Extensive listening challenge 👂 (2022)

arlo · January 10, 2022, 11:05am

All done, post is now a wiki!

rodan · January 10, 2022, 3:54pm

Thanks!

I guess with that, have at it everybody!

Belerith · January 10, 2022, 4:35pm

I want to make listening more of a focus this year, but I’ve no idea what would be good goals at all. I’ve no listening habit to speak of, mostly I just watch something whenever I’m in the mood and have time.

I guess I’ll make myself a table and figure things out as I go.

I’ll continue watching Yu Yu Hakusho and (from time to time) One Piece and the other random anime I’m very irregularly watching already. I think it’d be nice to get back into Terrace House and Love Wagon too.

It’s great hearing about all these movies and shows since I don’t really know about many. I’ll probably be getting some inspiration from these.

Edit: just made my table… Is terrace house a variety show?

Thud · January 10, 2022, 4:59pm

I think I’ll join. Although reading has bigger priority for me, I still wanna make a good start here as well. Focusing on things I can watch with Japanese captions, so I can practice both listening and reading.

Started watching the anime Komi can’t Communicate last year on Netflix with Japanese closed captions. It is a bit fast for me, not the ideal first candidate, but I stuck with it and I’m 7 episodes in already. A second season is also confirmed, so that motivates me even more to keep going.

Part of my year goals I wanna watch through at least 10 different anime/drama series and one movie. Of course I’ll still watch/listen things outside that I might not fit into my own challenge.

emiri_learns_jp · January 10, 2022, 6:07pm

Up until now, I’ve been pretty inconsistent with my listening practice. Some days I’d listen to different podcasts/videos/watch anime for an hour or more and other days I did nothing. The most consistent exposure I get to Japanese is playing Genshin Impact with the Japanese audio every day.

So, to ease myself into regular practice, I’m giving myself one achievable goal to listen to Japanese for 15 minutes every day - and then I also have the other goals that I can complete when I have time in the next 6 months.

I think that even with the goal of 15 minutes/day, I’ll probably start listening to more than that since it’s not a large commitment. It’s sort of like when you trick yourself into doing more work by telling yourself you just need to do one problem, but then you do all of the problems in the set because you have momentum.

From my experience with language learning, the biggest hurdle is getting comfortable with listening and speaking, so I’m really glad @rodan got the ball rolling on this challenge!

皆さま、頑張って！行きましょう！

Daisoujou · January 10, 2022, 6:07pm

Thanks! Yeah the movie is a hard sell outside of some movie nerd subcultures, for sure. The runtime doesn’t help. It’s interesting you mention Antiporno cause I did actually quite like that one – really when it comes to the thematic stuff Sono is doing I like Tag a lot; that one I only disliked in a filmmaking sort of way. It felt… messy to me, not in the good way. But I did write a bit in a review of it as well about women in media being exploited and treated as disposable for male enjoyment. Seems the video essayist and I came to pretty similar conclusions on that one. Thanks for sharing that video, by the way! It was good. Unfortunately I haven’t seen Guilty of Romance yet, but I want to.

valkow · January 10, 2022, 11:03pm

According to wikipedia it’s a リアリティ番組, but I don’t know if that is a subset of variety shows or not.

Hooray, extensive listening thread for 2022! I’m excited to get going.

I haven’t made my table yet, but my goals are:

listen to 12 audiobooks
finish 20 dramas raw
watch 250 variety show episodes (preferably raw but sometimes I can only find things with subtitles)

And then I’m also watching some anime, which I didn’t make a goal for. I think I’ll put it in the table as well just to keep track.

I finished my first drama already, so here goes:

最愛
Quality: ★★★★½
Enjoyment: ★★★★½
Ease of understanding: ★★½

In terms of listening comprehension, it was difficult because of dialect, a confusing plot and a lot of characters, and sometimes discussion of business and pharmaceuticals, etc. It was a good enough show that I often resorted to checking the Japanese subtitle file for lines that I didn’t understand raw.

pocketcat · January 10, 2022, 11:14pm

OMG. LOVE 最愛。 I’m only 4 episodes in though I have so many series going at once. I also struggled with the dialect a bit but definitely found the business meetings way harder to understand comparatively. My business vocab is bare minimum right now.

