When clicking on the link, it tells me that the page doesn’t exist
5 Likes
I had that issue too, but then I tried following the link a second time, and it worked. I haven’t had that with any other links today, so I wonder what is causing it.
5 Likes
Ah yes, after a couple more tries it did work for me too. Huh, might just be a temporary server issue.
5 Likes
There was a small mistake in the link that might have caused the issue, that I have now fixed
6 Likes
One more week until we vote on what to read next. If you have any ideas for nominations please nominate them!
@seanblue small reminder
It would be great if one of the regulars could change the title to [Looking for Nominations] Beginner Japanese Book Club // Now Reading: 古見さんは、コミュ症です。
10 Likes
ひとりぼっちの〇〇生活
Natively: ひとりぼっちの○○生活 1 | L21
Summary
Japanese
友達ってどおしたらできるのかな…。 極度の人見知りの女の子・一里ぼっち。中学でクラス全員と友達にならないと、唯一の親友と絶交しなければならない!? 絶体絶命友達つくろう計画、奮闘の第1巻！
English
Hitori Bocchi, a girl with social anxiety who has difficulty communicating with others. Before starting middle school, her friend Yawara Kai, who will be attending a different school, tells Bocchi she is breaking off their friendship until she can make friends with her entire class at her new school. Thus, Bocchi is left with the task of befriending everyone in her class before graduation.
Availability
Physical: Amazon, CD Japan
Digital: Kindle, Bookwalker
Personal Opinion
One of my favorite manga series. It’s cute and funny. What else do you need!
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Short chapters
- Light on text
Cons
- Very little furigana (could be a pro given the sparse text)
- 14 chapters, so requires many weeks or reading two chapters per week most weeks
Pictures
First Three Pages of Chapter One
Bookwalker preview: https://viewer-trial.bookwalker.jp/03/13/viewer.html?cid=a0a64fb7-c282-4e21-b532-9fb249e2586f&cty=1
Difficulty Poll
How much effort would you need to read this book?
- 1 - No effort at all
- 2 - Minimal effort
- 3 - Moderate effort
- 4 - Substantial effort
- 5 - So much effort my head might explode
- I don’t know
0 voters
13 Likes
Just as an added note on ひとりぼっちの〇〇生活: While the premise might feel similar to the current book 古見さんは、コミュ症です, they are almost nothing alike. I’ve only watched the anime for 古見さんは、コミュ症です, but I think ひとりぼっちの〇〇生活 is far easier and far less weird than 古見さんは、コミュ症です.
8 Likes
Compared to what? Kinda looks to be fairly typical of yonkoma to me. Which is to say, between one and a half times and two times the usual bubble density of regular freeform manga.
Oh, I dunno. Komi certainly doesn’t have a habit of vomiting every time she makes a new friend. 
8 Likes
Compared to a lot of other 4-koma manga I’ve read. 
Yeah, but Komi-san has Najimi, who is 10 times harder to understand that anything in Hitori Bocchi. And some other insane characters too. Maybe I’m just biased by how the anime was adapted and the manga isn’t as hard, but that is why I prefaced my statement by saying I had only watched the anime adaption.
5 Likes
Buying Mittens / Gon, the Little Fox (Japanese masterpieces to read by age 10)
Natively: Level 22
Summary
5 short fairy tales for children written by 新美 南吉 (Niimi Nankichi):
- 手袋を買いに (Buying Mittens): When a cold winter comes to the forest, a little fox awakens one morning to the magic of a first snow-fall. His romp in the snow is cut short, however, when his cold, wet paws turn peony colored. What he needs, his mother decides, are some woolen mittens the size of his little paws. And so begins an overnight journey into the village where humans live…
- ごん狐 (Gon, the Little Fox): Gon, a mischievous little fox, loves to cause trouble… but one day realizes that one of his pranks had gone a bit too far.
- 花のき村と盗人たち (Hananoki Village and the Thieves)
- 決闘 (Duel)
- でんでんむしのかなしみ (The Sorrow of the Snail)
Availability
Physical: Amazon | CD Japan
Digital: Kindle
Personal Opinion
A while ago I stumbled upon ごん狐, which turned out to be the first story that I read in Japanese that I liked so much that I gave it 5/5 stars on Natively. Despite being a fairy tale for children, neither the writing style nor the content felt childish to me at all.
Since then I’ve been wanting to read other stories by 新美 南吉. And because I’m also a sucker for cute art, this book that collects ごん狐 and four other of his short stories seems like a perfect choice for me!
