Ask John: Why So Many Different Densha Otoko Manga?

Question:
I’ve recently seen a sudden surge of Densha Otoko/Train Man manga when I went to a bookstore. I believe I saw 4 different manga published by 4 different companies. Viz and Del Rey were the ones I remember. Which is the original? Why are there so many? Are these different versions of the same story/premise?

Answer:
The Densha Otoko (“Train Man”) phenomena is now so broad that I honestly can’t cover all of it. The story’s merchandising has expanded to include even a drama CD, and books of critical discussion of the story and its impact on Japanese society. Of course, there are also the better known adaptations of the Densha Otoko story including a novel, four different manga adaptations, a live action television series, and a live action motion picture.

Densha Otoko began as a discussion thread on Japan’s popular 2 Channel internet message board. In October 2004 an author going by the name “Hitori Nakano,” compiled the original internet messages into a novel, which quickly became a blockbuster hit. The original novel was followed by four different manga adaptations, so, in a sense, none of the manga adaptations are the original, first rendition of the story.

The Densha Otoko: Net Hatsu, Kakueki Teisha no Love Story manga series illustrated by Hidenori Hara, published by Shogakukan, premiered in Japan in April 2005. This “seinen” (for young adult men) version manga has been released in English by Viz Media under the title “Train Man: Densha Otoko.”

Publisher Akita Shoten released two different manga adaptations of Densha Otoko in May 2005. Wataru Watanabe’s “seinen” version titled “Densha Otoko ~Demo, Ore Tabidatsu yo~” has been released in America by CMX under the title “Densha Otoko.” Illustrator Daisuke Douke’s version, “Densha Otoko: Ganbare Doku Otoko!”, has not been released in America.

Machiko Ocha’s shoujo (“for girls”) interpretation of the story, “Densha Otoko: Bijo to Junjou Otaku Seinen no Net Hatsu Love Story” was published in book form by Kodansha in June 2005. Del Rey has released this book in America under the title “Train Man: A Shoujo Manga.”

All four of these manga series are adaptations of “Hitori Nakano’s” original novel, each of them told with the unique style of the artist illustrating the adaptation. The most obvious differences are Machiko Ocha’s version, which takes a shoujo approach to the story to appeal to female manga readers, and the “seinen” versions of the manga which are designed to tell the story from a male perspective. The multiple adaptations of the story in multiple formats all attest to the immense popularity of the story among Japanese consumers. In fact, the original novel is even being republished in a new Japanese edition this month. Romantic dramas have been a staple of Japanese television and film for many years, but there’s something about the Densha Otoko story- perhaps the mystery of its authenticity, perhaps the speculation that it’s a true story, perhaps the believable underdog aspect of the story- seems to be especially appealing to Japanese readers and viewers.