Densha otoko (2005)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Shosuke Murakami

Writers:

Hitori Nakano (novel)
Arisa Kaneko (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 June 2005 (Japan)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

A True Love Story

Plot Keywords:

Bulletin Board System | First Sexual Experience | Internet | Train | Based On Novel

Cast

Takayuki Yamada	...	Densha otoko
Miki Nakatani	...	Hermes
Ryoko Kuninaka	...	Rika
Eita	...	Hirofumi
Kuranosuke Sasaki	...	Hisashi
Tae Kimura	...	Michiko
Yoshinori Okada	...	Yoshiga
Naomi Nishida	...	Hermes's friend
Ren Ôsugi	...	Middle-aged man in train
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hiroki Miyake	...	Tamura
Makoto Sakamoto	...	Muto
Momoko Shimizu	...	Schoolgirl on the train

Directed by
Shosuke Murakami

Writing credits
Hitori Nakano		(novel)
Arisa Kaneko		(screenplay)

Produced by
Kei Haruna	....	producer
Minami Ichikawa	....	executive producer
Hideki Inada	....	producer
Hiroyoshi Koiwai	....	executive producer
Kyukan Maeda	....	associate producer
Tomoyo Nihei	....	producer
Hiroto Takeishi	....	line producer
Akihiro Yamauchi	....	producer

Original Music by
Takayuki Hattori

Cinematography by
Shigeki Murano

Film Editing by
Junosuke Hogaki

Casting by
Yoshiyuki Maeda

Art Direction by
Kazuo Yanagawa

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Yasuro Morinaga	....	first assistant director
Hideaki Murakami	....	second assistant director

Production Companies

• Toho Company
• Fuji Television Network
• Hakuhodo DY Media Partners
• Kyodo Television
• Stardust Pictures (SDP)

Distributors

• Toho Company (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Viz Pictures (2006) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Viz Pictures (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Panasia Films (2005) (Hong Kong) (all media)

Special Effects

• Malin Post (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Continental Far East  Dolby consultant
• Kodak Japan  film stock supplied by
• Nihon Shomei Co.  lighting equipment supplied by
• Toho Sound Studio  post-production sound services
• Tokyo Laboratory Co. Ltd.  digital intermediate
• Tokyo Laboratory Co. Ltd.  prints
• Video Art System Communications (VASC)  camera equipment supplied by

Also Known As:

Train Man (International: English title)

Runtime:

Japan:105 min | USA:101 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Taiwan:GP | South Korea:12 | Japan:G | Hong Kong:I | Japan:U

Company:

Toho Company

Trivia:

The film was shot in 25 days, then released into cinemas only 35 days later.

Movie Connections:

References The Matrix (1999)

Haunting Soundtrack

Sweet love story. Cinematography is excellent. Enjoyed seeing Tokyo(esp. Akihabara) in a positive, clean light as opposed to the usual stereotyped noise/adverts. Went out and bought the soundtrack. Very melodious but atmospheric, mostly variations on the piano theme. It certainly adds to the surrealness of some scenes, but stands up very well on it's own. Slightly clichéd view of a net geek, but fun all the same. Hard to pull off a romance with two such different people, which shows the skill of the cast in creating the growing bonds of love between them. The loneliness of living in the big city is portrayed well, it may be especially poignant in Tokyo where many people find difficulty in approaching others and are often waiting for that "accident" to happen. The chance encounter provides an introduction which can be built on. Trainman is shown to be a caring person, brave enough to stand up to bullies to help others. This gives us the necessary key to go on rooting for him through the story.

Will have to watch the TV serial now !