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.
>>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!
>>99
try GTO
thanks...the other jdorama im watching right now is Gokusen..does that have the similar story as GTO?
>>99 seconded, though the overacting often made me laugh more than anything.
This JDrama, though at times quite excessive, might as well become quite influential, even in the West, as some kind of hallmark of otaku [in the western sense] and 2ch-style BBS culture... as, provided the story is anything near real, a brilliant showcase of the best (and at times the worst, still...) of what can come from a band of forum-dwellers. And how, finally, the Internet, thought by many to be more against social behavior than anything, can at times bring together apparently unrelated (and anonymous!) people for a (quite) selfless cause.
It could as well give ammunition to those who claim the superiority of anonymous, subscription-less bulletin board systems, as indeed, none of this could have happened - at least, not that easily - if 2ch didn't work the way it does.
Posting in such a forum makes me somehow feel part of the story... Or at least, part of the same subculture, even though the barrier between 2ch and the english-speaking boards is more than obvious.
I've seen both GTO and Densha Otoko, any further suggestions? Please?
Is it true that Summer Snow is good?
I found this site, which has some of the original 'densha otoko' forum posts translated in to english. They are from the densha book, which seems like it is basically a print out of the entire real life thread. Anyone know if there are other sites working on this?
I know there are doubts to how 'legit' the origins of the story are, but either way I think it'd be fun to read (=´∇｀=)...
>>105
The original threads are (partially, they seem to only include the "important" posts) here: http://www.geocities.co.jp/Milkyway-Aquarius/7075/trainman1.html
Fan-based translation of the whole thing is also going on here:
http://academy4.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/english/1098117242/l50
Btw, I found it funny that in the TV series they made it look like the whole story took place in one single thread.
>>106
Did they? They always said "read the forum", not "read the thread". There were several parts.
Maybe a couple of lines in the fansubs were translated oddly, so everything that happened was "in this thread".
>>104
Long Vacation: Aspiring pianist deals with crazy women.
>>107
It sometimes looked like it were several threads but often enough the fansubs refered to "this thread" and the last episode kinda seemed to confirm that for me, what with all of them going crazy over 1000GET
why would u even want to be part of the "subculture"... otakus in japan are hated (even though its thought that they are getting popular among girls.. but those are girls that have been cheated by their good looking boyfriends numerous times.)
anyways, this drama was interesting looking at the japanese otaku people in more precise details. i still think they are disgusting though with some guys wearing the girl cosplay and crap.
I think that Summer Snow is pretty good. The cast isn't as good as the ones at Densha Otoko and GTO but the storyline is well written. You should go check it out, the guy who started the Alladin Channel, Oguri Shun (Munetaka Minamoto) is in that series. im on the last episode
I'm having fun reading the "original" translated version of Densha Otoko book. I found it quite hilarious. It seems "Densha" was a bit (fabricated?) after translation but the supporters were quite original. How they depict each personality into the TV series was quite amusing. I'm pretty sure the original people who answered "Densha" were not as the obsurd character like in the TV series but it gave me quite a chuckle (okay, I lied, I was laughing HARD). I'm pretty sure it is quite impossible to recreate this in America where people, instead of being anynomous/random, prefer to post their picture (someone else's who is better looking than them in that matter) instead. This, Densha Otoko BBS "true story" could be one hella scam to pull off if it were produced in US. Possible location? New York? Who knows.
Well, >>111, if you take it from a culturally relevant angle, the people that matter most to otaku (other otaku) don't hate them. It's all about acceptance in one's peer group, see.
>>113, you're correct! The mindset of most English-speaking countries when it comes to messageboards like this is that they're jokes, that they can use their anonymity to cause random havoc, that nothing said is really serious or real at all. At least, that's what I've observed and participated in, nyaha.
>>114 is internet anthropology!
I reported >>114 to AOL for abusing his anonymity, as it is a crime.
I am American...and found this drama truly compelling...I wish it would be produced here, it would do quite well in my opinion...
xoxo
I just finished watching the movie and the entire drama of densha otoko and not to say i got really hooked with this.
To read the book is the only thing left for me, well I'm exactly a quarter on my way reading it. I can't read japanese that's why I still waiting for the tranlated thread/book to finish. AHHH!! it's just taking to long of wait. _|¯|O
>I'm pretty sure the original people who answered "Densha" were not as the obsurd character like in the TV series
I'm not so sure about that.
they probably werent that obsurd. the people who made the drama over-exaggerated some things to give each character a specific personality. if you read the book/threads, you kinda see that.
but what they did in the TV drama is great anyway. it was pretty hilarious on what they did with the TV drama. and hey, it also said the story is fiction based on a true story. so we just can say that maybe 60% of the TV drama did not really happened, but it's pretty close to the real thread, right? [maybe 50-50?]
× obsurd
○ absurd
>>118
The secondary characters in the drama are basically all stereotypes. Fun, but not all that realistic.
>>122
yea, maybe.. but that's the funny thing about it. (",)
>>122
Who wants a realistic drama? The more overacting the more fun for the audience! Also, I think the term you want is "naturalistic", simply because I want to say that the persons in the drama felt very real to me and still make sense.
it's a comedy/drama. it's real in some cases and not-that-real in other parts. if you want to do a comedy - you have to go beyond what is real. if you want drama, put something real to it. put them together = you have one hell of a funny realistic show. "natural" if people see it that way.
