俺物語! ・ My Love Story! 🍰 (Absolute Beginner Book Club) - Starting September 6!

[mgevaert]

Welcome to the 俺物語!! ・ My Love Story!! Book Club!

This is the main thread for reading the manga along with the Absolute Beginner Book Club here on the forums. If you have a bit of experience with Japanese, but you are still easing into reading, then this would be a good place to start!

We’ll read 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. If you have questions feel free to ask them here or in the ABBC main thread, but also please check out @ChristopherFritz’s guide for joining the Absolute beginner book club.

Takeo Goda is a giant guy with a giant heart. Too bad the girls don’t want him! (They want his good-looking best friend, Sunakawa.) Used to being on the sidelines, Takeo simply stands tall and accepts his fate. But one day when he saves a girl named Yamato from a harasser on the train, his (love!) life suddenly takes an incredible turn! Takeo can hardly believe it when he crosses paths with Yamato again, and he finds himself falling in love with her… But with handsome Sunakawa around, does Takeo even stand a chance?

View the nomination post here!

Also check out the book on Natively!

Where to purchase

Physical: Rakuten | CD Japan

Digital: eBook Japan | BookWalker | Amazon Kindle JP I Kinokuniya JP

Schedule

Week	Start Date	Chapter	Page Numbers	Pages with text
Week 1	September 6	1	3-9	5
Week 2	September 13	1	10-14	5
Week 3	September 20	1	15-21	7
Week 4	September 27	1	22-32	10
Week 5	October 4	1	33-43	11
Week 6	October 11	1	44-56	13
Week 7	October 18	1	57-71	12
Week 8	October 25	1	72-86	15
Week 9	November 1	1	87-95	9
Week 10	November 8	1	96-104	9
Week 11	November 15	2	105-124	18
Week 12	November 22	2	125-142	18
Week 13	November 29	2	143-161	18
Week 14	December 6	2	162-175	13

• Pages are physical page numbers (they are printed on some pages). The digital version will vary slightly.

• No. of pages with text is the amount of pages with more than one short sentence.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary list (Google Sheets)

• Please read the guidelines on the first page before adding any words.

Discussion Guidelines

Spoiler Courtesy

Please follow these rules to avoid inadvertent ネタバレ. If you’re unsure whether something should have a spoiler tag, err on the side of using one.

1. Any potential spoiler for the current week’s reading need only be covered by a spoiler tag. Predictions and conjecture made by somebody who has not read ahead still falls into this category.

2. Any potential spoilers for external sources need to be covered by a spoiler tag and include a label (outside of the spoiler tag) of what might be spoiled. These include but are not limited to: other book club picks, other books, games, movies, anime, etc. I recommend also tagging the severity of the spoiler (for example, I may still look at minor spoilers for something that I don’t intend to read soon).

3. Any information from later in the book than the current week’s reading (including trigger warnings that haven’t yet manifested) needs to be hidden by spoiler tags and labeled as coming from later sections.

Instructions for Spoiler Tags

Click the cog above the text box and use either the “Hide Details” or “Blur Spoiler” options. The text which says “This text will be hidden” should be replaced with what you are wishing to write. In the case of “Hide Details”, the section in the brackets that is labelled “Summary” can be replaced with whatever you like also (i.e, [details=”Chapter 1, Pg. 1”]).

Hide Details results in the dropdown box like below:

Example

The “Blur Spoiler” option will simply blur the text it surrounds.

This is an example of the “Blur Spoiler” option.

Posting Advice

• When asking for help, please mention the page number, and check before posting that your question hasn’t already been asked. As the threads get longer, it becomes more convenient to use the Search function, which is located in the upper right corner of the forum. It is the magnifying glass which is near your profile picture! The best way to search is usually to type part of the sentence you are confused about, and select “in this topic”. This will show you all posts within the current thread which has that string of text.

