2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
written
Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols.
Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...
and
directed
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''Di ...
by
Shinobu Yaguchi
is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He specializes in feel-good "zero to hero" films, where a group of people take up an unlikely activity, face a number of obstacles, but finally succeed. His film ''Waterboys'' was particularly succe ...
, about five boys who start a
synchronized swimming
Synchronized swimming (in British English, synchronised swimming) or artistic swimming is a sport where swimmers perform a synchronized choreographed routine, accompanied by music. The sport is governed internationally by FINA (the ''Fédérati ...
team at their high school. The film stars
Satoshi Tsumabuki
is a Japanese actor. His breakthrough film was ''Waterboys'' for which he was nominated for the 'Best Actor' award at the Japanese Academy Awards, and won the 'Newcomer of the Year' prize. He is also the bassist and lead singer of the Japanese ...
(Suzuki, the leader of the team),
Hiroshi Tamaki
is a Japanese actor, singer, and model from Nagoya, Japan. When he was still in high school, he was discovered by a talent agent while out shopping with friends. He made his debut in the drama ''Am I Weird?'' (私ってへん？ ''Watashitte Hen ...
(Sato),
Akifumi Miura
Akifumi Miura (三浦アキフミ, or 三浦哲郁; born 16 November 1981) is a Japanese actor. He made his debut in the popular 2001 film ''Waterboys''.
Selected filmography
: 2005 '' Germanium no yoru''
: 2005 '' Tomie: Beginning''
: 2004 '' T ...
(Ohta),
Koen Kondo
Koen Kondo (Kôen Kondô; 近藤公園; born 11 October 1978) is a Japanese people, Japanese actor. He made his debut in the popular 2001 in film, 2001 film ''Waterboys (film), Waterboys''.
Selected filmography Films
*''Waterboys (film), Waterboy ...
(Kanazawa),
Takatoshi Kaneko
Takatoshi Kaneko (金子貴俊; born 17 January 1978) is a Japanese actor. He made his debut in the popular 2001 film ''Waterboys''.
Selected filmography
*''Azumi'' ( 2003)
*'' Pretty Woman'' (2003)
*'' Kumiso'' ( 2002)
*'' Jisatsu Saakuru'' ...
(Saotome) and
Naoto Takenaka
is a Japanese actor, comedian, singer, and director from Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, affiliated with From First Production. He is married to idol singer and actress Midori Kinouchi. He is also known as the voice of Samuel L. Jac ...
(the dolphin trainer).
The film was a success in Japan, and was nominated for eight prizes at the Japan Academy Prize, winning awards for 'Best Newcomer' and 'Best Music Score'. A spin-off television series entered its third season in 2005.
Plot
Suzuki is a high-school student who aspires to become a great swimmer; however, he is the only person in the school's swimming team. Soon, a beautiful new swimming teacher starts work at the high school. Dozens of boys decide to join the swimming team, but when they realize that she teaches synchronized swimming (which is generally a women's sport), all but Suzuki and four other boys drop out. The teacher soon takes maternity leave, and for some time the team is on hiatus. However, when Suzuki watches a dolphin show he decides to ask the dolphin trainer to be their coach.
The dolphin trainer exploits them as free labour and has no intention of training them, and in an attempt to ditch them, leaves all his cash with them to have to practice "rhythm" using ''
Dance Dance Revolution
(''DDR'') is a music video game series produced by Konami. Introduced in Japan in 1998 as part of the Bemani series, and released in North America and Europe in 1999, ''Dance Dance Revolution'' is the pioneering series of the rhythm and dance V ...
''. When he runs out of gas, he returns to get some money and discovers that they are totally synchronized and doing well with the game. He takes them back and they continue to train. Later, while training in the sea, a tourist with a video camera films them, thinking that they are drowning, and the boys appear on TV. Seeing this, the boys who had quit rejoin, and are taught synchronized swimming by the five boys.
Before the festival, the pool is drained when the water is used to fight a fire that is caused by a fair attraction, but the neighboring girls' school allows them to use their pool. The performance turns out to be a great success.
Cast
*
Satoshi Tsumabuki
is a Japanese actor. His breakthrough film was ''Waterboys'' for which he was nominated for the 'Best Actor' award at the Japanese Academy Awards, and won the 'Newcomer of the Year' prize. He is also the bassist and lead singer of the Japanese ...
- Suzuki
*
Hiroshi Tamaki
is a Japanese actor, singer, and model from Nagoya, Japan. When he was still in high school, he was discovered by a talent agent while out shopping with friends. He made his debut in the drama ''Am I Weird?'' (私ってへん？ ''Watashitte Hen ...
- Sato
*
Akifumi Miura
Akifumi Miura (三浦アキフミ, or 三浦哲郁; born 16 November 1981) is a Japanese actor. He made his debut in the popular 2001 film ''Waterboys''.
Selected filmography
: 2005 '' Germanium no yoru''
: 2005 '' Tomie: Beginning''
: 2004 '' T ...
- Ohta
*
Koen Kondo
Koen Kondo (Kôen Kondô; 近藤公園; born 11 October 1978) is a Japanese people, Japanese actor. He made his debut in the popular 2001 in film, 2001 film ''Waterboys (film), Waterboys''.
Selected filmography Films
*''Waterboys (film), Waterboy ...
- Kanazawa
*
Takatoshi Kaneko
Takatoshi Kaneko (金子貴俊; born 17 January 1978) is a Japanese actor. He made his debut in the popular 2001 film ''Waterboys''.
Selected filmography
*''Azumi'' ( 2003)
*'' Pretty Woman'' (2003)
*'' Kumiso'' ( 2002)
*'' Jisatsu Saakuru'' ...
- Saotome
*
Aya Hirayama
is a Japanese actress who has appeared in various films including ''Waterboys'' (2001) and Lovers' Kiss (2003). Hirayama was born in Kuroiso, Tochigi, Japan, which is now part of Nasushiobara.
Aya made her acting debut in 1999 with '' Tengoku ...
- Shizuko Kiuchi
*
Kaori Manabe
is a Japanese talent, gravure idol and actress. She was born on May 31, 1980 in Ehime Prefecture, Japan.
Personal life
On June 26, 2015, it was announced that Manabe married rock musician Kazuya Yoshii and was pregnant with his child and due t ...
Taiyo Sugiura
(born March 10, 1981) is a Japanese actor.
Early life
Sugiura was born in Okayama, Japan. He has a brother, Takao (太雄), who is two years younger. Sugiura attended Neyagawa 1st Junior High School (Neyagawa Middle School) and Osaka Sangyo Uni ...
- Taiyo
*
Koutaro Tanaka
is a Japanese actor who is affiliated with Stardust Promotion
is a leading Japanese talent agency, headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. It was founded in 1979 and invests in entertainment forms including music, cinema, and modelling.
The agenc ...
Water Boys 2
is a Japanese drama series aired in Japan on Fuji Television in 2004. The series is very closely related in style to the first season of '' Water Boys'', except set in a girls school.
Story
Three years ago, the former all-girl Himeno High Scho ...