A true love story started on a message board of a popular Japanese Web site is set to be released in book form.

Referred to as “Densha Otoko” (The Train Man), the author posted the first message of his story on a message boards for unmarried men, asking advice on how to ask a woman he helped on a train for a date.

Members posted hundreds of messages of advice, such as how he should ask her out for dinner and what he should wear. He then regularly posted dating reports on the board and when he finally declared his love to the woman, he received congratulatory messages, with pictures and emoticons.

By then, the story had found its way to several other message boards. A member compiled the writings into a narrative, which was then released on the Internet and drew huge amounts of attention.

“It’s a new kind of literature through which anonymous people’s writings have created a story of youth and solidarity,” a spokesperson for the publisher said.

The book is not the first to originate on the Internet as there are many more that boast a similar history, including such Japanese best-sellers as the “Deep Love” series and “Sekai ga moshi 100-nin no mura dattara” (If the world were a village of 100 people). The original novel of South Korean film “Ryokiteki na Kanojo” (My Sassy Girl) also is a true love story that became popular on a message board.

Via Daily Yomiuri On-Line.

A true love story started on a message board of a popular Japanese Web site is set to be released in book form.
Referred to as “Densha Otoko” (The Train Man), the author posted the first message of his story on a message boards for unmarried men, asking advice on how to ask a woman [...]