• Be sure to join the conversation! It’s fun, and it’s what keeps these book clubs lively! There’s no such thing as a stupid question! We are all learning here, and if the question has crossed your mind, there’s a very good chance it has crossed somebody else’s also! Asking and answering questions is a great learning opportunity for everyone involved, so never hesitate to do so!

Membership

Will you be reading with us?

• Yes
• Yes but I might start late
• Maybe
• No

How will you be reading?

• Digital
• Physical
• I’m not sure yet

Don’t forget to set this thread to Watching in order to be notified when weekly threads get posted!

[helentang]

This is going to be my first foray into reading native material and I can’t wait! Thanks for putting all of this together!

Pedantic question about the vocab list: If there’s a known kanji for a vocab word but it’s only written in kana in the vocab list, should we put in the kanji as well? Or should we just stick to what the author used?
In this particular case, I noticed that “fingertip” (ゆびさき) (Week 1 tab, first entry) doesn’t have the kanji (指先).

[josephsl]

The link currently points to the vocab list for A Sign of Affection, the previous club, so that will need to be updated when the new sheet is available.

My strategy for that club was to usually include the kanji even if they weren’t in the original text. But if jisho states that it’s usually written with kana alone AND the kanji were far above beginner level I would leave them out. Of course this club can choose to do it differently.

If I had been following that rule more consistently at the start I probably would have included the kanji for 指先

[mgevaert]

Oops! The vocab list is updated now. I’m getting editing permissions and then will split it into the weeks listed here. It was actually compiled by @ChristopherFritz

[Kurorac]

Can’t wait to start reading with all of you. Still time to study more grammar and vocab

[ChristopherFritz]

@mgevaert

I’m getting editing permissions

It took me three tries in total, but I think I finally have the permissions right!

@josephsl

My strategy for that club was to usually include the kanji even if they weren’t in the original text.

Preface: There’s no set rule, so there’s no “right way for all clubs”. The person running the club can make their own rules.

I think the clubs more commonly go for the kanji usage (or lack thereof) as seen in the manga, as there’s no reason to “overwhelm” the reader with kanji that are not being used in the material (especially at ABBC level, but BBC can qualify here as well).

Then there’s the case of when I auto-generate a vocabulary sheet, in which case we get what’s in the manga with no additions (then anyone can help out by cleaning up any weird results).

@Kurorac

Still time to study more grammar and vocab

Anyone looking to learn the most common vocabulary from the volume before we start, I have a frequency list available here:

俺物語!! 1 | Manga Kotoba

[ChristopherFritz]

Written versus Spoken Dialogue

As a child, I always wondered why my mother pronounced “wash” as “worsh” when there’s no “r” in the word.

The English language has many dialects, but the way we spell words is standardized (apart from regional differences, such as “color” vs “colour”). Fictional works, such as comics, may bend the rules on spelling to convey how a character speaks, such as using “didja” rather than “did you”.

It’s considered a faux pas to do this heavily, so it’s often used sparingly, just enough to help the reader establish the character’s voice.

Examples

Apart from that, if a character speaking plain English would naturally say “didja” and “wouldja”, it’s written out as “did you” and “would you”, keeping most dialogue in line with that sterile standardized spelling. Great stuff for anyone learning English through reading American newspaper comics.

In manga, words tend to always be written as they are spoken. If a character is saying 帰るの, but the “r” and “n” sounds combine into 帰んの, the latter is how it’s written.

Don’t get too caught up on learning all the contractions and slurred ways some characters speak. Focus on learning the base vocabulary words and grammar first. (Ask in the weekly threads if you’re uncertain what someone is saying!)

Once you have the basics down, you’ll be better equipped to recognize non-standard spellings as you encounter them more frequently with increased reading.

That said, here’s a bit of what to expect to see. All screenshots are from other manga, to avoid spoilers.

帰んの

This is a combination of the verb かえる (to return) and the explanatory の.

Examples

Bonus: 入れんの (いれる + の)

It’s common for ◯◯るの to become ◯◯んの in manga.

