How Aladdin Channel/2channel in Densha Otoko and Twitter Relate and Differ

Nearly four years ago, I started watching the Japanese drama Densha Otoko (translated as Train Man) to better understand Japanese language and culture. I made it through the first four episodes of the drama series, which was based-on-a-true-story, and then put it on hold to concentrate on finding an English-teaching job in Japan. Lately, I’ve made more time for things other than maintaining websites, analyzing websites statistics, constantly being on top of various social media accounts, and my day job.

When I first watched the drama series, I watched it for what it was: A guy who is dedicated to his hobby, can’t find a girlfriend because of his status as a nerd, and seeks advice on a message board for single men. Recently, though, I watched the final seven episodes of the drama series and found that Aladdin Channel—based on 2channel, a real message board in Japan—is similar to a service that really caught on in 2009: Twitter. As I skimmed the 2channel message board where the true story of Densha Otoko took place, I noticed that, other than random pictures that people created from text, most of the messages were really short, similar to how Twitter has a 140 character limit. The picture on the left is a screenshot of both 2channel and Twitter.

Whereas Aladdin Channel looks like people can only access it while on a computer with a fully functional Web browser, Twitter is accessible in multiple ways; on mobile devices, on laptop and desktop computers, through third-party applications, and through third-party websites. With immediate, anywhere access to a community and a variety of ways to communicate with friends, the networking experience is much more useful. For example, if Train Man had access to Twitter on his cell phone while on a dinner date, he could’ve gone into the men’s bathroom, hid in a stall, and asked for advice on what he should do next. I don’t think a scenario like that is farfetched; I’m sure there’s been a lot of people who have asked for advice through Facebook or Twitter, hoping for real-time support while on the spot. Having to wait until I get home to search for answers and get advice when I’m out and about seems archaic.

Twitter’s platform makes the communication experience more interactive; people can visualize who they are talking to by see profile pictures, pictures and videos uploaded to third-party websites, and where people are currently located, among other things. In the Densha Otoko series, nobody knows what each other looks like because the message board is primarily text only, with some hyperlinks sprinkled in. The most noticeable difference between Aladdin Channel/2channnel and Twitter is the level of personality that people can apply to themselves through profiles.

It’s hard to argue that by making content available on multiple devices and through various third-party applications, building a trusting, reliable community is much easier than being restricted to a desktop or even laptop computer. However, as shown in episode 10 of the Densha Otoko series—where people find out who Train Man is—I don’t think people understand the risks and vulnerability they submit themselves to with open networks. With the various sharing that happens on Twitter—pictures, videos, hyperlinks, name-dropping, divulging peoples’ locations, and sensitive personal or business content, among other things—people should be prepared for their information to fall into the wrong hands. On the plus side, the subjects people talk about could also fall into the right hands, as evidenced by people who have found jobs by using Twitter.