Train Man (Densha Otoko)

The person who supposedly compiled the original posts used the penname Nakano Hitori ( meaning "one of them") had a cameo in the book as one of the site's editor.

The first reference I had about the Train Man (Densha Otoko) was when it was mentioned in one movie review of the Korean film My Sassy Girl. I made a mental note that I have to watch the film. That time I didn’t know that the movie was just an adaptation of a book with the same title so I was stunned when I saw the book by accident at a bookstore last November. I planned to read it all throughout the Holidays last December but I didn’t have the chance to do so.

The story is about a geeky guy, Train Man, who posted an anonymous online thread when he saved a group of women from a drunkard in the subway. His first motive was just to narrate his bizarre confidence during the incident but after he received a gift, a pair of Hermes Teacups, from the lady (who was later on called as Lady Miss Hermes) beside him in the train car, who he confessed he fancies, his fellow geeks got excited and pushed him to pursue the girl in a series of dinner dates. The incident immediately turned the monotonous online forum to raucous support site for the Train Man and his lady love.

Train Man is not your conventional novel or in a sense not your conventional type of prose. It is claimed that the book is a clip from a real

Pages from the book, Train Man. (Click to enlarge)

online site where the real Train Man supposedly posted his daily life. The book was written in such a way that it looks like it has been copied from the original online site, making it seems like a compilation of the threads. If you are a chatroom, Forum or blog aficionado, you’ll surely find the whole book remarkably interesting and familiar.

Though the story is not something extraordinary, the way the book was presented makes the whole reading experience uniquely appealing. The climax, when the Train Man and Lady Miss Hermes finally revealed their feelings for each other was so romantic. I am not a huge fan of romantic novels but I was so moved by Train Man’s narration.