じゃね

A form of じゃない (isn’t), often used by coarse or blunt male characters. Typically written as じゃねぇ or じゃねー.

Examples

This ◯◯ない to ◯◯ね(え) comes up a lot in this volume, so this is one to keep an eye out for!

そりゃ

Commonly used for それは.

Examples

[mgevaert]

I was able to edit the sheet. thank you again!

[chongo]

Excited to read along with everyone!

[ChristopherFritz]

Schedule Review and my Recommendations:

Weeks 1 and 2 set the tone for the whole club, as everyone is easing into the material. First-time readers will be hit with the realization that reading takes time and effort.

As such, I recommend splitting the first 10 pages across two weeks.

To keep from adding an extra week to an already long schedule, I’d probably look for places where chapter 2 can shrink from five weeks to four weeks. One volume isn’t enough to become a proficient reader, but anyone who’s still reading along after two months should have absorbed enough grammar and vocabulary that they’re able to increase their weekly intake.

[mgevaert]

That sounds good! I’ll rework the schedule

[ChristopherFritz]

We’re one month away from the start date.

How are you with grammar?

If you haven’t started learning grammar yet, now’s the time! Don’t focus on a deep understanding. Just read up on the basics for some grammar, then continue on to reading the basics of more grammar, then move on to the basics of some more grammar.

This technique gives you shallow exposure to a wide range of grammar. When you encounter the same grammar while reading, the hope is that you’ll recall having seen it before, even if you don’t remember what you read about it. That attachment should make it a little easier to learn as you stop to read about the grammar in more depth.

But remember, the less grammar you learn before you start reading, the more you’ll have to learn while participating in the club.

If you’re at the starting line with learning Japanese grammar, here’s something to be familiar with: the three basic sentence types.

Basic Versus Complex Sentences

This is a basic sentence:

This is a complex sentence:

Complex sentences are typically basics sentences with the following:

• Modifiers. Words modify other words. This is the difference between “a cat“ and “a large fluffy white cat with bad breath”.
• Conjunctions. Multiple sentences join together. This is the difference between “It will rain today“ and “You shouldn’t bother washing your car because if you do, just like last time, it will rain today.“

A basic sentence can be as little as one word long. If the subject is not stated, you’ll have to rely on the larger context in which the word is used to understand who the actors are.

Verb-Type Sentences

A verb-type sentence tells an action.

Noun-Type Sentences

A noun-type sentence names or identifies something. In this type of sentence, a noun typically has だ attached to it, or です in polite speech.

Adjective-Type Sentences

An adjective-type sentence describes something. In polite speech, it has です attached to it.

Focus on learning about the three basic sentence types first, and then it will be easier to start understanding how modifiers and conjunctions make a sentence more complex.

[mgevaert]

Thanks for doing these! I’ve found the Tofugu blog is a good resource for grammar too.

[ChristopherFritz]

From there, this page looks to be a good follow-up to what I wrote, for anyone who wants to know more about the sentence types and how they go from basic to complex:

Building Sentences and Clauses

[Kurorac]

Is it allowed to post a link for the resource I use? It’s a written transcript from Cure Dolly, if you don’t like the audio quality. I find her way of teaching very good and easy to understand

[kelitt]

@ChristopherFritz

Basic Versus Complex Sentences

This is a basic sentence:

This is a complex sentence:

I thought I’d try to get some practice with this example, and oh boy it’s gonna take me a lot of time to read things

Anyway here is my attempt if anyone wants to correct any mistakes or compare notes.

Basic and complex sentence

I wrote in italics words that I knew already (for my reference and so I feel less dumb after having to look up all the grammar).

Basic sentence:

ケータイが欲しい。

ケータイ = cell phone

欲しい = want

I want a cell phone

As a side note, this once again reminded me that I don’t fully understand the difference between が and は (something about emphasis?) and even if I did I wouldn’t remember which is which Not that it matter much since my goal is to read not produce Japanese, so I’m hoping if I manage to read enough then it will be more of “this one sounds normal” but that’s not happening anytime soon.

