Media

Haven’t blogged much for some time due to lack of time and content. But now I have something I really, really have to rant about.

I have witnessed the power of the mass-media to destroy the good things in life by being the attention whore that it has been and will be. My case: the TV drama adaptation of Densha Otoko. (click here if you don’t know what Densha Otoko is)

I really enjoyed reading the original 2ch chatlogs and, after three episodes of the drama series, I’m glad I took the time to read through them first because if my first impression had been based on the drama, it would have totally, completely and thoroughly obliterated any chance of me being able to enjoy the chatlogs. Instead of telling a beautiful story of romance that started with a fated encounter, the creators of the drama series choose to place every bit of effort into making Densha Otoko seem like a total and complete Loser with a capital L. He wears clothes so dorky that I didn’t even see anyone dressed like that in Akihabara itself. He talks, gesticulates and makes inhuman facial expressions in such an exaggerated manner that it must surely be enough evidence in most countries for the authorities to place him in a mental health facility. I’m pretty sure the real Densha Otoko appears and acts just like most other people, because it would be an insult to Hermes otherwise. Considering how the show portrays Densha Otoko, I can only assume that the creators feel that Hermes is either mentally retarded or crazy, because even the most gentle-hearted woman in the world would not be able to stand the guy.

The show’s portrayal of 2ch members is also over-dramatized and extremely unrealistic. The train hobbyist speaks like a train conductor and wears a uniform in his room. The military maniac wears combat fatigue and answers thread in a corny military fashion. (I believe they got this from the running gag about bombs in that thread) The genius programmer is reclusive and spends all his time typing out ASCII images as replies. “Kita!!!” (literally “came”, used as an exclaimation in 2ch for unexpected announcements or to welcome someone) is repeated numerous times verbally, which gets really cliched after a while. And the thread regulars seem to spend all days of the week in front of the same computer wearing the same clothes, which I attribute to laziness on the creators’ part. Almost every single character in the series is a complete stereotype. The unreasonable boss, the overpowering younger sister and co-worker (who are suppose to account for Densha’s clumsy reactions to girls I suppose), the super-geeky friends and the thread posters. The creators don’t give a damn about what people are really like in real-life, they are too busy imagining what these people should be like and twisting everything to fit the stereotypes. Even Hermes feels flat as a character.

The end result is more comedic than romantic, losing the magical feel of the original chatlogs. When I read the chatlogs, I felt for Densha Otoko and Hermes. When I watched the TV series, I wondered how natural selection missed this guy and how can Hermes stand him? For god sake, he looks like he is going to start crying throughout the show. The reason why the chatlogs are enjoyable is because of the fact that it’s a fairy-tale love story taking place in real-life. It’s not supposed to be a cliche-fest that’s about as realistic as Monty Python. “Let’s make Densha Otoko fail in every aspect of his life and even try (but chicken out of) commiting suicide! On his birthday (which no one remembers) no less! That will increase the impact of him receiving a gift from Hermes!” Oh puh-leaze.

Goddammit. I hope the movie is better.