http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/article.php?id=5930
Trainman (Densha Otoko), a love-story original born on the popular 2 Channel message board, and later published by Shinchou, is going to receive four completely separate manga adaptations for serialization in four competing magazines.
Trainman, which captured the public attention on 2 Channel in March of 2004, tells the story of a 22-year old otaku who is interested in "Miss Hermes," an attractive young woman he saved from an annoying drunk on the train on his way home from Akihabara.
On 2 Channel, "Trainman" sought advice from fellow-otaku on how he should approach Miss Hermes and reported back on the progress of his relationship, while receiving encouragement from hundreds of online well-wishers.
A collection of these posts, spanning a period of 2 months, was published by Shinchou in autumn 2004 , and sold 260,000 copies in just 3 weeks and half a million copies in 2 months. In the process, the story garnered the attention of several manga anthologies, leading to a rather unique situation...
Not only is Trainman the first successful novel to be created from Internet message board postings (although there are some similarities with the situation in My Sassy Girl), but it is now also the first novel to be independently adapted into four different manga for serialization in four different manga anthologies at roughly the same time.
Three shonen magazines will serialize the story, while one shoujo magazine will publish it as a one-shot. Young Champion Magazine from Akita Shoten was the first to market, with their first installment published in their December 28th issue, followed by Shogakukan's Weekly Young Sunday Magazine on January 6th and then Monthly Champion RED Magazine (also from Akita Shoten) on January 19th. Shoujo magazine Dessert, published by Kodansha, plans to release a one-shot adaptation in their spring issue.
The editorial department of Young Champion explained their aim: "We were interested in the idea of a tale of friendship born on an anonymous message board on the net, being a subject suitable for manga and reflecting the present".
The editorial department of Young Sunday says "Even if there are others doing the same story, due to each Manga artists different style of expression, the content will be different."
Regarding fees due to the original creator of a work when it is adapted into a manga or anime, the concerned parties have stated that they intend to contribute the money to a fund for earthquake victims in Chuetsu, Niigata.
It's currently unknown, and the subject of widespread speculation, as to whether Trainman actually had a real life relationship with "Miss Hermes" or if the story expressed on 2 Channel was an elaborate piece of fiction, a hoax.
Another article:
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20041228-00000501-yom-soci
THE BOOK REPORT
Hey Mr. Trainman
By JANET ASHBY
A new best seller has appeared, bringing an old-fashioned love story into the digital age. "Densha Otoko (Trainman)," whose author writes under the pseudonym Nakano Hitori, is the saga of the romance of a 22-year-old otaku, the "Trainman," with "Miss Hermes," an attractive young woman he saves from the unwelcome attentions of a drunk on a train on his way home from Akihabara (Tokyo's otaku Mecca).
This story first came to public attention as postings from March through May this year on a message board on the Web site 2 Channel (Nichanneru) in which Trainman asked for and received advice from fellow geeks on how to approach Miss Hermes. These postings from Trainman reporting on the progress of his new relationship, and of encouragement from hundreds of anonymous well-wishers, were published in book-form by Shinchosha last month, selling over 260,000 copies in three weeks.
The tale of Trainman's transformation from a hapless geek to a self-confident young man in a relationship with an actual real-life young woman is indeed heartwarming. In his first posting he tells of his chance encounter in the train; two days later he receives a set of Hermes teacups from her as a thank-you gift and obsesses online on whether or not to telephone her and ask for a date. Finally he plucks up the courage to call her and they agree to meet for dinner -- his first ever date with a woman.
With the advice of his online supporters, he gets a stylish new haircut, buys new clothes, and decides to get contact lenses. They have another dinner date, at which a friend of hers checks him out, and start exchanging cell-phone messages daily. In April they have tea together at her home using the gift teacups and in May he goes shopping with her for a computer.
Later that day in a park he confesses his feelings to her and she reveals that she returns them, culminating in a happy ending for Trainman and Miss Hermes, which is greeted online with a wave of rapturous pictograms and congratulatory messages.
