Train man

The movie “Train Man” paints a clear picture of Japanese culture and its functions throughout. Inspired by a true story which started on a bulletin board, the movie is a light hearted romantic comedy. It depicts various norms of Japanese life and cultures. The lead character is called Otaku, a computer geek, who is submerged in his own world and feels comfortable only when he is alone or wandering around different gadget stores in city of Akhibara. In one scene, there is a package sitting on his bed, and throughout the whole movie, no family member is even shown. He lives in his own bubble – isolated, with minimum interaction at work and most of his interactions are with online chat room, bulletin board friends. He gets ignored at work and even by a roadside vendor who is selling cosmetic products because of his appearance.
The movie shifts gear when Otaku saves a group of women from harassment by a drunken guy on the train. This is the first time he interacts with people in real life rather than on his computer. In that scene, he asks the drunken guy to back off and leave the women alone. Even though, it might seem a feeble attempt on part of Otaku to save the women from harassment, one has to consider the culture. Japanese culture does not allow people to be involved in inappropriate behavior, and it is the duty of everyone to maintain the social tranquility. Exceptions are made if alcohol is involved. And in that scene, the person was clearly intoxicated and such behavior on his part was normal. In the next scene, when the police was taking statements from Otaku and the group of women, Otaku started to walk away right after getting done with his statement. But one of the women came up to him and asked his address so that she can send him a thank you gift. He wrote down his address and in the meanwhile kept on apologizing to the woman as his actions lead to everyone being at the police station. The idea is to take care of everyone in the society and fulfill their duties towards one another in order to keep the harmony.
Then as Otaku receives a supposedly expensive tea set “Hermes” from the woman at the train station, he becomes excited and confused. His online friends suggest him to ask her out. In order to impress her, he takes their suggestion of various changes in himself like hairstyles, wardrobe etc. But living in the flashy and false persona became difficult for Otaku and he initially gave up trying to be with the girl anymore. Then, he got inspired by the words of his online friends who helped him along the way and in many ways, he helped them change. He ran through the Akhibara gadget section to find her. The place where he used to spend all his time just became a backdrop in the scene as he was running towards something much more meaningful and important. Otaku’s character is quite contrast to drawing the idea of a male-dominated society which the Japanese society in general represents. In one scene, when Otaku is waiting for the girl outside of her building, she comes out with her colleagues. Rather than waiting for her, the Japanese guy tells the other colleague to just keep walking.