I dunno, if I want reality I don't watch a movie/TV. I step outside.
Being part of that culture~ the characters are not as exaggerated as most may think. Though they are stereotyped a little bit to easily flesh out each person's character more easily in the limited time frame of a TV show (as the viewers would appreciate the minutes better spent on making the main characters evolve). Of course, there is a couple of side stories that fitted nicely in in order to evolve a couple or so of the thread posters so that people won't think that these people are as 'stereotypical' as one might belive from watching the series.
As for which scenes were 'real' and which ones weren't; The scenes that were reffered to in the context of the thread were not made up.
i like this Densha.Otoko. i also recommend friends to watch it.
itoh misaki very pretty
> Being part of that culture~ the characters are not as exaggerated as most may think.
The characters are fine, but I don't think the life/romance parts of 2ch are actually full of otaku. Bored housewives, maybe.
I like densha Otoko. But why the Densha character often cry a lot? :D
Anyone watch densha otoko- yamada guest?
\o me!
hey can sometome teach me how to type that face densha always use on the msg board?
i want sex with itoh misaki. is that wrong?
lolz...this is like the "single man's rant" forum shown in the drama...
>>136 is pretty DQN.
What does DQN mean anyway?
>>138
An idiot or a jerk, or behavior characteristic of one. It comes from a Japanese word, "dokyun."
I like densha otoko too. Regardless if the story is true or not, it has a message. Hopefully, it'll reach you or at least get your brain working. If you have trouble remembering, stories play a big part in our history. Stories inspired and founded countless religions. The basis of truth is irrelevant. That's why it's called "faith".
I guess there are people who don't like the story. It must be tough to be like them...
>>140
What exactly is the message of this story? Do not try to change yourself to something you are not? The story of Densha Otoko has been told many, many, many, many times. That being said, I mildly enjoyed the TV series. The only reason I could bare to watch it was Itoh though.
Even though he didn't give up his otakuness, Densha did make a lot of changes in his life to be more appealing to Hermes. His wardrobe, his hair, learning about restaurants.
That is not a change of his person though.
>>141
I think the message is: nobody's perfect. People shouldn't really judge others on the basis of inferiority. Everybody needs a little improvement.
anybody here who's a member of the official densha otoko fanlisting? I don't blame 'ya, they only have 15 members...worldwide.
the same 15 people in this thread?
What's a "fanlisting".
I don't know, but I bet it's something dumb!
>>146
It's the Web 2.0 equivalent of webrings http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webring. By which I mean, the same exact thing with a new name and coat of paint. Only it's less useful than webrings because there's no front page navigation for skipping from site to site. Yes, it's dumb.
Oh how I love the web 2.0 world. Everything is just like before, only shitter and with new names. E/N site? HEAVENS NO, it is a BLOG! Wtf is a permalink? Oh, it is the link that ANYONE THAT ISN'T RETARDED uses... but they made a name for it!
>>149
Thanks for reminding me about "E/N site." I totally forgot I had ever known that term, heh.
there's an official fanlisting? is it even in english?
Any fanlisting is only official in the sense that someone set it up, declared it official, and a bunch of others joined in deference. So it's not official at all.
ey
I just finished the TV series today. It was so awesome.
Quote: I never imagined that mainsteam people behave otakus like they're menace for the community, like gross...Ok, lots of them are overdoing it e.x. looking at the pants of a female anime...figure. O_o But they aren't all otakus like this.
wha?!?
2ch forum imitation? XD
>>154
Yeees, we just look at their panties..., nothing more. I promise...
http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/list/tags/semenonfigure/1
(don't click it)
I love the semenonfigure thing, i wanna rub my cock on an anime girl sooo much!!! ill get somefigures some day and make loads of videos hehe!
http://rapidshare.de/users/MYAKDB
http://rapidshare.de/users/1KM5B7
awesome, the best videos on the net for semenonfigure
FAP FAP FAP.............. SPLAT
JESUS I HATE THE INTERNET
I loved this drama tv series. :) Regardless if it is true or not true.
3 of the 4 manga adaptations will have the English versions out soon! :3
I just finished watching the series. I got hooked straight after watching the first episode. I ended up watching the whole series in one sitting. Its really a heart warming story and i guess many nerds like me can actually draw strength from it and probably find love one day.
i know the truth of this story..because i was one of them..
then prove it
yeah prove it
>>165
Yes! That's true! I watched densha otoko too and it's a got a wonderful story!
o_o hi!
Since this is about the manga adaptations, here's how I rank the ones that have been translated so far.
Viz version(seinen type) > unlicensed version > Del Rey version (shojo type) > CMX version (shonen type)
Hello everybody!
Does any one read the manga of densha otoko?
Yes, we do. Right now I'm waiting for volume 2 of the Viz version.
am i the only one to find that the "densha otoko" mangas suck ?
Wow this thread sucks compared to the original. LoL.
The only reason that I got into 4-ch was because of this movie. I am very grateful to it. ^_^