Japanese the Manga Way: An Illustrated Guide to Grammar and Structure

I'm trying to learn Japanese on my own. The key word is TRYING. I needed a book that covers the basics and this is it.

The topics progress naturally and the explanations are in layman's terms. I also managed to pick up a little vocab on the way.

NOTE: Try making your own notes (condensing the chapters). That is the best way to learn and review. Also, have a notebook for the Kanji found in there, don't use romaji, use kana to write it out.

An excellent resource for understanding what's going on in spoken Japanese (which you won't find discussed in classes on Kojiki or Nihonshoki). I found many phrases explained that I frequently heard and had begun to use, eventually even correctly, without really understanding the structure.

After seeing this book, I had to do a double-take just because the concept seems so refreshingly brilliant that I had to wonder why nobody had thought of it before. Technically, other people had, but not quite in this manner, and certainly not to the detail this book goes in to.

"Japanese the Manga Way" is very nearly a perfect book to learn to read useful, everyday Japanese. The manga panels that form the central gimmick are all from real manga, and are all thoroughly sourced so you can run out and test your skills on the real manga should you so choose. The author presents topics in a lively manner, aided by the manga cels, and gives you everything down to the social customs behind speech. Anyone familiar with Japanese will known that politeness levels and social customs are a major factor in the language, and this is a book that touches those subjects in appropriate detail. The "real manga, real Japanese" tagline is perfectly appropriate- you are already reading real Japanese material as you go through this book.

The only real minuses are relatively small ones. Most notable is the fact that there is no workbook, and no textbook exercises. If there were even a lab manual or exercise book to go along with this one, you could throw all your other texts out the window (save your dictionary and kanji reference books, of course). The book does point to a number of relevant mangas to compliment your reading in place of exercises, but I doubt many people are going to buy a whole stack of random mangas just to make up for the lack of a workbook. This book is also better suited to students who already have a few months of Japanese under their belts- there's just so much in here that a newcomer would probably be weighed down by it all. The book does in fact built right up from the ground in such a way that it's certainly possible to make this your first Japanese book if you've got the proper dedication, but rest assured that the Amazon description says "grade 10-up" for a reason.

I still give this book 5 stars out of 5 because the flaws I've discussed are less about what the book isn't, and more about what a future edition could be. This work is very nearly the only one you'd ever need to master many concepts of the written Japanese language from the basics to the deepest socially intertwined complexities. More than anything, the concept is just so excellent that this work is hard to pass up, and the execution is at least as good as the concept.

If you're looking to tackle written Japanese head-on in an exciting and memorable way this is a great book. This book is perfect if you've got maybe a few classes under your belt and you want to dive into more complex written grammar. To compliment this work, I'd recommend a traditional dictionary and a guide to the kana (especially the kanji)- this book focuses more on applying the language than teaching the basics.

The title for this review of Japanese the Manga Way: An Illustrated Guide to Grammar and Structure is "handy and helpful", and this book truly is so for the student of Japanese language. It breaks down grammar and structure that are easy to understand -- using manga to demonstrate them make it fun and entertaining (I admit that some of the manga illustrations have prompted me to go in search for some of the titles). I have used it many times when I need a better explanation than my Japanese textbook (or sometimes even my instructor!) can provide. This book is best used in conjunction with a language class, though I know that may not always be possible. But this book is not suitable if what you want to learn is how to order two beers and steaks or to ask the taxi driver to take you to Shibuya. For that, you ought to check out books that focus on conversational Japanese.

The best grammar and Japanese language structure book I have ever encountered. A must-have for everybody who is seriously interested in learning Japanese. It is explained the Manga way, a particular way of teaching. Go for it. Should be on your book-shelf. Contains all the secrets of the language.