Original subtitles

The instructor was someone who taught me

the courage to dive in no matter the situation.

This is the story of the Air Rescue Wing,

known as the last line of defense for saving lives.

It records the fierce training,

determination, and passion of the instructors and students

who strive to save not only lives, but also hearts.

-Thank you very much! -Yeah.

Fujiki, should we call you Sayaka?

No, please just call me Fujiki!

All right.

FUJIKI

-Good! -Thank you very much!

Carry your own name with pride

and endure the year ahead.

Yes, Sir!

All right!

Glorious sun! Sunshine!

Glorious sun…

Sharpen your guts and soul!

Bring on the storm! Bring on hell!

Para-para rescue, rescue!

I can't get it out of my head.

Sorry to bother you at work.

Yes, thank you for your hard work!

Could I ask you something?

I'm here for an interview,

but I couldn't find the reception room.

An interview?

Yes, with the Air Rescue Wing.

I'll be around for a while.

Nice to meet you!

Ah, sorry.

-The reception room, right? -Yes.

Go up the stairs and turn left.

Um… the toilet brush…

Uh, sorry.

Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

Ta… Take care.

All right, enter the water!

Enter the water!

Water surface, clear!

-Okay! -Okay!

All right, on mark!

Let's go!

Hey, don't use your arms! Swim with your legs!

Yes, Sir!

Hold your breath!

Your lungs are the best flotation device!

Yes, Sir!

Shout it out!

65th class! Let's go!

Is Shoji okay?

He's the class leader. He'll tough it out.

Hasebe, Kondo, lift your arms up!

Yes, sorry!

Looking tough for Fujiki.

Fujiki! Don't use your hands!

Yes!

Feels like I've got an anchor on my legs.

Good thing there’s no classroom lecture today.

Otherwise, we’d be fighting sleep.

True.

I invented a way to sleep with my eyes open.

I'll teach you later.

I can already do that.

Hey, you two idiots.

Fujiki's got the best looks and skills. She's beautiful and intelligent.

She's the flower of Class 65.

That’s not true.

Hasebe, Kondo!

Trying to sneak off again? You two are on backup duty!

Yes, sorry!

Why wasn't I given a backup in today's training?

That was the instructor’s decision.

I don’t want special treatment because I’m a woman.

Please treat me the same as everyone else.

Got it.

Starting tomorrow, I’ll be tough on you too.

Thank you very much.

Excuse me.

She’ll be covering our training program.

Everyone, this is Yuna Nogi.

She wants to research the Air Rescue Wing for her graduation thesis.

Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

You guys look so happy!

You're smirking!

"I’ll never smirk again!" All right, say it 50 times!

Yes, Sir!

One, two!

I’ll never smirk again! One!

I’ll never smirk again! Two!

-What are you doing? -I’ll never smirk again! Three!

I’ll never smirk again! Four!

Come on! Move it!

The person you’re carrying is a victim!

Never forget to be careful!

-Yes, Sir! -Move it!

All right!

Shirakawa!

Don’t let your teammates see you struggling!

Yes, Sir! Sorry!

Fujiki couldn’t keep up. That’s a team failure!

Everyone, 50 push-ups!

Yes, Sir!

-Sorry! -Let's go!

One!

One!

-Two! -Two!

-Let's hear those voices! -Three!

Lower!

-Three! -Lower, I said!

Four!

A linear rainband just formed!

It’s gonna stall here for a while!

-Nine! -Nine!

Chin up!

-Ten! -Ten!

All right, stop!

Yes, Sir!

Here’s your reward!

-Congratulations! -Thank you very much!

Congratulations!

-Thank you very much! -Thank you very much!

Huh? Where’s your smile?

Thank you very much!

Lower your heads! Let's go!

Thank you very much!

-Eleven! -Eleven

Don't let go!

Everyone's dropping!

Twelve!

Are you guys laundry?

In a rescue,

you’re not only carrying your own body weight.

Yes, Sir!

All right!

Time to eat!

Form up! Forward march!

Double time, march!

One, one,

-one, two! -Let's go!

Do they have to run to go eat too?

Even after they eat.

They're always running outdoors.

Always?

They're learning to give it their all, anytime, anywhere.

One, two, three, four!

Well, you can ask your dad about the rest.

Oh.

-Let's go! -Two!

-Let's go! -Three!

-Let's go! -Four!

-Let's go! -Five, six!

It's not normal…

-Let's go! -Six, Seven

There’s no such thing as a normal site.

Was there…?

