[J-Drama review] Densha Otoko
The celebration of spare time continues, as I've begun to catch-up on some Japanese TV dramas (j-drama) and will review them in the upcoming days. I don't have a drama icon, so I'll just mark them all with my rarely-used "Tut Tut" umbrella boy. So whenever you see him, feel free to page/down if Japanese TV isn't your thing.
We start with the 8-episode drama that took me 8 months to finish. It was *that* bad. >_<
Densha Otoko (Train Man)
July to October 2005
Official Website
Story: Geek meets Girl in this romantic-comedy about a male otaku [aka The Geek] who falls in love with a beautiful female socialite [aka The Girl] he saves on the train, and subsequently uses an internet chatroom to get dating advice.
Length: 8 episodes + 1 Special
I decided to check out Densha Otoko when I heard it was a "masterpiece!" and "the greatest show ever!!" Heck, on an on-line poll at d-addicts, most people voted Densha as "Must See!" and "Life-Altering!"
I will never trust the Internet again. >_<
As a comedy . . It doesn't work.
For me, there are two ways a comedy *can* work . .
#1. Play it funny for the whole show (ex. The Naked Gun series)
But you can't here because of The Girl, who is one of the only serious characters in the show. Thus, whenever she appears (and she does quite often), the comedy abruptly takes a break and enters serious mode. Kinda like in family sitcoms, where everyone's acting goofy until the end when the father and son have a "moral of the day" talk and hug while everyone goes "aww . . ." Blech.
Or #2. Play it naturally so when you move from fun to serious, it feels more like a natural flow (ex. Friends) rather than an on-off switch.
But you can't here because the comedic characters are exaggerated to the point that they're not real or funny anymore. For example, even though I have never met a true Japanese otaku before, I really doubt The Geek is a good representation. He's a complete klutz, stutters all his lines, and even stutters when he types, through ALL eight episodes!! His faults are suppose to be funny, but the joke gets old fast.
As a romance . . It doesn't work.
The most important ingredient for a successful romance is a couple that you care about. Here, I couldn't care less. The Geek is too exaggerated to be "real" and The Girl has the personality of cardboard.
And I know it's based on a true story, but I never once believed these two TV-version lovers could ever be together. Even by the last episode, The Geek is STILL stuttering whenever he's around The Girl. I mean, dude, how can you like someone that makes you *this* uncomfortable? The Girl likes The Geek because he has heart and courage (even though he keeps stuttering!!!); otherwise, they have NOTHING in common!! Opposites CAN attract, but not when the magnetic forces are about as close as Earth and Neptune!!
As a true story . . It REALLY doesn't work!
Besides the "Geek saves Girl, uses Internet for help" part, there doesn't feel like a shred of "true story" left. Lots of stuff in the story just . . could never happen, like: What I *did* like . .
The ending credits. Not only is the pain over, but Sambomaster does the ending theme, and I have yet to hear a Sambomaster song that I didn't like. The rest of the music in the show though = earbleed. I mean, whose bright idea was to remix "Pop goes the weasal" for tense moments? -_-;
BUT even after all that, I'm actually still interested in seeing the Movie Version. Perhaps one of the big reasons the TV series fails is because it's too long. The writers have to produce 8 episodes using a very simple premise, and this leads to a lot of filler. In fact, you could watch the first two episodes, jump to the last two, and it wouldn't make a difference. But compacted into a 2-hour movie and I think you might have a winner.
I like the concept of Densha Otoko . . going in, I was hoping to learn more about real-life otakus, as well as the real-life love story which sounds pretty interesting on paper. That's why I was disappointed by this romance-comedy TV adaptation. Maybe I was looking for a documentary?
Rating: 2 out of 10
Of course, I'm in the minority here, so if you wanna check out Densha Otoko for yourself, you can get it from TV-Nihon.
We start with the 8-episode drama that took me 8 months to finish. It was *that* bad. >_<
Densha Otoko (Train Man)
July to October 2005
Official Website
Story: Geek meets Girl in this romantic-comedy about a male otaku [aka The Geek] who falls in love with a beautiful female socialite [aka The Girl] he saves on the train, and subsequently uses an internet chatroom to get dating advice.
