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Japanese title
電車男
～美女と純情ヲタク青年のネット発ラブストーリー～
Manga-ka/Author
御茶まちこ Machiko Ocha
Genre
romance, shoujo
Volumes: 1
Distributor: Del Rey
Classification: PG
Rating
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Ikumi Saiki is one of thousands of Japanese young men known as otaku - he
lives and breathes anime and manga, and spends all his money in the infamous
anime district of Tokyo, Akihabara. He has no fashion sense, no hope of getting
a girlfriend and he chats online on 2chan, in a forum especially for no-hopers
just like him.
The fresh winds of change begin to blow, however, when Ikumi stands up to a
rowdy drunk on the train. One of the harassed women, Mai Kohinata, seems really
impressed with him and sends him a thank you gift of expensive Hermes cups.
Encouraged by his 2chan friends, Ikumi invites Mai to dinner, and with the help
of his online friends, their relationship blossoms. However, the beautiful and
graceful Mai already has a boyfriend; will Ikumi manage to summon up the courage
to win her heart?
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Train Man (or Densha Otoko as it is more commonly known) is a
famous franchise which rose to popularity in 2005. The variety of adaptations
that exist are based on a true story; that of an anonymous otaku known only as
'densha otoko', the girl he met on the train and the advice of his 2chan
friends. The writer of the original story is unknown, under the pen name
'Nakano Hitori' or 'naka no hitori' - 'one of those within'.
Anyone who has come across this famous story before will already know of its
immense popularity. I saw the film release on DVD last year and fell in love
with this sweet love story; this manga is a wonderful adaptation which captures
the best of the film. The art style is suitably smooth and expressive, and the
character designs are attractive. Anyone who enjoys shoujo manga will almost
certainly fall in love with this.
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Manga
Train Man: A Shojo
Manga is one of four manga series in the Densha Otoko franchise. The
first, simply named Densha Otoko, came before the film release that
brought the franchise into the mainstream. The other three, of which the series
I am reviewing is one, are adaptations of the film and television series of the
same name. The other two are Densha Otoko - Ganbare Dokuotoko! and
Train Man: Densha Otoko. The first of these has not been translated into
English, but the second has; it portrays the story with a
shounen slant.
Anime
The Densha Otoko
franchise began with a novel written under the name Hitori Nakano (as
mentioned above). This was then adapted into a film in 2005, which was an
instant hit in Japan and became one of the top earning films of 2005. This was
closely followed by a live-action television series which also enjoyed
widespread success.
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