Asian DramaWiki Forum

I never would have thought I end up liking this drama so much. It's amazing how many bad things can happen to you in just one day.. I wonder if they made that up, or is that for real? Since it was based on a true story.. maybe a bit exaggerated?

Has anyone seen the movie?
I think I'm going to read the manga.

*poll added by xiaryx.

not sure how extreme can Otaku be but there are people like that

Actually, for me, its a pretty painful drama to watch, even if we all know the ending to it. It brings back a lot of painful memories of my dating history.

Ahhh, nonsense I still love it :p

wachi wrote:. I wonder if they made that up, or is that for real? Since it was based on a true story.. maybe a bit exaggerated?

It's probably stylized for the TV. But for an otaku like him, it probably is that bad in his head. Hey, I've seen some socially inept people in my time, so this drama is not that far from the truth.

I'm sure most people on this forum are "otaku" in a way or another. The funny thing is that the characters of the forum in the drama are all typical of the different styles of otaku ( the train otaku are a typical japanese phenomenon). I recognize myself in the guitar Otaku.

Are you kidding me? We are all otakus. Look, we are sitting around our computers on a forum.

^ True, but I don't think we are on the same level as him.. or any of them.. hopefully not, maybe I'm just in denial.

There's actually an anime by GONZO having two carrots sticking outta the heroine's behind? Interesting.

I consider myself an otaku too. I'm addicted to downloading things from the internet (anything.. from avi to exe to linux isos that I never even setup - as long as the led blinks). Once my adsl got cut off for 2 days, I went straight to bed and caught a fever.

I'm just curious, what does otaku mean?

i read the book but havent seen the drama yet.. its very very popular in japan right now and all my friends used to talk about it. the book has been out a while now.

it means FANATIC but depending on whose saying it its either funny or an insult. it certainly doesnt mean you are cool. =P

fairx wrote:I consider myself an otaku too. I'm addicted to downloading things from the internet (anything.. from avi to exe to linux isos that I never even setup - as long as the led blinks). Once my adsl got cut off for 2 days, I went straight to bed and caught a fever.

Oh god, that's sad.

Basically otaku is someone who spends all their time in front of a computer.
This gives some of the best defintion of an otaku: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=otaku

octavius wrote:i read the book but havent seen the drama yet.. its very very popular in japan right now and all my friends used to talk about it. the book has been out a while now.

i have the book, ive only read halfway through.. i like it a lot ^^

20centuryboy wrote:I'm sure most people on this forum are "otaku" in a way or another. The funny thing is that the characters of the forum in the drama are all typical of the different styles of otaku ( the train otaku are a typical japanese phenomenon). I recognize myself in the guitar Otaku.

hmm, would the one guy from "stand up" be a train otaku? i forgot his name >< but hes in the music group "NEWS"

"Basically otaku is someone who spends all their time in front of a computer.
This gives some of the best defintion of an otaku: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=otaku[/quote]"

That's not true. People in japan call other people otaku if you are a mega fan of something in an embarassing way. Densha Otoko is an otaku cause of the anime, and the gundams, and the posters of MINA (is that right) all over. Not the pc use.

I'm defiinetly called an OTAKU by my wife and its not cause i chat online. Its cause i know which drama will be popular more than she does and she's japanese!

^ I'm not saying that's what an OTAKU actually is.. it's just the basic... since as you can see, OTAKU has many meanings. I'm just saying the gist of it.

fearspooky wrote:hmm, would the one guy from "stand up" be a train otaku? i forgot his name >< but hes in the music group "NEWS"

YAMAPI? The same guy from Dragon Zakura? That would be cute.

yeayeayea him. hes like crazy for trains in stand up haha.

... this drama is rocking, can't wait for more ...
... aoyama is hot, RAWR! ...

Just watched episode 2.. I'm really loving this drama; definitely one of my favs, so funny .

