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Now in Japan
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Tuesday, 06 March 2007 00:00 |
 Almost a year after the TV series ended, it's time for one last trip into the world of Densha and Hermes - and thanks to the success of their story, Akiba's not the otaku paradise it once was. Between people trying to find out Densha's real identity and members of Saori's family asking him to back off, it's proving very difficult for Yamada to do what he wants: ask Saori to marry him...
Akihabara's otaku are being overrun with normal people - after the success of Densha Otoko, they're suddenly trendy, and for a true otaku, that's just not right! Otaku, determined to remain unsullied by normal humans, have taken refuge in underground maid cafes, afraid to go outside. For Yamada, though, life goes on - the Densha Otoko movie may have made his online alter-ego famous, but his true identity remains unknown, and he can continue juggling the otaku life & Saori. But today is special: he's going to propose to Saori - and the message board folks want to know the full & gory details.
But the course of true love will never run smooth - on top of being unable to get the simple phrase "will you marry me?" past his lips, he has one big problem to deal with. Sakurai, trying to recover from his bankruptcy, has been trying to get a loan from the truly evil president of Cyber Next corporation, Maezono. Maezono's only prepared to lend the money if Sakurai can give him something truly unique. Hermes, perhaps - and we're not talking china cups here.
A 10 million yen reward has also been offered by Maezono's company for information that will allow him to identify the real Densha Otoko. It doesn't take long before there's mayhem - both online and in Akiba - as people try to uncover Densha's true identity and claim the cash. The Densha Otoko Hunt has begun. The guys on the Doku Otoko board are still on his side, but with all this attention will Yamada ever be able to propose to Saori...?
Meanwhile, the Victims of Misuzu Jinkama continue to gather as Jinkama's world tour creates more and more victims. Unfortunately, she's now back in Japan - and has Yamada back in her sights. When he wins a trip for two to Tahiti, it's an amazing stroke of luck on one hand - he'd been planning on going there to search for the legendary Black Pearl of Fate, which can apparently tell him if Saori's the girl for him - but on the other it's a ticket to hell, as Jinkama decides she's going to go with him...
Okay, so there's a certain thrill from seeing the "We're back!!" flash at the beginning of this 2-hour feature-length episode. It gets even better when you see that the opening animation's been redone with extra whizz & bang - but somehow, once you get into the story itself, it just doesn't feel the same.
Maezono makes a good villain - he looks genuinely evil and does a good job of tracking Yamada down and pulling his strings in an effort to make him go public. The only problem is just how contrived a lot of the story is. There a distinct feel that a sponsorship deal with the Tahitian tourism folk came along and the story was written around it - and with so much of the episode being based in the South Pacific, I felt decidedly cheated that there was no Jinkama swimsuit action. Bah.
Even when the folks from the board get involved in trying to help Yamada protect his identity, it just doesn't "feel" right - the people are the same, but the characterisations are subtly off. You could maybe say that's the effect of a year away, but I don't buy it myself.
It's not a complete bust, though, as there are still some good comedy moments, and as usual it's our old friend Misuzu Jinkama who provides them. After she decides to join Yamada on his Tahiti trip (no, he doesn't get a choice), she gets a series of scenes with her working her "magic" on pretty much every man she finds, with poor Yamada invariably drawing the ire of their women. There's one scene in particular, where Yamada's Tahitian double Tuyo is showing Jinkama his Black Pearl of Fate, that almost had me rolling on the floor. It just a shame that such moments are few and far between.
So overall, Densha Deluxe is okay, but not up to the standard of the main TV series. It's too long for the story it's trying to tell, and a lot of the characters feel, well, out-of-character, and that really does make it hard to enjoy this special as much as I did the rest of the story. Not Densha Otoko's finest moment... |
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