Ain't It Cool Newsで、Train Man(電車男)のアメリカ版DVDが紹介されたよ。
恥ずかしいことにレビューの半分くらいはオイラがやった副音声解説の内容紹介に費やされてるの。
こんなカタコトの英語で大丈夫かな?(時制とか人称とか前置詞とかムチャクチャだし)って思ったけど大丈夫だったみたいね。まあ、通じりゃいいや。
Perhaps with this in mind, Viz put together an outstanding release for the featured, capped by a commentary track from Patrick Macias, Tomohiro Machiyama (authors of Cruising the Anime City : An Otaku Guide to Neo Tokyo) and JAY Track. These well spoken and enthusiastic experts provide the texture that the over-sanitized movie lacks.
They offer theories on the movie, mixed with a broader picture of the Densha Otoko legend, complete with discussion of the pornographic post-script. A level of reality is laid over the phenomenon. The events of Densha Otoko might be an invention, but the message board thread was a real posting. For example, they point out that, as one might expect, rather than the movie's uniform support, in reality the thread was greeted by a far more mixed, more challenging response by other board visitor.
What makes this commentary must-material for students of Japanese-pop is that is it make quick dissection of what is unique about Japanese culture as well as the mechanisms of interchange between the media, the diehard (socially impaired adherents) and the larger public. Looking at the phenomenon within the dynamic mechanisms that spawned it, the commentary track protects itself from being quickly dated. The focus is on how the culture threads got to a specific point rather than on mapping the exact moment. For example, while it mentions that if the movie had had been made a few months later it would have had to address the popularity of maid cafes, the commentary itself does not bind itself to looking at any specific fans. Because it addresses the forces that propel the ebb and flow of popular acceptance of geeks, it will take a sea change to deplete its shelf like.
Listening to the talk unfold is entertaining in and of itself. It seems like there was a loose plan that was quickly thrown out. It also seems like Viz was hoping for something tamer. As the run time stretched on, Tomohiro Machiyama in particular seemed to drift into the more adult aspects of the legend. Though his language wasn't out of line with what was used in the translation, amusingly, a few words were beeped out.