kato Ai as his love interest Izawa Kanna.
There are also NHK dramas Umizaru (2002) and Umizaru 2 (2003).
Umizaru means " Sea Monkey"; this is a derogatory label slapped on the rescue diver trainees by local townsfolk of the city of Kure due to their excessive and uninhibited behaviour during off hours.
Journey's " Open Arms" was used in the film as the theme song.
The 2006 movie The Guardian was based on this movie.
is a manga series by Shūhō Satō which was serialized by Shogakukan in Weekly Young Sunday from 1998 to 2001. Yōichi Komori is credited with the original idea for the series, and he also did the research to make the series more authentic.
The series focuses on Daisuke Senzaki, an officer in the Japan Coast Guard, and tells the stories of shipwreck rescues and other incidents where the coast guard plays a role. The plotlines in the series were drawn from incidents and accidents which actually happened while the manga was being written (similar to the "ripped from the headlines" tagline used by various Law & Order series).
The manga has been adapted into two NHK high-definition specials, three films, and one drama series.