Train Man: Volume 1: Densha Otoko

by Hidenori Hara

A real-life thread on an internet forum started it all. A nerdy otaku meets a girl on a train and posts an urgent query on the web--How the heck do you talk to girls? What should he wear on the date?... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1421508486
• ISBN13: 9781421508481
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Viz Media
• Length: 184 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.0" x 7.5"
• Age Range: 16 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 11 to 12

Customer Reviews

Train Man in Manga Form

Hopless geek saves women on train from drunk guy. One of the women sends him a really nice gift. He asks if he can take her out to dinner in return. He goes to the internet for advice. The rest is history. In fact the story has become a movie, a TV series, a text novel using edited threads from the internet and at LEAST four manga series. This is one of them. I selected the VIZ media manga because I happen to trust them and because of the nature of this version's reviews. Good artwork, smooth but not too slow a story, good character designs even if HERMES looks a tad too young. They even kept the Japanese emoticons in the story. The last page has a Train Man FAQ so people are not totally confused. I plan to get the next volume. I already KNOW the ending but I like to see the many different ways one tale can be told.

AN OTUAKU GAINS A BACKBONE

A young otaku is making his return trip from Akiba on the train, trying to mind his own business and blend into the scenery as best he can. But when an old drunk begins to harrass some women sitting by him (including a cute girl his own age), he goes against his better judgement and confronts the drunk, knowing that he's probably asking for a beating. Luckily, another bystander steps up and restrains the guy until security can be called. The women insist on getting the otaku's contact information so they can thank him properly. Soon, he receives an expensive Hermes tea cup set from the cute girl on the train and her phone number is written on the recipt in the box. Knowing he's not exactly a ladies man, the otaku begins to make posts on Japan's most popular web forum, asking for advice on what to do next. He gets a lot of differing responses but he'll have to pick the right one and also up his courage to call her. The people on the internet begin calling him Train Man and the girl he likes Hermess. The Train Man story is "supposedly" based on actual web posts from a real otaku. Who knows if it's true or whether it was some hoax like Blair Witch Project that was made to seem real. Regardless, the Train Man story exploded in Japan and was adapted into movies, tv shows, manga, and novels. This is the Viz manga version, but CMX and Del Rey also have their own adaptations available. This is the only version I have read so far and I have to admit, it is pretty darn good! The Viz version comes off as a feel-good comedy romance that makes you smile as you read it. The story of an introverted nerd coming out of his shell is pretty cliched at this point, but the otkau Train Man is even worse than most losers of this type. The difference here is that he gains strength and is able to change for the better in order to meet up with the girl. Knowing you have a problem is half the battle. It's cool to see him get a jump on his life, not with the aid of fairies, robot maids, or being thrown into a harem, but by getting advice from REAL people and drawing on his own willpower. Good book.

Train man takes his first steps towards true love.

Densha Otoko is based on a Japanese internet meme that may or may not have happened in real life. The story goes that the Train Man, who is a seriously introverted otaku, helped several office ladies fend off a rude drunkard. Afterwards, one of the gals sends him a really expensive gift in thanks. Touched, and more than a little attracted as she was very cute, Train Man calls her and, with MUCH HELP from his internet buddies, starts to court her. Both Viz and CMX are putting out rival versions of the story in manga form. This is the review for the Viz release. The artist in Viz's version, Hidenori Hara, has a style that is very loose and casual, while still being consistent and pleasing. Train has over 200 pages in which to begin his courtship of the beautiful Hermes and Hara uses them liberally, brisky moving through the opening situation of the drunk on the train and moving right on to Train obsessing over his first phone call after recieve an expensive gift in thanks from Hermes. Much of the advice given by the chatters on 2chan is put out in full text (as opposed to the CMX version where the chatters are often represented by emoticons talking to each other), and their appearances are limited to their interaction in the internet. Their real life personas only get frames in relation to their reading or making posts on the chatlog. I find this works very well in keeping the realism, limiting the character action to Train and, eventually, Hermes. This volume covers, as mentioned above, their meeting, Train's panic attacks as he decides to contact Hermes again, and their first date in it's entirety, with their second date ending the book on a cliffhanger as Train meets Hermes friend (and the chatters are nervous about her intentions). I bought both releases and find myself unable to recommend one over the other save for on one point. More action happens in this version... with the CMX release only going until right before the first date starts. This version also has more pages, clocking in around 20 higher than the CMX version. One of my favorite little touches in this version, is the fact that even though Train and Hermes are called by those names by the chatters, when they actually interact, Train and Hermes have their actual names replaced by their nicknames in brackets. It sounds confusing when I type it out, but is a really effective tool to underscore their budding relationship and possible intimacy. In terms of the maturity of the presentation, I'd go with this, the Viz version. The art while more casual and loose than the CMX version also doesn't present it's characters as overly dressed ten year olds. Granted, this is Trains' first experimentation in dating, so he IS basically a child, but Hermes, in her few scenes, is treated pretty much the same, and feels more childish in the other book as opposed to this one. So, Viz has an older feel to it than the CMX version. Personally, I'm buying both to see how each artist interprets t