Complex sentence:

でも昨日、お母さんに言ったら、

”あんたにはまだ早い”って言われちゃってさー。

でも = but

昨日 = yesterday

お母さん = mother

に = to

言ったら = say, but with conjugation たら seems to mean roughly when

But when I told my mom yesterday,

^ is my translation for the first bit, and it made me finally realize that the two sentences are in sequence (unless I completely misunderstood)

あんた = you

に = to/for

まだ = still

早い = fast, then I eventually remembered it can also mean early

So the quoted bit is

It’s still too early for you (age-wise, I’m assuming)

って = I will never properly understand te-form things but I think this is often written after quotes so I just take it as part of quoting something

言われちゃって = say with even more conjugations I had to use ichi.moe for this and it broke it down into passive, then te form + ちゃう being some completion marker (which I just took as part of talking about the past, with the quote and the yesterday bit). And again I dunno what te form does but the passive is the key imo → “I was told”, meaning it’s what the mom replied.

さー = I didn’t even bother looking this one up, I figured it’s one of these “emphasis at the end of a sentence” particles like よ that at most is adding some nuance that will completely go over my head - maybe turning it into a complaining tone? (And when typing all this out I searched and… tada )

So the complex sentence all together is something like:

But when I told my mom yesterday, she said “it’s still too early for you”

And that took way too long

In conclusion: I need to learn more grammar and conjugations (and I will do it by reading cause I don’t have motivation otherwise).

Looking forward to the book club starting

[ChristopherFritz]

@Kurorac

Is it allowed to post a link for the resource I use?

Absolutely!

Basic and complex sentence

@kelitt

As a side note, this once again reminded me that I don’t fully understand the difference between が and は (something about emphasis?)

People like to talk about the emphasis part, but personally I think that’s the worst way to introduce the difference between the two. I think that part should be taught to someone after they learn what が and は are.

The main thing to know is that が and は have completely different usages with zero overlap, but either one or both may be ommitted.

I’ll use English sentences here to give an idea of the difference.

が marks the subject. Consider the sentence, “John is playing.“ Here, “John” is the subject, the one who is going the action of playing.

は marks the topic, which you can think of the context of the sentence. “As for Frank, he is sleeping.“ In this, “Frank” is the topic. If someone came up to you and said “He is sleeping,” you might wonder, “Who is ‘he’?” But if the topic of conversation is about “Frank” and someone says “He is sleeping”, you know “he” is probably Frank because you’re talking about Frank.

In the first English sentence, “John is playing,” the topic isn’t stated. If I say, “Regarding John, John is playing,“ that sounds a bit redundant. I could omit the second “John” (done in English by replacing with a pronoun) and say, “Regarding John, he is playing.”

But if someone asks me, “Where’s John?” (a question that sets John as the topic of conversation), I can in a variety of ways:

• Playing outside. (No subject stated.)
• He’s playing outside. (Pronoun used in place of subject.)
• Joh’s playing outside. (Subject stated.)
• Regarding John, he’s playing outside. (A bit odd to set the topic of my sentence as the question alread set John as the topic of conversation.)

It’s very common for the topic and the subject to be the same in a sentence, so stating both would be redundant. And where English replaces certain words with pronouns, Japanese simply omits them entirely.

English is a subject-prominent language. When the topic being discussed and the subject of the sentence are the same, we tend to omit the topic and state the subject.

Japanese is a topic-prominent language. When the topic and subject are the same, they omit the subject and state the topic.

When talking, you only need to state the topic when the topic is changing. As such, when you see the particle は used in Japanese, you can tell that the topic has changed to something new. (In the first example sentences above, John is implied to be the topic, then the topic changes to Frank.)

I know that’s all a lot to take in, so here’s a bit to wrap this up with:

は marks the topic of the sentence, giving context that makes it more clear who or what the sentence is about.

