Received an email today from thejapanshop.com about an e-zine they are creating for Japanese learners. More importantly the first issue is completely free and can be gotten here:
I’ve gave it a quick look over and it seems pretty good. nicely laid out and some decent content. Even has a reader at the back with an mp3 reading at slow or normal speeds.
I haven’t fully formed my opinion on it yet. Never really understood the point of an e-zine when webpages can do the same thing and more. I’m also not sure where the magazine will fit into todays Japanese learning ecosystem, we already have so many resources that already cover anything you see in a magazine. Just seems like an idea 20 years too late (and was done in the 90’s with a magazine called Mangajin).
Still new resources are always appreciated and I wish the creators the best.
Thank you for sharing this e-zine with us. I personally like such magazines Sure one can do the same on a webpage model, but magazines are a fine thing, too. I totally like the old mangajin magazines. Pretty interesting, managed to get them all in digital form somehow.
I will take a look at the first issue of this new e-zine
Thanks for sharing. Just downloaded it. For those who don’t want to share their personal details to download the zine (as they force you to tick a seemingly optional checkbox), you can find here the download link: “https://prfiles.bookfunnel.com/ttmbvs/Makoto Japanese e-Zine 1 - Clay Boutwell.pdf”.
It’s not that I have a problem with magazines, I can see value in them. It is E-zines I don’t understand. Magazines are physical and will always have that appeal over websites, an E-zine doesn’t have that benefit so is just trying to fill the same role as a website without the additional power a website can provide.
Ah I didn’t realize they asked for any information, I was just sent a link in an email and just downloaded it from there. I’m not just going to share a download link as that looks pretty shady, so I grabbed the store page to link to. Plus that better supports the creators.
What does people that have looked at the Magazine think about it?
I give it a quick look, and I can’t really tell where does it fit actually. Too basic? too short?
I have the Mangajin magazine issues still on my queue for material to read, since the Basic Japanese section it’s so enlightening, I was planning on finishing Japanese the Manga Way and go straight to those.
I think it’s a nice initiative, but not enough depth either related to japanese culture nor japanese language. I actually wouldn’t have minded if they took Mangajin as reference …
They are now up to issue 6. They’re available for patreon supporters or you can purchase them individually. As someone who has really struggled to read I find each edition useful.
I personally like eZines because I’m not limited to requiring an internet connection and I can carry it with me wherever I am. Plus you can just copy and paste if you wanted to make a flashcard. I like that they’re short, I don’t often have time for more focus than what they offer.
I think it’s a good way for people to be reimbursed for the effort of making them rather than providing everything for free on a website. $3/month is not going to break my bank. Having said all that I’ve not looked at Mangajin so I can’t compare.
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