Train_man: Densha Otoko, Volume 2

by Hidenori Hara and Hitori Nakano

Book Overview

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: 1421508494
• ISBN13: 9781421508498
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Viz Media
• Length: 185 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.1" x 7.5"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8

Customer Reviews

SECOND DATE

When Volume 1 of Train Man ended, we were left on a cliffhanger as Train had been invited to dinner with Hermess. You would think this would be a good thing, but there's a catch. Hermess has also invited one of her girlfriends to tag along, and Train, along with his internet pals, thinks it's a plan for her to get a second opinion and maybe to see how Train interacts with people he doesn't know. Their relationship begins to evolve a bit more in this second volume as Train tries to work up the courage to declare his love for Hermess, never quite knowing for sure whether she will return it in kind. But she is sending out signals, such as calling him a lot and inviting him to her house while her parents are out. Things seem to be going well, but will Train be able to overcome his geekiness and former awkwardness to lay his feelings on the line? I didn't find this second installment as enjoyable as the first, probably because the plot is pretty formulaic and offers little surprises. Train and Hermess go out on more dates. They talk. They grow closer. He gets plenty of advice and insight from the internet. The whole premise seems based on a lot of Hollywood date movies that I fortunately never saw. But for all this, I really liked this book and appreciate the message about emotional courage. Lots of couples fumble along like this before their feelings are out in the open and Hara does an excellent job of portraying the wide range of feelings in the facial expressions with his Monkeypunch-like art style. A bit derivative in plot, but a good read anyway.

Second date jitters blossom... but into what?

Train Main:Densha Otoko, Volume 2 picks up, of course, right where we left off in volume 1... with Train's second date with Hermes, to which she brought her friend. Is her presence there to size him up or to cut him down, though? I'm hoping you've already read the first volume as there wouldn't be much point in getting the second volume without it. Train main is one solid arc of story with nothing episodic about it. This volume has some very poignant moments... walking home, playing with Hermes' dog, wondering if feelings are real or imagined. One subtle bit of development in this volume over the first is the advancement of the 2chan chatters. It seems that word is getting around in the Densha Otoko microverse and more faces are joining in. A few of the old faces even get decent panel time of their own, highlighting a few micro-adventures they were inspired to go on due to Train's progression. It's nice to see this sort of slow advancement of the side characters (as opposed to CMX's title, whose chatters are in the story far too quickly for my taste). The art maintains it's consistency from the first book, with only a few awkward frames here and there. I recommend a "buy" for this book with a solid "check it out" for the other two Train main series... I'm getting them all, but cannot discount that people might prefer one over the other, so... definitely a "check it out" for the others. Now, to wait for volume 3... heh...