Train_Man: A Touching, Romantic Comedy

Have you ever lacked the courage to do something? Whether in your personal or professional life, everyone seems to have at least one story where they failed to act. I know I definitely have.

The story of Train_Man (Densha Otoko) is about such a man (Takayuki Yamada). An otaku (Japanese term for obsessive geek) who, when not working, is either posting on the Internet or walking alone through the streets of Akihabara (a neighborhood in Tokyo which is essentially an otaku mecca with shops devoted to animation, manga, and electronics). One day while on the train, he witnesses a drunken salaryman (Ren Osugi) harassing several people, including an attractive young woman (Miki Nakatani). The young man decides to intervene and the drunkard tries to pick a fight with him before train officials restrain him. Grateful for his help, the woman asks for his address so she can send him a thank you gift.
The young man posts about the story on Japan's popular 2channel bulletin board, earning the nickname Train_Man. When he receives a gift, he and the other users are shocked to find it's an expensive tea set from Hermes (thus christening the woman Hermess). The 2ch users encourage Train_Man to call her for a date and she agrees to go to dinner with him. What follows is the users offering the young otaku, who is twenty-two and has never had a girlfriend or been on a date, advice on everything from where to eat to what kind of clothes to wear.

Train_Man experiences a transformation before his first date with Hermess, getting a haircut, replacing his glasses with contacts, and ditching the mismatched geek outfits in favor of more stylish jeans, shoes, button-down shirts and blazers. Although this type of transformation is common in ugly duckling-type stories, one of the main differences between this and similar stories is that Train_Man never loses his social awkwardness. His mannerisms, the way he speaks, even the way he walks are indicative of someone who's clearly not comfortable in society.

Although it's established that there are many anonymous users contributing to the message board discussion, the film only focuses on seven. There's Hirofumi (Eita), a young shut-in with a bitter attitude; Michiko (Tae Kimura), a young housewife and her salaryman husband, Hisashi (Kuranosuke Sasaki), who don't seem to communicate very much (at first, they're not even aware the other is posting on 2ch); Rika (Ryoko Kuninaka), a nurse who has recently gone through a break-up; and Yoshiga (Yoshinori Okada), Tamura (Hiroki Miyake), and Muto (Makoto Sakamoto), a trio of otakus who seem in worse shape than Train_Man and serve as the comedy relief.

The film unfolds like a typical love story, but its charm lies in the personalities of all the characters and the way the actors play their parts to perfection. Yamada does an amazing job of portraying the Train_Man as a very likeable guy who just lacks social charm and style. Even after his transformation, Yamada maintains the same mannerisms, such as speaking really fast when he's excited or nervous or moving about with an awkward walk and his shoulders hunched and tense. Miki Nakatani isn't given very much to work with, but she pulls off what little characterization Hermess has with grace and style. Perhaps intentionally, Hermess is left a bit of a mystery. Nakatani is an attractive woman, but she's a bit plain and I think going with an actress like that works well.

The film is well-directed, with Masanori Murakami using some very nice techniques. JIS characters appear throughout, such as at the end of the film when fireworks go off. The message board discussions are portrayed through split-screens, voice-overs, and pop-up messages, sometimes with nice little effects added in.

The story is based on actual events. The real Train_Man supposedly had this same encounter where he helped a woman and she thanked him with an expensive gift and then he asked users on 2ch for advice on how to proceed with this burgeoning relationship. A few months later, when he professed his love to her and she reciprocated, the 2ch thread was ignited with praises and well-wishes for the new couple and it received media coverage as well. There's some question over whether or not the real Train_Man actually went through these events so whether or not the story of a geek finding love with the help of Internet friends is real is still in question and most-likely always will be. However, it's a touching story nonetheless and the film is a very moving and humorous tale showing not only that even social misfits can find happiness, but also the compassion of others as well.