This review may contain spoilers
As a current socially awkward CS student whose been single all her life, I related to the Densha Otoko (main character) far too much. And NOT only do I love this movie, it gives me HOPE!
The story is an odd twist on a common trope: a nerd falls in love, and has no idea what to do, and needs a makeover. When it comes to romcom tropes, there's no real "evil" rival character that does horrible things to get the guy/girl, so if you're the type to hate such characters (me!), you have nothing to fear! It's about the Densha Otoko improving himself as a person in order to get the girl, which is always a nice thing to see.
The scenes where the Densha Otoko asks the Internet what to do are well-executed, and the scenes where Internet commenters read his updates are small stories all on their own. (If you're well-versed in Japanese entertainment: a fun game to play is to see how many unnamed actors/actresses you know playing these commenters.)
The characters aren't too complex, but they're sweet and endearing; you can't help BUT root for them. Hermes (the woman's nickname) is essentially the sweet and cute lady character, and the Densha Otoko is the "resorts to the Internet for advice to move forward via his tablet" character that's been gaining traction in Japanese entertainment (before tablets were a thing, of course). However, he isn't haughty and I'm-so-smart-y as the stereotypical tablet-dependent character; if anything, he's like a little boy asking his big brother for girl advice. He's a ON (Original Nerd) that learns from nice people on the Internet on how to socialize, and [spoilers].
Takayuki Yamada is one of the best actors in Japan--maybe in the world, given his forays into film festivals with a couple of his recent movies--and his portrayal of the Densha Otoko is no exception. As attractive as he is, he was able to convince me of Densha Otoko's pure, unadulterated ON-ness. More than convinced, I truly believed he was the Densha Otoko. Hermes's character isn't too special, but Nakatani Miki showed her capability of playing a Sweet Lady character (so I wouldn't watch this movie to see her acting chops).
I'd recommend this to the socially awkward, nerds, fans of Takayuki Yamada, those who've been single all their life, and people who like using the Internet.
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