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Basic Japanese Through Comics: v. 1 [Paperback]

" (Author), Mangajin" (Author), Magazine (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 1 Mar 1998 | ISBN-10: 0834804522 | ISBN-13: 978-0834804524
What is "Basic Japanese"?

This book presents some very basic words and phrases along with some that are not usually considered "basic" at all. In fact, some of the material in this book is not typically presented until the student is well into his or her study of the Japanese language—and even then, it can be confusing without a skilled explanation. The Mangajin method, however, makes even this advanced material "basic" and accessible to students at all levels. Frames from Japanese manga ("comics") are used to illustrate every point, and English translations and notes allow even the basic beginner to understand material that might otherwise stump advanced students.

Basic Japanese through Comics is not intended as a textbook, but rather as an entertaining supplement to a more formal study of Japanese. The 24 "lessons" in this book do not build on each other—they can be read or studied in any order.

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Basic Japanese Through Comics: v. 1 + Japanese the Manga Way: An Illustrated Guide to Grammar and Structure
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Product details

  • Paperback: 160 pages
  • Publisher: Weatherhill Inc (1 Mar 1998)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0834804522
  • ISBN-13: 978-0834804524
  • Product Dimensions: 27 x 21 x 1 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 931,465 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars
4 reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars First-time Introduction to Japanese Sociolinguistics 6 Mar 2001
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Mangajin's "Basic Japanese" is not a course or exercise book, so don't expect to be taught how to write the Kanji or Kana. However, in 24 independent sections (independet because you can work through the book in any order) the reader is introduced to what can be expressed between the lines when speaking Japanese, therefore "Basic Japanese" shouldn't be regarded as a language book but rather as an not so serious practical introduction to Japanese Sociolinguistics, i.e. appropriateness of speech styles...
Extracts of mangas (not whole manga stories) are used to show the difference of well-known phrases in their different usage. Sometimes this can become quite boring as all the mangas are taken out of their respective context, and the reader is expected to jump from one situation to another, which makes it difficult to remember all the different usages and their meaning.
The chapters are clearly organised with an English introduction, and so are most if the mangas as they feature romanized version as well as English translations of the dialogues.
1) Yoroshiku o-negai shimasu 2) Sumimasen 3) Feminine Speech 4) Gaijin Bloopers 5) Hiragana, Katakana and Manga 6) Ohayoo Gozaimasu & Omedetoo Gozaimasu 7) Creative Kanji Readings 8) Doomo, the all-purpose word 9) Doozo 10) Baka, the Basic Insult 11) Shitsurei 12) Iie, the "good" word 13) Yatta! the Exclamation 14) Saying Goodbye 15) The Concept of Komaru 16) Counters and Classifiers 17) Baby Talk 18) Informal Politeness 19) Introduction 20) "-sama" words 21) Hesitating woth anoo 22) The Wide World of desu 23) Hai (part one) 24) Hai (part two)
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Good book 30 Aug 2002
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I think it's quite a useful book for people who already know basic japanese as it explains things step by step and word by word. It helps you understand more by using comics for different situations. I really liked it cause it helps you get into real life japanese especially for a person like me where it's impossible to find something in japanese like books or videos (except for internet). I recommend it to people who already have a good basic japanese so that it can help them understand more what they have learnt and put it into practice thanks to the comics.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Interesting Book! 1 Dec 2006
By Mixmaster Morris
Format:Paperback
If you are a beginner Japanese student, it can be very hard to get a grip on the language.

By using Manga comics you will pick up some very useful phrases and learn how to use them.

Even if you don't want to learn serious japanese it's a fascinating look inside the culture.