Length: 8 episodes + 1 Special
I decided to check out Densha Otoko when I heard it was a "masterpiece!" and "the greatest show ever!!" Heck, on an on-line poll at d-addicts, most people voted Densha as "Must See!" and "Life-Altering!"
I will never trust the Internet again. >_<
For me, there are two ways a comedy *can* work . .
#1. Play it funny for the whole show (ex. The Naked Gun series)
But you can't here because of The Girl, who is one of the only serious characters in the show. Thus, whenever she appears (and she does quite often), the comedy abruptly takes a break and enters serious mode. Kinda like in family sitcoms, where everyone's acting goofy until the end when the father and son have a "moral of the day" talk and hug while everyone goes "aww . . ." Blech.
Or #2. Play it naturally so when you move from fun to serious, it feels more like a natural flow (ex. Friends) rather than an on-off switch.
But you can't here because the comedic characters are exaggerated to the point that they're not real or funny anymore. For example, even though I have never met a true Japanese otaku before, I really doubt The Geek is a good representation. He's a complete klutz, stutters all his lines, and even stutters when he types, through ALL eight episodes!! His faults are suppose to be funny, but the joke gets old fast.
The most important ingredient for a successful romance is a couple that you care about. Here, I couldn't care less. The Geek is too exaggerated to be "real" and The Girl has the personality of cardboard.
And I know it's based on a true story, but I never once believed these two TV-version lovers could ever be together. Even by the last episode, The Geek is STILL stuttering whenever he's around The Girl. I mean, dude, how can you like someone that makes you *this* uncomfortable? The Girl likes The Geek because he has heart and courage (even though he keeps stuttering!!!); otherwise, they have NOTHING in common!! Opposites CAN attract, but not when the magnetic forces are about as close as Earth and Neptune!!
Besides the "Geek saves Girl, uses Internet for help" part, there doesn't feel like a shred of "true story" left. Lots of stuff in the story just . . could never happen, like:
- The Endings: Here's how most episodes end . . The Geek thanks the chatroom for helping him overcome the dating-obstacle-of-the-day, and his words inspires one of his readers to change. Some of his enlightened readers include a divorced husband who reconciles with his wife, an actress who leaves acting to pursue her dream in America, and a pro-basketball player who decides to come out of retirement. Yes, the Stuttered Typing of The Geek about his Love Life apparently has the power to change the world.
- The Chatroom Netizens: I know it's a comedy, but it's still kinda freaky how every time The Geek logs onto his computer, no matter what time of day, the exact same twenty people are there waiting for him! And even though these folks are from across Japan, they somehow can show up together in Tokyo at a moment's notice. o_O
- Episode 5: In which The Girl gets stalked. However, when The Geek finally catches The Stalker, he let's him go! Even though he knows The Stalker took thousands of pictures of The Girl and carries knives around while following her! Why? Because The Stalker apologizes to The Girl, so The Geek says, "He wasn't bad, just lonely. I'm glad he turned out to be a nice guy in the end." Stalkers are nice guys, wtf??
The ending credits. Not only is the pain over, but Sambomaster does the ending theme, and I have yet to hear a Sambomaster song that I didn't like. The rest of the music in the show though = earbleed. I mean, whose bright idea was to remix "Pop goes the weasal" for tense moments? -_-;
BUT even after all that, I'm actually still interested in seeing the Movie Version. Perhaps one of the big reasons the TV series fails is because it's too long. The writers have to produce 8 episodes using a very simple premise, and this leads to a lot of filler. In fact, you could watch the first two episodes, jump to the last two, and it wouldn't make a difference. But compacted into a 2-hour movie and I think you might have a winner.
I like the concept of Densha Otoko . . going in, I was hoping to learn more about real-life otakus, as well as the real-life love story which sounds pretty interesting on paper. That's why I was disappointed by this romance-comedy TV adaptation. Maybe I was looking for a documentary?
Rating: 2 out of 10
Of course, I'm in the minority here, so if you wanna check out Densha Otoko for yourself, you can get it from TV-Nihon.