Customer Reviews

Do-It-Yourself Japanese Through Comics

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This is a fun, useful book that will keep you interested in learning Japanese. The layout is terrific, with the only flaw on the production side being the occasional English typo. Each of the 12 units begins with a two page comic which is explained and expanded upon in the following pages. The units end with drills and tasks that range from confidence building to downright tricky--forcing you to activate what you learned from the unit. Vocabulary is defined at the bottom of every page, and the furigana is provided for a kanji in its first appearance on any page. One of this book's main strengths is that it introduces important situational phrases one would use at a funeral, on New Year's Day etc. One caveat: The book claims to be for anyone with approximately 30 hours of Japanese study, but you will be frustrated unless you wait until you're at the equivalent level of someone who has at least completed Japanese For Busy People I and learned some kanji. Overall, it provides an enjoyable and practical learning experience for higher level beginners.