Densha Otoko – 10

Short Summary:
After getting beat up by Keisuke and rejected by Saori, Tsuyoshi returns home to tell his bbs friends the news. Deciding that the best course of action is to not post there anymore, he turns off his computer. While Misuzu does her best to help Yamada (offering him various types of support), Saori and her friends go on vacation. Kaho, who learned about the message board ordeal from Kazuka, tries to get Saori to read it, but she refuses. Feeling the absence of Densha, the bbs group decides to go search for him in Akihabara. Tsuyoshi is oblivious to all of them until he sees Karin (the idol) on TV talking about him. He suddenly realizes all of the signs around him asking for his return. And so, he logs on in time to hear everyone’s supportive messages. Feeling renewed, he promises to try his best again. He calls Saori and leaves a message on her machine telling her to read the message board. He then types a message to her explaining about how the message board people are his friends, and that he’ll be waiting to see her at their secret meeting spot. Saori finally listens to the message late the next day, and navigates her way to the page.

I laughed so much, my sides hurt. I realize that this episode is supposed to be quite serious because it marks the final hurdle that Saori and Tsuyoshi have to overcome, but everything just had me cracking up. Kazuya gets a minimal amount of screen time this episode, but each part is quite funny: all he does is scheme for a marriage interview. Unfortunately he lands the wrong Aoyama woman (he gets her mother instead). Misuzu gained a lot of points in my book for going into Darth Vader mode against Keisuke (and he ran after her too after she storms out), and for the entire scene in Tsuyoshi’s bedroom. I was quite amused and have been liking her character more and more since she started to support Tsuyoshi.
It occurs to me that Densha’s online friends are better than his physical friends. They’re always there for him, and are generally quite supportive. It’s because of them that he continues to trek on the road to a serious relationship. They are so moved by his story and presence that they even start a massive search for him when he leaves. It all makes for quite a heartwarming story.
One minor complaint: as much as I like ELO’s Twilight, they are really spamming that song at every opportunity. There’s so many other good songs from the OST, so I don’t understand why they can’t play one of those…
The preview on this week’s episode also felt a little too spoilerish for me. We all know that this ends happily, but they could have at least left some of the suspense in. Showing Saori running through Akihabara looking for Tsuyoshi, and then the two of them holding hands in front of a train station is just a bit too much. In any case, next week is the hour and a half grand finale!