User Reviews

Speaking as a member of the computer geek community, this film accurately portrays what it's like to be today's connected computer geek with absolutely no social skills. ...and what it's like for them to date someone from outside that community of geeks. (Wow; I'm glad I'm more socialized now than I was). This reminds me a lot of the love stories found in anime cartoons. Great acting, great plot twists. But the characters are not deep enough for this to be a truly great movie that would merit a 10/10 vote. This is a movie with real actors on the screen, not cartoons, but the characters are as two-dimensional as a cartoon. Oh; I need an obligatory 10th line: Um, I was surprised I couldn't find it on Netflix. (that should do it...)

Whether it was 40 years or 4 months ago, those who remember their first date will most certainty bath in the glow of empathy with this sweet little movie. It'll be an added bonus for those who are watching it with still the same person.

But there's more. To the still uninitiated, this little gem is an eye-opener to the culture of Internet chat room. Through skillful interplay between split-screen and full screen, a group of our hero's best chat mates is shown to be his council of courtship advisors. This comprises a passionate young nurse, a young man (student, presumably) who locks himself up in his room with the computer most of the time, a man and a woman at their late twenties or early thirties (an office worker and a housewife respectively) and a group of three young chaps, the official clowns of the movie. We soon see how they are emotionally very involved with our hero's joys and woes, hopes and fears, which have become very much part of their own lives. There's also one nice little spoiler that is unveiled quite early in the movie.

Our hero is a young "otaku", a term (neutral rather than derogatory) used to describe people who are so indulged in the virtual world of comics, animation and computer games that they have lost touch with real human beings, manifested in their acute shyness and inability to communicate with others. All these change when he, with a sudden surge of impulse, helps a lovely lassie that is molested by a drunken passenger on a train. The courtship is innocent and sweet, completely opposite to the other genre where the protagonists jump right into bed an hour after they first met. It's also funny, in a nice, gentle sort of way.

One IMDb comment mentions that the character of the girl "Hermes" (nicknamed so because she sent him a set of Hermes cups to thank him) has not been as developed as even the supporting characters, and adds that this is perhaps intentional. I think so. The focus of the movie is on our hero the "Train man" and, to a lesser extent, the supporting characters. Hermes is an idolized figure and her sweet, composed charm contrasts perfectly with his nervous, tantalizing uncertainty. Incidentally, in the stage version of this true story, she doesn't even appear in person but is only a voice off- stage.

Starting as a true story, "Train man" has taken Japan by storm, in every media conceivable – Internet story, comic, book, movie, stage play and, last but not least, hugely popular TV drama starring gorgeous Ito Misaki.

Densha Otoko is the true story of a young man who lives in Tokyo, but spends most of his life on his computer or shopping for anime character figurines. Unconfident in public, he has never learned how to talk to women, lacking all the social skills we have come to expect from leading characters in romance films. Usually relying on the internet as his social net, he finds himself posting messages to a popular Japanese BBS (bulleton board service chat room), asking for love advice. Much of the dialog from the original BBS posts is preserved in the film (both on-screen and spoken), and much of the supporting cast is composed of those who respond to his internet posts.

I particularly loved the film because it shows one of the most authentic views of Japanese city life of any film I've ever come across. In particular, people who live in big cities like Tokyo spend a great deal of their time on the subway, where this love story begins. Thus, after the main character has posted the story of his train encounter to the BBS, other users begin to call him Densha Otoko (Train Man). Too many recent drama films, particularly from Japan, have become too melodramatic, but Densha Otoko is a beautiful, authentic love story.

The story behind this film was really interesting. Apparently it was based on a true story. The story goes like this: A 22 year old Japanese guy, called an otoku (it describes a video game and computer fanatic) saved a pretty young woman in her 20s from a drunkard on the train. She got his address, and send him a gift to thank him. The otoku, who thought the encounter was just a mirage, could not believe it and wanted to ask her out. But there's a problem: He is a nerd! He had never been out on a date and did not know what to do. Therefore, he turned to his only source of help: his computer, and using the name "Train Man", he asked for help on the largest site in Japan: 2channel. Interestingly enough, a bunch of helpful people came to his aid and in the end, he was able to be in a relationship with the girl of his dreams. This story was told by millions on 2channel before it was drawn to a manga, and then written in a book, then a play, and finally, into a screenplay for both a movie and a television series. The story became a hit, and everything telling this story became a hot item. The book and manga became best sellers, the movie became one of the highest grossing films, and the television series had a very decent percentage of viewers.