-Lift your hands up! -Yes, Sir!

Tread water!

Yes, Sir!

-Yes, Sir! -Hey.

Um…

Keep treading, come on!

-Chief Instructor Usami? -Yes? What is it?

Why are they keeping their hands out?

They need to keep their hands free to assist those being rescued.

Oh, so there’s a reason. It’s not just guts?

You…

Don’t underestimate guts and endurance.

-More! -Yes, Sir!

If you're like this, you’ll never make it to the field.

Yes, Sir!

-Hey. Hey Shirakawa! -Yes, Sir!

At this rate, these guys are going to fail!

Hasebe, Kondo! Hang in there!

They can barely breathe like that.

It’s training to simulate rough waves.

That little bit of splashing

is nothing compared to the ocean.

Real waves show no mercy.

Fujiki! You’re not supposed to use your hands!

Yes, Sir!

All right.

Keep your hands straight up!

Yes, Sir!

When you near your limit,

it’s only natural to want to use your hands.

But once you’re forbidden from doing so,

fear beyond imagination attacks you.

When you don't know what to do anymore, you start sinking.

Fujiki! Hang in there!

You’re the one who’s supposed to save others!

-Hey! -Yes, Sir!

Humans instinctively try to protect themselves.

There’s a limit to how far you can push yourself.

That’s why we’re the ones who push them.

-Lift your hands up! -Yes, Sir!

We’ve got the ultimate

sado-masochist relationship.

Hang in there!

You’re definitely not normal…

-We're going back. -Yes, Sir.

-Um, excuse me. -Yes?

Would it be all right if I asked you a few questions?

I’m too tired.

Trainee Sawai, why don’t you handle it?

I’d like to hear from you, Ms. Fujiki.

Isn’t it especially tough doing this training as a woman?

I think everyone finds it tough.

Do I look like I’m struggling more?

Ah, no… That’s not what I meant…

-Trainee Sawai, can you take it from here? -Uh…

Yes!

In training, there’s no difference between men and women.

So after this, you all rest?

Rest? More like sleep. Since we have to wake up at five.

So the only time you really rest is when you’re asleep?

Pretty much, yes.

I really don’t get it.

This job and that man…

That man?

Ah, no… The whole obedience to instructors thing.

If this were a normal company,

people would get fired instantly here.

Maybe.

Sacrificing yourself? That’s crazy.

All my college friends are prioritizing their private lives when job hunting.

Why are you all pushing yourselves this hard,

like you’re going against the times?

When I was little,

I got lost in the mountains during a snowstorm and was rescued.

My dad didn’t make it, though.

When the rescue officer came down from the sky,

he looked like a real hero to me.

I see.

So that's why you accept all this insane training?

Yes, I guess so…

Thank you for your hard work!

What’s this? The two of you?

-What are you doing? -I was just participating in an interview!

Their main duty is training!

Don’t keep them tied up for your thesis research.

Sorry about that.

Chief Instructor!

It was my decision to accept the interview!

And also, Sir…

the way you spoke just now was a bit disrespectful--

Yuna is my daughter!

Huh?

That's right.

What?

-Her father? -Don’t call me "father"!

-I'm sorry, Sir! -Go back and get some rest!

Yes, Sir!

Let's go home.

Could you stop ordering me around like I’m one of your trainees?

Yes!

-Don’t look back! -I'm sorry!

Go!

-Enter the water! -Enter the water!

Water surface, clear!

Stop here!

Breathing challenge!

Excuse me…

-What exactly are they doing? -Yes?

They’re diving to the bottom of the pool and holding their breath.

Hold their breath?

The pool is 4 meters deep.

So even if it gets tough, you can’t surface quickly.

When you start feeling scared,

your body tenses up,

wasting oxygen and causing panic.

Fujiki!

-What are you doing? Get back down! -Yes, Sir!

Hey, use your legs!

Kick with your fins!

-Use your fins, Fujiki! -Yes, Sir!

You can do it! One more time!

No good. Mr. Usami…

should we pull her out?

Hey, Fujiki!

Are you okay?

Ms. Fujiki, you’re doing your best.

Everyone has bad days.

Can you not talk down to me

just because I’m a woman?

I passed the same selection test as everyone else to get here.

Don’t underestimate me.

-Good work today. -Thank you for your hard work!

-You can drop the formal tone. -Yes.

Today was rough, huh?

Yes.

Watching you today, I thought…

it’s okay to lean on others sometime.

Huh?

