I didn’t think I would make an entire review of this, but after finishing the just over 100 available sections of DrDru’s Main Experiment, I am forced to praise it to the highest extent I can, and to tell other beginners about it.
I started reading DrDru’s Main Experiment this past December when I was barely dipping my toes into Japanese, knowing Hiragana, Katakana, and a few chapters of Genki I grammar (I had only just learned what te-form was.) You don’t need to know any words in Japanese to begin DrDru’s main experiment since it begins by showing you a number of words next to images of what they represent (and are mainly katakana).
The Experiment can take you from a basic knowledge of hiragana and katakana to a roughly N5 level of vocabulary, a good base for reading, and knowledge of dozens of kanji.
In fact, due to how naturally the grammar builds up, theoretically one doesn’t even need to study outside grammar to be able to read the entire Experiment (though as previously mentioned, I studied Genki I while reading it.) I came back to the Experiment a few times while I was finishing Genki I, and then finally finished it during the daily reading challenge shortly after finishing Genki I. It matched up perfectly with my level essentially the entire time, which felt like magic.
It naturally introduces a number of kanji, slowly adding them with furigana before taking away the furigana later. I was surprised by how much more natural the experiment made my kanji and katakana reading by the end of it, given how weak my katakana was previously compared to my hiragana.
And if the possibility of naturally learning grammar and kanji isn’t exciting enough, the stories are genuinely lovely and fun–far more than one would think possible given the beginner-friendly words and grammar. The stories becomes more and more interesting as you go, shifting from short one-section stories to fantasy tales, multi-section quests, and a couple of surprises near the end of the current material that I shall not spoil. The Experiment also has a sense of humor–you may find yourself chortling. I had a chortle or two (Read: many chortles).
Needless to say, the website is perfect for anyone within the complete beginner range, from people who have just earned their first hiragana to people (like me) who are around an N5 level. DrDru has also written the Tile World Chronicles, which are more difficult (N4-N3). I’m terribly excited to read them since the fantasy segments of DrDru’s writing are consistently delightful. They’re not quite at my level at the moment, however–I can tell I’ll need to study more grammar.
Overall, DrDru’s Main Experiment is much more engaging than the comparable Tadoku material, and if you choose to try it, your reading levels and stamina will be strengthened, you will have fun, and you will learn grammar, new words, and kanji quite naturally. I read it at a pace of ~3 pages/day (when I started reading consistently), which is a pace I would recommend, though of course you should experiment and find a pace which is comfortable for you. To all beginners, I urge you to read the experiment. And thank you to @drdru (if you’ll forgive me for tagging you again 
) for making this a lovely journey.