Truthfully, because I am not Japanese, I have not watched many Japanese films. Still, I tried to keep up with Japanese entertainment and in recent years, the trend tends to be romance film. There does not seem to be much romantic comedies being produced, but this is one of the better romantic comedies I have ever seen, including Chinese, Korean or Hollywood movies. What I like about this film is that first of all there is a sense of realism to this film; this movie feels real and could happen to anybody. The main character feels so real and has such a resonance to young desperate nerds that I could relate him to other desperate nerds that I know. Secondly, the comedy is not forced. Unlike Hollywood romantic comedies, which relies either toilet humor or physical comedy to keep the movie going, or Chinese romantic comedies, which uses crude sexual humor and play on words to keep the movie alive, this film uses realistic situations and realistic responses. What the desperate guy would do in those situations is understandable and the mistakes he makes, which are what makes the movie funny, seemed to be the just right and not unrealistic. The comedy seemed natural and the funny things that happens in the movie seemed to be the funny things of everyday life. Thridly, as the movie progresses, you see character development and the character becomes a more rounded person without sacrificing who he is. You want to root for the character and you feel his highs and lows. Fourthly, the formula for the movie, of a guy asking for date advice, is hilarious. I found it really funny that a guy would actually ask for date advice on the internet. You never know who you will get, as you might get your double to give you advice, and the movie proved it. All sorts of different people gave him advice, from singles, those who just broke up and those who are married, and it is kind of unthinkable that they are able to give the advice that they gave. Finally, the main reason why I like this film is that this movie truly personifies love in the new millennium. This is what happens to young people nowadays. Young people nowadays are so caught up in computers and video games that when there is a chance for love, they do not know how to respond and turn to the only thing they know: the computer. Luckily for the main character, many of the people are helpful and do not tried to sabotage his chance to have a relationship with the girl of his dreams.

Still, I feel that the movie tried to do too much. In the movie, the story of "train man" influenced all those around him. Those who helped him were so touched by his story that their lives were better. Other nerds went outside of their virtual world and tried to get in touch with reality; people who just broke up were able to move on; and a husband and wife had their romantic fire rekindled. You see how "train man" influenced them and you want to ask: Is that possible? Did he really help those people? Is it that great of a story that everyone is touched by it and have their lives improved? It feels like the movie makers are trying to promote this story as a life-changer. All this guy did was to have the courage to ask for advice and tried to get a date. I admit, it was brave, but it is far from a world changing experience.

I applaud the actor who took on the titled character. He gave a very real performance and captured me. He did not tried to force anything. Everything he did feel natural. You really feel that you are indeed watching the story of a nerd.

Other than the movie trying to do too much, the movie is great. It has an inspiring story and leaves plenty for people to imagine at the end. Plus, it is one of the funniest romantic comedies I have ever seen without using toilet humor and everything is clean. A great film for all ages.

8/10

If you've spent much time chatting on the Internet, you've probably had a conversation along these lines at some point: "They should make a movie like this!" "Naah... who wants to see a movie about a bunch of people sitting at computers typing?" Densha Otoko finally answers that question, and does it in superb style. By use of split-screen, and computer text overlaid on real environments, it makes the online chats visually interesting and fast-paced.

But this isn't just some technical storytelling exercise. At its heart, it's a funny and charming romance. Unlike just about every other "naive protagonist gets dating advice" movie, this one is astonishingly pure-hearted.

On consideration, I dropped it a point because I felt the character of the love-interest was under-developed. Her role in the romance never quite got fully believable. As even the minor characters are properly developed, perhaps she was intentionally left as a mysterious figure.

I really hope this gets a wider audience outside Japan. This is a wonderful, wonderful film, but the central role played by typed Japanese text is going to be a barrier to international audiences. Perhaps the best we can hope for is a competent Hollywood remake. Please, no Jennifer Lopez.

My wife went back to Japan over Christmas and, as usual, returned with a suitcase full of video cassettes that her parents and friends had recorded for her. Amongst the tapes this time was a series of TV shows called Train Man which, so I'm told, is a spin-off series from this film. I didn't watch the tapes because they were sans English subtitles, but my wife explained the plot to me which sounded marginally interesting.

