I took the old N1 test shortly before it was changed to the new system and now I am wondering if it is worth to take the new test again.
Did anyone take both of the tests or knows if there is a benefit of taking the new one as well in a practical sense?
I might take it anyway because my points where just enough to pass the last time.
Is anyone planning to take the N1 in the nearer future btw?
I’m planing on taking the N1 in december ! (my goal is to get at least 130, ideally 150)
Not totally sure, but from what I understood, N1 and N2 didn’t get changed at all, they just added a new level between the N2 and the old N3
That’s great! Maybe we could make a grammar topic here if there is none yet. I don’t really know yet how to learn for the grammar efficiently and in a way that I don’t forget it the moment I close the book…
In Wikipedia it says the level 1 is a bit more difficult now, but it does not explain exactly what has been added.
For grammar I used Nihongo no mori making flash cards along the way and Bunpro with its built in SRS. I feel like it cover grammar decently well.
For grammar, I use the Japanese from Zero videos on YouTube or the JFZ website.
Do they go up to N1? I haven’t really checked whether George had published anything from N3 and up lately.
I don’t think he’s done anything beyond N3.
Ah ok, I liked the style of the books so I was hoping there would be more, but I guess the overwhelmingly majority of his customer base is N3-N5.
I know this is a very general question and maybe painful to answer, but is there an easy to describe benefit of using the apps you mentioned over studying with a textbook?
The thing is, I already bought the textbooks before and just tried to figure out how Nihongo no Mori and Bunpro works, but it seems to me that it would take a while to fully understand the functionality and both are not free. I am lazy so to say, sorry 
He has grammar videos all the way through his Book 5. I don’t know how far Book 5 goes, but I would imagine it’s pretty high.
The benefit of bunpro is pretty straitforward: you have a list of all the N1 grammar points with serveral exemple senteces and you have a space repetition system (like wanikani) to make sure you remember them. It’s pretty short on explanation on said grammar point though.
Nihongo no mori kinda balance that with video explanations of all N1 grammar points (not strictly the same as on bunpro though). The explanations are good but you just have 3 sentences example and it lack SRS to help you remember (that’s why I made flash cards on anki). I think a text book will give the same result though.
Thank you very much! 
I think I try to achieve something similar with my textbooks and additional Anki decks then.
Looking at the Kindle preview that’s available, it looks like N3 to me. It starts with things like ふりをする and てみる for grammar and 困る and 落ち込む for vocab/kanji.
It could be. I’m not that far yet!
I plan to take it in July! (granted I don’t think I’ll pass the first time around…)
Same here! Gonna take it in July!
I’m using the Shin Kanzen Master series to study (when I actually get to study, that is -.-). I like the grammar book quite a lot, and I’m expecting the rest to be pretty good too.
I have that series too, somehow I like it best of all Japanese textbooks so far. The content but also the layout and the color scheme which is a big factor for me.
This explanation is also not so bad I think:
Oh, I really do quite like that video, and it’s nice to hear how a teacher might speak when explaining something at that level. Thanks!
I honestly wouldn’t mind an N1 grammar thread, though I’m not sure how it would go. It might be interesting to see how everyone studying such grammar tackles it. My personal opinion is though… most of the weird stuff in N1 grammar is based on Classical Japanese grammar, so that might be an obstacle to learning it for some people, because they have no way of breaking it down. I’ve been breaking it down as I go along, but perhaps I’ll eventually hit something that I don’t feel like breaking down because there are too many background concepts for me to learn. I guess we’ll see.
Sounds very interesting. I did realize the significance of digging into history thanks to you. A thread that does not aim for completion but enables to share some thoughts on the grammar would be really helpful I think.
In other videos he is explaining sometimes by comparing the grammar to Chinese btw.
I think he is very authentic.
I have the reading book for Shinkanzen and I like that one enough
I’ve been using a drill book for vocab every morning that I found on Amazon and it’s great for practice because it’s just 10min once a day and it’s easy to just add a little extra study sesh to the day (but it’s not so great for confidence that I’ll pass cuz I average about 9/20 points every time… )