Product Description

Computer engineer Otaku (the Japanese term for "geek") is an average young man, dressed in unstylish clothes and dorky glasses. But as luck would have it, he encounters a pretty young woman on a commuter train and saves her from a lecherous molester, falling in love with her at first sight. A few days later he receives a thank-you message from the woman along with a set of Hermes teacups. Having never had a girlfriend or received a gift from a girl in his life, Otaku seeks out his pals on his BBS website for advice using his codename Train_Man (Densha Otoko): "How should I ask her out?" Deeply interested in Train Man's first love, his BBS pals eagerly supply him with advice. Encouraged by their support, Train_Man undergoes a total makeover for his first-ever date with "Hermess". Little does he know that he is about to ignite an Internet phenomenon...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15884 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-02-06
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Original language: Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 102 minutes

Amazon.com
A supposedly true combination of a romance and a Pygmalion story, Densha Otoko began as an on-line tale that captivated audiences in Japan: there's a novel, a TV show, and a manga series, in addition to this feature. The title character is a textbook otaku, an anime and video game nerd who divides his time between the electronics stores in Tokyo's Akihabara district and the computer in his cluttered room. One day on a commuter train, he prevents an obnoxious drunk from bothering a pretty girl. She sends him a set of Hermès teacups as a thank-you and a tentative romance begins. Train Man has no idea how to behave with a girl, so an on-line posse tells him how to dress and what to say. Ultimately, his example inspires them to go out into the world. Director Masanori Murakami effectively uses a split screen to create the on-line community. Takayuki Yamada makes a wonderfully maladroit Train Man: when he calls Hermès for the first time, he holds the phone as if he were about to commit seppuku. Miki Nakatami infuses Hermès with a winning mixture of gentleness and independence. This touching romance will delight Gen-Y and -Z members, whose lives are bound to the Internet. (Unrated, suitable for ages 13 and older: minor violence, alcohol and tobacco use)--Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews

Densha Otoko: great film about contemporary Japanese youth
This was an awesome movie. I teach a basic high school Japanese course and had been looking for a film about contemporary young people in Japan
without anything sexual or violent. I was worried at first if they would find it too romantic but surprisingly they were riveted from the opening scene, in Akihabara, the Tokyo Electronics district. The film gives lots of insight into the habits, language, and social lives of Japanese twenty-somethings. It was a bonus that the film's characters are mostly "otaku", geeks, like my students, so they could really relate to the characters' difficulties interacting with live humans in the real world, even as they fluently socialize with each other online.
Good flick, lots of fun, emotional at the end. It's in Japanese, so you need subtitles if you're not fluent.

Fun movie, very enjoyable
Ran across this movie as a flyer in another Japanese movie. The story is interesting and fun - a little schmaltzy. I recommend it.

fun movie for anyone
this is a really fun movie to watch. i've never seen a movie quite like this.

as far as the dvd extras go. they have a bunch of background info explaining japanese culture around where this movie takes place.