W00t W00t!!! My otaku brothers love is in the air this Valentine’s Day season and there’s no better way to promote this than with a look at the legendary story of Train Man (Densha Otoko).
Who is this mysterious Train Man? Is he a super hero with the power of trains? Is he a conductor with a passion for his train? No, Train Man is the tale of a lone otaku who defied an entire nation by falling in love.
Train is just a simple akiba type otaku who has never had a girlfriend and has the self esteem of a gorilla at a beauty pageant for ducks. One day, while riding the train home, he encounters a drunk man. His first instinct is to stay away and ignore every thing but the drunk has begun attacking the women on the train. Something snaps in Train at that point and he stands up and yells for the old drunkard to stop. Eventually the drunk is arrested and the ladies are safe to roam the trains.
As Train gets home he tells his story to the people on a message board known as 2-channel. The people are skeptical at first but they soon realize that this man is telling the truth. One of the women he saved on the train sends him a pair of expensive looking cups from the brand name bag company Hermes. Train, filled with courage inspired by the onlookers of the message boards, calls her and starts the cycle where they fall in love
The best part of this story though, is the fact that it’s all true. Train Man is based on the true story of an anonymous otaku from Japan. In Japan Train Man has become a nation wide phenomenon. The story has been produced as a novel, four different manga, a TV series, and a movie that’s just been released.
Today we’ll look at the four different manga and their different takes on the story. To begin with: the first two volumes published by CMX, then the single volume licensed by Del Rey, next are the first two volumes by Viz, and lastly a sneak peek of one that never made it to the states.
Densha Otoko by Hitori Nakano
First: Densha Otoko by Hitori Nakano and drawn by Wataru Watanabe, licensed by CMX. In the beginning of the manga you notice all the characters are a little …well, chibi. This style gives it a kind of creepy but innocent look. Train looks very otaku at first but in the middle he seems out of place. Hermes (the damsel in distress) is sweet and nice but has an Orihime (Bleach) ditziness to her which makes me feel sorry for Train.
The art is very sharp and works well for the story. During the scenes when everyone is talking online at the 2-channel boards is probably the cleverest idea I have seen in the series. However, looking at the background, it feels like something is lacking. Still I like the character designs and it’s pretty cute. I’d give it a 6/10; it’s better than average but nothing all that great.
Densha Otoko by Machiko Ocha
Next is the manga published by Del Rey and illustrated by Machiko Ocha. The cover really drove me off at first but I was pleased to see the inside was a bit different. The illustrations are similar to what you might find in a copy of Shojo Beat; meaning it looks really girly. Train was…odd in this manga. He seemed the least otaku person since Kousaka from Genshiken. I also thought Hermes was kind of like an American cheerleader-type in the sense that she would never be that open to the idea of anime and manga.
The story felt very rushed since nothing held strongly. The ending, IMO, was the worst part. All together not that good, a 2/10.
Densha Otoko by Hidenori Hara
The last piece of licensed material for the US is one by Viz Media. This is probably the best one I’ve seen yet.
The characters stay true to their nature. Train looks like an otaku even after a make over. Hermes is very innocent and quite the catch. In the middle of the story you see that the characters refer to them selves by the nick names of the title. This interrupts the story in its own way, making you remember that “this is a manga you are readingâ€.
The story stayed together with gusto. The supporters are probably the best as far as being funny. The art looks more like something out of the Sunday newspaper mixed with a hint of anime style. So far the best one yet, a 7/10.
Densha Otoko – Ganbare Doku Otoko! by Daisuke DÅke
Now this last manga is only a preview as I have not read a great amount of it, just four chapters. It hasn’t been licensed in America yet.
The art looks fantastic; it’s the most vibrant manga as far as art and the characters look great. I really want to read more of it but, alas, I cannot.
That’s that. Trainman is a totally blown out series in Japan and if you become as crazed a fan as I am there’s an entire TV series out there and a new movie licensed by Viz media. Now go home and spend some time with that special someone. If you don’t have a special someone, go on and hop the nearest train…you never know what might happen.
What a great way to celebrate Valentine’s Day – with manga! I’ve heard about Train Man – Chikashi was telling me about how famous he is in Japan. Train Man is proof positive that anime fans can find love!
Yes, I love this series myself. I first heard about it on a documentary about Japan. After that I went to watch the show on the internet and fell in love with the story.
電車男 has always struck me as a form of sincere flattery for a stereotype many would claim is being “sent up”. Yes, the akiba are portrayed as shut-in, slightly paranoid, socially retarded misfits. This might be cruel to some people, but the simple fact of the matter is this:
Akiba are shut-in, slightly paranoid, socially retarded misfits.
However, 電車男 aims higher than just pointing our character flaws (every group has ‘em). We get to see the (in my opinion, admirable) communal quality of the otaku. Akiba of all different levels of fandom work together for a common goal and find their inner-courage in their own lives.
Yes, it is also a tender romance, but when I watch/read　電車男 I am more impressed by the way the creator’s treat such a lovable bunch of nerds.
This sounds like a great story. Carey did a good job covering all the manga.
Would you consider Densha Otoko to be a sort of Japanese Revenge of the Nerds -Narcolepsy?
Very cool. To be honest I’ve been looking for a copy of Viz’s DVD release of Train Man, but I can’t find it anywhere. No place seems to have it around here. The local Japanese video store has an unsubtitled disc, but that really doesn’t help me
Have any of you seen it? If so, is it good?
i have seen the Densha Otoko movie. it was nice. the way they approached it was definitely emotional and i liked the people who watched over densha. i would like to suggest the TV series because this is the kind of story that works better with a long time of character development.
I wouldn’t really say “Revenge of the Nerds”… I enjoyed 電車男．HA!
I’m currently watching the Tv show which pretty inspirational and I was wondering if the movie will be as good?