You will definitely grasp the concept of 'politeness level'.... ha ha
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3.0 out of 5 stars Kan you Kanji? 4 July 2013
By Chaos
Format:Paperback|Verified Purchase
To be honest I cannot really review this product well because I do not seem to fall in to the category at which it is aimed. I picked it up thinking that it would introduce you to all the basics. However I was dismayed to discover that it uses a LOT of Kanji but never actually tells you what the Kanji actually represent. Which seems a bit backwards considering it does teach you what sounds the Katakana and Hiragana stand for and even the stroke order required to be able to write them properly. As such I am able to read most of the manga without any difficulties however I become thoroughly unstuck whenever a Kanji appears (Which is very frequently!)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com: 4.3 out of 5 stars  10 reviews
59 of 60 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Very good, but not basic 9 Nov 2001
By Zack Davisson - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This is a great supplement for those studying Japanese language and culture. Don't expect to pick this up as a first Japanese book, however! In the introduction, the author admits that "Basic Japanese Through Comics" may be a little misleading. It is basic Japanese, but the book assumes that you have studied a year or more in a classroom environment.
With that aside, this is the best resource I have seen for transforming "classroom" Japanese into "natural" Japanese. The book uses popular Japanese manga to smooth out some common errors for Japanese learners. For example, there are two chapters discussing the many uses of "Hai" and one chapter on how to naturally say "anno..."
The manga used is very fun and gives a good cultural insight into daily Japan. No giant robots or magical girls, it is mainly office humor in the same line as "Dilbert." The office humor demonstrates varying levels of polite language, and Mangajin is kind enough to offer a "politeness scale" to show how polite anyone is being in a given setting. This is very useful, as politeness levels is where many English speakers find themselves in trouble in Japan!
44 of 49 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A brillient expose on Japanese Language & Culture. 11 May 1999
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Two barriers separate the English world from the Japanese world. The first is language. Yet differences of culture really present the greater barrier.
This book uses authentic Japanese comics for adults to explain the cultural significance of the many words which are routinely mistranslated in all beginning Japanese text books.
Mangajin's guide to Japanese does not replace, but rather supplements the traditional Japanese spoken course in an invaluable way. This book is a must for all students of Japanese.
A truely fun book with lasting importance.
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A magnifying glass... 25 Jun 2005
By Mauricio Bussab - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Verified Purchase
This is a great book to get if you have already learned 6 months of Japanese or so (at least). It is a series of chapters illustrating a few interesting words or topics of Japanese language, all illustrated with bits of real, commercially available manga. But be warned, they use a "magnifying glass" approach which I loved: they focus on ONE word for several pages. For example, the chapter on "hon", one of the counters, goes on and on for four pages of comic book panels. I will never forget what that word means and how to use it and I was fascinated with the examples from the comics. But then again, it is just ONE word.

It is a book for people that are not in a hurry and are having fun with Japanese, as opposed to people that need to learn Japanese quickly for a particular objective.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A Picture's Worth 1000 Words! 19 Jun 2007
By Otto Yuen - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This book is not for people who know nothing about Japanese language. It's not for people who want to just pick up an introductory book to start learning Japanese language, neither. If you're currently studying Japanese and in between beginner and intermediate levels, this book is a treasure for you to benefit your proficiency in Japanese. As the name of the book suggested, the author used different manga pictures to depict some common japanese phrases (e.g. ano-, su-mi-ma-sen, shi-tsu-rei, baka, etc.) in different meanings with different contexts. The author also indicated the politeness level (i.e. Lv 1,2,3,4) for each usage to help the readers use the phrases properly in various siturations. Overall this book is definitely a great helper.

(Reviewed by Otto Yuen, 19-June-2007)
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Mangajin in a book 12 Mar 2009
By A. Marzol - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Verified Purchase
This book shares the concept of "Japanese the manga way"
An image taken from a real manga that has been published (not a manga specially invented for the method) the text in Japanese next to it, the text in english phonetics, thranslation in each word in the Japanese Order and finally the English translation.

You learn a lot of vocabulary, you see a lot of different Japanese fonts which trains your eyes to all the possible fonts you can encouter and it's really well explained.

Perfect for people learning on their own

Only downside is there are no exercises. I really think it's too bad, but this one, the number two and japanese the manga way are really great
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