HmmâŠ
Hello, everyone! The Volume 5 Discussion Thread and its vocabulary sheet are now up and running! If Iâve missed anything, or if the vocabulary sheet decides to be a pain (like it likes to do), please let me know! The chapter participant poll will be posted closer to the weekend, as usual, in the discussion thread!
Just in case some folks havenât set the Volume 5 thread to watching just yet, I wanted to pop in and let everybody know that the participation poll is up!
Wow, the end of Volume 5 is already close at hand! Letâs get the polls done, shall we?
- I will be there!
- I will no longer be reading along
- I just like answering polls
0 voters
- Immediately after Volume 5 (April 16th)
- Take a 1 week break (April 23rd)
0 voters
As usual, Iâll leave these polls open until the Sunday of the final chapter (in this case, April 10th)! Or until the usual group has all voted. After that, Iâll get the thread made up for Volume 6! I look forward to continuing to read this adorable manga with the best group of people here.
Trying to figure out who this group is youâre leaving us for.
Of course the best group of people here is all of you, silly!
Hello, everyone! Apologies for not getting the thread up this weekend; I ended up having some things that took precedence, and then yesterday, I had a procedure scheduled in which I had to be put under anesthetic, so I was in no condition to be trying to create a thread or do much of anything besides sleep.
However, the discussion thread for Volume 6 is now created and ready to go for this weekend! After getting a little sneak peek while creating the schedule, looks like we have some chapters with continuity starting to creep in a bit, so thatâs something to look forward to! As always, I am super happy to be reading with all of you!
Hey, I watched the anime and found it very good, Iâd like to read the manga in the future. Would this suit a very first read? Or better to start with graded reader?
Itâs a little hard to judge. A graded reader will definitely be easier than this, since this is a manga targeted towards native readers, but honestly, I used this as my first real read (having tried others in the past on my own and being unable to understand), and it worked out really well!
One benefit to keep in mind, if you go this way, is that because there is a book club still ongoing for it (we are currently in Volume 6), there is a support group for you whenever you come across anything that might be confusing. If you have any questions, just post in that volumeâs discussion thread, and somebody will be along to answer the question. Thereâs also a good chance that the question you have may have already been asked and answered in that thread (at least for some of the earlier volumes. Later volumes, everyone has gotten used to the authorâs writing style, so there hasnât been much confusion)!
Also keep in mind that kanji knowledge isnât going to be a holdback here. The manga has furigana throughout (with the exception of a couple of bonus chapters in the later volumes), and every volume has vocab sheets for you to reference as needed, all of which are linked in the opening post! Any issues will be grammar.
What I can say overall:
As far as âstartingâ manga, this is probably one of the easier ones to get into. It has some upper-level grammar, but nothing too crazy, and the vocabulary is all daily-use type. The biggest confusion for somebody coming from a textbook (I think Iâve seen you mention elsewhere you are using Genki?), is that the language used is often casual, so there are contractions and such to deal with, but itâs all fairly doable.
The biggest thing to keep in mind is that, regardless of when you start, once you start material meant for natives, you will always come across something that you donât know, and earlier on in your reading journey, it might feel more like you are deciphering the text than properly reading. Once you get through that initial difficult bump, though, reading native material unlocks a whole new world in terms of getting immersion and exposure to vocabulary and seeing the language used as it is actually used, instead of just the sanitized textbook version of it.
Sorry, this ran a little long, but the overall takeaway is that I definitely recommend this manga to those just starting out. It worked out really well for me, and I know for sure Iâm not the only one who used this as a springboard to get into a lot more manga and light novels, etc.! I do hope you decide to read it, and if you do, donât hesitate to post in any of the discussion threads! Everybody in this club are wonderful people who would be glad to help or even just chat about the manga!
especially since this club is goingâŠvocab lists are populated ⊠wonât have to look up vocab as muchâŠa lot of questions have already been answered in the previous threadsâŠ
what will be more limiting is going to be the grammarâŠdepending on what grammar level knowledge you have, thatâs going to be more telling about how difficult it will beâŠ
if you have zero grammar then consider starting with graded readersâŠif you have some N5âŠjump in! and if you have questions post in appropriate threads and someone will generally respond quickly!
These weekly stories are fun and if not too high a level for you wonât overload youâŠ
No matter what you read as your very first native material, it will be very difficult. You need to go in with the expectation that you will not be reading, but rather deciphering. Understanding this is key because it unlocks the ability to keep going even when it feels like youâre doing something wrong.
Since youâve seen the anime adaptation, youâll have a slight boost in that youâll understand the context for many chapters. This is important because following what is happening is very difficult early on when reading native material. Knowing the context in advance is like having a superpower that makes things easier. But itâs a double-edged sword because when you reach a chapter that wasnât adapted to the anime, it may feel a lot harder, and youâll feel like youâre not making as good progress as you may have thought you were. Again, knowing this in advance lets you keep going knowing that your experience is normal and expected.
Back to deciphering rather than reading, this is what discourages readers most from what Iâve seen. Even if youâve learned some grammar by reading Genki or another resource, you wonât really know the grammar until you actually see it used in native material multiple times. This is a process known as acquiring the grammar.
Learning grammar from a textbook is like doing a kanji lesson in WaniKani. Acquiring that grammar from reading is like doing kanji reviews in WaniKani. You need both.
Of course, chances are youâll encounter grammar you donât know yet. You can look it up and learn what it is as you go along (and asking in the book club threads can make this easier until you get used to doing it yourself). This is similar to looking up unknown words and getting to know them as you see them over time, just a little more complex.
That first manga volume read can feel like a drudge, a real chore, as you decipher your way through it. But if you stick with it, if you look up any grammar you donât know or have forgotten if you focus on learning the most frequent words along the way, and you complete that first volume, the second volume will be a lot easier. And the third will be even easier. They may still require a lot of time and effort to decipher, but theyâll be easier.