At the end of the day,

you just have to prove the Air Rescue Wing needs someone like you.

That could be through your skill,

your attention to detail or your thoughtfulness.

Are you telling me

to use being a woman as an advantage?

I’m just saying that’s one way to think about it.

Would that…

really be the same as being recognized?

If you just keep crashing head-on,

there are battles you can’t win.

TWO YEARS AGO

Staff Sergeant Fujiki.

-Got a moment? -Yes, Sir.

There’s this PR magazine called Mamore.

They’re interested in interviewing you.

A woman aiming to become a rescue officer.

I see…

Could you lean against the aircraft wing for the photo?

But I’m a mechanic…

It’s fine. Just having a cool woman here

will boost female applicants!

Thank you very much.

Please look over here.

Thank you very much.

Could you smile a little more?

Thank you very much!

One more time…

Thank you for your hard work!

Good work!

You’ll be paired up in buddies from now on.

Yes, Sir!

Shoji, you do two rounds with Hasebe and Kondo.

Yes, Sir!

Shirakawa, you’re with Randy.

Yes, Sir!

Sawai, you’re with Fujiki.

Yes, Sir!

In the next rescue response training,

you’ll work with your buddy to handle simulated incidents underwater.

Yes, Sir!

You should stick together,

not just during training, but as much as possible in daily life,

to match your breathing!

Yes, Sir!

With you, Mr. Shirakawa, it’s gonna be easy!

Yeah. You can count on me.

Nice to meet you…

Nice to meet you.

-More? -A little bit more…

-Yes. -Thank you.

Please.

-Okay. -Please.

-A little bit more… -All right…

All right, we can still do it…

Kondo, why did you decide to become a rescue officer?

You wanna know?

Ta-da!

-This is Fujiki? -Yes.

-She seriously looks cool! -Right?

It's because of this.

I found out Ms. Fujiki was aiming for PJ,

so I decided to try too.

Sounds like Kondo.

That’s how it started,

but now I'm serious about it.

But that romance might end soon.

I think Ms. Fujiki is near her limit.

It's not a romance. It's supporting her!

It’s fine. I’ll keep supporting her.

Then I'll start supporting Chief Instructor Usami too!

Supporting?

You really like the chief instructor.

My dad’s an officer in the Ground SDF and super strict.

Compared to him,

Chief Instructor Usami feels refreshingly unorthodox.

Mr. Shirakawa,

what do you think of the chief instructor?

He's really skilled,

but I find him hard to read.

Right?

He makes us do weird stuff every day.

Still, we keep moving forward to become

rescue officers.

To save someone,

to help someone.

-Yeah, but still… -There’s this saying.

"Start slow, then build up."

"Even if a baby cries, don't lift the lid."

What’s that?

Whose saying is that, anyway?

My grandma, Sachiyo Nishitani.

Your grandma?

-Isn't that about how to cook rice? -Yes.

It means now’s not the time

to panic and check.

If you hold on, you’ll have perfectly cooked rice.

Makes sense.

That's nice.

Rice…

I see.

I’m not rice, though.

Let's do it again.

-Yeah, let’s. -Should we?

We’re partners until the exam.

Still, you didn’t have to come this far.

Hey, higher!

Hold your position like that!

Listen!

If you don't take care

of hygiene daily,

you’ll end up with expired milk in the fridge, Shoji!

Yes, I'm sorry!

If you drink it without noticing

and get sick, then what?

Health management is the foundation of everything!

Yes, Sir!

Higher!

-Hips! -Yes, Trainee Shirakawa!

Kondo, Hasebe! Lift your head up!

Yes, Sir!

Ms. Fujiki, lift your hips.

You guys are lowering your hips!

Why are you bossing me around?

Don't give me orders.

I didn't mean to…

Hey, Fujiki!

You two stop fooling around!

-Yes, Sir! -Yes, Sir!

-I'm sorry! -I'm sorry!

I'm very sorry!

Think about why you train in pairs.

Honey!

You have a baby, don't overdo it!

No, I'm the type

who gets fired up when guests come!

Watch out!

He's not a guest! I called him for a scolding session!

Anyway, Sawai-kun!

It's okay. Sit down.

-Please. -Thank you very much.

-Hey! -Yes, I'm sorry!

But…

I wonder why Ms. Fujiki and I were paired up.

Mr. Usami probably didn’t pair you by ability.

Maybe there’s some meaning to it.

All right, let's go.

What do you mean?

Don't ask everything. Think for yourself.

