To celebrate my 100th post here, I’ve decided to share the 100 things I’ve enjoyed in/about the Japanese language. These are manga, songs, games, books, learning resources, websites, videos, and podcasts. Those of you who check the blog regularly will recognize a few of these. Here’s to hoping you get something new out of it!
I’ve also written a sentence or two about why I like the resource or its significance to my studies.
*A lot of them cost money, but I think they’re worth the purchase. I’ll probably write up a free version of this in the future.
Books
- オンリー・ミー 私だけを by 三谷幸喜
- Made me laugh out loud on a crowded, quiet train in Kyoto. Yes, it was embarrassing.
- レベル７ by 宮部みゆき
- My favorite Japanese novel so far. I wrote a little about it here.
- 時をかける少女 by 筒井康隆
- The first book I read in Japanese. It’s only a little over 100 pages, so it might be good for beginners. 懐かしい
- 火車 by 宮部みゆき
- So far, so good. I have a strong feeling this will be a great one, so I put it here pre-emptively.
- 英語ができない私をせめないで！ by 小栗左多里
- The hilarious story of a Japanese woman who learns English. Any language learner can probably relate to this one.
- 謎解きはディナーのあとで by 東川篤哉
- A comedic mystery series about an heiress to a large company, her incompetent boss, and her genius butler.
Mostly English Books
- Japanese Words & Their Uses II
- For some reason, I actually had this book before I started learning Japanese. It does a good job of explaining nuances and avoiding awkward and unnatural Japanese. I recommend this to beginners. Part one might be useful too.
- Colloquial Kansai Japanese
- This book was a birthday gift from my host family, so it means a lot to me. It’s actually a pretty nice book. It has dialogues and example sentences in both romaji and kana/kanji, so anyone can use it.
Manga
- Dragonball
- I don’t have to explain this one, now do I? A classic manga.
- 宇宙兄弟
- This is one of my top two manga. Brothers who become astronauts.
- 聖☆おにいさん
- Jesus and Buddha vacationing in Japan. Yes, it’s as amazing as it sounds. That is, if you’re not offended by that kind of stuff.
- Bakuman
- Two friends strive to become mangaka and get their work published in Jump. I’m only a few volumes in, but I’m liking it a lot.
- AKIRA
- The other of my top two manga. So far, it’s the only manga I’ve re-read. It feels like reading a movie.
- Liar Game
- Fortunately, very different from the show.
Websites
- Wicgame
- You can playしりとり, 人狼, and other social games on this site. With actual people!
- シネマトゥデイ インタビュー一覧
- Interviews with actors in Japanese.
- 古典落語ネタ帳
- A collection of rakugo stories.
- 藤原家の毎日家ご飯
- Food blog. This was one of the first Japanese blogs I started reading regularly.
- rie-zoメモ帳
- A tumblr page that collects quotes and excerpts from the web. They could be funny, inspirational, or just interesting.
- Spice of Life 京の街角
- A beautiful photo-blog. It makes me miss Kyoto even more.
- 千文字小説
- User submitted short stories. Also good for reading on the go. You know, if you don’t have a physical book.
- Yahoo!知恵袋
- A huge Q&A site. I sometimes go here before I go to Google.
- 日本昔ばなし
- Plenty of Japanese folktales in both Japanese and English. Good for students of any level.
- 読書メーター
- You can keep track of all the Japanese books and comics you read, read reviews, and meet people with similar tastes in books. Here’s a link to my page, if you’re interested.
Youtube Channels
- 赤髪ちゃんネル
- A 実況プレイ channel. His videos are well edited and funny. His Minecraft videos actually make Minecraft interesting.
- Anime Bancho
- The official (?) home of Peeping Life, my favorite video series. You can also use English subtitles for most, if not all, of the videos.
- ニュースの深層
- Talks and debates about Japanese government and society.
Anime
- Paranoia Agent
- I watch this series at least 4 times a year.
- The 12 Kingdoms
- A fun series with an amazing ending theme song. I really want to find the original books.
- Samurai Champloo
- Funky cool stuff. I discovered both Nujabes and MINMI through this show.
