Ola all, I have yet to watch any of the Densha Otoko stuff - be it movie or series. Which one do you guys feel is the superior production, or, if both are considered good, which one would you recommend starting with? Many thanks in advance for the advice!
shareThe series is very special in so many ways. Apart from deliving the story which most Japanese people know, it's a tribute to the story with a lot of extras (including funny and strange characters and scenes which has nothing at all to do with the original story at all).
The movie is on the other hand more true to the original story, which makes it much more plain and so forth.
I watched the series first and then discovered the movie. I liked both, but where the movie was just another movie, I found the series to be extremely enjoyable.
Same experience here. The movie is closer to the true facts, but it just stands as an umpteenth variation of "Beauty and the Beast". The main character's otaku side is not really developed.
The series has been added with a lot of twists and turns, and more slapstick humor. It's also filled to the brim with otaku references (first and foremost the glorious "twilight" opening credits). Feelings are exacerbated (too much sometimes), but I think the result is more intense (to the point tears annoyingly well up in my eyes).
Still, the definite point of the series is, Hermes is waaaaay cuter <3
erumesu-san!! yahahaha... omg, i'm still going through the episodes myself (finished episode 6 last night), and i'd have to say this series is fantastic! of course, Densha looks like a total dork, but you'll like him for it soon enough. :D
I love the quirky community he has, their montages are really something.
but the thing i loved the most was the Daicon IV homage of the opening anime sequence... the soundtrack... i hear the song Twilight and i start getting flashbacks, haha.
I just viewed the first 12 episodes of the TV series and the movie. The movie came across as a run of the mill "beauty and the beast" theme. It was too mundane and the supporting cast (chat forum members) were a bit weak in my opinion. The script of the movie also wasn't very good. Hermes says that she will "love him forever" was a bit far fetched given that they had only seen each other just a few times. The 1.5 hour run time made for a weak storyline and plot development. The movie version probably was more "real" in terms of its depiction. The TV series was far more entertaining. You could both laugh and cry in certain scenes. The supporting cast (chat forum members) were outstanding and almost stole the show from the main characters. I did think that the acting of the TV Densha Otoko actor was a bit "over the top" in some of the scenes. The music and theme songs that played throughout the TV series was much better than the movie. Even though the TV series main character was much shorter than the heroine, I felt the pairing of the movie version couple to be not convincing because the Densha Otoko character appeared to be too young and looked like a high school student.
shareSome years later...
(in 2014) **minor spoiler**
Just a tidbit fact I found out on the other board (the film's one), the movie came out before the series. So. the series pretty much owed its existence to the film. There are many links between film and series, for example the salary-man who helps Densha from the drunkard is the main actor of the film. Plus the after credits of the film, an Easter-egg is present where you see the actors of the series sitting on the train.
Actually, come to think of it, don't know if the film owes much to the series or the series to the film; but they nod to each other in some way. Just that the film came out first.
Currently watching the series. I was in the beginning of watching the film too actually. In fact I started with the film... as a huge Takayuki Yamada fan, I'm not too fond of the female lead he's paired off in the film. So, I kinda wanted to re-checked the series again because I remember thinking that the actress who plays Hermes (in the series) was really pretty. After seeing both lead ladies, I think the actress in the series is a much better cast than the one in the film. Not just because she is pretty, but for some reason the actress (I don't know her name, sorry, I didn't pay attention to it when I checked the film's imdb page), imo, she fits the part of Hermes perfectly...
Of course I am going to watch the film too ((later)) but Densha Otaku series is pretty amusing (plus there's a good cameo of Takayuki briefly in the series and there's also Shun Oguri in it :) )
(P.S. I also happened across a spoiler on the film's board so I know what happens in the end. I guessed it before from the start anyway, so I guess that implicates why the female lead in it was filmed that way. Just for some reason, I'm not fond of the actress. The series' actress has a much better advantage of course because she was given more screen-time, so they portrayed her delicateness properly. Maybe that's why. Ahh... or I'm just too picky when it comes to female leads being paired with Takayuki. He's a really good actor so I feel like the female leads should match him on some level i.e. Byakuyako, I hate her character and her initially but she matched him pretty well. In fact, the female character became more interesting to watch at one point than Takayuki's character. Plus, Water Boys, where I was rooting for the other girl and not the girl-next-door initially. But both female actresses did their parts well so it's cool when a slight shift of opinions happens towards both.)