Densha Otoko

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Densha Otoko
電車男
(Densha otoko)
Genre Comedy, romance
TV drama : Densha Otoko
Directed by Takeuchi Hideki
Nishiura Masaki
Kobayashi Kazuhiro
Studio —
Network Fuji Television
Original run July 7, 2005 – September 22, 2005
No. of episodes 13 (including two special episodes)
Movie: Train Man: Densha Otoko
Directed by Masanori Murakami a.k.a. Shosuke Murakami
Studio —
Released Flag of Japan JPN December 8, 2005
Flag of United States USA September 22, 2006
Runtime 105 minutes (U.S. version 101 minutes)

Densha Otoko (電車男? translated as Train Man) is a Japanese movie, television series, manga, novel, and other media, all based on the purportedly true story of a 23 year old otaku (Japanese geek) who intervened when a drunk man was harassing several women on a train. The otaku ultimately begins dating one of the women.

The event, and the man's subsequent dates with the woman, who became known as Hermès (エルメス Erumesu?), was chronicled on the Japanese mega-BBS 2channel. This led to the compilation of the relevant threads in a book, followed by several manga versions, a movie released in June 2005, a theatrical play later released as a DVD, and finally a TV series that aired on Fuji TV from July 7 to September 22, 2005 (with a special episode on October 6, 2005). The series originally aired on Thursdays at 10:00 p.m.

A two hour long TV special, Densha Otoko Deluxe, aired on September 23, 2006.

Contents

[edit] Origin

Many attest to the truth of the story, including the producers of the television series who contacted the real Densha Otoko, but it has not been proven that the story was completely authentic.

Densha Otoko is a popular example of the "nice guy" class of Japanese geeks (otaku) who wish to lead normal lives, but are too shy to find a girlfriend, or speak openly anywhere but online. The television series uses a large number of computer-bound extras.

In 2004, an anonymous user posted in a 2channel thread for single men to decry their woes. According to his account, he had been sitting next to a young woman on the train when a drunken man entered the car and began bothering the other passengers, most of whom were female. When the drunk began to badger a particular woman, the poster took the risk of telling the man to stop bothering the passengers. The two struggled for a short time while the other passengers used this distraction to summon the conductor, who took control of the situation.

Never having done such a thing in his life, the poster was amazed to find the woman thanking him deeply for saving her from harassment. The young woman requested for his address, telling him that she wanted to express her appreciation for his act, before they parted ways. The poster, upon returning home, shared his experience with other posters in the thread and was eventually nicknamed "Densha Otoko" (Train Man).

A few days later, Densha Otoko received a package from the woman: an expensive set of cups and saucers made by Hermès. Flabbergasted, the man turned to the 2channelers for advice; he was soon convinced that the tea set was too expensive to be a mere thank-you gift. Following the advice and suggestions of the other posters, Densha Otoko eventually contacted the woman.

As Densha Otoko had never been on a date before, he consistently posted updates on his situation, asking for advice on everything from restaurant choices to what clothing to wear. After an enjoyable first date, they began meeting regularly. Following the 2channelers' collective advice, he got a haircut, updated his wardrobe, and began to emerge from his shell. After several dates, his personality had changed for the better and this culminated a few months later in his confessing his love for her. She reciprocated, and when the 2channelers were informed, there was a mass celebration; posts began flowing in congratulating the new couple, and extravagant Shift JIS art pictures were posted. Because 2ch has an enormous impact on net culture in Japan, this story quickly spread throughout the media.

[edit] Television series

A still from the TV series' opening anime sequence
A still from the TV series' opening anime sequence

The television series makes numerous references and homages to otaku culture. The opening animation is a homage to the legendary Daicon IV "Twilight" anime short, which was created by the founders of Gainax. Though rival anime studio GONZO produced the Densha Otoko opening and is referenced several times in the series, the producers acknowledged Gainax's work by putting their name in the credits before that of GONZO.

The series also makes use of Shift JIS art, or Japanese ASCII art during screen transitions and within the story itself. Introductory music from the first episode is "Mr. Roboto" by Styx. Subsequent openings play the song "Twilight" by the 1970s Birmingham rock group Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was also the background music in the Daicon IV anime short. The end theme is Sambomaster's "Sekai wa sore o ai to yobundaze" (世界はそれを愛と呼ぶんだぜ?).

[edit] Getsumen To Heiki Mina

Main article: Getsumen To Heiki Mina

The animation sequences for both the opening and series shots of the metafictional anime series Getsumen To Heiki Mina (月面兎兵器ミーナ? Lunar Rabbit Weapon Mina) were produced by GONZO. Both GONZO and the producers of the Densha Otoko TV series put a concerted effort into creating the appearance of a long-standing franchise, from hiring seiyū Saori Koide (to play both the voice of Mina as well as Karin Takeda, Mina's voice actress) to recording an opening theme for the Mina series, "Start Me @ Starting Love" by Missing Link.

Several toys, "video games", custom figurines and other "merchandise" were made specifically for use by otaku in the series. One of the figures, valued at $4000, was inadvertently broken by actor Atsushi Itō during filming. Replicas of the original figure were later sold at the Winter 2005 Comiket.

