densha_otoko
Table of Contents
Densha Otoko
Summary
For context, we are told the alleged lore about 2channel's 'Single Men' board: self-deprecatory threads where men shared romantic stories from other boards,4) the 'love is war' slang,5) and occasional progress reports. This is why the protagonist wrote about 'betraying' them, before telling us that he had rode the train home from Akihabara and, allegedly, stood up to a drunk that was harassing women on March 14, 2004.6)
Two days later, a woman sent him two 'luxury' Hermès tea cups as thanks. With the community's support, he manages to ask her out to dinner, and met up three times.7) After the third, she grabs his hand and asks him to walk her home, inviting him over the next day. That day, the two were alone with her dalmatian dog,8) she brewed Benoist tea, and he thinks about buying her a computer.9)
By April 23, 2004, she dropped the hint that she is single, allegedly being 'too skinny' that she's 'unattractive', before going on vacation for Golden Week. He seriously considers confessing, supposedly leaking his tripcode in the process,10) and eventually decided that it was time. On Saturday, May 8, 2004, they finally buy a computer, stop at a bench, he confesses to her, she confesses back, and they kiss. The End.
Multimedia adaptations
The initial retelling of Densha Otoko became a novel, published by Shinchosha under the 'Hitori Nakano' pseudonym11) on October 22, 2004. Curiously, this retelling had under 10% of the posts made within these threads, yet it remains the most 'direct' retelling without sifting though the raw threads. For 2005, some manga adaptations followed, then two live-action adaptations were released.
Somehow, both live-action adaptations were released a month apart. The Densha Otoko film by Toho had released on June 4, 2005, whereas the Densha Otoko television drama would aired on Fuji TV between July 7, 2005 to September 25, 2005. Naturally, these adaptations take a few liberties with their story: changing the timeframe, only having two dates, and having the woman be 'upset' for plot reasons.
Translations
The Densha Otoko retelling has two English translations. The first, preferred translation is Project Densha by “Lindsay” in 2005. The alternative translation is the “Bonnie Elliott” novel translation, which has been published by Constable & Robinson12) and Del Rey Books.13) In addition, Viz Media also translated Toho's film adaptation, but only showed it at Anime Expo 2006 and select cities.14)
| Original text | Translated text | Project Densha (2005) | The “Bonnie Elliot” Translation (2006) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 731 | すまん。俺も裏ぐった。 文才が無いから、過程は書けないけど。 このスレまじで魔力ありすぎ… おまいらにも光あれ… | Sorry. I'm about to betray15) you all too. I don't have any literary talent, so I can't describe what happened. This thread really has magical powers… Let there be light in your lives… | Sorry. I've betrayed you all, too… I'm not good with words, so I can't lay it all out well, but… This thread has WAY too much magical power… Glory to you all… | Sorry. I may end up betraying you guys. I'm no good at writing so don't know how well I can tell this story. Damn. This thread's got something going on… May the force be with you… |
| 732 | なんだとこあんちくしょうぁあああああ | Son of a bitch, what the hell is it?! AAAGH! | Wwwwhhhaatttttt dammmiiittttttt | freakinfrakin freakinfrakinnnnnnnn |
| 733 | きになる | I'm worried. | I need to know | what's goin' on man? |
| 734 | >>731 彼女が出来たのか？ | >>731 Did you get a girlfriend? | >>731 Did you get a girlfriend? | >>731 did you get a girlfriend? |
| 737 | >>734 違うけど。でも大チャンス こういうこと続くとネタにしか聞こえないよな とにかくおまいら外に出てみろ | >>734 Not really, but it was a huge opportunity. The more I say it, the more it'll sound like a made-up story. Anyways, y'all should really get out there. | >>734 No, but maybe my luck is changing… Answering like that makes this sound like it's made-up, but… Anyway, you guyz, go outside once in awhile | >>734 sadly no. But something really big came up. This kind of stuff sounds too much like I'm making it up. Anyway, the point is that you guys really need to get out more… |
| 738 | ごめん。よく考えたら大チャンスじゃなかった…＿|￣|○ 冷静になれ俺… | Sorry. On second thought, this huge opportunity isn't a guarantee… ＿|￣|○ I need to calm down… | Sorry, now that I think about it, my luck isn't changing… ＿|￣|○ Calm down, self! | sorry. Ok, I thought about it some more and it's actually not such a big deal… ＿|￣|○ Deep breath… |
| 739 | >>737 これを打つのも何度目だろう、 詳 細 ｷ ﾎﾞ ﾝ | >>737 How many times will I have to type this, D E T A I L S P L E A S E. | >>737 I wonder how many times I've typed this, now D E T A I L S P L E A S E | >>737 how many times have I typed this, d.e.t.a.i.l.s por favor |
Reception and impact
In general, Densha Otoko mainly appealed to people unfamiliar with 2channel since, without context, it reads like an online chatroom. The work is praised for its 'true love', yet equally criticized as the male protagonist abandons his 'otaku' hobbies for some 'romantically capitalist' relationship. All this aside, this story had shined light on tying 'dating' with 'internet advice', which turned out to be surprisingly ahead of its time.