Then when youâre ready to move to another manga from another author, who uses a different writing style, and youâre not familiar with the material in advance, youâll feel like youâre starting over from square one. Again, thatâs normal. Push through it, and you will improve.
Good luck!
I feel like you always have re-write this whole thingâŠit is well said and should practically be a sticky post in ABBC and BBC clubs
I really should try writing up the whole thing in one place somewhere, as I leave things out every time.
I didnât even mention how the brain is a pattern recognition machine, and that by pushing through reading and looking up unknown grammar, the brain will naturally absorb that grammar over time, which allows one to eventually recognize and understand the grammar without even thinking about it.
Ok this is important then. I donât know if you or someone else ever studied from genki, but Iâm currently using it. Which chapter/ grammar concept would you suggest me getting to first before going for the read?
I believe, but I could easily be wrong, that with my native tongue being italian, I wonât have as many problems with contractions as native english speakers. My impression till now is that many of the contractions seen in Japanese are also present in Italian so at least on this I should be fine - grammar permitting.
I will remember this when Iâll be close to freaking out
Thank you, I really appreciate that! Iâm self studying so I get lost sometimes, all the help Iâm getting here on the forum is a true blessing, believe me
Also @shuly and @ChristopherFritz thanks a lot for your suggestions!
I decided that this will be my first manga, for three reasons mainly⊠itâs relatively easy, itâs useful (being it a slice of life, isnât it?) and the anime got me crying so this is a must
It sounds like the earlier I begin, the better, right? iâm not afraid of being frustrated tho, I just like to learn the language as much as what Iâm reading so itâs kind of funny to me like my mission is to get to end of manga
I havenât used Genki, but from what Iâve read about it, Iâd say all of volume one.
The most important thing is to get exposure (like doing lessons in WaniKani), even if you donât understand everything right away. Of course, understanding more is better, so donât rush Genki too much if you use it!
You can start reading without going through Genki or another source first, but it means youâll have a harder time starting out as itâll be more difficult to understand what to look up for unknown grammar. It depends on the individual which way they go.
Personally, I found textbooks to be too dry for me, but watching one subtitled video per day from Cure Dollyâs Japanese From Scratch series helped. Just mentioning it in case you find Genki difficult to get through. (Some people do really well with Genki!)
Once youâve had a chance to get to know the contractions used in Japanese, it should be fun to look back and see how they compared with your expectations =D
I think so, but only if you can do so without getting frustrated and giving up.
If you end up finding itâs too hard and you do give up, just learn more grammar and common vocabulary and try again.
But if you learn more grammar and vocabulary, and find itâs still too frustrating, then you just have to force yourself to do it because thatâs how you get to slowly acquire that grammar and vocabulary.
It sounds like you might be in a good position to tackle reading without fear of giving up. That puts you in a good starting position!
Iâm watching this series already! I think itâs awesome and also looks like itâs making Japanese easy to comprehend. Iâm at lesson 9, just went over the chapter on the particles recap.
Unfortunately, on genki Iâm still at chapter 4 so Takagi and Nishikata will have to wait. At least, the genki book is resulting incredibly easy
Do you mean that Iâm underestimating the issue?
People on this forum keep me motivated as well
For anyone watching Cure Dollyâs Japanese From Scratch, I recommend maybe the first 15 to 20 videos before you start reading, then continue watching videos as you dive into reading. If you watch one episode per day, youâd be at 15 videos in a week.
But also keep in mind that these are just my general recommendations. Some people will need to learn more before they start reading, and some people will need to learn less before they start reading. Donât let it hold you back from starting unless you expect to get through more Cure Dolly and/or Genki in the next few weeks.
I donât know Italian to compare, but yes
But thatâs nothing to worry about. Itâs just a part of the process.
Oh, this is fascinating. I would definitely be curious to hear if that does turn out to be the case long term! I donât know any Italian (basically just bits and pieces of German, Spanish, and French, as far as European languages go, and my Spanish and French are probably different since it would be Mexican Spanish and Canadian French that I have some measure of experience with), so I donât know how the contractions compare at all. As you go on, Iâd definitely love to hear the comparisons, though!
Yeah, I definitely relate to the self-study! With the exception of an italki tutor with whom I practice speaking (thatâs where I was the past hour, and why I didnât respond until now), everything Iâve done has been self-study. I was also super glad to find these forums, and some amazing people here. @ChristopherFritz especially has been a massive help in my learning journey, and @shuly keeping the vocabulary sheets populated is always appreciated and helpful.
Glad to hear that you decided to pick it up. When you do begin, again, donât hesitate to ask anything! Weâll all be glad to help!
I think that not being afraid of getting frustrated is the perfect mindset to have for this sort of venture! é ćŒ”ăŁăŠăïŒ
Seconded, re: it being a sticky.
Iâll go for a marathon of Cure Dollyâs lessons then
Can you/ anyone link me a source to get the Takagi san manga in japanese? I donât know how to get it.
Also - does anyone know any digital store/ anything to buy physical manga and get them delivered in Europe? Iâd love to read the physical book!
There are few different ways.
Bookwalker is probably the easiest in regards to getting a digital copy.
Amazon JP is what I use, because of my kindle, but it does require some extra work to set up. It carries both digital and physical copies, however.
CDJapan is quite popular as far as getting physical copies, but @shuly would be our resident expert that way, not sure if thatâs what he uses or not.
Edit: Side-note, for some reason I havenât linked the Volume 1 purchase locations in this thread (probably because I made it after Volume 1 had already finished), but in the parent post, I do have links to every other volume at each of those websites under the Where to Buy section. This will continually be updated as the club goes on.