On January 13, 2007, the real world version of Getsumen To Heiki Mina began airing in Japan. GONZO mentioned back in December 16, 2005 that and that all existing sequences and properties from Densha Otoko would be used. However, the narrative of the real-world adaptation of Mina is different from the version written for the drama series.

[edit] TV series cast

  • Saori Aoyama – Misaki Ito
  • Tsuyoshi Yamada – Atsushi Itō
  • Misuzu Jinkama – Miho Shiraishi
  • Kaho Sawazaki – Eriko Sato
  • Yūko Mizuki – Misa Sudo
  • Keisuke Aoyama – Mokomichi Hayami (Saori's younger brother)
  • Aoi Yamada – Maki Horikita (Tsuyoshi's younger sister)
  • Tsuneo Yamada – Shirou Kishibe (Tsuyoshi's father)
  • Yuusaku Matsunaga – Gekidan Hitori
  • Shinji Kawamoto – Eiji Sugawara
  • Karin Takeda – Saori Koide
  • Munetaka Minamoto – Shun Oguri
  • Kazuya Sakurai – Kosuke Toyohara
  • Yuki Aoyama – Kumiko Akiyoshi (Saori's mother)
  • Ryoko Hashizume – Chizu Sakurai
  • Sadao Ushijima – Seiji Rokkaku
  • Susumu Ichisaka – Youichi Nukumizu
  • Tominaga – Tatsuya Gashuin

[edit] TV-series crew

  • Directors – Takeuchi Hideki, Nishiura Masaki and Kobayashi Kazuhiro
  • Producers – Wakamatsu Jisashiki and Kawanishi Migaku
  • Original Story – Nakano Hitori
  • Screenwriters – Mutou Susumuware and Tokunaga Tomokazu

[edit] Movie version

The movie version, Train Man: Densha Otoko, starred Takayuki Yamada and Miki Nakatani was a big success at the box office, making the story of Densha Otoko popular. In a small movie theater in Tokyo, anyone who said that they were an otaku got a discount on tickets for the movie.

Atsushi Itō and Miho Shiraishi, who both played Densha Otoko in the television series, has a cameo appearance as another character in the movie. Yamada also appears in the TV series, in a cameo in the first episode.

VIZ Media, through its Viz Pictures arm, gave the film a limited release in the United States on September 22, 2006, with a DVD release scheduled for February 6, 2007, and an accompanying manga series. [1] The movie had previously screened at Anime Expo and Otakon 2006.

[edit] Movie cast

[edit] Movie crew

  • Director - Shosuke Murakami
  • Screenplay - Arisa Kaneko, based on the original book by Hitori Nakano
  • Executive Producers - Minami Ichikawa, Hiroyoshi Koiwai
  • Producers - Yoshishige Shimatani, Yoshikazu Seki, Yoshiro Hosono, Yoshiro Yasunaga
  • Co-Producers - Akihiro Yamaguchi,Tomoyo Nihira, Hideki Inada
  • Line Producer - Hiroto Takeishi
  • Associate Producer - Kuga Maeda
  • Planning - Genki Kawamura, Kei Haruna
  • Visual Effects - Hirofumi Yoshikawa
  • Cinematography - Yoshihiro Katayama, Shigeki Murano
  • Art Director - Kazuo Yanagawa
  • Lighting - Masamitsu Hanaoka
  • Editing - Junosuke Hogaki
  • Script Supervisor - Hidemi Kawano

Casting - Yoshiyuki Maejima

  • Original Music - Takayuki Hattori
  • Ending Theme Song - Orange Range (Sony Music )

Produced by Toho Co.Ltd, Fuji Television Network, SDP INC., Hakuhodo DY Media Partners Inc.

[edit] U.S. premieres

[edit] Manga versions

Volume 1 of Hidenori Hara's manga adaptation (English Version)
Volume 1 of Hidenori Hara's manga adaptation (English Version)

There are four manga adaptations of Densha Otoko:

  • A 3-volume seinen series by Hidenori Hara, published by Shogakukan. It is licensed by Viz Media in the United States, and was released on October 11, 2006.
  • Another 3-volume seinen series by Wataru Watanabe, published by Akita Shoten. It was originally planned to be four volumes but due to lackluster sales of the second volume, it was truncated to three volumes. The full title of this version is Densha Otoko ~Demo, Ore Tabidatsu yo~. Licensed by CMX in the United States.
  • A 3-volume shōnen manga series by Daisuke Dōke, also published by Akita Shoten. The full title of this version is Densha Otoko - Ganbare Doku Otoko!.
  • A one-volume shōjo manga by Machiko Ocha. Licensed by Del Rey in the United States.

[edit] Trivia

  • Train Man was parodied in one of the three versions of Orange Range's Onegai Senorita music video.
  • In Densha Otoko Another Ending, Tiffany was working at a bar called Rick Dom. A Rick Dom is a Mobile Suit from the Gundam franchise, and Densha's room is covered with Gundam models and statues.

[edit] External links

From Daicon to Densha Otoko]

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