Densha Otoko ("Train Man") is a love story about Tsuyoshi Yamada (played by Atsushi Itoo / Itou / Itoh: take your pick), and a chance meeting with a drunk on a train, heroism, and a star-crossed encounter with the most beautiful woman he's ever met.
Tsuyoshi is an "Otaku:" a anime-loving, computer-geeking, Akihabara-travelling, bandanna-wearing, never-talked-to-a-girl-on-the-phone-before, never-dated-a-girl-before, model-kit-building geek. In Japan, "proper ladies" won't give Otaku's the time of day: Otaku are undesirable and have no socially redeeming qualities what-so-ever.
Or so some think. The truth behind "stereotypes" are at the core of this program.
Meet Saori Aoyama (played by the gorgeous Misaki Itoo, who also starred in the live version "Taiho Shichauzo / You're Under Arrest" in 2003). Saori is your "average office girl" whose heart is still wounded from her ex-boyfriend who lied to her. Couple that with the fact that her own parent's marriage ended in divorce (again, because of a lie), Saori has no desire to date; men are liars. She even refuses the arranged marriages her mother tries to set-up for her.
Then, one day, while riding the train home, a drunk bastard accosts Saori. Nervous and barely able to speak, Tsuyoshi, who is sitting across from her, admiring her, stands-up for Saori and tries to get the drunkard to leave her alone. Though Ysuyoshi receives the worse end of the deal (knocked to the ground, glasses knocked off his face, et cetera), he buys enough time for the train conductor and another Salaryman to carry the bastard away. In appreciation, Saori asks Tsuyoshi for his address so she can send him a "thank you" present; he gives it to her.
Sounds routine.
Isn't.
Home he goes, and logs on to the "Aladdin Channel," an online posting board website. In the Doku-Otoko room ("Single Men" ~ kanji pun of "Poisonous Men"), he regales the tale to his fellow Otaku, all of whom appears to be various "freaks" but all sharing one thing in common: they are just as hopeless at love and interaction as Tsuyoshi is.
Days later, he receives a box from Saori containing two "Hermes" (pronounced: "AIR-mess") tea cups and saucers. The others, in the chat room / posting board, give him advice as to what he should do next. Nicknaming her "Miss Hermes" (because no one uses their real names on the posting board, save one author), and him "Train Man" (Densha Otoko), the posting board live their romantic fantasies, hopes, and dreams through him, rooting him on through each stage of Densha's and Hermes' relationship. They know that being Otaku automatically carries many demerits in womens' eyes, and thus, help him to start-out on a level playing field (while still allowing Tsuyoshi to be "himself," for the most part).
Besides being an Otaku, Tsuyoshi has to handle Saori's emotional baggage: she simply can't trust men, because they are all liars. No matter what, she can't open herself up to take someone at face value just yet, knowing that betrayal is ultimately around each corner. Tsuyoshi notices this bit by bit, but doesn't know the full extent of the issue until later in the series. But Tsuyoshi has an good, honest heart (as most Otaku do ~ it's just rarely found, due to stereotypes), and does all he can, risking all at times, to remain honest and fair with her.
Through successes and failures, each member of the Posting Board (which includes at least 4 women), while remaining true to their own Otakudom, cheer "Densha" (Train) on, guiding and pushing him when necessary, and fielding his ideas out. In three specific cases, the courage Densha shows throughout the story causes someone to re-connect with a lost / abandoned love.
Besides the PB members, Tsuyoshi has two friends who are fellow Akiba-chans (term, usually derogatory, meaning one who hangs-out at Akihabara, the technological "Mecca" of Tokyo, where most Otaku can be found frequently).
First a book, then a movie, and now this TV mini-drama, the story tells of a chance meeting, à la "Beauty And the Beast," of two people from completely different worlds, and how, despite all odds, can come together and fall in love. All the characters (including the "villainous" Mr. Sakurai, who is constantly vying for Saori's attention, and her heart, through schemes and deceptions) are true to their nature. The characters, as weird as some of them are, remain true to themselves, and to each other. The believability factor is very high.
At one stage, Misuzu Jinkama, Tsuyoshi's ... friend?! (which means: she sticks him with the lunch bill, yells at him, throws things at him, hits him, ... :) ... accidentally reveals the PB to Saori's brother, who, in turn, warns Saori that she has been deceived by Tsuyoshi and that Tsuyoshi has been telling Saori's life and secrets online for the world to see. The brother (Keisuke Aoyama, played by the beautiful Mokomichi Hayami) never actually read the board and, thus, never saw the true intent, emotions, and spirit of the PB. After Saori dumps Tsuyoshi for this, Tsoyoshi abandons the PB. Everyone rallies around him, telling him to never give up on love. Posters, signs on trains, SKYWRITING !!, live street concerts, and screaming idiots on golf courses: all of the Otaku from the PB get "Densha" to come back, and receive their courage, just as he has (unknowingly) given each of them courage in their own lives and struggles, to face "Hermes" and fix things once-and-for-all.
I could NEVER, in a million years, give the ending a fair explanation. But, in all reality, the "resolution" of the main story arc is beyond words, and can be only expressed in tears. And there are MANY tears shed throughout the series.
By being yourself, you will, some day, find love, or, it will find you.
Tsuyoshi learned it when he least expected it.
Can he hang on to it?
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