Well, I must admit to mixed feelings about this book. While the story captures well the fumblings and anxieties of first love, isn't it a betrayal to be posting the details of one's dates online? And while the Japanese value being innocent and sunao (naively open), isn't there something odd about a 22-year-old man being so utterly clueless? Finally, the whole story seems too good to be true -- reportedly there is speculation on the Web that it might be an elaborate hoax.
Rather than a mischievous or malicious trick, however, the book often felt to me like an otaku wish-fulfillment fantasy: Someday I will magically meet Miss Right, rescue her like a knight on a white horse, be transformed into Mr. Right, and we will live happily ever after. The reaction of Miss Hermes when Trainman belatedly shows her the log of his postings about their private affairs was particularly unbelievable to me. Far from being hurt or angry, she is impressed by what good friends he has!
Then again, perhaps such a reaction is due to my being from an analog generation, growing up only with television and land-line phones. In fact, an article in Spa (Sept. 7) informs us of digital gaps even between those in their 20s. Twenty-eight-year-olds are the pocket-paper generation; they tend to write long, letter-style e-mails. Twenty-four-year-olds were raised on cell phones (but during the transition period to broadband Net access), while 20-year-olds have only known fixed-fee, broadband access to the Net.
Not surprisingly, there is friction at work between older workers and those under 25. Younger workers think nothing of writing messages in a very informal style and of sending Yahoo electronic Christmas cards when asked to write nengajo (New Year cards). They may have Net skills, but they lack the ability to realize that not all clients share their attitude to cell-phone messaging, which they find as natural as breathing.
One 35-year-old told Spa! magazine that after he complained about the company while out drinking with an underling he was shocked to see the underling had posted those complaints in his Web diary. A 23-year-old was asked by a senpai to investigate something and told the senpai to "Google it" -- he innocently asked Spa! if that was the wrong thing to do.
Lovers are not immune from this digital gap. A 26-year-old woman complains that her boyfriend, three years younger, is always messaging her at work and if she doesn't respond within 15 minutes he will call to see if she is OK. A 29-year-old man says his 23-year-old girlfriend wondered if he was angry when he ended his sentences with a period instead of "emoticons."
Spa! reports that it is now not unusual for lovers to message each other 100 times a day, greeting each other in the morning, exchanging their thoughts on a TV show they are both watching, telling each other when they are going to take a bath or what they are having for dinner. With all these messages, they sometimes find themselves with not much to talk about when they are actually together in person.
When faced with this new Net generation it is undoubtedly reassuring for older Japanese to see in the "Trainman" story that some things never change -- the thrill of holding hands for the first time, the excitement of a loving glance, the relief of finding that one's feelings are returned.
The Internet saves another life.
http://www.nifty.com/denshaotoko/html/trailer.htm
Trailers of the upcoming movie
http://www.sanspo.com/shakai/top/sha200505/sha2005050804.html
Yokoyama Chisa, perhaps better known as "Sakura Shinguji" of Sakura Wars fame, was recently attacked by a stranger on a train, on her way to participate in filming of the Densha Otoko dorama. No Train Man appeared to save her, alas - but her injuries were reportedly light.
>Trainman (Densha Otoko)
The ultimate Metrosexual?
Why is everyone saging this thread? ~(-_-)~
>>10
Seems like we have a potentional sequel for this movie; Molester-Trainman!
We are wapanese!
Also, why worry about that? It's not as if threads get purged from here just yet.
Nobody around here cares if you sage. It doesn't mean what a lot of 4chan think it means.