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Extremely cute art (see “Additional pages”
). - The stories are not connected, so starting late or only reading one or two stories with the club is not a problem.
- Japanese kids read ごん狐 in elementary school literature classes.
- …but despite being written for children, at least ごん狐 was very enjoyable for adult me.
- Full furigana.
Cons
- Not all stories are exactly happy.
- Some language is a bit old-fashioned.
- A few words usually written in kanji were written in kana in ごん狐, so it’s possible the same is true for this book.
Trigger Warnings (major spoilers)
-
death
Pictures
Difficulty Poll
How much effort would you need to read this book?
- 1 - No effort at all
- 2 - Minimal effort
- 3 - Moderate effort
- 4 - Substantial effort
- 5 - So much effort my head might explode
- I don’t know
0 voters
9 Likes
Dreamin’ Sun
Summary
Shimana Kameko decides to skip school and run away from home after feeling overshadowed by her six-month-old brother and new stepmother. After leaving home, she stumbles over a man wearing a kimono who has apparently been locked out of his own house. Desperate to get back in, the man offers Shimana a place she can rent from him if she can fulfill three conditions: find the house key, tell him why she ran away, and have a dream.
Takano Ichigo is known for her manga series Orange, which is more serious. This manga is pretty much pure shenanigans. There are still serious things, but most of the time the tone is kind of just … silly?
Availability
Physical: Manga Republic, Amazon JP, CD Japan
Digital: Kobo, BookWalker (currently on sale)
Personal Opinion
As I noted above, this manga has a much lighter tone than the more well-known manga Orange. I think Takano-sensei’s art and characters are really great, and this story is really fun. Also, if you’re interested in reading Orange, Dreamin’ Sun might be a good way to get familiar with Takano-sensei’s writing style (at least, I always find it easier to understand writers I have read before than ones I haven’t. I was procrastinating catching up on Orange today and easily read the first 115 pages of Dreamin’ Sun.)
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Funny! But not 4-koma
- One continuous story with plot development
- I think we can probably read it in about 6 weeks (or less)?
- Furigana
Cons
- I can’t think of anything
Pictures
First Three Pages of Chapter One
Note: the tone of the first three pages is very different from the whole rest of the book. See the following 8 pages under additional pages.
Difficulty Poll
How much effort would you need to read this book?
- 1 - No effort at all
- 2 - Minimal effort
- 3 - Moderate effort
- 4 - Substantial effort
- 5 - So much effort my head might explode
- I don’t know
0 voters
11 Likes
I hope ひとりぼっちの〇〇生活 gets picked! It looks really cute!
7 Likes
Skip and Loafer (スキップとローファー)
Natively: Level 24
Summary
Excellent student Iwakura Mitsumi has always dreamt about leaving her small town, going to a prestigious university, and making positive change in the world. But she’s so focused on reaching her goals that she’s not prepared for the very different (and overwhelming) city life that awaits her in a Tokyo high school. Luckily, she makes fast friends with Shima Sousuke, a handsome classmate who’s as laid-back as she is over-prepared. Can this naive country girl make it big in Tokyo with Sousuke by her side?
Availability
Physical: Amazon
Digital: Kindle | Bookwalker
Personal Opinion
I read this last October on a whim when I came across it during my time in Japan. It is a relaxed look at a girl from the countryside coming to the city. The main character is refreshingly not the most beautiful human on the planet and she has an infectious deadpan humor. For me this is the very concept of a “light read” that does not demand to much brain space.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Down to earth story
- Good level for this club
- Getting an anime in spring
Cons
- No furigana
Pictures
Additional Pages
https://viewer-trial.bookwalker.jp/03/13/viewer.html?cid=ef995112-0595-4802-871f-86f5fa318c8c&cty=1
Difficulty Poll
How much effort would you need to read this book?
- 1 - No effort at all
- 2 - Minimal effort
- 3 - Moderate effort
- 4 - Substantial effort
- 5 - So much effort my head might explode
- I don’t know
0 voters
11 Likes
Rojica and Rakkasei
Natively: Level 21 (but only rated by me so far)
Summary
Rojica and Rakkasei lead a cozy countryside life, exploring their world’s whimsical, fascinating creatures. Through their scholarly friend Isaac, they learn about many bizarre artifacts and the ancient civilization that once inhabited their planet. A vinyl record and a twister mat are just some of the items with mysterious purposes!
When there is nothing else to do, Rojica and Rakkasei investigate their strange neighbors, like the secretive Shi-san, the off-putting and incoherent Mrs. Grace (who terrifies Rakkasei) and Mrs. Massu, the kind old lady from next door.
