Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Tue Apr 21, 2009 7:09 pm

Cobblepotter

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Densha Otoko is a Japanese story based on real events, in which an otaku saves a girl from a drunk, falls in love with her and seeks advice and support from a message board. It first began as a novel, which was set up like a thread. It was an international bestseller, and it was adapted into a movie, a TV show, countless manga adaptions and even a play! The novel has also been localized and sold in English, under the title Train Man.

The story is pretty much a modernized Beauty and the Beast style love story. A lonely hated otaku sees a beautiful girl on the train, and saves her from a drunken passenger. He falls in love with her, and when he receives a thank you gift from her, two expensive teacups, he doesn't know what to do, so he asks for help on a message board, which his bravery and determination inspires and gives hope to all the single men who read his posts. He is dubbed Densha Otoko (japanese for Train Man), and she is named Hermes, after the brand of teacups.

I watched the TV show, and it is beautiful, the best drama I've ever seen. The actors are brilliant, it has scenes that will leave you splitting your sides with laughter, and its incredibly moving, how supportive his internet buddies are to dedicate their time to help a stranger.

If you're an otaku, and/or have experienced/deeply thought about relationships, you will absolutely adore this show/movie/novel/manga. I recommend the TV show over all the others.

Spoiler: Do a nice thing today,

Re: Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:03 am

Shiki Tohno

「これが、モノを殺すと言うことだ…！」

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One of the very few dramas I've watched and actually liked, or rather, loved every second of. The contrast between the main stars (her tall, slender figure and his short, small-framed make) provided for a very easy path for viewers to connect to the characters, given their social standings and the profiles we know them by (Hermes, a relatively rich girl, well-groomed, and with little knowledge of the online and the otaku underworlds; Densha, a commoner salaryman, patented otaku, and living with his family in a small apartment). Plus, for some reason I always thought the actor that did Densha DID look like a bit of an idiot, the kind of idiot everyone'd take advantage off on the streets, which gave his characterization an even firmer impression of being a societal nobody. Highly recommended for whoever wants to spend a few hours of ribcage-breaking laughter and teeth-rotting romantic fluff. I especially liked the last episode, where the guy with the guitar would start screaming stuff to his girlfriend (who did not initially love him) about how much he loved her into the mike, to the point of disarming her. XD

If videogames make murderers, then guns kill people and spoons made Rosie O'Donnell fat.

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Re: Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:10 am

DokenMaster

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The only drama that had a music video (Onegai! Senorita - Orange Range) by not only one of my favorite J-Rock artists, but also with a comical yet catchy concept that directly pointed to itself. Train Man was entertaining during its run and the manga just as well done. Only question I have is: Why does he not have an Ultraman suit? That's my only complaint.

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Re: Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Wed Apr 22, 2009 8:25 pm

Gozu

no, nothing

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i don't think otaku should find love

Re: Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Thu Apr 23, 2009 2:53 am

Shiki Tohno

「これが、モノを殺すと言うことだ…！」

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Gozu wrote:

i don't think otaku should find love

T_T

If videogames make murderers, then guns kill people and spoons made Rosie O'Donnell fat.

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Re: Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Thu Apr 23, 2009 3:18 am

DokenMaster

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that baffles me. Why don't you think otaku should find love?

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Re: Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Thu Apr 23, 2009 3:27 am

Holy Hell

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They're not even really people

Some kind of a subhuman slug

If you come across an older post of mine, sowwy

Re: Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Thu Apr 23, 2009 3:39 am

DokenMaster

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you're talking about the hardcore Otaku, aren't you?

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Re: Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Thu Apr 23, 2009 3:52 am

Holy Hell

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Otaku on principle refers to people who are hardcore into a hobby

So saying "hardcore otaku" is redundant

If you come across an older post of mine, sowwy

Re: Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Thu Apr 23, 2009 6:33 pm

Gozu

no, nothing

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they're fat, ugly, terrible human beings that glorify rape and pedophilia

not to mention they're creepy as fuck

Re: Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Thu Apr 23, 2009 7:47 pm

Pickens

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Story time. So, last semester my school had this random club thing going on. I was killing time between classes, so I went and checked it out. A guy I knew from high school was running a booth for what appeared to be the anime club, so I went over and talked to him. He convinced me to give the club a go. The next day I went by the club meeting and as soon as I sat down I heard it being referred to as the "Otaku Club".

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII.

What followed was the worst hour and a half of my life. They bitched and talked about the most random terrible things. Whilst saying "OH WE'RE SO SORRY, US OTAKU ARE VERY DISORGANIZED DONTCHYAKNOW." Hearing that word spoken aloud was like hearing nails on a chalk board. While the meeting was going on, some random guys played YGO. After the main portion of the meeting was done, they just played some shitty Naruto fighting game for what felt like hours. I had to get out of there. I got away, but was emotionally scarred for the rest of my life.