My wife enjoyed the tapes enough that she ordered this film on DVD and we sat down to watch it last night.

Oh dear - not my kind of film at all. I guess it can best be described as a romantic comedy, but there was precious little comedy to be seen. The romance was of the type I associate with Japanese TV - schmaltzy, twee and hopelessly overwrought. The acting was nothing special - in fact, I found the Train Man character himself to be particularly unbelievable and his hammy mannerisms to be deeply irritating.

Overall I find it difficult to recommend this film - it's just a below average TV show stretched out to an hour and forty minutes.

Sweet love story. Cinematography is excellent. Enjoyed seeing Tokyo(esp. Akihabara) in a positive, clean light as opposed to the usual stereotyped noise/adverts. Went out and bought the soundtrack. Very melodious but atmospheric, mostly variations on the piano theme. It certainly adds to the surrealness of some scenes, but stands up very well on it's own. Slightly clichéd view of a net geek, but fun all the same. Hard to pull off a romance with two such different people, which shows the skill of the cast in creating the growing bonds of love between them. The loneliness of living in the big city is portrayed well, it may be especially poignant in Tokyo where many people find difficulty in approaching others and are often waiting for that "accident" to happen. The chance encounter provides an introduction which can be built on. Trainman is shown to be a caring person, brave enough to stand up to bullies to help others. This gives us the necessary key to go on rooting for him through the story.

Will have to watch the TV serial now !

This film is apparently based on a true story about a nerdy computer/anime geek who is very shy who saves a young lady from a drunk on the train. Their relationship slowly develops from there. As the train man, Takayuki Yamada does a very good job being angst ridden as he goes out with the very pretty Miki Nakatani. He has a support network of computer geeks who give him dating advice, root for him and sometimes envy him. Its this element that makes the movie a lot of fun. The film is quintessentially Japanese, as Tokyo comes alive, full of bright lights and ultra modern. You want to fast forward to see what happens, but don't. Just enjoy it, its a nice story well filmed and with good acting. I recommend it to any fan of romantic comedy.

When looking into foreign movies they are not originally made for a vast public like Americans. Japanese culture is nothing like American or European culture, its actually the exact opposite. You may not understand everything about that through this movie and you should not judge the movie because you don't understand it. This movie is a great movie, it has decent acting, most can agree the plot is predictable at times. For everyone who did not like the move because it seemed rather strange try to re-watch it with an open mind. Recommendations for people who like Japanese movies include: Tokyo Sonata and The Departures. Two very good movies not as humorous but tell a lot about the Japanese culture and also have great plots.

I suppose every society has something like this: a superficially manufactured product, targeted at clumsy boys (and sometimes girls) whose only intent is to assure them that their clumsiness is endearing. Don't grow up, it allows, you will find movie romance.

In this case, our dweeb stumbles upon a princess and each stumble and successive misstep brings him closer to her. He's honest and endearing you see. The narrative folding here (where the audience has an on screen equivalent) comes from his internet buddies.

Presumably, most of these only know our hero through the chat room and have no idea what he is like in person. This rather numerous bunch get every detail reported to them just as we the "real" viewers see. They comment and encourage, just as we are meant to, cheering him on, giving him the courage to chase his dream and be fulfilled as a man. Its a simple narrative fold. The story and the point of the story are both revoltingly trite.

There is an interesting detail though. Among his internet buddies are three guys even more nerdy than he. They seem to live together, but only have a life on-line. The conflating of their online life with the story we see is odd: they shift into a war movie where the "advancement" of the romance is equated with advancing on a battlefield. Elsewhere, this is completed by others and even the girl encouraging our guy to "be brave."

This is no "All About Lilly Chow Chow," which I aggressively recommend. That is deep; this is not.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

This movie is good. The acting is very good for a bunch of people who you have never heard of (maybe they are well known actors in Japan but here I have never heard of them before in my life), I liked them and the characters they were playing. I identified with them and ended up almost crying several times at what was going on between them in the movie.

It's a very moving and touching movie but also quite funny at times. It is a very simple premise but it kept our interest through the whole movie. The only real downside is that the way the story is told sometimes gets a bit boring visually.