Anybody watch the Gokusen live-action Japanese show? I love it almost as much as Densha Otoko! (But never more, nothing ever will replace it!)
I know some people that actually go nuts for it, but it's not for me. I just didn't find the live-action version intresting enough. But the animated show is another thing. Like GTO and YUA, sometimes the animated versions are, well....more animated. Lots more stuff can happen cause there's no budget constraints,etc. If in the manga the story called for a hundred cars to blow up, the anime can match it.
Since Densha is originally a TV series anyway, its a bit more rooted in reality, the makers didn't put anything in the story that they can't pull of convincingly in production.
...well, that's my two cents in. Sorry if it dragged on too long.