I love this movie. I loved it before I'd even seen it, just by reading what it was about, but now I love it because it IS good. The character I can relate to, of course, is Densha Otoko, the main character. I feel just as hopeless as he does at times, and I have the same thoughts as him, "am I destined to be alone like this forever?" and such. The moment when he's standing before the girl and the end, and he sees himself on the TV-screen, freaking because he's ashamed of the person he sees - THAT I can relate to. The final, when the people say "Now is our time to find happiness", it's kinda, at least for me, a wake-up-call, to not just sit around watching other people change and become happy, but to get a grip on ourselves for once, if we haven't already. Sad, funny and inspiring all at once!

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.

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

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.