-Yes. -But

Mr. Usami is seriously trying to

make sure everyone graduates.

Don’t forget that.

-Let's sit. -Yes, sir!

Such a loud voice, huh?

-I'm sorry. -Quiet down and sit.

Thank you very much.

I’ve been wondering…

Why did you join the Self-Defense-Force?

Why?

We never really had a proper chat.

I’ve lived in Japan since I was little.

But people kept seeing me as a foreigner.

Still, I’m Japanese.

So I chose a job only a Japanese person can do.

Randy, you love Japan, right?

My grandparents, my parents,

my girlfriend, my friends,

they all live here.

Of course I love Japan.

That’s why I’ll protect Japan!

That's awesome. You're a great guy.

Yes, everyone tells me that!

You don't have to say it yourself, though.

SAVE!

Fujiki.

Thank you for your hard work!

I told you to stick with your buddy.

Have you been talking to Sawai?

Well…

Um, Chief Instructor.

What is it?

On the day of orientation,

you said we should save hearts too.

What we save

is not only lives.

We also save hearts.

What did you mean by that?

Fujiki.

Yes.

Right now, I seriously…

want to play catch.

What?

-Fujiki. -Yes.

Have you played catch before?

Yes, but it's been a while.

Catch is all about

tossing your heart back and forth.

Good.

Throw it and think about your partner. That's all you need to do.

Thinking about your partner…

Are you dissatisfied being with Sawai?

It’s not that…

I just don’t want to lose to myself.

That’s important.

I don't want people to feel sorry for me because I'm a woman!

Don’t be so rigid.

Are you sure you’re not the only one thinking that?

I'm not that rigid!

It’s about your heart.

You need to soften it. Learning to rely on others is important too.

Understood!

Sorry!

It’s fine! Even the wildest throw is okay!

What I want to see

is you throwing your whole heart!

Throwing… my whole heart?

Throwing… my whole heart.

Does she understand…?

Throw it all out!

All out!

This is the end of emergency response training!

You got it?

-Yes, Sir! -We'll begin training!

Yes, Sir!

First up, Shirakawa, Randy, Shoji, and Hasebe.

-Begin! -Yes!

What's this?

It lets you see underwater.

Thank you very much.

You should really pay close attention to this training.

Everyone ready?

Yes, Sir!

Each buddy, enter the water!

Yes, Sir!

-Water surface, clear! -Water surface, clear!

-Water surface, clear! -Water surface, clear!

What kind of training is this?

The instructors set up obstacles for the students

to overcome together with their buddy.

A buddy is two people acting as one.

The key is to work together

with your buddy until the very end.

All right, good!

Next is Fujiki, Sawai, Shoji, Kondo.

Yes, Sir!

Was there a reason you paired them up like this?

Just feeling. It was just a vibe.

Just a vibe?!

Prepare to enter the water!

-Water surface, clear! -Water surface, clear!

Fujiki!

Relax!

Move!

What are you doing?

When someone’s panicking in the water, if you submerge them once,

they naturally let go.

Prepare the AED!

AED, yes!

-Bringing her up! -Yes.

-Got her. -One, two, three!

Fujiki, relax and breathe!

Breathe slowly!

Are you okay?

Breathe slowly!

Okay, you're good.

-Get her to the infirmary! -Yes, Sir!

I'm fine.

Please… let me try again.

Ms. Fujiki!

I can keep going!

If everyone else can do it, then so can I!

Hey!

Knowing your limits and acting reckless is different.

Let's go.

I'll be leaving.

Wasn't it two classes ago?

The trainee who panicked and ran off the poolside?

-Wasn't it? -Fujiki isn't at that stage yet.

We need to figure out how to help her overcome it.

Having the first female PJ would be huge.

Chief Instructor Usami, is there anything we can do?

Honestly, I’m not even sure training women

on the exact same exercises as men is right.

Maybe some distinction is necessary.

From the perspective of one needing rescued, gender doesn’t matter.

A rescue officer should have the same capabilities.

There’s no different standards in training.

Besides, Fujiki already

passed that selection test.

Let's go!

-Hey, come on! -Hey, come on!

I don’t care what it is. Just scream!

If you scream, your body will move!

Don't automatically give up!

The only one who continued to walk was Fujiki.

That’s when I sensed the limitless strength of her spirit.

But Fujiki herself is building the wall

between genders.

The only thing is if she can break through and trust her teammates.

It should be okay!

You're right.

Dammit!

Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!

Why are you running around at this hour?

Because you paired me with Ms. Fujiki!