As for its impact, this work marked a turning point for Japan's perception of 'otaku', distancing itself from that late 1980s pedophilic serial killer, as the 'anime otaku' lifestyle was normalized after 2005. However, it wasn't received well by the 'Single Men' board, who now had to deal with tourists on a pilgrimage to see where it began, and it took years to undo the damage that was done.
Authenticity and criticisms
The authenticity of Densha Otoko has been challenged.16) A few examples include JR East beung unable to confirm nor deny this 'incident' on the Keihin–Tōhoku Line,17) the usage of 'dial' (ダイアル, daiaru),18) and how his interests best suit a person in his 40s. His tripcode usage is odd too: picking it up on March 21,19) changing it on March 24,20) then claiming it 'leaked' on April 27 because of a single 'test' post.21)
From a romantic standpoint, the original Densha Otoko story takes place within a 55 day span, so one might debate whether it's actually 'true love' or if it's 'mere infatuation' that hasn't really had the time to wear off.22) Furthermore, the whole idea of abandoning your own hobbies for a love interest is a controversial issue alone, no matter what gender the parties in the relationship are.
Notes
- Due to his Moomin comment after the first date,23) a number of the Densha Otoko threads were titled “Moomin Gave Me a Pointy Hat” (とんがり帽子をくれたムーミン, Tongaribōshi o kureta Mūmin).
- There was a follow-up on the 'Refuge' board, supposedly about the two having sex,24) but it was left out of the original retelling. Most readers critique these posts as bad erotica anyways.
- Densha Otoko did get Napoleon Dynamite renamed to Bus Man (バス男, Basu Otoko) for its initial 2006 DVD release in Japan, solely because Napoleon was a nerd that happen to be on a bus in the start of the movie. However, the move was widely criticized that Fox actually changed the name back to Napoleon Dynamite in 2013 and apologized for blindly hopping onto the Densha Otoko trend.25)
See also
External links
- Densha Otoko - The original summary blog that the Densha Otoko book is based on.
- Densha Otoko (Project Densha) - The preferred English translation of Densha Otoko.
- Densha Otoko @ 2ch-Library - Thread archive for Densha Otoko.
- Densha Otoko @ All Past Logs - Thread archive for Densha Otoko that is a bit critical.
- Densha Otoko on Pixiv Encyclopedia
- Densha Otoko on Niconico Encyclopedia
2)
The name 'Train Man' (電車男, Densha Otoko) comes from the story's initial setting. Do not confuse this with 'Railway Otaku' (鉄道オタク, Tetsudō Otaku) or 'Railfan'. It says 'Otoko', not 'Otaku'.
4)
The exact thread was titled “Thread Where Men Are Shot From Behind” (男たちが後ろから撃たれるスレ, Otoko-tachi ga Ushirokara Utareru Sure), which did exist, but they sorta died off as it'd later get derailed by people who read Densha Otoko and people would either troll them or spam the thread in response.
5)
For instance, romantic stories were called 'bombings' (爆撃, bakugeki), you were 'hit' (撃たれる, utareru) if a story moved you or made you depressed, and finding love would be a 'betrayal' (裏切る, utagiru).
7)
All three dinner reservations were on Saturday. Their first one was on March 27, 2004, the second with her friend was on April 4, 2004, and the third was on April 17, 2004. Some of the adaptations cut these down
8)
He does specify that it is a 'dalmatian' in the original thread, but the summary (translation) decides to omit the dog's breed. Do you have any idea how many Disney movies have dogs?
9)
The computer saga reveals that she was looking for a Windows notebook computer and he estimates that her budget was around ¥200,000. We never get any exact details about the computer that they end up buying, as they bought it together and he confessed after they bought it.
10)
"とんがり帽子をくれたムーミン Part8" (April 27, 2004). 2channel /male/.
11)
The name 'Hitori Nakano' (中野独人, Nakano Hitori) is a pun on 'naka no hitori' (中の一人, lit. “one of us”).
12)
"Train man". Internet Archive.
13)
"Train man : the novel". Internet Archive.
14)
"Viz Media Announces Release of Train Man" (June 28, 2006). Anime News Network.
15)
The term 'uragutta' (裏ぐった) means 'about to betray' or 'about to find love' in this context. The key word here is 'betrayal' (裏切る, uragiru), which is slang for 'finding love' in the war of love, while '-gutta' (～ぐった) is an unusual internet variant of '-guru' (～ぐる) meaning 'about to'.
17)
"JRからのメール" (April 3, 2005). Livedoor.
18)
"1が外出先から帰ったら大変な事になってるスレPart2" (March 16, 2004). 2channel /male/.
21)
"とんがり帽子をくれたムーミン Part8" (April 27, 2004). 2channel /male/.
22)
Some younger couples may celebrate the '3 month' or '100 day' mark for this reason.
25)
"“日本一最悪な邦題”がタイトル変更。フォックスが公式謝罪" (August 2, 2013). Ticket Pia.
densha_otoko.txt · Last modified: 2025-03-25 12:25:57 by namelessrumia