If you're one of the millions entangled in one of the Internet's countless social networking sites - MySpace, LiveJournal, etc. - 電車男 (Train man's) story might seem commonplace. But in 2005, 電車男 was one of the biggest sensations to hit Japan, the allegedly true story of a geek who pours his heart out to an Internet bulletin board and gets enough support and encouragement from the people reading his posts to actually ask a girl out. (Shocking, isn't it?) It all begins when Train finds the courage to save a woman from being harassed by a drunken salaryman on the train. Afterward, he shares the experience on the net, explaining how he intervened and that later the girl even asked him for his address so she could send a thank-you gift. Even then he ponders whether he could pursue anything with her, but he dismisses it as something that'd never happen The big surprise comes when he receives a box from the woman with an expensive Hermes teacup set inside. Maybe he would have a shot after all, if she thought enough of him to send such an extravagant gift.

What follows is Mr. Train's valiant attempt to change from a smelly otaku to the Japanese answer to Casanova in just a few days' time with the help of everyone on the net. The transformation is awkward and uncomfortable, but that's what makes the movie so irresistibly sweet. Everything Train does is somehow linked back to the Internet - the movie uses scrolling text in the backdrops and animated text in chat windows to strengthen that link. While Train woos the woman known only as Hermes (after the cups), we also get a glimpse into the lives of the netizens that help him, soon discovering that even while they're giving him advice, they're learning things from his story and applying it to their own lives. For all the help Train receives, once he's out on a date with the woman, he's on his own. At first he struggles, bringing a PDA with him and stumbling when unexpected things happen - like when they meet one of her friends for dinner at a restaurant he didn't pre-approve and when a picnic plan goes awry. But hey - who said nerd love is perfect?