Published in the U.S. by Del Rey Manga
Slugline: Ikumi emerges from his otaku shell with the help of online friends.
There are several versions of the Train Man story ou there, but here's the basics: an otaku stands up to a drunk on the train, meets a girl as a result and is encouraged by online friends to date her and develop a relationship.
This is the shojo version, so the emphasis is very much on his fears and the support of his friends -- and their ascii art, the likes of which I haven't seen since my bulletin board days. The story is sweet in an ordinary, everyday way, and the writing does attempt to treat the unseen, unmet friends as real people by showing them hanging around their computers waiting for news. But on the other hand the art is standard-issue and there aren't exactly any surprises.
Plus, our hero isn't the most otaku of otaku... he bathes. His place isn't a mess. He seems to have a little spare money that he hasn't spent on manga/anime/cosplay gear. And while it was amusing to see ascii art and proto-133tsp33k again, it's a bit of a disconnect in today's world of IMs and Flash-laden webpages.
- Miranda
1 comment:
The text-based nature of the online board didn't throw me, because it's a fairly faithful reproduction of the original 2chan message board threads and their unique culture. (English translations, Japanese originals.)
I liked this version the least, though, partly because it deviates the most from the original story, throwing in a subplot that didn't exist in the original, giving Train Man a name, showing more of his job, and so on. And partly because the character designs and art are pretty generic. I've read all three out in the US, and so far the Viz version is my favorite - staying closer to the original, and featuring better art.
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