Eh... IMO the dude in Densha Otoko is still too handsome to be an otaku.
but chick is really ugly
hahah
> `(Densha Otoko) is an otaku's surrender to love capitalism.' What the main character should've done is turn the girl into another otaku and bring her to Akihabara,'' he says.Denpa Otoko > Densha Otoko
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200506040207.html
Getting to the next stage in life and love
Why has the Japanese birth rate fallen so low that pandas are starting to look fecund by comparison? I had read the experts, naming everything from workaholism to scarce day-care as causes, but my light-bulb moment came during a press screening of "Densha Otoko (Train Man)," TV hitmaker Shosuke Murakami's debut feature about an otaku who meets a woman on a commuter train and woos her with the help of his Internet friends.
Full review here: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?ff20050615a2.htm
ｷﾀ━━━━(ﾟ∀ﾟ)━━━━ｯ!!
http://manganews.net/seriesinfo.php?id=2807
And the TV drama has started! Anyone in for a 4-ch translation group?
Yes, let's translate.
On another note, I think "Denpa Otoko" is smart....
Softsubs for eps 1 and 2!
http://www.d-addicts.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19530
Thank you Mr >>23 !
what's the relation between drama and manga ?
check this out
http://www.geocities.co.jp/Milkyway-Aquarius/7075/trainman.html
it actually seems like an archive of those threads O.o
I think they should make a movie about VIPPERs and NEETs next
Subtitles (1-3 as of now)
http://www.d-addicts.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19530
Episode 1
http://d-addicts.net/torrents/Densha%20Otoko%20-%20ep01%20%28704x396%29%20%5BRAW%5D.avi.torrent
Episode 2
http://d-addicts.net/torrents/Densha%20Otoko%20-%20ep02%20%28704x396%29%20%5BRAW%5D.avi.torrent
Episode 3
http://d-addicts.net/torrents/Densha%20Otoko%20-%20ep03%20%28704x396%29%20%5BRAW%5D.avi.torrent
Episode 4
http://d-addicts.net/torrents/Densha%20Otoko%20-%20ep04%20%28704x396%29%20%5BRAW%5D.avi.torrent
So some skeptics ( http://www.pliink.com/mt/marxy/archives/000613.html ) are blogging that this story was fabricated from the start by a couple of clever authors with corporate sponsorship. What do you think, comrades?
Also, I am intruiged by >>28's ideas and wish to subscribe to his newsletter.
They can believe whatever they want, I'm not paying for their marijuana habit.
This made me laugh, for all kinds of reasons:
> "They're lying to us!" "The public is stupid!" In your "moronic cynicism" you manage to insult both the fiction writers and the public who buy their fictions. You then propose a campaign to "wake up" the public to the "deceit", to insert yourself into a perfectly consensual system, to portray yourself (as Marxy so often does) a gaijin St George come to slay yet another Japanese dragon. The trouble is that not only you outsiders from a different culture, intruding on a perfectly consensual relationship, your perspective on "the truth" is utterly naive and would be laughed out of the room by any fiction writer.
>
> There are lies, damned lies, and statistics. If statistics are "truths that lie", art is, as Picasso said, "the lie that tells the truth". In that sense the Trainman saga, with its universal themes, is a true story whether or not literal-minded dullards-turned-sleuths manage to find out exactly how much of each stage of the tale really happened and how much is embellishment demanded by story-telling convention. It's archetypal as a boy-meets-girl story and it's also archetypal as a fiction in the style of Woody Allen's Play It Again, Sam, with the 2-ch crew standing in for Humphrey Bogart.
>
> How would it look if Japanese crusaders decided to reveal that the National Enquirer was a cynical bid to "fool" its idiot readers in America? Rise up, idiot citizens of America, against the PR lies of your so-called "newspaper", the National Enquirer! No Japanese would be so naive, so rude, or so presumptuous.
It's somehow appropriate to compare 2ch to the National Enquirer...
What's "the National Enquirer"?
Episode 4 subs━━━━(ﾟ∀ﾟ)━━━━ｯ!!
>>34
It's a tabloid magazine, and the title is well-known enough that it's become something of a stereotype.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_National_Enquirer
The article linked from there mentions "the traditional supermarket tabloid formula of UFOs, bizarre sex, séances, gross-outs, Loch Ness-ish monsters, cooked-up stories, and celebrity gossip"
Oh, okay.
