Discuss the legendary story and the various TV shows/movie/books/manga here.

Here's the original story:

On March 14, 2004, at 9:55 p.m., an anonymous user posted in a 2channel thread for single men to talk about their woes. According to his account, he had been sitting next to a young woman on the train when a drunken man entered the car and began bothering the other passengers, most of whom were female. When the drunk began to badger a particular woman, the poster took the risk of telling the man to stop bothering the passengers. The two struggled for a short time while the other passengers used this distraction to summon the conductor, who took control of the situation.

Never having done such a thing in his life, the poster was amazed to find the woman thanking him deeply for saving her from harassment. The young woman requested his address, telling him that she wanted to express her appreciation for his act, before they parted ways. The poster, upon returning home, shared his experience with other posters in the thread and was eventually nicknamed “Densha Otoko” (Train_Man).

A few days later, Train_Man received a package from the woman: an expensive set of cups and saucers made by Hermès, a French luxury goods company. Flabbergasted, the man turned to the 2channelers for advice; he was soon convinced that the tea set was too expensive to be a mere thank-you gift. Following the advice and suggestions of the other posters, Train_Man eventually contacted the woman.

The man who wrote admitted things about himself, such as the fact that his number of years without girlfriends equalled his age, that he was an Akihabara nerd and an otaku, and that he had never been on a date. Because of this last fact, he consistently posted updates on his situation, asking for advice on everything from restaurant choices to what clothing to wear. After an enjoyable first date, they began meeting regularly. Following the 2channelers' collective advice, he got a haircut, updated his wardrobe, and began to emerge from his shell. After several dates, his demeanor had changed for the better and this culminated a few months later in his confessing his love for her. She reciprocated, and when the 2channelers were informed, there was a mass celebration; posts began flowing in congratulating the new couple, and extravagant Shift JIS art pictures were posted.

Train_Man's posts continued for a while longer, but on May 17, there were posts about the couple being on the verge of (doing things not suitable for Scratch), and several forum members made inappropriate comments on the subject. Later that night, Train_Man left the boards for good.

That's just the original. In Japan, Train Man is legendary, and there are many different tellings of the story. It has been made into a novel, four manga, a TV special, and an 11-episode drama.

The novel, movie with English subtitles, and three of the manga have been released in America and can easily be found through sites like Amazon or at your local bookstore. You can read the fourth manga online for free (Publishers Weekly even encouraged this) on sites like Mangafox. It's known as Densha Otoko: Gambare Doku Otoko just do you don't get confused with the other version, which is illegal to read online.

PonyoPenguin wrote:

illegal to read online.

Explain.

coolitsusa wrote:

PonyoPenguin wrote:

illegal to read online.

Explain.

American manga publishers don't want their work being read outside of their legal methods, and send takedown notices for the other three manga regularly, though some sites do slip through, which is why I am cautioning to be careful.

PonyoPenguin wrote:

coolitsusa wrote:

PonyoPenguin wrote:

illegal to read online.

Explain.

American manga publishers don't want their work being read outside of their legal methods, and send takedown notices for the other three manga regularly, though some sites do slip through, which is why I am cautioning to be careful.

It might be illegal to post it online, but I doubt it's illegal to read.

coolitsusa wrote:

PonyoPenguin wrote:

coolitsusa wrote:

PonyoPenguin wrote:

illegal to read online.

Explain.

American manga publishers don't want their work being read outside of their legal methods, and send takedown notices for the other three manga regularly, though some sites do slip through, which is why I am cautioning to be careful.

It might be illegal to post it online, but I doubt it's illegal to read.

If you want to read it online, I'm not stopping you. I'm just saying Viz Media, CMX, and Del Rey would prefer you buy their works.

bump

guys check it out