I wonder if we’ll end up overlapping on other dramas? I’m currently binging 密告はうたう even though I should be finishing my other series…

valkow · January 11, 2022, 3:01am

Oh nice! 最愛 really pulled me in fast; it was quite the experience from beginning to end. Apparently two of the producers (I think) on 最愛 have a history of working together, and in looking at other things they’ve done I see Unnatural, which I loved as well, so I’m thinking to try to watch some of their other stuff, too.

I am also prone to watching way too many things at once, lol. If we both do that, surely at some point we’ll overlap again!

pocketcat · January 11, 2022, 3:20am

I haven’t seen Unnatural but just looked and 新井順子 also worked on MIU404 which I enjoyed a lot and there’s a review on MyDramaList suggesting it’s similar due to the same screenwriter (as Unnatural - different than 最愛 though. This lady).

Hope we catch each other on the same series again some time

Jfredel78 · January 11, 2022, 9:57am

Great to see some people talking about Japanese movies here. Love Exposure is also one of my favorite movies of all time. Big fan of Sion Sono and Takashi Miike in general.

Also big thanks for the list @Thaisthetic! I usually have no problem with Japanese movies if there are Japanese subtitles, but I find that there’s a big drop off in comprehension when there are no subtitles at all, so I need to work more on my listening in that area (even though there’s no way that I could realistically keep up with posting everything that I watch here).

Jfredel78 · January 11, 2022, 9:59am

About audiobooks, any tips on where to find them? I’ve been able to find older stuff that’s copyright free on YouTube, but wondering if there’s any good way to get ahold of newer stuff as well.

Thaisthetic · January 11, 2022, 11:00am

Have you checked the Japanese version of Audible? The Japanese Kindle store is really good, maybe audible is decent as well?

Hantsuki · January 11, 2022, 12:42pm

Hanty’s Listening Challenge Detailed List

I’ve decided to start on my list on what I plan to listen to here. I’m not planning to tackle everything on the lists, but rather I made them to serve as a reference point of what I’d like to try to get through.

Films (including animated)

I’ve seen most of these movies before, but I watched them just before I came to Japan. My public library had a bunch of DVDs available for rent including a great variety of foreign films, so I got to pick up a lot of movies that looked interesting. I’d like to add some Akira Kurosawa films on the list at some point too, but as you might notice, I’m a Kirin Kiki and Kore-eda fan, so they were my main priority for this list. I love when they collaborate in movies, but it’s a terrible shame that they will no longer be able to.

Live Action Dramas

|Title|Subtitles|Challenge|Viewing|Episode|Review|Start date|Last updated|
|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|
|Hanzawa Naoki (半沢直樹)|None|All episodes|Rewatch|0/10|N/A|N/A|N/A|
|Hanzawa Naoki Season 2 (半沢直樹2)|英語|All episodes|1st time|0/10|N/A|N/A|N/A|
|Legal High (リーガル・ハイ)|英語|All episodes|Rewatch|0/11|N/A|N/A|N/A|
|Legal High 2 (リーガル・ハイ2)|英語|All episodes|1st time|0/10|N/A|N/A|N/A|
|Say I Love You (愛していると言ってくれ)|日本語|All episodes|Rewatch|0/12|N/A|N/A|N/A|
|Under One Roof (ひとつ屋根の下)|英語|All episodes|1st time|0/12|N/A|N/A|N/A|
|Under One Roof 2 (ひとつ屋根の下2)|英語|All episodes|1st time|0/12|N/A|N/A|N/A|

I don’t really watch TV dramas, but these were all ones my husband recommended and watched together. 愛していると言ってくれ is really good not only for listening practice but for reading because one of the protagonists is deaf so he uses sign language to communicate (and so do some of the other characters who communicate with him). Since you can’t hear him speak, Japanese subtitles are provided. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough kanji knowledge and had to rely on my husband for translation at the time. As for Legal High, if you’ve seen Hanzawa, it’s the same actor except his personality is the complete opposite. It’s a funny show but between the legal terminology and the super speedy talking, it’s difficult to fully appreciate without English subtitles.