　　　　　　　＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿
　　　　　 ／━━━━━━━━━ ＼
　　　　　|┃|￣￣|. 〇　〇　[大月]┃|
　　　　　|┃|￣￣||￣￣￣￣￣￣|┃| プオーン！！！
　　　　　|┃|＿＿||＿＿＿＿＿＿|┃|
　　　　　|┃ 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 ＪＲ ┃|
　　　　　|┗━━━━━━━━━┛|　＼('A`)／　ミ　　　
　　　　　|　　　━━　━━　━━..　　|　　　（　）　　ミ
　　　　　|　　　　　[　電車男　]　　　　|　　　└└ミ　
　　　　　|　　　　　 　＼＿／.　　　　　.| 　　　
　　　　　|　 〇 　 　 ━━━ 　　〇 　|
　　　　　|＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿|
　　　　　 │　　　　 │[=.=］｜ 　 　 　│　
　　　　　 └────────────┘

kind of accidentally started my own thread, but anyway--

i just watched episode one on the recommendation of my friend and it's awesome--just the way they filmed who the posters were, their personality and they "otaku type"--it was seamless. plus, the jokes and references to being a poster on messageboards like 2chan [in japan] and 4chan [state-side]. it really goes to show you how much the internet is affecting our culture. anyway, just wanted to say how much i like the show, can't wait to see more.

ganbare, densha otoko!!

im a japanese otaku, i reckon. (if there's even such a thing, being fanatic abt almost everything japanese) perhaps more specifically a dorama otaku! im a guy, 22, and feeling sad for densha otoko, or subconsciously feeling sad with him! hope his/my life gets better!

man..this drama is kinda lame. lol. but i can't help but to get excited for him. i must be a otaku as well.

From what I hear, the closest English word to "Otaku" is either "nerd" or "geek." Its nice to see the nerds and geeks of Japan finally having their day, I hear there is a "Otaku boom" in Japan (I heard it on the drama Slow Dance... basically means its cool to be an otaku right now). In the US we nerds have sort of taken over... thanks to the Number 1 nerd Bill Gates and Steve Jobs...

Yukster wrote:... I hear there is a "Otaku boom" in Japan (I heard it on the drama Slow Dance... basically means its cool to be an otaku right now)....

really??? Which episode of Slow Dance was that line in? I may have missed it. Check the densha otoko ep2 torrent thread for a good discussion about "otaku".

Anyways, im glad to see the show doing well in the ratings. Hope the quality of the show keeps up!

So far I'm loving the soundtrack, including the insert songs, opening and ending (I just knew it was going to be a Sambomaster inspirational sing-a-long :-P!)

any idea who one of the cute girls who posts message is? Picture is below.

I like her voice as well as the other girl's voice (the one who dresses up).

I want to know who that cute girl is too

Dude, that was hard. This girl isn't that famous, so there's very little info (even less pics, unfortunately) on her. The pictures on the first two agency websites don't look exactly like her, but I've found this one "race queen" site that verifies who she is, so the information below should be correct.

I'm a girl but...: 桜井千寿 (Sakurai Chizu)
Cosplay Girl: 野水　伊織 (Nomizu Iori)

http://www.sanc-tu-ar-y.com/_sakurai/
http://www.bestbrain.jp/artist/sakurai/
http://www.cbrinc.co.jp/pro/talent/iori.html

what!!!!! i thought that the "im a girl but" girl was at least a teenager.. lol.

greyhorse wrote:Dude, that was hard. This girl isn't that famous, so there's very little info (even less pics, unfortunately) on her. The pictures on the first two agency websites don't look exactly like her, but I've found this one "race queen" site that verifies who she is, so the information below should be correct.

I'm a girl but...: 桜井千寿 (Sakurai Chizu)
Cosplay Girl: 野水　伊織 (Nomizu Iori)

http://www.sanc-tu-ar-y.com/_sakurai/
http://www.bestbrain.jp/artist/sakurai/
http://www.cbrinc.co.jp/pro/talent/iori.html

WOW!!! thanks a lot
Yeah shes a little older than I expected

where can we find the manga?

ryan123 wrote:where can we find the manga?

KEFI are releasing the manga and so is APNM.. andbaka-updates will tell you which groups are doing it and how many chapters they have out (and sometimes DL links)

The thing to watch out for is that there are 4 different versions of Densha manga (and maybe a 5th) all by different companies, so you don't want to be mixing them up cause you might get confused

Was this really based on a true story? http://www.pliink.com/mt/marxy/archives/000613.html

Here's the site that kept a log of the actual densha okoto 2-ch discussion.
http://www.geocities.co.jp/Milkyway-Aqu ... nman1.html

I can't confirm though because I can't read Japanese...

is there a place to download the movie yet? if not, i hope it comes out soon!