In an English conversation about loving apples, you might say, “I hate apples. But I love oranges.” No topic stated because the subject has you covered. If you’re stating the topics, it would sound like: Someone says they love apples, to which you reply, “As for me, I hate apples. But regarding oranges, I love them.“

が marks the subject of the sentence. In Japanese, this is the person to think that is performing an action (verb sentence), being defined (noun sentence), or being described (adjective sentence).

Further reading:

Topic-prominent language - Wikipedia

Since in Japanese a topic (typically) comes first, then the rest of the sentence that is a comment on that topic, Japanese sentences (generally) follow the “topic-comment” pattern.

Topic and comment - Wikipedia

@kelitt

お母さん = mother

に = to

I think it’s worth keeping a noun and particle together (お母さんに), but no worries if it’s easier to keep them separate early on.

You’ll find the に is a rather versatile particle that seems like it has different meanings in different uses, but they are all fairly related. There is much to be learned there!

@kelitt

but with conjugation

If conjugation sounds scary, CureDolly has a great video that looks at it from a different angle. It’s Lesson 10 in her “Japanese from Scatch” subtitled Youtube series.

@kelitt

早い = fast, then I eventually remembered it can also mean early

This is where kanji is your friend, as はやい may be 早い (early) or 速い (fast).

@kelitt

so I just take it as part of quoting something

When quoting what someone said or thought (whether a direct or indirect quote), you attach と to the sentence, but this often gets changed to って (without a change in meaning).

@kelitt

And that took way too long

When I first started reading manga, I was often spending two hours per four-panel. You get faster once you learn and get comfortable with the most common grammar and vocabulary.

[mgevaert]

This is going to be my fifth bookclub and it still takes me a while to do the weekly reading! I felt like I was already improving midway through my first bookclub though, and I’m still improving

I think it’s great if you focus on deciphering here! and if you’re really struggling, I find it helps to just identify the parts you do know in a sentence (nouns, verbs, and adjectives) and ask questions in the weekly thread. There are many people here who can help with breaking down a sentence and explaining things.

Since it’s a manga, you also have the benefits of seeing the drawings and can sometimes get clues from those.

[kelitt]

@ChristopherFritz

Further reading:

Topic-prominent language - Wikipedia

To summarize my understanding, topic = emphasis The reason I say this is because while other parts of sentences, such as subject/object/verb, are usually objective, the topic seems much more subjective, as in the same sentence can have different topics depending on context, so the topic marker will emphasize what the topic is.

I do like this example from the article:

魚は鯛がおいしい。

Because the translation given is:

When it comes to fish, red snapper is delicious. / Red snapper is a delicious fish.

But the first one is super wordy in specifying the topic (and I can’t think of shorter/more natural ways), and the second one doesn’t quite have the same meaning, especially since I think it could be translated back to Japanese as (aside from my possible bad grammar, or if I completely misunderstood): 鯛がおいしい魚。So it kinda made sense how a topic marker can be useful.

@ChristopherFritz

早い (early)

Except it can also mean fast, though early seems to be the more common meaning - not sure why I had it as fast in my head. But interestingly, jisho is pretty confusing about it, as it groups both in the same definition: Jisho.org: Japanese Dictionary

@ChristopherFritz

When quoting what someone said or thought (whether a direct or indirect quote), you attach と to the sentence, but this often gets changed to って (without a change in meaning).

Thanks, now I found って (JLPT N5) | Bunpro and と (JLPT N5) | Bunpro, not sure how I missed って before.

@mgevaert

seeing the drawings and can sometimes get clues from those.

This is how I decided that さー must be some sort of complaining nuance, which seems fairly correct

[ChristopherFritz]

@kelitt

@ChristopherFritz

早い (early)

Except it can also mean fast,

Yes, it’s best to say 早い is usually early, and 速い is usually fast. There are always exceptions.

@kelitt

But interestingly, jisho is pretty confusing about it, as it groups both in the same definition

For anyone using Jisho or another dictionary with the same data, be sure to catch the notes on kanji usage per meaning: