Would this book be okay for me if I’m almost done with Chapter 7 (out of 12) of Genki? I wouldn’t consider myself N5 level yet but I feel pretty confident with the grammar/vocab I’ve learned so far and I’m eager to start reading native material
It will be painful regardless of when you begin, so it’s best to rip off the bandaid as soon as possible. There’s still a good month until the beginning, so you can probably get a few more chapters in by then. Usually we recommend the equivalent of getting through genki, but it won’t hurt for sure. You might even learn some grammar points ahead of genki
You could always just give it a go! Honestly at your level almost everything is going to be hard, but a manga like this one is as good a starting point as any.
If you’re worried about spending money on a manga you might not end up being able to follow yet, you can read the first chapter or so for free on Bookwalker by clicking the 試し読み button, just to give you a feel for how hard it is. You can do that as part of the book club too, so you have help available if you need it, and then you can decide based on your experience.
@Gorbit99 @yamitenshi Makes sense! I think I’m gonna go for it and try my best Someone earlier in the thread mentioned Kinokinuya and I just realized that there’s one near where I live, so I think I’ll buy it from there if they have it in stock
If they dont have it in stock they can order it for you and it should arrive in time for the book club start
Also, that first free chapter of Ruri Dragon that was already mentioned is really long - we’ll probably spend 4 weeks on it. So even if it might be pretty hard for you, you can at least try to read it with the club for free for a whole month before commiting to buying the manga.
(And if it turns out to be too hard after all, you can join the Chiisana Mori no Ookami-chan club in a few months after this club ends. It’s easier than Ruri Dragon, but still, as @Gorbit99 said, the first manga is always hard.)
That’s a bit off-topic I guess, but I’m curious: Any accounts you can recommend, or other methods how you get the most out of your Japanese Twitter time? I never even thought about using Japanese Twitter to study.
Mangaka.
I think that if your method is engaging to you and doesn’t burn you out, then it’s probably fine.
As for late replies, I’ve commented on a book club that was years old and still got responses
As @Kazzeon said mangaka. Also vtubers, fan artist/ fan accounts for games you enjoy etc. Basically just follow the content you’ll find interesting. (I originally started my account so I could follow mangaka and games to see when things went on sale lol) I basically just browse my twitter whenever I’m bored. If I find tweets that I mostly understand, but am missing a grammar point/ a word or two I screen shot it and make a flash card. If I think it’s something useful to me, but has more than a couple things I don’t understand I usually like it so I can find it later. I enjoy it since it can see very real and casual often slangy Japanese. Plus tweets are generally very short so the amount of text isn’t overwhelming. I will admit my screenshot to flashcard making ratio is a bit skewed though.
first time seeing the parent thread (and using wanikanis forums at all).bookclub sounds like a great idea and ill give it a try! doubt im qualified enough as i just started genki1 but i guess i wont find out until i try. anyone else in the single digit levels followed pace in the past?
Your wk level will be the lesser issue, because the manga has full furigana, so you will be able to look up words quite easily. Grammar is usually the bigger issue as a beginner. But you have a bit of time before we begin, if you for example want to brush up on some important grammar points
One last bit of Twitter off-topic
…I see what you mean.
But yeah, those are some great suggestions. Thanks, you two! Subscribing to vtubers outside of YouTube didn’t even occur to me.
im so down !
Yeah I’m not gonna lie, I thought this club had lost it’s mind with picking those two. I wouldn’t be surprised it if turned a lot of people away from reading. I completely stayed away from joining in any more ABBC until now. (since it looks like you guys have stopped smoking crack)
Well, to balance it out we’ll have Chiisana Mori no Ookami-chan after Ruri Dragon finishes - judging by Natively level, it’s (together with Chi’s Sweet Home) the easiest manga the ABBC ever had. I’m so glad it won, and I hope it’ll provide a great entry into the world of Japanese reading for a lot of beginners!
But before the cutest wolf girl y’all have to face the cutest half-dragon girl. ガオー!
It’s easy, but I would put it above the difficulty of Happiness. I would say Happiness and Chi are the easiest two I’ve seen in the ABBC. (of what I know anyway) Ookami-chan definitely has more text than either of those. Very enjoyable to read regardless and I’m sure people will love it.
I remember a lot of people being put off by Happiness, because of the beginning. It had a full on news police report coming from the TV and it was 90% kanji. Right after of course they listed off probably all of the Japanese breakfast snacks people eat.
People didn’t like Chi because of the way she talks. u_u
If you’re into practicing Japanese and you like Chloe… check her handwriting
I’ve been thinking, with so many intermediate and advanced learners also joining this club, what about possibly making the second post of each thread a wiki where the more advanced learners write comprehension questions (with spoilered answers) so that the more beginner learners can check how on track they are?
For example:
Why does Ruri have horns and other abnormal features?
Her father was a dargon
What choice does her mom give her when they talk?
She can stay home from school if she wants
I didn’t really skim past that, but hopefully you get the idea.