I will start off this review/reccomendation with this statement.

THIS IS NOT AN ANIME!!

Densha Otoko, translating closely to Trainman, is a live action Japanese telvision series that aired this year and only recently came to a finish. I was fortunate enough to come across a mention of this wonderful show on the Weekly Anime Review Podcast, as recommended by Zap Electro which can be found at http://weeklyanimereview.libsyn.com/ . I would like to thank both parties for the information.

Premise:

The series follows the misadventures of Densha Otoko (he has a real name but as far as the series is concerned, it is relatively irrelevant), your typical Japanese otaku. He has never had a smooth conversation with a girl, much less a kiss or date. He and his friends are fascinated with anime and their series of choice at the time of this series is some sort of action adventure in which the main heroine has....carrots protruding from her backside. It sounds weird but as the gentlemen in the podcast stated, it's definetly funny and neat to watch. One day, our bumbling hero spies a girl on a train that he finds pretty and shortly thereafter, she is accosted by a drunkard who attempts to show her his privates. No one seems to want to say anything and Densha takes it into his own hands to stop the man. He ends up with a bloody nose and a good view of the floor for his effort but it impresses the girl and gives the police time to take the man away all the same.

He makes enough of an impression on the pretty women that she requests his address so she can send him something to make up for him saving her. At this point, back at his house, Densha begins to post on a single mens forum that he had been a lurker on previously. He relays the story to them and begins asking them for advice about what he should do. From here, they guide him into eventually calling her, as she had included her number on the package and his foray into the dating world begins.

I am really enjoying this series and I believe that all of the subscribers of this forum would do the same. The acting is first rate and the comedy is hillarious. I really garner some very humorous images in my mind when I see Densha talking to all the members of the forum and I remember some of the wild and wacky conversations we have had here. There are other aspects of the series that I found to be nice touches.

Firstly, the opening is an anime clip from the series that Densha and his friends are fascinated with. Secondly, the opening song is in English, an ELO song called Twilight. Finally and perhaps most importantly, each one of his internet friends has their own actor and distinct personality. Watching the interaction between them and seeing their reactions to his problems makes the series worth it by themselves.

Unfortunately, this series is only available for download and I believe I got it from animesuki. No news on a domestic release but as it just finished, thats not surprising so far. If you guys want a good laugh, I recommend checking out Densha Otoko.

I'll say it now. I am NOT the guy in JGSDF fatigues on that forum! :P

It is a little scary how much similarity we have with them, isn't it?

*prepares the dating advice*

Kai is the guy in the berret.

WOW, I never thought this'll grab attention.

I just came by to drop some FYIs, and I hope it's not a spoiler:
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It's based on a real story that happend last year.

There's a gigantic bbs site in Japan (1million+ viewers DAILY), which is famous for people cussing and insulting eachother.
the crazy atmosphere is cuz of its anonymousity, so that you can say whatever you want.
In a sense, it's a true world of people's inner-thoughts.

Anyway, one day, a guy encountered the "save the girl" incident, and said, "I helped a girl on the train today, but it wasn't worth it." on his usual thread.
well, of course, everyone started making fun of it and stuff.

Days later, the girl he saved gives the man a gift in return of helping her.
he reports to the thread, but someone realizes something...
something that will drastically turn the man's and the viewers' world upside-down...
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I was actually witnessing this real story on the bbs. And it was crazy indeed.
(you hardly see 1300 replies on a single thread in a day)
I still have a copy of the actual threads :)

anyway, it was turned into a book, and was a big hit, and even the prime minister read it.
and Korea copied it (illegaly) and said: "densha onna" (train girl).

The heat was still on, so it now became a TV drama, and that's what your watching.

I had read the origins story on Wikipedia, pretty wild stuff. I really like this show though.

*bumped*

Forgot about putting this here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg_p7KfLVT0

I have read up to a couple chapters of the book a few months back. It's mostly a compilation of posts from the thread and some minor commentary though that in itself is fairly amusing.

Now realizing how much I paid for the book, I'm not sure if it was worth it money-wise for a copy-paste job. That's importing for you. o_o;