Train Man.

2ch is one of the most famous bulletin board in Japan.

(This website requires a support of Japanese script.)

It got it's fame for "anonymity".
Yeah, many "Mr. Nameless" are chatting here.

There are many "residents" of 2ch, calling theirselves "channelers".
Well, some of them are "Akiba-otaku", the group of people who infest at Akihabara.
One of it's definition is "never had a girlfriend in his life".

On March 2004,
there was a person who named himself "Densha Otoko", meaning "Train man".
Train man was an Akiba-otaku too.

He posted a message, and many chanellers began having interest in it.

He said that in the train he recently rode, He saw a drunken man making a pass at women.
He stood up to help the women, and tried to restrain the drunken man.
Finally they went to police and the drunken man was caught, and he was thanked by the women.

Later day, he received a pair of teacup of Hermes(!) from one of the women as a gratitude.
But he doesn't know what to do!

With the helps and advices of channelers,
he tries to ask her to go to dinner as a gratitude for the gratitude.

Story goes on...

For 2 months,
Thousands of channelers kept a watch of the real time love story.

Yeah, it's a pure love story.

Conclusion:
It was happy ending.

"DENSHA OTOKO: The story of the Train Man, who fell in love with a girl, Hermes" was published lately.
(Of course the author is "anonymous".)
Just as it's published, it became the best seller.
It's also made into a movie and a drama.

(This website requires a support of Japanese script.)

Of course, I've read the book.

As a novel, it doesn't have sense.
The book is almost "copy & paste" from the threads.
Sentences are incomplete, with full of wrong spellings, technical terms of chanellers, and drawings using letters.

But it doesn't matter.
I had no difficulty in reading. Actually it's very easy to read!
It's a new way to deliver a story, which proved that what we learned in English (Japanese?) class is not the only way.

About the content:
As I read, I wanted to shout "do your best!" to Train man.
Yeah, I'm touched.

And I wish that other "Akiba-otaku"s to follow Train man.

...

Anonymity has a bright side and dark side.
In fact, there are so many Japanese think that 2ch is the place with all manner of abuse, and it is a truth.

But it's not the only side of 2ch.

2ch is a place where various sentiments of people are surging.
Thus, this is also an oasis in the materially-rich-but-mentally-poor nation's people.