Learning Japanese through
Manga and Anime

When learning Japanese many people try to go to language school, take online courses or travel directly to Japan to learn the language. Many people have different reasons for wanting to study Japanese. However, it is quite common that non-Japanese people want to learn Japanese because of the inspiration from anime and manga. Anime such as Dragon Ball, Naruto and Sailor Moon have been on TV for years and people watch these anime series from a very young age.

There may be some mixed opinions about this but some people actually study Japanese through manga and anime. It is understandable. You can sit back and watch the anime you want and check the words and the structure of the sentences, whether they are speaking formally or casually. The diversity of genres in manga and anime are what makes this possible. Today, we would like to introduce a few manga and anime that are potentially effective for learning Japanese.

Manga and anime are a highly appreciated culture of Japan and are extremely popular all around the world. There are events every year that celebrate all sorts of manga from ones that have been around since the 1900s and also the more recent ones. Some people dress up as their favorite anime/ manga character and share it with the whole community and have contests of who dresses the best in the competition.

Learning a language can sound quite daunting and tough. But that does not mean it has to be a boring experience. Watching Japanese anime can be an incredible tool that you can use for studying and you can also be entertained at the same time. The benefits of watching anime will help you learn the Japanese language. So how does watching anime help learning Japanese?
First of all by listening and watching anime you can attune your ears to Japanese by listening to native speakers. Listening to the dialogues and following the storyline will help you develop your hearing levels. In addition, you become more familiar with the fluency, phonetics, the tone and the rhythm of the language all while enjoying yourself.

Another thing that it can develop is your overall vocabulary. You can learn new Japanese phrases and become accusotmed to casual talk and informal pronouns by observing and listening to your favorite anime. Your Japanese skills will improve by learning more words and expressions. However, be careful because there also could be made-up words and unusual Japanese words…
When learning Japanese or any language it is important not only to memorize what you want to say but also practice being able to understand what someone else says to you at any given moment. In language, this is the basis for fluid dialogue. In-person dialogue is mostly spontaneous, even if within a certain topic, so when you are speaking a language that’s different from your mother tongue you will automatically develop and rely on your listening skills to be able to follow what someone says in a conversation.
This is the aspect that watching anime can be useful; because it trains your ability to think on the spot and to absorb what is said to you at that moment.

We want to finish off this article by giving a few recommendations of both manga and anime:

1.Doraemon（ドラえもん）

One of the most famous and popular family manga and anime all over the world, it has been very much loved by kids since 1969 with a total of 45 volumes which were published between 1969 and 1996, these are good educational materials for Japanese learners to start studying. When you are starting off Japanese this is a very much recommended manga because the story is based on a school boy and his robot called “Doraemon” and the Japanese used here is quite easy to understand but useful in your daily life as well.

2.Slam Dunk （スラムダンク）

This is a basketball manga, sports manga are recommended genres to learn Japanese because the plot develops fast and there are not as many words used compared to other manga. This one also has an anime as well available on streaming platforms such as Netflix. For the readers this is a good read because it has many powerful scenes of basketball games but you can also learn practical Japanese that young people in Japan would speak. But because this is based on a bit of a rough school in Japan, some of the languages are a little bit too casual to speak to someone so please be careful if you do learn some phrases where to use and when not to use it!

3.Shirokuma Cafe (しろくまカフェ）

This is a cute manga/ anime also known as “Polar Bear Cafe.” It is read by many Japanese learners, especially beginners. You may find this surprising looking at the cover but it is actually a comedy manga and is very slow paced. The manga has a total of 5 volumes. The manga represents Japanese everyday lives with humor and simple phrases that show how Japanese people talk. It is actually not a very known manga outside of Japan but it is a highly recommended manga to study with as it uses very practical Japanese.

These are just one of many ways to learn Japanese. If you learn Japanese with anime, you will soon be able to communicate with Japanese people in their native language which will be extremely impressive. Who knows? Maybe while studying this way you become so intrigued and invested in anime and manga that it becomes part of your hobby!