Japanese the Manga Way

"Presenting all spoken Japanese as a variation of three basic sentence types, Japanese the Manga Way shows how to build complex constructions step by step. Every grammar point is illustrated by an actual manga published in Japan to show how the language is used in real life, an approach that is entertaining and memorable. As an introduction, as a jump-start for struggling students, or (with its index) as a reference and review for veterans, Japanese the Manga Way is perfect for all learners at all levels."

Manga the Japanese Way is a good book for those that don’t really like textbooks, or perhaps are using them begrudgingly. In that sense it’s good for self-study, to push students forwards in a way that’s a bit less formal.

It’s also one of the rare textbooks that I’ve come across that does most of its teaching in English. It does use hiragana and some kanji, but goes a little more in depth into describing how certain grammar points work.

Another unexpected benefit of this book is that due to the source material it’s using, it goes more in detail on casual form than most other textbooks do. While this can come across as ruder if used in the wrong contexts, in a lot of examples these kinds of sentences are more akin to those learners would actually see in Japanese media.

Due to the increased use of casual forms, towards the beginning of the book there is a politeness key, detailing four levels of politeness which will be marked next to each example sentence throughout the rest of the book. These are:

• PL.1 – Rude / Condescending
• PL2 – Plain / Familiar
• PL3 – Ordinary Polite
• PL4 – Very Polite

This is a unique take that I hadn’t quite seen before.

Some of the simplified approaches the book makes are actually quite useful, such as detailing how sentences are structured and how that relates to English. Of course, in English, some of this can seem quite silly, but the way it’s used can help learners get to grips with these early issues.

As an example, Japanese the Manga Way provides all of the below for a single sentence:

• うち、この辺なんですか？ – Japanese
• Uchi, kono hen na n desu ka? – Romaji
• Home, this vicinity is-(explain) (?) – Literal order
• Is your home around here? – Literal
• Do you live around here? – Intention / Translation

In using images, Japanese the Manga Way touches on the way that Japanese often omits the subject in sentences, which can be quite difficult from listening alone. In describing the actions that occurred before the panels used, students can learn that in casual Japanese, the language is rarely redundant. You can see in the example below, that the character simply says ‘おそい’, which could mean ‘is late’ or ‘is slow’, but the book translates this to ‘She’s late’ and details below the example exactly why it would be translated this way.