No, there's no place to download the movie yet. I think it's still playing in theatres in Japan. (I may be wrong though)

The film is still playing since jun, So i can't tell if it is again on theatre !
The official website : http://www.nifty.com/denshaotoko
I prefere the drama actors ... but it's because i have fixed them as their roles.

I still cannot get over the whole height thing between the two main chara.Ito Misaki is like towering over the guy and the guy has to look up everytime he has to talk..hehe..

octavius wrote:i read the book but havent seen the drama yet.. its very very popular in japan right now and all my friends used to talk about it. the book has been out a while now.

I've been seeing this one advertised on one of my local stations and it looks hilarious. I hope its as good as everyone says, i can't wait to see it.

I got a doubt.
"Hermes" said she wans't wearing her contacts that day, but how could she read that book?!
What you think?

Yeah, there were some one or two other things that I found questionable while watching this series.

By the way, who is the actor that plays the business person in Shanghai? He looks so familiar, he reminds me of a Korean actor.

cabroco wrote:I got a doubt.
"Hermes" said she wans't wearing her contacts that day, but how could she read that book?!
What you think?

I can read a book without my glasses or contacts. She's near-sighted just like me. Meaning she can seeing things close to her but things far away appear blurry.

donna8157 wrote:Yeah, there were some one or two other things that I found questionable while watching this series.

yeah like the 2ch.jp forum. In the show they make it seem like a chatroom, when it's actually a forum like this in real life. how did the site keep auto refreshing?

kusmog wrote:

cabroco wrote:yeah like the 2ch.jp forum. In the show they make it seem like a chatroom, when it's actually a forum like this in real life. how did the site keep auto refreshing?

If you look carefully at episode 1, you'll notice that it isn't 2ch, but Ach BBS, short for Aladdin channel. The vase on the top page of 2ch has been replaced with a magic lamp, and the contents are completely different. Ach BBS caters specifically to single men and women, with various subcategies, including the one for single men to vent/rant.

Oh yeah, the business man is 豊原功補 (Toyohara Kosuke). I've only seen him in Long Vacation, but apparently he's been in a lot of movies as well as some other dramas.

Thsi drama is really funny, I love it. It's almost too believable for me, lol.

I wonder what is the business man role in Densha.. I haven't been paying attention to the details.

Anyone notices the unibrow dude? He's so freakin' funny everytime he made one of his faces.

I wonder if this story really is true...were there any interviews of the real "densha otoko"?

No, I don't think they have anything other then the original messages so it could easily have been made up by the original otoko.

OMG.. haha.. this drama is hilarious! Just watched the first episode. So good that I completely forgot that I have a HUUUUUGE project that I'm probably going to have to stay up finishing.

Kind of makes me wish there was a singles forum here on D-A.

^ You could start one..

eee...to......ano......
*shivering in fear*

What shall we call it? "Singles rant thread"? I forget what it was called in Japanese, and can't check since I'm at school now.

That Love statue was in GTO wasn't it?

/me wonders if it's famous

I just love this dorama, it's simply just so funny and sad at the same time. And that otaku theme is kinda.. erm.. familiar to me

*waiting/hoping humbly for the ep04 to be translated*

Lowest wrote:That Love statue was in GTO wasn't it?

/me wonders if it's famous

Yes. Yes, it's famous.You see it in countless shows, manga, anime, etc etc. In Shibuya I believe. Hachiko is prob the most famous meeting spot in Shibuya. The Love sculpture is popular for it's obvious meaning.
And I have to chime in that I'm loving this show. Yes, who knows if its a true story. No way to prove it, or disprove it, as good tales & urban myths are. It plays to a part of us that wants to believe it's true. But regardless, it's a fun show and hilarous. First ep especially paints otaku (specifically anime) in a painful light, but as it proceeds focus shifts a bit away from that. I thought Eps 3 & 4 were even more hilarious! I tend to like lighter dorama with humor so this show really appeals to me.
Yeah, closest Amercian term to otaku I can think of is geek or nerd. Has the same connotation and the something of the same way how otaku themselves sometimes take it & use it as a badge of honor instead of the negative connotation used. I think you see that more when Americans use the term otaku though, in Japan it's still pretty negative. And term geek or nerd isn't exact because as was pointed out it is used for all types of fanatics. So you have the baseball otaku, basketball otaku, boxing otaku etc., whereas the term geek or nerd is usually applied to non-athletic types.
I wonder if the Japanese channel here will pick it up. If they're with it, they will, but it may be too expensive, who knows.

