It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

This movie is good. The acting is very good for a bunch of people who you have never heard of (maybe they are well known actors in Japan but here I have never heard of them before in my life), I liked them and the characters they were playing. I identified with them and ended up almost crying several times at what was going on between them in the movie.It's a very moving and touching movie but also quite funny at times. It is a very simple premise but it kept our interest through the whole movie. The only real downside is that the way the story is told sometimes gets a bit boring visually.

Densha Otoko (Train Man), while containing an interesting premise based on a possibly real story that was posted on Japan's popular 2ch forum, misses the mark once too often during its running time and can't cross the line into rom-com history.The story follows Train_Man (Takayuki Yamada), a Gundam otaku (not "otoku" as some reviewers have posted; otaku is some sort of nerd/geek who spends a great deal of time and money on Japanese animation collectibles; otoku has to do with being economical) who comes to the aid of Hermes (Miki Nakatani) as she's harassed by a chikan/pervert on a train. To pay him back for his heroics, she sends him a thank you gift. Meanwhile, Train_Man spends his days on 2ch, getting advice about how to win her over and become her boyfriend since he has never been out with a girl before. The rest of the film is spent with Train_Man as he changes his appearance to shed his geeky exterior and win the girl of his dreams.That Hermes is the "girl of his dreams" is one of the film's problems, as her character is sorely underdeveloped and a bit silly. We never see her character go through any sort of development or arc and her manner of speaking is hilariously polite and formal, NEVER conversational. This is no fault of Miki Nakatani's, who is an excellent actress (just watch Memories of Matsuko for evidence of her skill), but more the fault of the filmmakers who, despite the film's "based on a true story" marketing scheme, create more of a fantasy than a true romantic comedy. Because of that, it's hard to get behind the character of Train_Man as he's so eager to get the girl, he drops his otaku exterior to become an outgoing, handsome, socially normal young man. That he gets the girl only after he changes his look and personality also gives the film an air of superficiality.There's a lot from the 2ch transcripts that never made it into the film, such as how many posters thought Train_Man was a disgusting person. In the film, the entire forum is portrayed as a loyal supporter. And the idea of shut-ins (hikikomori) giving dating advice to an otaku, while sort of humorous, just doesn't play out as well as it should. Again, an amusing film, but nothing special.

Whether it was 40 years or 4 months ago, those who remember their first date will most certainty bath in the glow of empathy with this sweet little movie. It'll be an added bonus for those who are watching it with still the same person.But there's more. To the still uninitiated, this little gem is an eye-opener to the culture of Internet chat room. Through skillful interplay between split-screen and full screen, a group of our hero's best chat mates is shown to be his council of courtship advisors. This comprises a passionate young nurse, a young man (student, presumably) who locks himself up in his room with the computer most of the time, a man and a woman at their late twenties or early thirties (an office worker and a housewife respectively) and a group of three young chaps, the official clowns of the movie. We soon see how they are emotionally very involved with our hero's joys and woes, hopes and fears, which have become very much part of their own lives. There's also one nice little spoiler that is unveiled quite early in the movie.Our hero is a young "otaku", a term (neutral rather than derogatory) used to describe people who are so indulged in the virtual world of comics, animation and computer games that they have lost touch with real human beings, manifested in their acute shyness and inability to communicate with others. All these change when he, with a sudden surge of impulse, helps a lovely lassie that is molested by a drunken passenger on a train. The courtship is innocent and sweet, completely opposite to the other genre where the protagonists jump right into bed an hour after they first met. It's also funny, in a nice, gentle sort of way.One IMDb comment mentions that the character of the girl "Hermes" (nicknamed so because she sent him a set of Hermes cups to thank him) has not been as developed as even the supporting characters, and adds that this is perhaps intentional. I think so. The focus of the movie is on our hero the "Train man" and, to a lesser extent, the supporting characters. Hermes is an idolized figure and her sweet, composed charm contrasts perfectly with his nervous, tantalizing uncertainty. Incidentally, in the stage version of this true story, she doesn't even appear in person but is only a voice off- stage.Starting as a true story, "Train man" has taken Japan by storm, in every media conceivable – Internet story, comic, book, movie, stage play and, last but not least, hugely popular TV drama starring gorgeous Ito Misaki.

If you've spent much time chatting on the Internet, you've probably had a conversation along these lines at some point: "They should make a movie like this!" "Naah... who wants to see a movie about a bunch of people sitting at computers typing?" Densha Otoko finally answers that question, and does it in superb style. By use of split-screen, and computer text overlaid on real environments, it makes the online chats visually interesting and fast-paced.But this isn't just some technical storytelling exercise. At its heart, it's a funny and charming romance. Unlike just about every other "naive protagonist gets dating advice" movie, this one is astonishingly pure-hearted.On consideration, I dropped it a point because I felt the character of the love-interest was under-developed. Her role in the romance never quite got fully believable. As even the minor characters are properly developed, perhaps she was intentionally left as a mysterious figure.I really hope this gets a wider audience outside Japan. This is a wonderful, wonderful film, but the central role played by typed Japanese text is going to be a barrier to international audiences. Perhaps the best we can hope for is a competent Hollywood remake. Please, no Jennifer Lopez.