Akiba & Otaku & Densha Otoko (Train Man)

Akiba is a shortened name for Akihabara. Akiba-kei literally means "Akihabara style" and refers to the Akihabara district in Tokyo known for stores selling electronics, manga, anime merchandise and other products designed to appeal to the "otaku" subculture.  "Otaku" refers to those who are geeky, nerdy, obsessive and reclusive. 

Otaku particularly refers to men in their 20’s and 30’s who hang out in Akihabara.  Many of these people have unique lifestyles focused on technological enterprises and an obsession for anime and manga, off the mainstream of Japanese society.  They gather in Akihabara to meet others who share similar interests. These otaku are also focused on "idols", a term used in Japan referring to young female media personalities in their teens and twenties who are cute and pretty.

A very recent and perfect example of  Otaku culture is the story that was made into a movie in 2005 called "Densha Otoko" (Train Man).  This is an allegedly true story that was posted in Japan's largest internet bulletin board 2 channel. It is a love story about a geek and a beautiful woman who meet on a train. The otaku intervened when a drunk man was harassing several women on a train. The otaku ultimately begins dating one of the women."Densha Otoko" is a wonderful example of the "nice guy" class of Japanese geeks who wish to lead normal lives, but are too shy to find a girlfriend, or speak openly anywhere but online. Never having done such a thing in his life, the poster was amazed to find the woman thanking him deeply for saving her from harassment. The young woman requested his address, telling him that she wanted to express her appreciation for his act, before they parted ways. The poster, upon returning home, shared his experience with other posters in the thread and was eventually nicknamed "Densha Otoko" (Train_Man).
The woman sends Train Man a gift. Train Man gets advice from other posters to contact the woman and ask her out on a date. As Train Man has never been on a date before, he receives advice from the posters as to which restaurant to take her to and what clothes to wear. Train Man emerges from his shell and confesses his love for her after dating for several months. When the woman reciprocates Train Man shares his joy with the other posters and there is a mass celebration on the internet which quickly spread through the media.  "Densha Otoko" is a very sweet story. Its popularity and positive portrayal of the main character has helped to reduce negative stereotypes about otaku, and increase the acceptability of some otaku hobbies.