Ask John: What Is Train Man?

Question:
I have a question concerning a Japanese movie, but it’s not anime. The movie is called Train Man. I’ve heard that it was being made into a manga series. Do you know anything about the movie (if it might come to the US) or anything about the manga (who makes it and will it also come over here)?

Answer:
In October 2004 Japanese publisher Shinchosha published the novel “Densha Otoko” (“Train Man”) written by an author using the pseudonym Nakano Hitori. The story about a 22 year old anime otaku seeking advice and encouragement from fellow otaku through discussion on Japan’s 2 Channel forum on how to approach and court an attractive businesswoman whom he met on a commuter train is based on real life “2 Chan” forum posts, but debate still rages over whether or not the romance was real or merely a prolonged hoax. But regardless of the story’s origins, the Densha Otoko novel became an immediate sensation, selling over a quarter million copies in three weeks and eventually becoming the 17th best selling novel in Japan in 2004.

The success of the Densha Otoko novel led it to become adapted into four different manga, a hit live action motion picture, and a popular live action television series. The first volume of collected Densha Otoko manga, drawn by Hidenori Hara, was published in April 2005. There are currently 3 collected volumes of this series. The first collected volume of “Densha Otoko – Ganbare Dokuotoko!” drawn by Daisuke Douke, was published in May 2005. Presently it has two volumes. The first collected volume of “Densha Otoko – Demo Ore Tabidatsuyo” manga, drawn by Wataru Watanabe, was published in May 2005. There are presently two volumes of this series. The single volume “Densha Otoko – Bijo to Junjou Otaku Seinen no Net Hatsu Love Story” manga drawn by Machiko Ocha was published in June 2005. Original novelist “Nakano Hitori” is credited as the writer of all of the manga series.

Toho’s live action Densha Otoko motion picture premiered on June 4, 2005 and topped the Japanese box office during its debut week. The movie managed to stay within Japan’s top ten highest grossing films for two full months. Following on the heels of the hit movie, Fuji TV premiered the first episode of the successful 11 episode long Densha Otoko TV drama on July 7, 2005.

At this point, having not heard any official reports or unconfirmed rumors of plans for Densha Otoko to come to America, I can only speculate. Especially considering the success of the franchise in Japan, and the popularity of the TV series among American anime fans, I think the odds are fairly good that at least some components of the Densha Otoko franchise will eventually receive an official American release. Manga and live action Asian film are both very hot commodities in America right now, so I do anticipate one or more domestic licensors being eager to capitalize on the trend.