I’m trying to figure something out too!

Running won’t solve anything.

But right now, running is all I can do!

You're simple, and that's a good thing!

Listen carefully.

The key to diving is to relax.

If you just try to endure it,

you’ll tense up even more.

Tension wastes energy

and energy wastes oxygen.

Relax…

Sawai!

If a ball comes flying at you from Fujiki, never let it get past you.

I'll catch it!

This isn't normal…

SAVE!

Ms. Fujiki.

What?

Here!

What was that for?

Do you want to go relax?

Huh?

I got the position of the stuffed toy you want.

Send me the position.

East, 10 cm.

Approach… commencing.

North, 4.5 cm.

All right, there! Drop!

Got it!

You can smile like that too, huh?

Idiot! Sawai, you idiot!

One more time!

I’m still frustrated about losing that stuffed toy.

But it was a nice change of pace.

You were super hyped up.

Honestly, I only had this stiff image of you. Tense and grumpy.

You’re the same.

Always acting tough.

Putting up walls, pushing people away…

Maybe we’re pretty similar.

Why did you enter the Self-Defense-Force?

Because when I was little, I wanted to be a boy.

Huh?

When I was in junior high,

I lost to a boy at the swim school I went to.

I cried so much, but everyone else looked at me like I was weird.

Asking me, "Why are you so upset?"

I was…

frustrated.

I couldn’t just accept losing like it was normal.

Every time I hit something I couldn’t do,

I’d feel disappointed in myself.

I wondered, "Why was I even born a girl?"

All I ever wanted

was to be seen as equal.

We all understand, you know.

How you feel.

The chief instructor believes in us.

That’s why…

let’s clear it together!

Don’t act all cool.

Of course we’re going to!

Exactly!

But if you think I’m beyond saving,

you can leave me behind.

Thanks,

Sawai-kun.

Prepare to enter the water!

Prepare to enter the water!

-Fujiki! Relax! -You’ve got this! You'll be fine!

-Sawai! We're counting on you! -Do your best guys!

Ms. Fujiki…

What?

Are you nervous?

Hold out your hand.

Enter the water!

Enter the water!

Water surface, clear!

Right now,

Fujiki truly believes if anything goes wrong,

Sawai will be there to support her.

Sawai’s feelings are reaching Fujiki.

Even swallowed by fear, she can feel she's not alone.

That’s how bonds are born.

Sometimes even without speaking,

you can still hear someone's voice.

It's okay. Just relax and come.

You're still good.

We're okay!

You did it!

-You did it! -You did it!

Everyone was cheering for you.

Thanks.

Let's all graduate together!

They all cleared it.

Why is Mr. Usami up there?

He’s going to jump, isn’t he?

All right, guys!

Next time,

you’ll be jumping into the real ocean from a helicopter!

You two did great!

Yes, Sir!

This time, Sawai-kun saved me.

That's okay.

Fujiki.

Whether you're a woman or not,

we can't lower the standards for you!

But no matter how tough it got, you never used being a woman

as an excuse.

I've been watching you give it your all.

Today…

you saved your own heart.

What saved your heart was that

you never ran away, no matter what.

Well done!

Thank you very much!

Thank you very much!

Listen!

From here on, getting stronger by yourself isn’t enough

to save anyone!

Once you're thrown into nature,

each one of us alone can’t survive!

The rescue sites we head into are never normal!

So don’t you dare hold back!

Say what you have to say!

Clash with each other more!

In normal society, this kind of thing might not be acceptable.

But here, I allow it!

Step right into each other's hearts,

even if it's with muddy boots!

Yes, Sir!

All right, guys!

-Let's go! -Yeah!

‪Oh no!‬

‪Are you okay?‬

USAMI, NOGI

Did you get some good material?

I’m not sure yet.

But I feel like I saw something for the first time.

I saw people showing their raw emotions.

Maybe it’s because that person draws it out of them.

Is it okay if I go back to Komaki a little longer?

Of course.

Well, I’m off to work.

-Okay. -Take care.

All right.

-Take care. -Okay.

Inside their hearts…

huh.

All right!

Mr. Shirakawa,

you should skip training for today.

You don't look good.

Hey, Randy.

Yes?

I…

couldn't do anything.

Huh?

-Hero… -To become a rescue officer, a real hero.

You have to take care of your wife, right?

I will take care of her!

Can I really do it?

Can I really save people?

I'll fly!

What are you doing?

Mr. Shirakawa!

What are you doing, Shirakawa!