^ Wow, nice detail information. I never really notice, though I know I saw it somewhere before. Guh, GTO.

I know Densha is funny, but episode 4 is the first one that make me laugh out loud. It's hilarious when the sempai is trying to teach him to surf.
Poor thing, had to wear bandages all over his body, but it's so funny.
Also the bathroom scene at the restaurant...
How can he miss?

The LOVE statue is in Shinjuku. It isn't too far from the Keio Plaza.

I really love this show, I have never watched a Japanese Drama before but I love it. I have a question:

What other shows are there like this? Any? is it unique? I like the drama element plus the anime and pop culture references and the internet references. Anyone have some good suggestions?

when ep5 will be aired? someone knows?

thursday evenings at 10pm (Japan Time), so expect the RAW on Thursday evening (our time) or Friday.
more info

thanks alot. ^^

just watched eps 4.. the reference to Slow Dance was hilarious hehe... I think they introduce a new song in this eps.. it sounds alot like a variant to the love theme from Ennio Morricone's Cinema Paradiso OST heh. Cant wait to see eps 5...looking forward to an important twist!

P.S. Ryoko Hirosue said in Slow Dance that otoku has become "in"/popular in Japan right now..wonder if thats true

Gotta love those references.

xiaryx wrote:P.S. Ryoko Hirosue said in Slow Dance that otoku has become "in"/popular in Japan right now..wonder if thats true

I've read some articles about that, that otakus are becoming popular. Mainly with the older women crowds, because they see them as safety nets. Stereotypical, they're faithful, won't run off, and aren't attractive to the other women, etc. Makes sense since if you're a woman in Japan and you're still single when you hit 30....you feel like your life is doomed.

Kyusaku wrote:

xiaryx wrote:P.S. Ryoko Hirosue said in Slow Dance that otoku has become "in"/popular in Japan right now..wonder if thats true

I've read some articles about that, that otakus are becoming popular. Mainly with the older women crowds, because they see them as safety nets. Stereotypical, they're faithful, won't run off, and aren't attractive to the other women, etc. Makes sense since if you're a woman in Japan and you're still single when you hit 30....you feel like your life is doomed.

haha..reminds me of kimi wa petto...without the cool and the dancing skill..

who is the scary guy with monster eyebrowns? he is in the new movie "worst contact" too

http://www.finefilms.co.jp/worstcontact/

lol

I have no idea, but man, that guy really creeps me out!! What's his deal?

Romance wrote:who is the scary guy with monster eyebrowns? he is in the new movie "worst contact" too

http://www.finefilms.co.jp/worstcontact/

lol

dude Romance, get RID of your signature. it is disgusting...

Yoroshiku wrote:

Romance wrote:who is the scary guy with monster eyebrowns? he is in the new movie "worst contact" too

http://www.finefilms.co.jp/worstcontact/

lol

dude Romance, get RID of your signature. it is disgusting...

Its just a musician i like, or the whole band, and im so proud of them, coming to play here in europe and all

Watched episode 4 just now.. I really love this dorama.. so sooo funny

LOL romance, funny you have a signature like that and yet thought the eyebow guy was scary hah.

heh, am I the only one that's finding the gags in this series are getting cornier? yet it's the little things in the series that make me come back and watch it =P I may be the first one to vote "watch when you only have time" in the poll, but on a scale of 1 to 5 I think it'd deserve a 3 rather than a 2. I wonder if you can call "Long Vacation" a romantic comedy? LoL. prolly not, but Minami and Momo were such a riot together! I wish there were that kind of comedic chemistry in this series. The closest are maybe Yamada and his boss.. lol... his boss is pretty funny.

