The Japanese nation seems to be firmly in the grip of the otaku.
Every society seeks an overriding metaphor that is emblematic of a particular decade or era. Well, the metaphor of the moment in this country is the lifestyle and communication style (or, noncommunication style) of the otaku.
The otaku novel "Densha Otoko (Train Man)" grew out of an Internet bulletin board on Channel 2, and has sold more than 1 1/2 million copies and been made into a feature film since it was published last October by Shinchosha.