Well then, 2ch is bigger than the National Enquirer.
The National Enquirer is more like the bakanews or DQNnews boards on 2ch.
I love this show
All Densha otaku should really know about http://www.1chan.net/
Hoo, this is a really good story, i like it very much, in fact, i search the information about 2ch.net from the movie ideas. And found also found this bss, 4-ch.net :P
I really like this. 1chan is pretty cool too. Maybe I might snap a few photos of QR trains to upload there.
Densha is what also made me find 4-ch.
Great story. I'm really addicted to it right now, I watched eps 3-5 today and I can't wait for the next ones to come out! :D:D
How often are episodes aired, and how long until we can expect ep 6?
>>45
Episodes air each Thursday (11 episodes all in all, I think) with RAWs torrented soon thereafter and subs out mostly the following Sunday (but subs for episode 6 have been delayed until later today (Monday)).
>>36
Its also the newspaper that the MiB trusts the most
Wow, I just watched episode 6. A lot of things went on in this episode, and of course it's a cliffhanger.
<>- MAY BE SEEN AS SPOILER::::::::
But after this episode I started wondering, huh, 5 episodes left.. how are they going to really make something out of whats left? I mean, after episode 6 I think there could be a couple of episodes ending it. But hey, there are 5 left!?
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
I think we only get to see more shivering and shaking Yamada :D C'mon, I don't believe SOMEBODY would shake and cry so much in front of a girl, not even an otaku. So I think the story might be true, but how its done in the series, i think its a bit too much drama :D.
Yeah he does seem to break down a little to much. I would think that she might be put off by all of his stuttering. At times its really painful to watch him breakdown on the show because it feels like they are trying to make the show extra dramatic.
PLus he was an idiot for doing what he did at the end of ep 6.
>>42
I also found this board from researching densha, XD
>>50
well, he's an anime otaku, right?
That means anime related stuff is very important stuff for him.
chix0r >>>>>>> anime
>>52 has 3D complex
o-m-g
When is the subs for 7 coming out? ...T_T....
I've been keeping up with the last 6 episodes and there is one thing I must say: There is no way in hell that a girl would like someone as portrayed by Yamada. Although the original story may have been true, I'm beginning to think that the producers went somewhat overboard.
As an otaku myself, even if i was Ms "Hermes", I'd slap Yamada silly for mentally breaking down all the time. He's so mentally unstable that it should be criminal. I can imagine how the actor for Hermes secretly flinched inside everytime he'd start blabbering jibberish.
Bottom line: The series does not in any way do justice to otakus around the world. Not all of us are like this. However, it does satisfy our fantasies of ever meeting that 'dream girl', so either way it's stil enjoyable to watch XD
By the way, it's understandable that Yamada chose the Anime expo in preference to the date with Hermes. Anime was something that surrounded him all his life. It's like eating rice for all your life, then someday, you are forced to eat french bun. It isn't that simple. (although I admit I'll be deemed a philistine for comparing food with dating girls so shrugs)
I just watched the first episode. I'm in awe of how truly awesome the show is. I mean, all those people online, man! It's just like the REAL internet! Only without every other post being sage, I mean. (of course, it seems to be a lot different on 4ch than it is on 4chan, so)
In regards to the comments made by that dude that wrote Denpa Otoko, yeah, I agree with a lot of stuff he says, but if someone wants to change their otaku lifestyle for the sake of love (or whatever,) they can go the hell on ahead and do so. If not, carry on with what you're doing, it's all cool. Also, I'm not sure if it's just how it's translated, but the line about turning the girl into an otaku and going to Akihabara, I dunno, I guess I just don't like the idea of turning people into things. I steer clear of polymorph rings in Nethack, too.