Otaku should never ever be allowed to be happy. The crazy thing is, these were only the Americans; I can only imagine their Japanese counterparts are five thousand times worse.

Last edited by Pickens on Fri Apr 24, 2009 3:51 am, edited 1 time in total.

Re: Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Thu Apr 23, 2009 8:17 pm

Holy Hell

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Like I said earlier, otaku refers to anybody who is very much into a specific hobby. This can be modeling, automobiles, World War II memorabilia/weapons, and of course anime and manga.

Otaku inherently aren't bad people. The problem is, when somebody-- anybody-- gets fanatical about their hobby, it can be detrimental to many facets of their life. It's how some of them end up as NEETs and hikkikomoris. They get so attached to this hobby of theirs that it becomes more than just a hobby. It's something so important to them that their life can revolve around it, which is what leads to nasty social behaviour, losing track of what is or isn't considered acceptable in societal terms, and generally just... being very, very stupid.

This is also how anime otaku can get so into lolicon or pedophilia, although the latter isn't directly related. With their life revolving around it so heavily, it becomes a part of their sexuality as well.

If you come across an older post of mine, sowwy

Re: Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Thu Apr 23, 2009 9:16 pm

Cobblepotter

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How did this become the "otaku hate" thread so quickly?

I got the book in the mail yesterday, and almost finished reading it. It's beautiful, but I thought it didn't quite have as much impact as the show. Maybe it's because watching it happen on the thread and reading the thread after all the events have happened in the book are both different events in feeling. They definitely changed a lot in the show from the book, but fortunately it's for the better.

Spoiler: Do a nice thing today,

Re: Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Thu Apr 23, 2009 9:24 pm

zuddy

seems interesting!

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all it does is give false hope

Re: Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Thu Apr 23, 2009 9:32 pm

Aevitas

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I loved Densha Otoko as well. It was such a good example of no matter what your situation in life is, the core human need is still there: to be loved and cared for. FYI, there were more than just anime geeks on the forum thread in the show. There was a guy obsessed with bodybuilding, a guy obsessed with the military, a stereotypical hacking freak, and a not-so-stereotypical cute girl hacker who looks like she goes shopping every day, a train conductor, a man who had an affair, a studious high school student, a basketball player, and a middle-aged guy who lost connections with his wife... just to name a few. The main character just so happened to personify everything that the people on that thread stood for when it came to finding love and acceptance, which was why they were so eager to cheer him on.

By the way, if you enjoyed the story, you should give this a read:
http://www.rinji.tv/densha/

Someone was kind enough to translate the forum thread that the story was based on. :edgy:

Japanese emoticons aka ASCII art will never cease to amaze me lol.

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Re: Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Fri Apr 24, 2009 1:13 am

Judgemaster64

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Gozu wrote:

they're fat, ugly, terrible human beings that glorify rape and pedophilia

not to mention they're creepy as fuck

Real otaku can't be fat since they spend there money on everything else but food. Food is the last thing on there list.

Re: Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Fri Apr 24, 2009 2:23 am

DaemonForce

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Holy Hell wrote:

Like I said earlier, otaku refers to anybody who is very much into a specific hobby. This can be modeling

I have such a sek-c body. :april:

Holy Hell wrote:

automobiles

Still trying to figure out WTF passed me an hour ago.
Very old looking. Possibly late 50s early 60s. 2-Door. Very light tan color. Only distinguishing marks are a crown on the back, "Ford" and something on the side that appeared to be there that started with a C. Has a very long trunk with the door off. Very pretty round headlight system. Rear has pretty round brake light system. No turn signal or reverse signal system. It was like looking into a world where a woman's place was either the kitchen or the passenger side of the car. <3

Holy Hell wrote:

World War II memorabilia/weapons

Civil War kicked more asses. :keiko:

Holy Hell wrote:

and of course anime and manga.

