Manga can be surprisingly difficult for Japanese learners to get into. For one thing, manga is made for native Japanese speakers and a lot of casual conversational Japanese is used. You don’t learn a lot conversational Japanese grammar until you
わたし、定時で帰ります (Watashi Teiji de Kaerimasu) by 朱野 帰子 (Kaeruko Akeno) Author: 朱野 帰子 (Kaeruko Akeno) Genre: slice of life, office life, Japanese society, female protagonist Great for: Intermediate (JLPT N2~JLPT N1) Length: 360 pages Amazon Japan (Kindle): わたし、定時で帰ります Bookwalker
I love drilling Japanese. Personally, I find the “hands on” method of learning better than rote learning. In other words, I’m a kinesthetic learner. I like using Japanese, so when I study it I find speaking with a Japanese teacher
裏世界ピクニック (Otherside Picnic) by 宮澤 伊織 (Iori Miyazawa) Author: 宮澤 伊織 (Iori Miyazawa) Genre: light novel, sci-fi, fantasy, adventure, horror, yuri Great for: Advanced (JLPT N1+) Length: 320 pages Amazon Japan (Kindle): 裏世界ピクニック Bookwalker Japan: 裏世界ピクニック Japanese Summary
僕は天国に行けない (Boku wa Tengoku ni Ikenai) by ヰ坂 暁 (Akira Isaka) Author: ヰ坂 暁 (Akira Isaka) Genre: novel, character novel, mystery, questioning life Great for: Advanced (JLPT N2~N1+) Length: 343 pages Amazon Japan (Kindle): 僕は天国に行けない Bookwalker Japan: 僕は天国に行けない
ログ・ホライズン (Log Horizon) by 橙乃 ままれ (Mamare Touno) Author: 橙乃 ままれ (Mamare Touno) Genre: light novel, isekai, video game, fantasy Great for: Advanced (JLPT N2~N1+) Length: 343 pages Amazon Japan (Kindle): ログ・ホライズン Bookwalker Japan: ログ・ホライズン あらすじ ・ Japanese
I recently had the honor to be on 日本語 with あこ (Nihongo with Ako), a podcast hosted by Japanese teacher Ako Suzuki. I had come across her podcasts in the past but never listened to them properly. (I was more familiar
Learning beginner level Japanese can be frustrating at times when you want to be able to do more with the language. I often see people asking about reading materials for JLPT N5 and N4 level learners. The trick is that
また、同じ夢を見ていた (Mata Onaji Yume wo Miteita / I Had That Same Dream Again) by 住野よる (Yoru Sumino) Author: 住野よる (Yoru Sumino) Genre: novel, elementary school, coming of age, fantasy Great for: Intermediate (JLPT N3+) Length: 306 pages Amazon Japan
千手學園少年探偵團 (Senju Gakuen Shonen Tanteidan) by 金子 ユミ (Yumi Kaneko) Author: 金子 ユミ (Yumi Kaneko) Genre: novel, Taisho Period, mystery, high school Great for: Advanced (JLPT N1+) Length: 306 pages Amazon Japan (Kindle): 千手學園少年探偵團 Bookwalker Japan: 千手學園少年探偵團 あらすじ ・
君と漕ぐ：ながとろ高校カヌー部 by 武田 綾乃 (Ayano Takeda) Author: 武田 綾乃 (Ayano Takeda) Genre: novel, slice of life, high school, club, rowing Great for: Advanced (JLPT N1) Length: 332 pages Amazon Japan (Kindle): 君と漕ぐ：ながとろ高校カヌー部 Bookwalker Japan: 君と漕ぐ：ながとろ高校カヌー部 あらすじ ・ Japanese
Read for fun or read for study? AKA extensive or intensive reading? I’m specifically referring to reading books in Japanese, but this can be applied to any subject or language you want to learn. Extensive reading is a fancy
What makes a Japanese light novels a “light” novel? I honestly don’t know. I used to think it was because they were written with easier to understand Japanese for younger readers, but that’s really not the case! (You have light
Where can you get Japanese novels? With the wonders of the internet there are quite a few ways you can procure Japanese novels outside of Japan! These suggestions may also work for manga in Japanese, as well as non-fiction, and
There are a plethora of English translations of Japanese novels and out there. But is reading translations a good way to study Japanese? Can you learn Japanese effectively through translation? This article looks at some methods for studying Japanese through
世界から猫が消えたなら (せかい から ねこ が きえたなら) by 川村 元気 (Genki Kawamura) Author: 川村 元気 (Genki Kawamura) Genre: novel, Great for: Beginner – Intermediate (JLPT N3+) Length: 229 pages Amazon Japan (Kindle): 世界から猫が消えたなら Bookwalker Japan: 世界から猫が消えたなら (Read the first 14
