Kana De Manga: A Fun, Easy Way to Learn the ABCs of Japanese (Manga University Presents) [ペーパーバック]

One kana character per page spread (hirigana on the left side of each spread, katakana on the right); a sample word using the kana on each page; a paragraph putting the word in cultural context; and a manga-style illustration.

It's a simple and effective formula... much the same one as used in Jimi's Book of Japanese, which we purchased last year. However, Kana de Manga appeals to a slightly older kid. My 12-year-old daughter declares herself very pleased with it. "Jimi" is a larger book, much more nicely produced (glossy paper, heavy cover, color) but seems pitched at the younger set. Also, you have to buy separate Jimi books for hirigana and katakana; this one combines both in one volume.

I particularly appreciated the fact that the hirigana words were mostly Japanese words, whereas the katakana examples were typically foreign loan words--reinforcing the fact that this is how the two syllabaries are used in real-life Japanese.

Considering that my kiddo has had the book only two days and is already telling me that "kiku" is chrysanthemum and yon-yon (4th day 4th month, or April 4) is Yo-Yo Day in Japan, I think I can safely say the book was a good investment.

Oh, about the "is it complete or is it not?" debate between previous reviewers--they're both wrong :-) The kana characters, when modified with the dakuten (two little lines) or handakuten (tiny circle), do indeed become different "letters" (really syllables), just as an N (en) and an N-tilde (enye) are two different letters in Spanish. The page-by-page treatment in this book covers only the basic 46 kana characters. However, the introductory material covers the use of the diacritical marks (dakuten changes K->G, S->Z, T->D, and so on; handakuten changes H->P). It also touches on doubled vowels and consonants.

Personally, I'd have liked to see these modified characters get their own pages--it's one thing to say "oh, and apply this rule to get that" but much better would be to show examples of the rule. But it's not a deal-breaker, especially for a book priced under ten bux.

Have you ever wanted or needed to learn Japanese? Kana De Manga, by Glenn Kardy, allows you to do just that. By helping you learn the ABC's of Japanese you can, after mastering it, learn to read and write to write other more complex characters. The book gives both the cursive and print versions of each character, and allows space to practice each of them. I would recommend Kana De Manga because it has enough information to spur someone's thirst to learn to read and write Japanese.

The content in this book is factual and consistent in a way to optimize the rate at which you learn the basic Japanese characters. For consistency, the cursive form of the word is always on the left side, while the printed version is on the right. When words are made up of two or more derivatives, the book tells the reader those words and what they mean. The quotes coincide with the pictures on that page such "the odds of being struck by lightning are 700,000 to 1" as a quote about lightning. There are also pictures associated with every word, sort of like apple for "A" in the English language. There are also easy to learn definitions so you can remember all 72 of the definitions in this book.

Instead of the paragraphs being unemotional and boring, the author adds small tidbits of humor. For instance, one of the characters was part of the word "crybaby" in Japanese so there was a picture of a crybaby on the page. The author stated that usually people think these kinds of characters are cute, but he thinks "they are pathetic." While the book is humorous, it keeps you informed. While you are laughing at some of the jokes, you are not as bored while reading. The pictures themselves are also hilarious, such as a boy trying to smash a suika, or watermelon or one where a boy is squeamish at his own chi, or blood.

The author tries to appeal to teenage readers who do not know Japanese in various ways. He uses somewhat complex vocabulary but nothing teenagers should not know by now. He gives encouragement such as "the odds of you memorizing all the Kana in this book are 3 to 1" or "you are halfway there!" This makes the reader feel like the author is actually a real person, not just some text on a page.

This intriguing book will enrapture even people who are only remotely interested in Japanese characters because it is not filled from top to bottom with words. The facts and organization come together to make a superb read. After reading this book, you can even go into advance characters such as Japanese kanji!

The person who said this book only has half the hiragana and katakana characters is wrong. This book has 46 hiragana characters and 46 katakana characters, which is all of them!