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is a Japanese movie, television series, manga, novel, and other media, all based on the purportedly true story of a twenty-three year old otaku (the Japanese equivalent of geek), who intervened when a drunk man was harassing several women on a train, and who himself ultimately begins dating one of them. The event, and the man's subsequent dates with the woman, who became known as Hermès (エルメス), 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.
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 authentic from start to finish. Densha Otoko is a popular example of the "nice guy" class of Japanese geeks 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 thread for single men to decry their woes. According to his account, he had been sitting next to a beautiful 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. They exchanged addresses and parted ways. The poster, upon returning home, began talking 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. After an enjoyable first date, they began meeting regularly, Densha Otoko all the while posting updates and asking for advice on everything from restaurant choices to what clothing to wear. Following their 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 ASCII art pictures were posted. Because 2ch has an enormous impact on net culture in Japan, this story quickly spread throughout the media. Television series
Getsumen Toheiki Mina The animation sequences for both the opening and series shots of the metafictional anime series 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 December 16, 2005, GONZO announced that a real version of Getsumen Toheiki Mina was in production, and that all existing sequences and properties from Densha Otoko would be used. TV series cast TV-series crew 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, who 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 Sept. 22, 2006, with a DVD release scheduled for January 2007, and an accompanying manga series. * The movie had previously screened at Anime Expo and Otakon 2006. Movie cast Movie crew Produced by Toho Co.Ltd, Fuji Television Network, SDP INC., Hakuhodo DY Media Partners Inc. U.S. premieres Manga versions
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