I'll take the random manga over anime. Yesterday I found a rip of Street Fighter IV. Not that I ever knew there was a SF4 but bear with me. Whenever I see some kind of Japanese animation logged as a decent 1hr+ film, it usually warrants a common file size near that of a VCD. I know focusing on this doesn't make sense to any of you since there is no doubt I have more storage capacity than all of you here but in case you live in a hole, that's a normal range of 650-800MB. Mind you this is a simple animation rip with stereo audio. No dual audio, maybe a subtitle option or embedded, but okay whatever. This thing was about the quality of a VCD. :lana:

It was not a VCD. :lana:

It was not a DVD. :lana:

Not dual layer. :shy:

This was a fucking BLU-RAY thingy at 1.8GB on my Domain Controller's disk. Let me remind you again, this is simple Japanese animation. Very nice widescreen, English voice, English embedded subs, little over 1hr. Since you don't beg the question, I will: What the hell? Do you people see some magically overpowering quality from Blu-Ray that I don't? Is there some kind of user experience that is worth at least 3x the file size? Does this mean that each 2TB disk I fit into my cluster can hold about 1400 Blu-Disc films on it? I feel violated and I'm not sure why. I think this may mark the end of anime for me. :lana:

Holy Hell wrote:

Otaku inherently aren't bad people. The problem is, when somebody-- anybody-- gets fanatical about their hobby, it can be detrimental to many facets of their life. It's how some of them end up as NEETs and hikkikomoris.

No one likes a NEET. NEETs go nowhere for a long LONG time. :keiko:

Still, I think I would rather be a hikki than get molested by random women on the train every time I board.

Holy Hell wrote:

They get so attached to this hobby of theirs that it becomes more than just a hobby. It's something so important to them that their life can revolve around it, which is what leads to nasty social behaviour, losing track of what is or isn't considered acceptable in societal terms, and generally just... being very, very stupid.

This is bad.

Holy Hell wrote:

This is also how anime otaku can get so into lolicon or pedophilia, although the latter isn't directly related. With their life revolving around it so heavily, it becomes a part of their sexuality as well.

Ew.

Gozu wrote:

they're fat, ugly, terrible human beings that glorify rape and pedophilia

not to mention they're creepy as fuck

That certainly sounds creepy as fuck. :lana:

Judgemaster64 wrote:

Real otaku can't be fat since they spend there money on everything else but food. Food is the last thing on there list.

I like this arguement.

I go to fast food places whenever I can. Hell I just finished a dish of yakisoba upon posting this. It is my duty as a fatass American... :acro:

Lana_Skyes_Heart wrote:

SO I was stuck all day inside the changing room with nothing but a glued on bra.

Panty thief strikes again! :-P

Re: Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Fri Apr 24, 2009 2:39 am

Holy Hell

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Man Daemon you don't have to have all of these anecdotes that have nothing to do with anything

Nobody cares

If you come across an older post of mine, sowwy

Re: Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Fri Apr 24, 2009 8:29 am

DaemonForce

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Just comparing myself to otaku.

I don't notice many differences except a lack of effort. :shy:

Lana_Skyes_Heart wrote:

SO I was stuck all day inside the changing room with nothing but a glued on bra.

Panty thief strikes again! :-P

Re: Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Fri Apr 24, 2009 8:42 am

Holy Hell

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Are you autistic by any chance

If you come across an older post of mine, sowwy

Re: Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Fri Apr 24, 2009 4:53 pm

DokenMaster

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One would be surprised. Autistic or not, DF's still twisted somewhere.

Father of XDGummyDX

Re: Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Sat Apr 25, 2009 2:53 am

DaemonForce

It's stuck?

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DokenMaster wrote:

One would be surprised. Autistic or not, DF's still twisted somewhere.

You probably would be too if your employer tends to dick around with your money right after tax season. :yuusaku:

But that will fix itself later. I often see a few dumbasses every now and then that are OMG -_-into-_- this brand new anime and zomg it is teh best11 Nowhere near Holy Hell's level though. Thank God. O_O... Yeah I don't like those people. They tend to really like me though.

I just don't understand how I sometimes manage to get sucked into the same category as these fudgepackers.

BRB I need a big ass cookie. :yuusaku:

Lana_Skyes_Heart wrote:

SO I was stuck all day inside the changing room with nothing but a glued on bra.

Panty thief strikes again! :-P

Re: Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Sat Apr 25, 2009 3:00 am

DokenMaster

They call me Bogard. Terry Bogard.

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good point, sucks for you

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Re: Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Sat Apr 25, 2009 3:09 am

DaemonForce

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DokenMaster wrote:

good point, sucks for you

It just boggles the fucking(GIGGITY!) mind. I don't act or even look anything like them. I might slightly resemble :javado:

every once in a while but a lot of pimpage and lazyness is required.

So are definition otakus supposed to be like the dumbasses that Pickens should have avoided or are they closer to the psychos I deal with every day that like throwing glass in my general direction? :lana:

Lana_Skyes_Heart wrote:

SO I was stuck all day inside the changing room with nothing but a glued on bra.

Panty thief strikes again! :-P

Re: Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Sat Apr 25, 2009 1:22 pm

Wrestler Hatman

spr fckn srs peepz

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DaemonForce wrote:

I just don't understand how I sometimes manage to get sucked into the same category as these fudgepackers.

Fuck you, breeder.

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