TV Anime

|Title|Subtitles|Challenge|Viewing|Episode|Review|Start date|Last updated|
|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|
|Ansatsu Kyoushitsu (暗殺教室)|None|All episodes|Rewatch|22/22|N/A|3月5日|3月8日|
|Ansatsu Kyoushitsu Season 2 (暗殺教室)|None|All episodes|Rewatch|25/25|N/A|3月8日|3月19日|
|Battle Doll Angelic Layer (機動天使エンジェリックレイヤー)|None|All|1st time|26/26|N/A|3月15|3月17|
|Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon (美少女戦士セーラームーン)|None|All|1st time|10/46|N/A|3月3|3月3|
|Bokurano (ぼくらの)|None|All|Rewatch|24/24|N/A|2月6日|2月14日|
|Cardcaptor Sakura (カードキャプターさくら)|None|All|1st time|0/70|N/A|N/A|N/A|
|D. Gray-man (ディー・グレイマン)|None|All|Rewatch|1/103|N/A|3月17日|3月17日|
|Danna ga Nani wo Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken (旦那が何を言っているかわからない件)|None|All|1st time|13/13|N/A|3月19日|3月22日|
|Donten ni Warau (曇天に笑う)|None|All|Rewatch|0/12|N/A|N/A|N/A|
|Gin no Saji (銀の匙)|None|All|Rewatch|11/11|N/A|2月26|2月27|
|Gin no Saji 2nd Season (銀の匙2ndシーズン)|None|All|1st time|11/11|N/A|2月27|2月28|
|Kimetsu no Yaiba: Mugen Ressha-hen (鬼滅の刃無限列車編)|None|All|1st time|7/7|N/A|2月24|2月24|
|Kimetsu no Yaiba: Yuukaku-hen (鬼滅の刃遊郭編)|None|All|1st time|11/11|N/A|2月25|2月26|
|Made in Abyss (メイドインアビス)|None|All|1st time|1/?|N/A|3月20日|3月22日|
|Monster (モンスター)|None|All|Rewatch|74/74|N/A|2月13|2月24|
|Princess Tutu (プリンセスチュチュ)|None|All|Rewatch|0/38|N/A|N/A|N/A|
|Sazae-san (サザエさん)|日本語|Currently airing episodes|1st time|1/?|N/A|1月9日|1月11日|
|Shingeki no Kyojin The Final Season Part 2 (進撃の巨人)|日本語|All|1st time|4/?|N/A|1月15日|2月4日|
|Shinsekai Yori (新世界より)|英語|All|Rewatch|25/25|N/A|1月31日|2月14日|
|Spice and Wolf (狼と香辛料)|None|All|Rewatch|0/13|N/A|N/A|N/A|
|Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari (うどんの国の金色毛鞠)|None|All|1st time|12/12|N/A|2月28日|3月2日|
|Wolf’s Rain (ウルフズレイン)|None|All|Rewatch|0/26|N/A|N/A|N/A|
|Yakusoku no Neverland (約束のネバーランド)|None|All|1st time|12|N/A|1月28日|1月28日|
|Yakusoku no Neverland 2nd season (約束のネバーランド2)|None|All|1st time|11|N/A|1月28日|1月30日|

Most of the anime are ones I watched while I was still in university and doing the MAL Challenge (watching 100 series a year). So watching them again is long overdue and something to look forward to now with Japanese knowledge.

Variety Shows

|Title|Subtitles|Episode Count|Last updated|
|-|-|-|-|-|-|
|あなたは小学 5年生より賢いの？|日本語|2|1月14日|
|チコちゃんに叱られる!|日本語|0|N/A|
|YOUは何しに日本へ？|日本語|0|N/A|

I don’t really like Japanese TV except quiz shows or if I’m learning something new, hence the ones I chose on the list. YOU is either loved or hated by viewers, but even though some interviews are kind of ridiculous, there are some really heartwarming episodes too. I like that they check up on some of their old guests to see how they’re progressing.

pocketcat · January 11, 2022, 1:34pm

Audiobook.jp is where I get all my books. I tried ListenGo for a short while too, but their subscription model I don’t like, browsing the site is a pain, and I had weird issues where the last few seconds of chapters would be cut off.

DawnTheFawn · January 12, 2022, 1:57am

I decided to join in since I really want to move myself to do more listening this year. I did a different format since the mediums I do listening on vary depending on how I’m feeling, but I want to try and consistently do some amount of listening. I’m going to do a lot of things I’ve already seen before at least in the beginning so I don’t worry about missing plot as much, and maybe later when I’m more comfortable may venture into new territory. We’ll see how things go. Oh also and for now at least I’m using subtitles where possible, though would like to eventually move to listening without.

emiri_learns_jp · January 13, 2022, 2:07am

皆さま!

