Agh I have a copy at home! I loved Pokémon adventures as a kid so I got the first volume in jp when I was in Japan. Haven’t had the guts to try it yet though.
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Pokemon Adventures is (in my experience) more difficult than it seems like it should be. (I’ve read the first seven volumes in Japanese.)
Compared with Cardcaptor Sakura, Pokemon Adventures has a higher text density (more words per page on average by about 50%).
Similarly, whereas Cardcaptor Sakura has Kero’s Osakan dialect as a challenge, Pokemon Adventures has Masaki (Bill) with a Kansai dialect. While the latter is less prominent than Kero, the character shows up more than one might expect if they haven’t read Pokemon Adventures in English already.
Don’t let this discourage you from trying it, but if you survive Cardcaptor Sakura and then hop into Pokemon Adventures, be ready for an even more challenging read.
This is one aspect of learning Japanese that I like, even if I’m slow at making progress: there’s always more difficult material to challenge myself with.
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This is great to know!! Thanks so much. I’ve got a handful of other books to try as well. Starting with Sakura because I feel that going with the club will help with motivation and understanding, but probably won’t jump right to Pokémon after. Was probably gonna try よつばと！or ドラえもん一年生 since I think they’re both a bit more beginner friendly. Also have dragonball and some others on hand but they’re mostly intermediate level. Things to look forward to 
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I bought yesterday the first volume with apple ID on Book Walker App, it was cheaper than I thought!
I’m so excited, it will be my first time on a book club ever, I’ve always wanted to enter one (japanese or not). I’m still half way the Genki I book, but I will do my best to finish until September 7th.
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Ooooh ! A manga I already happen to have sitting on my shelf, gonna join in on this one as my first ABBBC Excited to finally dust it off, this’ll be a fun one. Cardcaptor Sakura is one of my favourite series.
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Consideration for first-time readers who are already familiar with Cardcaptor Sakura:
If you have read Cardcaptor Sakura in English, or watched the anime (with a proper translation, whether subbed or dubbed), you will be at both an advantage and a disadvantage while reading in Japanese.
The advantage is you will know the context in advance.
This can make it easier to follow along because you may know what someone is talking about based on a few words they’re saying, or you may know which off-panel character is speaking without actually noting word or speech pattern usage that would otherwise signal who the speaker is.
You won’t get lost as easily or as often as if the material was new to you.
The disadvantage is you will know the context in advance.
This can make overlooking unknown vocabulary and grammar easier because you already know what someone is saying. You may overlook speech pattern differences because you already know which off-panel character is talking.
Don’t stress it too much, but try to ensure you’re learning at least some new grammar or more about grammar you don’t know well each week.
You’ll likely be able to do this simply by reading the discussion threads, as others will be asking many questions.
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I hope you never leave us (/°-°)/ your post are always helpful! Thank you
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I’ve watched and read waaaaaay too many years ago, I know the general idea of the story, but I guess I know only enough to take advantage of the context.
I’m so so excited that I’ve planned my study sessions a little bit more intesive until September 7th 
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Other than the fact that the Cardcaptor Sakura anime is a longtime favorite of mine, this is one of the major reasons I’m joining the book club. I set myself a goal this year that I would start reading the Detective Conan manga, and I’ve found this exact problem is happening to me with that series as well. I know the DC anime so well, especially the earliest episodes, that it’s difficult to tell whether I’m actually understanding what I read, or if I’m just remembering the anime translation.
I’m hoping that by following the discussion thread for another old favorite in CCS, I’ll be able to start pinpointing what level I’m actually at…
In that vein, though - do you or anyone else here have any specific recommendations as to how to judge when you ought to slow down and verify things, and when to just enjoy the experience and keep reading?
Thanks - I’m really looking forwarding to starting the book! 
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It’s completely up to how much time and energy you have and what you feel like doing at the moment. Are you reasonably sure you are understanding what you are reading, or just don’t care to go deeper at the moment? Keep reading. Do you feel like deeply understanding something? Look up and double check as much as you want, and ask as many questions as you have.
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The true test is when you get to a case you don’t remember.
For Detective Conan, I’d say if you understand what’s going on, even if it’s mostly from memory, it’s okay to keep going.
Why? Because you’re instead focusing on building up your reading speed and stamina. (And when Conan explains his reasoning, you need reading stamina.)
It’s okay to save the grammar lookups for when you’re reading a series you are not already familiar with.
That said, it never hurts to look things up even when reading material you know, if you feel like doing so.
For Cardcaptor Sakura, you can go either way. You could, as one method, use your familiarity to read through the week’s material, then follow the discussion threads and compare them with your reading experience.
Even though I’ve been reading lots for a few years now, there are still times where someone metions something in a discussion thread and I think, “I don’t remember that from the material” and I have to go back and review it.
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I registered for Wani Kani (along with Kanji Garden, Renshuu, Duolingo, Yomitan, Anki etc) maybe a year ago in a burst of heated interest in intensively and systematically learning Japanese in preparation for my Japan trip, but ended up not using it at all (looool). Just got back from my trip and browsed the book clubs due to Japan withdrawal - imagine my pleasant surprise when I saw Card Captor Sakura! It’s one of the 3 books I managed to thrift second hand from BOOKOFF during my trip (the others being 100日後に死ぬワニ The Crocodile that Lived 100 Days and 深夜食堂 Midnight Diner). This is so exciting. This is my first post and first book club at Wani Kani - can’t wait!
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Welcome to the forums! Hope you enjoy the book club!
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Time’s flying so fast! We’re almost at the start of the book club. In this Japanese learning journey I am so excited to finally do something for me! (And not for a textbook or an app) 
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so how exactly does the book club work? ive never actually done one before?
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Here’s the short description that I like to put into my book clubs:
We’ll be reading together according to a weekly schedule, ask and answer questions in weekly threads, and we’ll have a vocabulary sheet we’re building together to make this easier for everyone. We aim to keep the schedule slow enough so that beginners can follow along.
You can find the schedule in the first post. Here’s an explanation for what the schedule means:
FAQ: What exactly do the dates in the schedule mean? Is that when we read those pages?
Yeah, generally that’s it!
To be more precise, it’s the date when the thread for discussing those pages is made.
Take for example this line:
| Week | Start Date | Chapter | Pages | No. of pages with text |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | June 15 | 1 | 1-12 | 6 |
In this case, June 15th is the date that I’ll make the thread that is for discussing pages 1-12. You can read it any time you want, earlier (you just can’t discuss it yet because there’s no thread up), during that week or later. Most participants will read during that week or very shortly before to join in the discussions, but even if you read it later you can (and should!) still use the Week 1 thread to ask any questions you have about pages 1-12.
Does that help or do you have more specific questions?
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I watched CCS over 20 years ago, and remember the broad strokes of the story and things about the characters, but it’s fuzzy enough that I suspect I won’t be able to easily “fast forward” through the reading. Looking forward to diving in in September. I’ve been using WK to restore and expand my vocabulary (took some intro classes also about 20 years ago), and am reviewing grammar with Genki I. Time to try to apply this to some “real” reading.
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I loved this anime when I was a kid and I have the manga collection but I felt insecure about reading it cause my level is not so good yet. I’ll be joining the club, reading with in group will be easier and will give me the motivation 
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I ordered the paperback from Amazon before I managed to navigate the Bookwalker website and also order it there.
I received the physical paperback, and I must be getting old. The furigana is absolutely unreadable for me. Can people actually read it? I’m glad I got the e-book as well so I can zoom in to make it out.
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Join with me! I want to put the first volume on my book bingo sheet, so we should read together ^–^
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