Adventures are had, new friends are made, and every day they discover something new. There are a lot of things that the two still don’t know about the place that they live in…
Availability
Physical: Amazon | CD Japan
Digital: Kindle | BookWalker | Kobo
Personal Opinion
I currently have only two things that are rated 5/5 on Natively - one was part of my last proposal, and this is the other. I absolutely adore “Rojica and Rakkasei”. It’s easily the best thing I read in Japanese so far, and definitely one of my favourite mangas in any language.
On first glance, this is a surreal comedy, and sure, there are a lot absurd and funny moments, and there’s a sense of adventure and discovery. But I was completely taken by surprise by some other parts of the manga that I really didn’t expect and that give it more depth, and quite a few emotional and memorable moments that are staying with me.
More than anything, I’m suggesting this because I need to talk about these moments.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- A cute art style.
- Has it all: lighthearted silliness, emotional moments, wholesomeness, and the occasional jab of darkness lurking beneath it all.
- No furigana. (You can use your kanji knowledge!)
- Has 3 volumes and is finished (so enough for an off-shoot club that doesn’t go forever).
- Volume 1 is still complete without any cliffhangers, so no need to read the other volumes unless you want more.
Cons
- The darker parts can get surprisingly dark. (Which is a pro for me, but might be a con for others.)
- No furigana. (If you have no kanji knowledge like me, you have to use a tool like KanjiTomo or the vocab sheet.)
Trigger Warnings (major spoilers)
-
death
Pictures
Difficulty Poll
How much effort would you need to read this book?
- 1 - No effort at all
- 2 - Minimal effort
- 3 - Moderate effort
- 4 - Substantial effort
- 5 - So much effort my head might explode
- I don’t know
0 voters
20 Likes
This is my new favorite nomination!
7 Likes
That description gives off very strong adventure time vibes, which very nice.
4 Likes
That makes me really happy! I hope we’ll have a few others who think the same 
I think if you like one, there’s an excellent chance you’d like the other.
6 Likes
Super no Ura de Yani Suu Futari (A Story About Smoking At The Back Of The Supermarket)
Natively: Level 24
Summary
The sole thing that gets the middle-aged Sasaki through his soul-sucking job is a cheerful smile from Yamada—the young woman who works at a nearby 24-hour supermarket he frequents. After every tiring day of getting berated by his boss, Sasaki stops by the store to have his spirit healed by his favorite cashier.
After a particularly grueling day, Sasaki shows up at the supermarket, only to find that Yamada’s shift has already ended. Disappointed, he searches for a place to smoke when a woman from behind the store calls him over to join her. The bold and dangerously playful Tayama is quick to call out Sasaki’s peculiar habit of always seeking out her coworker—even going as far as telling Yamada about Sasaki’s vested interest in her.
Now, in addition to seeing his adored cashier Yamada, Sasaki also visits the store to see if his new smoking partner Tayama is around. But there is more to Tayama’s mischievousness than she initially lets on. With every cigarette, an unlikely friendship begins to blossom.
Availability
Physical: Amazon JP and CD Japan.
Digital: Kobo and BookWalker.
For those who use Kindle JP: you can download the free sample which includes the whole chapter 1
Personal Opinion
This is my first actual book club nomination! I’ve seen some great nominations thus far, but thought I’d nominate some books that are more of what I usually read. This is a fairly recent, perhaps more mature manga which has really grown on me. It’s a down to earth story about two people with the setting of a supermarket, and I just love the interaction between the characters and the glimpses of day-to-day life in Japan.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Slice of life story, with plenty of day-to-day conversations between characters
- A couple of harder dialogues here and there, but mostly easy to follow conversations from what I’ve seen so far (chapter 1)
- Fairly short chapters (10-15 pages)
Cons
- No furigana
- Some themes might not be for everybody (smoking, fairly large age gap (~15 years) between main characters with hints of romance)
- It’s a slice-of-life mainly set at the same setting (supermarket), which some readers might find boring/repetitive
Pictures
Difficulty Poll
How much effort would you need to read this book?
- 1 - No effort at all
- 2 - Minimal effort
- 3 - Moderate effort
- 4 - Substantial effort
- 5 - So much effort my head might explode
- I don’t know
0 voters
11 Likes
I love it! 
I do think it might be a bit on the harder side, considering all the different things they get involved with, all the weird characters, and stuff like that.
5 Likes
Oh, you guys are looking forward to the Super no Ura manga? I saw it’s on Verasia as well! If that’s what you decide on, I can join
3 Likes