I just had my first 1-1 open conversation practice with a Japanese teacher and it was ROUGH. I’ve been studying for 8 months, I’m currently enrolled in a Beginner 2 class at my Japanese language school, but as soon as I was being asked simple direct questions in Japanese my mind went blank.

I went into it knowing it would probably be rough and I was correct. Anyways, guess I can file this away under the “Other” listening category. My new goal is to understand and remember enough to make it like 3 minutes into a conversation without sounding like a total fool :,)

It was honestly a great reminder of the amount of listening/speaking practice I need to be doing to just avoid sounding like a toddler. I’ve gotten to an upper-intermediate level in Mandarin Chinese before (I’m now rusty in that, too), so I know it’s possible to get past this hurdle but I’m going to need to ganbatte pretty hard.

I’m truly amazed by all of you multi-lingual learners out there (and very jealous).

Anyways, 皆さま、頑張って！

pocketcat · January 14, 2022, 7:56pm

For anyone looking for content I saw someone on Reddit linked AudioMovie.jp which I hadn’t seen before. I listened to a few minutes of 令和版・夜のミステリー and the quality seems good.

Also I’m probably going to finish 密告はうたう tonight and look forward to reviewing it.

Daisoujou · January 14, 2022, 8:01pm

I think I managed to update the table without breaking anything! First time I’ve used that sort of heavier formatting here.

Wanted to check in because today I finished season 1 of からかい上手の高木さん. Using subtitles, it was probably the easiest show I’ve found yet for listening comprehension, and a nice confidence boost that hopefully I’m getting started on working my way up. I’ve been fighting to break through the listening wall. I have indeed stuck to one episode per day as I wanted, and sometimes 2.

As for the show? It’s cute. It very much feels like the “anime formula,” where I watch it and think “this is the most anime thing ever; this is what my friend who hates the whole medium imagines every anime is like.” I think it does it well though, haha. It’s cute, and I was pretty on board for their not-a-relationship by the end of the season. Sometimes Nishikata’s neurotic monologues are a little much for me, but overall, I’m into it.

Anyone familiar with the director Ozu might know how he largely made the “same movie” over and over – same actors, very similar plots, always the same general vibe and filmmaking techniques. Well, having read それでも歩は寄せてくる and now watched this, I’m convinced the original creator is taking the same path to his art: honing his techniques over and over to master the art of creating the largest possible foreheads.

pocketcat · January 15, 2022, 2:56am

Finished 密告はうたう!
Ahh so good! A cop has to investigate his colleagues on suspicion of being a mole and he struggles with doubting his fellow officers while simultaneously being ostracized by his org due to an incident where his partner was murdered…which likely is tied to the mole. Oh, and no one likes the police officers who investigate other officers.
popcorn

I love this kind of intrigue. It has the perfect pacing to make it very bingeable. The only thing stopping me from finishing it sooner was the number of hours in my day after other obligations.
For people who don’t like violence this is mildly violent. There is on screen blood, but they go out of their way to edit so that you don’t see much for graphic injuries and such.
I’d put this at slightly below the difficulty of 桜の塔 for me. There aren’t as many new words, but the longer conversations sometimes were rough. I suspect this is the type of show where whenever I rewatch it I’ll wonder why I struggled at all; it’s right on that cusp. If I’m not simultaneously watching body language, trying to analyze the most recent developments in the story, AND parse Japanese it’ll surely be easier.

I also decided to try out some new shows today as I had a bit more time than usual. Gossip I didn’t even like enough to finish the first episode, but the first episode of３年A組 seemed super promising. It’s about a teacher who takes his classroom hostage. The only off thing about it for me is that it can’t seem to decide if it wants to be a comedy, a drama, or dark. Those all can be balanced/combined, but I don’t think it’s doing a good job of it. I still like it regardless and plan to continue watching, although I’m curious how it will progress as the hostage situation is “planned” to last 10 days, there are 10 episodes, and each day a student is killed which seems like maybe it’ll get strange after awhile? Like what is he doing with the bodies? He just dragged the first kid into a room but he blocked off the majority of the school so there’s limited space…?

You should have them watch 哀しみのベラドンナ/Belladonna of Sadness. As someone who isn’t into, I suppose you could call it “tropey anime”(?), I quite enjoyed that movie. It’s actually rentable on youtube and it’s more of a dark 70s art trip than what most people would think of when they hear anime. It is NSFW however for rape (central to the plot), copious nudity, and general violence IIRC