In regards to the discussion on whether the original Densha Otoko story was... well, even if Densha himself was making everything up, everyone else was just along for the ride, so I guess the lines between fiction and reality (for lack of a better term) are a bit blurred here. But in regards to whether it was real or not, who cares? I treat damn near everything like fiction these days, anyway. It's a good read and that's all that matters to me.
sage does not mean what you think it does.
> Only without every other post being sage, I mean. (of course, it seems to be a lot different on 4ch than it is on 4chan, so)
I politely refer you to http://wakaba.c3.cx/soc/kareha.pl/1104777766
Hmmmm, it still means exactly what I think it does, but now it makes more sense to my foolish human brain. Wow, what the hell was I thinking.
I demand subs for 7!
I can't wait :D
I agree with 59-san.
Yamada is more pathetic than Shinji from Evangelion, with all the stuttering and whatnot. I could barely watch the first episode. ＿|￣|○
Well yeah, it's exaggerated for the sake of... drama. shrug
Wait, is it supposed to be a drama, or a comedy?
I haven't seen many Japanese movies but it seems to me that Japanese actors all over-play their roles way too much. Like a Hong-Kong kungfu movie where the moves are so exaggerated. I find myself distancing from those shows, too unreal. I know that many people love that stuff, but personally I can't watch more than a few minutes.
Another I have noticed in Japanese movies is that the actors are way too much camera-aware. It's like the actors are watching the viewer from the corner of their eyes, it's distracting. They are supposed to focus on the matter at hand, not on me. It breaks my suspension of disbelief.
Apparently, poor Yamada drowned from being out in the rain so long. Or something...?
>>64: No, Yamada has yet to yank one out over some asshole bitch's broken and unconscious body. When he reaches that level, maybe I'll agree with you.
>>66: Densha Otoko is fairly void of any entertainment value at this point, and morbid curiosity along with the curious merriment I get from observing the otaku sub-species in action/inaction is what's keeping me watching it at this point.
(The astute in our audience will notice that I am trolling.) (w ror =^_^;;=V
No food for you.
Trolls? Here? Impossible!
To learn more about trolling:
http://4-ch.net/net/kareha.pl/1112960050
Holy shit, this discussion can turn on a dime. Anyway, time for some ultimate technique!
I just got done watching up through the seventh episode. Damn, Densha has some determination. I don't think I'd ever be able to give up my hobbies for a woman, I've been gaming ever since I was four and all. Still, that's the way love is, I guess... but it still doesn't make fucking sense, how someone like Densha and someone like Hermes could fall for each other. But that's the way love is, I guess.
Also, episode six's big A-channel character meetup. AWESOME.
that was pretty damn cool.
I say good on him for staying out in the rain like that.
>>72
Hey between his otaku hobbies or a hot beatiful chick that ACTUALLY loves him, I think it a one chance in a lifetime for him to grab. He can always go back to his hobbies after he is totally settled with her. Heck even better convert her to an otaku as well.
> Today (24.08, 21:00-21:54) they showed "trivia no izumi" (toukai terebi channel) where they did a research in akihabara if there were any real "densha otaku" out there... that is, they staged the "annoying old man"-cenario and watch if the bypassing otakus would rescue the maid in despair. Well, first of all i just want to point out that 69 out of 100 otakus came to the rescue!! (sasuga otaku!)
http://d-addicts.net/torrents/Densha%20Otoko%20Investigation.torrent
well no shit, all the otaku have been watching their show
well no shit, all the otaku have been watching their show
I haven't seen the clip, but how do they know they specifically targeted otaku for this stunt? Did they only do it around guys who had bags from anime stores or stuff? And how did they stop other heroes from coming to the Damsel in Distress's rescue?
Either way, the results would have been more relevant before all this became a TV show, movie, half a dozen comics, an internet phenomenon, and so on. As >>76 double-posts, we don't know how many otaku have been shucked into thinking this could actually happen to them by it all.
ｷﾀ━━━━(ﾟ∀ﾟ)━━━━ｯ!!
