Progress
First couple of pages were tough, 45 and 30 minutes respectively. They are both pretty dense in terms of content.
Third page went much quicker (10 minutes) due to less writing and repeating vocabulary.
The other challenge is simply reading: I'm using my camera as a magnifier.
Manga Pros & Cons
I've already mentioned some of the downsides: tiny text, blurry text.
Here are some other challenges:
First couple of pages were tough, 45 and 30 minutes respectively. They are both pretty dense in terms of content.
Third page went much quicker (10 minutes) due to less writing and repeating vocabulary.
The other challenge is simply reading: I'm using my camera as a magnifier.
Manga Pros & Cons
I've already mentioned some of the downsides: tiny text, blurry text.
Here are some other challenges:
- Slang and casual conversation: Shin Chan is 5, the teachers are impatient and a lot of expressions don't translate directly.
- This expression, じゃくにくきょしょく (jaku niku kyoshoku), could be literally translated into "a meal of weak meat". How it's really comprehended is "The weak are meat, the the strong eat", or loosely in English the "strong survive" or "the law of the jungle". Google Translate simply bails on this one.
- Implied negative, or maybe sarcasm: In English "Bad" can mean literally bad or good, depending on context. And for that matter literally can now sarcastically mean not literally. Same idea.
- Reading order: Not really difficult to get used to. But everything I've been studying so far has been western left to right. Manga are right page to left page and the reading is top to bottom, right to left.
- Handwritten kana: For a learner this is a pro & con: Some kana some already look similar, stylistic design makes it more difficult to differentiate. In the real world signs in Japan often use different fonts or stylized writing. So difficult at times, but good practice.
So why manga? Why not stick to the text books and phrase books?
- Graphic novels are more interesting.
- Graphic novels provide context. Study guides might have a picture or two describing a scene, but they're static.