Random thoughts that are almost always about video games

Monday, January 09, 2006

And now for something different...

Not really game related, but the Japanese TV drama "Densha Otoko" ROCKS. Seriously. Its Adidas blow through concert doors.

(Well, I should clarify that the *first three* episodes rock -- I can't, at this time, vouch for the rockitude of episodes 4 - 10.)

I figured that some of you gamers out there (especially the ones that are into all things Japanese) would dig this show because much of it takes place in or around Akihabara, Tokyo's famous videogame store paradise. The story is about this anime otaku (geek) that ends up saving a beautiful woman on a train. As they come to know each other, our otaku hero tries his best to become the type of man that a woman like that could love. It's kind of sweet, but hilariously funny. And, get this...

It's based on a true story!

See, the otaku dude would constantly ask people in an online chat room for advice, and would then post updates as to how things were going with the woman. Nobody knows who the otaku really was, only that he went by the screen name "Densha Otoko" ("Train Man). His posts, and those of the other posters, were collected into a book that became a bestseller in Japan. All of this gets you really curious about each episode, because -- while I'm sure the TV folks took some creative license -- you really don't know where the story will go. It's based on real life, so it could go anywhere. And you really find yourself rooting for the poor, helplessly in over his head otaku. Will he somehow -- impossibly -- get the girl?

As far as I know the show isn't available commercially outside of Japan, but English-subtitled versions are floating around the 'net. The series was a big deal recently in Japan, so anyone interested in sampling a bit of recent Japanese pop culture -- or those just looking for a funny, charming, uplifting show -- should check it out!

--Chris