>>78 , they attracted otakus by having a sign advertising a maid cafe (something only otakus would go to, IMO) and had maids guiding them to this hallway. That's where the conflict took place and where some otakus were scared and ran away.
For anyone who cares, here's a subbed version of the show mentioned in >>75:
http://tvnihon.dragoneye.ca/torrents/%5Bt-n%5Dtrivia_seed-densha_otoko%5Bd2e82d0c%5D.avi.torrent
PS: NETA is an awesome word.
>>81
shit :( I already watched it w/o subs :(
Watch it again. The mischivieous comments from the off whenever one of the otaku runs away are hilarious! (ノ∀｀)
Are there any girls commenting here? Since it would be somewhat interesting to hear a female's perspective on this breathtaking drama series.
Question: If you were a girl, would u go out with "DENSHAAA"?
Some may despise him because he simply is an insecure, weak, pedantic, hairless-down-under 'turd'. However, others may praise him for his determination and persistence, in his endevours to court the wonderful Ms Hermes. What is your opinion?
sigh... I remember meeting a girl like her at tuition. It turned out she had a boyfriend ＿|￣|○
From that staged harrassment video clip that lured otakus, I found the guy who looked like the 'ultimate otaku' most amusing. Glasses, buffy hair, parachute-like straps around his body, tucked in shirt, pants that only reach sock length, deprived sleep looking eyes that constantly blink, twitching mouth that seems like he's vaguely murmuring something - well you get the idea. He treated the old man like a monster! And those pathetic hand waving gestures to her! CMON! can't bear to look. As much as it's deadpan comedy to watch, at the same time it's also heart rendering. I doesn't get that bad, does it? He could well be the japanese version of Steve Irwin aka the crocodile hunter.
>>81
Is this the "seed of trivia" show that got a short run on SpikeTV?
>>81
lol @ "hermes-get" (when first guy saved her)
Episode 9 RAW
http://d-addicts.net/torrents/Densha%20Otoko%20-%20ep09%20%28704x396%29%20%5BRAW%5D.avi.torrent
Also, next episode (#10) is supposed to be the final episode but twice as long (2 hours).
Might as well want to link our other threads on the more appropriate boards:
Densha Otoko ( 2channel real story ) (Film & TV board)
http://4-ch.net/tv/kareha.pl/1117243640
your favorite scene in densha otoko (Film & TV board)
http://4-ch.net/tv/kareha.pl/1123723209
__【DenshaOtoko is out of date】 嫌 韓 流 【Very hot fad Manga】__ (Japanese board)
http://4-ch.net/nihongo/kareha.pl/1122557646
And I thought there was a thread in the manga forum, too. But it might have gotten purged some time ago in a server failure.
●◆●『電車男』を英語に翻訳しよう●◆●
(Let's translate "Densha Otoko" into English)
http://academy4.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/english/1098117242/
>>89
DensyaOtoko no OP is Pakuri of DAICON!! (Anime board)
http://4-ch.net/anime/kareha.pl/1120756899
>>91
Thanks, forgot about that one!
Subtitles for Episode 9, same place as always (different translator, though):
http://www.d-addicts.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19530
a new thread:
Densha Otoko Manga (Manga board)
http://4-ch.net/manga/kareha.pl/1125682758/
>>84 Yes I would. And i am. <3 teh kyoot male meganekkos.
Oh man, did episode 10 rock or what? This series is by far the best drama I have ever seen.
never watched the show, neither do I really know what he is like, but I certainly wouldn't mind befriending an otaku as long as
The last episode is about to debut in Japan in less than 9 hours..kinda sad....while it was true that the series tended to be a bit overracted, I believe that it was needed for the show because if it wasn't for that, then it woulda been a boring series. Other than that, this was one of the BEST Jdoramas i have ever seen. I am totally convinced that this was based on a true story and while some parts of this drama was made up, the audience can get a rough sketch of what actually happened. I'll be really sad once this is over because it will be hard to find another jdorama that will be as good as this one.
100GET!