- Excel Saga
- My favorite anime parody.
- あべの橋魔法商店街
- My second favorite anime parody.
Movies
- Tampopo
- A movie about food. Learn how to eat ramen correctly.
- Drive
- A strange movie about a guy who is forced to become the getaway driver for some bank robbers.
- 八日目の蝉
- A great movie about what it means to be family.
Now looking for the book.Got it!
- A great movie about what it means to be family.
- Survive Style 5+
- Abe Hiroshi pelvic thrusting. You’re welcome. Also, Vinnie Jones is in it.
- The Magic Hour
- As expected from 三谷幸喜, a great comedy about mistaken identity.
Games
- Star Ocean series (SNES / PS2 / PS3)
- My favorite RPG series. I’m a sucker for sci-fi and space travel.
- Monster Hunter Series (PSP/3DS)
- My roommate in high school introduced me to the series and I haven’t looked back since. A great game that’s even greater when played with others.
- Danganronpa series (PSP)
- The best games I’ve ever played.
- Steins; Gate (PSP)
- A sci-fi visual novel revolving around time travel. Gets really good in the second half.
- Divina (PC)
- A Japanese MMORPG with no IP block! A great way to practice typing Japanese quickly if you play with others and do boss runs.
- Valkyria Chronicles 3 (PSP)
- In my opinion, the best of the series.
- Wonderland Online (PC)
- A unique MMO where you can build your own transportation, weapons, and other items to help you complete quests, travel, and survive.
- Dissidia 012 (Duodecim) Final Fantasy(PSP)
- A fighting game with all Final Fantasy characters.
iPhone Apps
- ドラゴンリーグX
- A tournament style game that you can’t solo. A good way to practice Japanese without pressure. (in other words teammates will just assume you’re Japanese unless you say otherwise.)
- 浮遊大陸バトリクス
- A fun game where you unlock parts of the world map by defeating monsters.
- Numer0n
- The show was made into a mobile game. A variation on the game Mastermind.
- 愛本堂花札
- I am hooked on 花札. A classic Japanese card game on the go. This app costs money but there are plenty of free alternatives in the app store.
- 漢字力診断
- A kanji study tool disguised as a fun quiz game. It tests reading and writing.
- TuneIn Radio
- Streaming japanese radio and podcasts. I’m thinking of upgrading to pro soon.
- 漢字読めるカナ？
- This app tests you on thousands of kanji separated by difficulty. You can conveniently look up words while in the app.
- 大辞林
- One of my dictionaries. It costs quite a bit, but it’s worth it.
- 漢字でQ
- Another kanji study tool. You can test yourself on reading or writing kanji for animals, 3 and 4 character compounds, words with difficult readings, and many other topics.
Websites for Studying
- NHK News Online
- Sometimes I feel like reading the news. (when it’s not depressing)
- NHK高校講座
- Be a Japanese high school student without all of the awkward.{{1}}
- Lang-8
- Practice writing in your target language and correct posts written by others in your native language.
- Tae Kim’s Japanese Grammar Guide
- One of the best guides out there. This alone can take someone from beginner to decent.
- IMABI
- Another very nice site for learning from scratch. This site delves into advanced material and classical Japanese.
- Cultural Interviews with Japanese-Speaking Professionals
- Eye-opening cultural insights with transcripts to go along with the videos. Really interesting.
- 言っとくけど
- A tumblr which introduces vocabulary via manga.
- がんばれ凡人！
- This site has lots of resources to improve your Japanese, knowledge of Japanese history, and classical Japanese. There’s a lot of stuff, so check it out.
Twitter Feeds
- ぶ先生
- One of my Japanese learning role models. He often tweets about vocabulary and useful phrases.
- Tae Kim
- Tae Kim also tweets vocabulary with the #JWOTD tag.
- Cool Nihongo
- Another account that shares interesting vocabulary.
- 読めないと恥ずかしい漢字なう
- This one is like the previous three but it’s all in Japanese. It hasn’t been updated in a while, but there’s plenty of good stuff in the archives.
