DENSHA OTOKO (TRAIN MAN)
by Hidenori Hara
The deal: Densha Otoko translates from Japanese to Train Man, and the (true) story has been a runaway media success in Japan. It has spawned a novel, three different manga versions, a movie and a TV miniseries. The manga book version I’m talking about is the Viz Media release, illustrated by Hidenori Hara. It’s three volumes, and is what I’d consider to be light reading. The books themselves are standard manga size, and the book designs are consistent even if they appear a little dated stylistically.
The summary: To preface, Densha Otoko is based on a true story. It’s the story of an otaku who saves a woman from a drunk on the train. They begin to see each other soon thereafter. What makes this story unique is that the young otaku in question is a member of 2channel, a Japanese internet forum, and it is this forum that gives Train Man the confidence to approach the young woman, Hermes. It uses real posts from 2channel users in the text and dialogue.
The review: The first word that comes to mind in talking about Densha Otoko is cute. Adorable works too. It’s a fun, and ultimately simple love story. Generally I find stories like that a little boring, but there are two things about this book that make it fun: First, the fact that it is a true story, and second, the 2channel members rooting Train Man on. Having spent some time on the internet (hahaha), it was easy for me to get swept up in their excitement! They give him tips on things ranging from fashion to hygiene to dinner locales to the art of conversation … and it is easy to identify with Train, because you get the sense that he’s very much “one of us” (otaku are the Japanese nerds and geeks). The treatment of internet posting and how that translated visually was well done, despite the somewhat dated look of the book overall. You really get to see Train Man’s growth as a person as well, and that by itself was a somewhat insightful look at how nerds around the world bloom while still retaining their nerd membership cards. The other thing I liked about this book is how uplifting it was - there’s a lot of dark and gritty stuff on the market, so it’s nice to see something genuinely positive. The other downside of the series is that it can be pretty sappy at times. I’m not generally a fan of sappy stuff, but it worked for me within the context of the books.
The recommendation: It’s a cute, sometimes sappy story with a dash of geek sensibility - if that sounds good to you, then by all means check this series out! It’s only 3 books, so you won’t be buying a million volumes.
(By the way, if you want to read the original 2Channel thread, it’s here.)
From Viz Media, 3 volumes, $9.99 each
BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL
by Hiroaki Samura
The deal: Hiroaki Samura’s Blade of the Immortal is a multi-volume Japanese feudal warrior epic published by Dark Horse. The books themselves are very sexy - there is a good, consistent design ethic going on, and one of my secret pleasures is when the exterior of books from the same series match well - and especially when the book spines retain consistency on my shelf.
The summary: This is one of my favorite series for two reasons: 1. the unbelievable versatility of pencil and ink in each book and 2. the multi-faceted nature of the story. To summarize the plot: Immortal warrior Manji can only regain his mortality by killing one thousand evil men. He attaches himself to a young girl named Rin, whose parents were killed by a radical sword school called the Itto-Ryu. A journey of two becomes a journey of many, and along the way Manji has to do a whole lot of killing to protect his young charge. This series is ultra-violent and definitely not for the faint of heart - most of the time, the violence almost borders on Tarantino-esque, but every time you’re almost desensitized to it, Hiroaki Samura sets the bar on what real violence is by showing us something truly disturbed (the character Shira comes to mind). For those out there who like Shounen fighting, there is a large cast of characters, all with unique fighting styles and weaponry. It seems difficult to pack so many bad-ass characters into one book, but Blade of the Immortal manages it. It’s also important to mention that these are some of the best-rendered fight scenes you’ll ever see on paper. Hiroaki Samura is endlessly inventive in this regard.
Violence and “coolness” aren’t the only thing this series has, though - there’s also a lot of depiction and discussion of philosophy, and a thoughtful dissection of morality (i.e. good, evil and the grey area between) is part of the backbone of the story. Blade of the Immortal is also the recipient of many awards, the foremost being an Eisner award and the Media Arts of Japan award.
Hiroaki Samura is often given credit for making his characters talk in a modern way, and this is part of Dark Horse’s marketing strategy for the book (I think the word that shows up a lot is ’streetwise’). I’ll admit that I have a hard time understanding this, and I can’t help but wonder if a little something of the original text is lost in translation. Blade has also been called modernist, and in that sense I absolutely have to agree. The approach to story-telling is undeniably modernist, and it gives a great tilt to the narrative.
The biggest downside of this series, to me, is how damn long it is (18 volumes and still going). Well, that isn’t quite right - it’s more that in being very long, it sometimes seems to drag. It’s not that the fight scenes are too long (although they can be very long), and it’s not that the downtime scenes don’t propel the story forward - but sometimes there are lengths of time where the story just doesn’t move anywhere, whether it be fighting or downtime.
The recommendation: This series is not for everyone, but it’s for many of us. XD Despite the length of the series and the at-times-awkward-pacing, I do enjoy this book a lot - not for the violence so much as for the gems in between. There’s a good reason this series has won so many awards. It is one of my regular TPB purchases.
From Dark Horse, 18 volumes (and still going), priced at anywhere from $12.95 to $19.95