My biggest peeve is how Yamada is too wussy. TOOOO (read: excessively) wussy. I sympathized with him in eps 1 because I feel that way too sometimes but the more I watch the more I become more annoyed and sometimes disgusted. Right now I'm not even really understanding the chemistry between Densha Otoko and HERMES. What it feels like more to me is HERMES is on the 'rebound' stage whether she realizes it herself or not. Doesn't Yamada ever come up with his own ideas??? I bet he needs the forum's help for everything he's unsure of! I understand it's the whole theme of the series but we see him get more help from the net than him interacting with Saori. more comedy less romance. some ppl like that some don't. I guess this is why I didn't like the Love Hina anime as much as I did the manga. o_O;;

Densha Otoko: g-g-g-guys.... I---I-I-I'm in the bathroom r--r-r-ight now on my laptop and I need help! She insisted we go to a love hotel and n-n-n-now we're there.. I mean here... I mean... which condom should I buy? h-h-how do I DO *it*?! help, everyone!

Girl: I'm just a girl but you should start with foreplay and.....(etc etc etc)

Sorry for the long post but after seeing eps 4, the lameness is starting to bug me. esp that one scene. I would say he's lucky it was raining but with that facial expression? omfg. but I like the obstacles in this series (his otaku-ness, Jinkama-san, the interesting plot development we see in eps 4) that it's enough for me to keep watching. and man, Yamada's sister did look hot in the shower. ~__^

good series, but i think it can be alot better. hopefully it will when the supporting characters play a bigger role. again sorry for the long post. rants are tough to edit for me. =_=;

lol if Yamada wasn't how he is then the show wouldn't be as good, that's the whole point he's supposed to start off way down at one end and try and work his way up

Also on that note.. no one can do stuttering like Yamada

@Lowest: I agree with you.

Besides, if you took out the stuttering and wussiness, then it would just like watching Bus Stop. If you seen this drama, you'll know what I mean.

Ep 5 had the most hilarious scene and also the most annoying scene in the series.

May contain spoilers, highlight to read

The goukon scene had me ROFL so hard I couldn't look at the screen.The scene with the Yamada and stalker was the most boring pathetic scene ever. How could you have your main character relate to a a stalker, that just makes me ill. It was way too drawn out, and yes I understand the main point of the scene, but...it was way too long, the dialogue was just so weak...it really disappointed me as being the climax of the episode.

I'm assuming that our hero will grow less and less wussy as we go along. It's presumably going to be about 10-12 episodes long, yes? So we've still got plenty of time for him to grow a spine.

And think how much greater the payoff will be when he finally does something truly brave.

Anyway -- for those who might be interested, the collected log of the forum thread that became this story can be purchased in book form at Amazon Japan:

電車男 (Densha Otoko): The Story of the Train Man who fell in love with the girl, Hermes.

They also have the Manga, soundtrack stuff, etc.. Just put 電車男 in the Search Box.

Kusmog sounds like the basketball guy from episode 3 ^^

But honestly, that's good to have your own opinion, and you shared it very maturely. I think that Yamada-san will become stronger as the series continues. His friends on the forum are growing stronger every episode, so...I think that soon he will change too.

But still, you have to admit...he is a very courageous man. Even though he asks the guys on the forum for ideas, he still carries them out...and he is very sincere. For example, the event at the end of Episode 4? That must have taken so much guts!

Tao Libra wrote:And think how much greater the payoff will be when he finally does something truly brave.

Yeah, I had that in mind too. I guess that's also another reason I'm watching. I wanna see the day when even Jinkama would be interested in Yamada... LOL. *shrugs* They're always together and that's the first impression I got from them. They remind me of Asuka and Shinji from Evangelion. ^^;;

The basketball guy... lol. I actually thought he was one of the most normal of his forum buddies ^^; and how ironic to be getting advice from who he did in eps 4. I wonder if they'll build on that angle or if it was just an eps 4 thing.

I can't wait to read Kyusaku's spoiler! But I'm gonna read after watching eps 5. Thanks for trying to conceal it. I wonder if has anything to do with what we saw in the preview cuz I couldn't believe what I saw with the dinner thing... lol. damn super-otakus and their otaku magic. XP

"Yamada, when the Mina kissing scene comes on, can I kiss your tv screen?" lmao~~~ I think that guy is the most hilarious of the otaku crew. "Ankles! Show me your ankles!!" LMAO