TV Dramas
- Trick
- My favorite drama. Magician and physicist debunk fake supernaturals.
- 結婚できない男
- The only rom-com that doesn’t make me want to punch everything.
- Legal High
- My second favorite drama. I can’t wait for the new season.
- SPEC
- Superpowers and worldwide conspiracies. I really want the ending to be good.
- 熱海の捜査官
- It’s the vibe of Trick with the WTF of Paranoia Agent.
- Tiger & Dragon
- Rakugo + Yakuza + guys who may or may not actually be speaking Japanese (depending on your level) = Hilarious
Music
- Rip Slyme
- One of the most well-known hip-hop groups in Japan.
- Some songs: 楽園ベイベー, Speed King
- HALCALI
- They used to be a Rip Slyme-esque rap duo, but I don’t know what the heck they’re doing now. I like their old stuff.
- Some songs: ハルカリズム ‘CANDY HEARTS’, ギリギリサーフライダー
- MINMI
- Reggae, Soca, and J-pop
- Some songs: 星のラブレター, 四季ノ唄
- Unicorn
- Classic rock group.
- Some songs: すばらしい日々, Feel So Moon
- school food punishment
- They do rock and electronica stuff.
- Some songs: 浮かべ上がる, 煙に白
- Rhymester
- A rap trio.
- Some songs: Once Again, 知らない女, 口から出まかせ
- The Blue Hearts
- Another classic rock group.
- Some songs: TRAIN-TRAIN, 終わらない歌, 僕の右手
- Moumoon
- A versatile duo. They make lots of soothing, mellow songs.
- Some songs: 歌を歌おう, どこへも行かないよ
- 少女スキップ
- Would this be light rock? I don’t know my music genres.
- Some songs: Glory of the Snow, umbrella
- 庄野真代
- I love 70s music.
- Some songs: 中央フリーウェイ, マスカレード
- 梶芽衣子
- Enka love. You might recognize her music if you’ve seen Kill Bill.
- Some songs: 宿借り, 恨み節, 私生まれて不幸せ
- Nujabes.
- A hip-hop/jazz legend who passed way too soon. He did quite a few amazing things in the hip-hop and jazz communities. Some of his full albums are on Youtube.
- Just listen to his albums on Youtube. Any fan of hip-hop will love them.
Podcasts
- 虚構新聞ニュース
- As the title suggests, it’s a news podcast parody. Like The Onion.
- イヤー、マイッタマイッタ
- Funny podcast where the hosts help listeners with their problems.
- ひいきびいき
- Two hosts talk about a pre-determined topic. Natural, conversational Japanese. Good voices, too.
- Sound Library 〜世界にひとつだけの本〜
- For that nice “being told a bedtime story” feeling.
- モンハンラジオ
- Being a モンハン fanatic, this became one of my favorite sources of input, once I got used to 日笠陽子’s voice.
- 週刊日経トレンディ
- Weekly technology podcast. Easy to listen to.
- JUNK バナナマンのバナナムーンGOLD
- HILARIOUS
- 杏のanytime andante podcast
- Talks about random topics. Each episode is about 10 minutes. It’s not updated frequently, but it’s a relaxing podcast.
Variety/Other TV Shows
- 有吉とマツコの怒り新党
- Two of the angriest people on variety TV agree or disagree with statements angry users send in.
- 歴史秘話ヒストリア
- Cool show about events in Japanese history.
- くりぃむクイズミラクル9
- A quiz show that tests general knowledge of contemporary Japan.
- カンブリア宮殿
- 小池栄子 and 村上龍 talk to industry leaders and other important people.
- Qさま
- A quiz show with questions about 漢字, 敬語, history, and current events. Makes the brain smart.
- ガキの使いやあらへんで！
- Check out the older episodes. Makes the stomach hurt.
- ソモサン・セッパ
- A game show with riddles and brain teasers of varying difficulties. Makes the brain hurt.
おまけ
- People are also a nice source of input. I highly recommend involving others as much as possible with the appropriate resources listed above.
What are some of your favorite sources of Japanese input?
[[1]]Because everyone is awkward during high school, apparently.[[1]]