Different people learn and remember information in different ways. This is obvious when you talk to different people about how they learn languages, such as Japanese. (I personally like using mnemonics but my spouse is a wizard an can “just
線は、僕を描く （せんはぼくをえがく） by 砥上 裕將 (Togami Hiromasa) Author: 砥上 裕將 (Togami Hiromasa) Genre: novel, college, melancholy Great for: Advanced (JLPT N1+) Length: 317 pages Amazon Japan: 線は、僕を描く Bookwalker Japan: 線は、僕を描く (can test read on BookWalker with 試し読み!) (The manga
Many language learners hit this point around intermediate level where they feel like they’ve plateaued. It’s the same for Japanese learners, coming in at around JLPT N3 to N2 level. This point, where you feel yourself stagnating, is the time
ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン (Violet Evergarden) by 暁 佳奈 (Kana Akatsuki) There are two main novels in this series with a spin-off (外伝) and an after story, a total of four novels. This review to Japanese learners focuses only on the first book
5分シリーズ (5 Minute Series) Author: Various (published by エブリスタ) Genre: short stories, moving Great for: Intermediate (JLPT N2) Length: Around 210 pages Amazon Japan: 5分シリーズ（5分後に涙のラスト） (will need to search for others) Bookwalker Japan: 5分シリーズ Japanese Synopsis (from Amazon
乙女ゲームの破滅フラグしかない悪役令嬢に転生してしまった… is a Japanese light novel from 2015 which also has a manga release and just got an anime (which is airing Spring 2020). First off, let me clarify the names for this series: Japanese official title: 乙女ゲームの破滅フラグしかない悪役令嬢に転生してしまった… Japanese
By study beginners Japanese with science, I don’t mean Matrix-level download the language to your brain (although I wish I did!) I mean, using science books aimed at young Japanese people to learn a wide variety of general knowledge and
かがみの孤城 （かがみのこじょう） by 辻村 深月（つじむら みずき） Author: Mizuki Tsujimura Genre: coming of age, drama, (light) fantasy, novel, award winning Great for: Intermediate (JLPT N2) Length: 554 pages Amazon Japan: かがみの孤城 Japanese Synopsis (from Amazon Japan) 鏡の世界で謎を追う不登校児 大人と子どもの目が共存する救いの物語 大人である現在の自分と、子どもだったあの頃の自分の両方を、同時に、ここまで慰め、励ましてくれる小説なんてはじめてだ。辻村深月の新作『かがみの孤城』のことである。 中学一年生のこころは、ある出来事を機に学校へ行けなくなり、いつも家で過ごしている。ある日一人で家にいると、部屋の鏡が突然輝き始め、潜り抜けてみると、そこは城の中だった。集められたのはこころを含め、似た境遇にいるらしき中学生が七人。九時から十七時まで滞在が許されるその城で、彼らにはひとつの課題が出される。猶予は一年。戸惑いながらも七人は、少しずつ心を通い合わせていくのだが……。
女だから、とパーティを追放されたので 伝説の魔女と最強タッグを組みました （Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress!） by 蛙田あめこ (Kaeruda Ameko) Genre: fantasy, light novel, feminist Great for: Intermediate and above (JLPT N2+) (OR N3 learners who really,
放課後美術室 (After School Art Room) by 麻沢 奏 (Asazawa Kana) Genre: fiction, romance, coming of age Great for: Lower-Intermediate and above (JLPT N3+) Length: 309 pages Amazon Japan: 放課後美術室（麻沢 奏） Synopsis: 「私には色がない―」高校に入学した沙希は、母に言われるがまま勉強漬けの毎日を送っていた。そんな中、中学の時に見た絵に心奪われ、ファンになった“桐谷遙”という先輩を探しに美術室へ行くと、チャラく、つかみどころのない男がいた。沙希は母に内緒で美術部に仮入部するが、やがて彼こそが“桐谷遙”だと知って―。出会ったことで、ゆっくりと変わっていく沙希と遙。この恋に、きっと誰もが救われる。 “I have no color” thinks high-school freshman
Remembering new words can be difficult. Remembering new words in an entirely different language, can be an even greater challenge. Not to mention that Japanese is notorious for being a language that takes time to learn for English speakers. (Especially
I attended the Polyglot Conference 2019 in Fukuoka, Japan this last weekend. All the workshops and presentations were held by polyglots, people who know multiple languages. As a bilingual (and aspiring polyglot) I was really eager to find out how
I recently shared on Twitter how I had just finished reading a novel and felt inspired to write something useful about it. The following are a few hacks I’ve developed/picked up while reading Japanese novels. Hope you find them
To put my situation in context: I have been studying Japanese for over 10 years. I have passed the JLPT N2, working on the N1 for about 6 months, and am a translator. The reason I wanted to study in