I picked this up from Kinokuniya probably like a year ago but I only started reading it awhile ago ^^;. My Japanese friend recommends that I read manga in Japanese because it helps the brain to practice flash reading (reading on the spot; without thinking). Manga generally have furigana next to the kanji in the text so even little kids can read it so it makes sense that it will also help those who are learning Japanese as well.
So what’s a more appropriate series to help you learn Japanese than a series about a badass bike gang leader-turned-teacher teaching angsty kids a good lesson in living life? I’ve watched the anime already it is one of my favorite series but I heard the manga is even better so I just gotta check it out!
Right now I am taking 300 level Japanese in college but my overall level of proficiency is probably less than that of a little kid. I have a few little Japanese friends who are 6-8 year olds and I get lost from time to time when conversing with them. I might certainly “know” more Japanese than them, yes, but they just obliterate me in day-to-day conversation fluency. This makes sense because speaking a language is best learned through exposure and actually living in it (the spoken language, the body language, AND the culture); a few hours of academic studies per week can only do so much for oneself. I find myself fortunate that I have many people who I can practice Japanese with outside of school- my manager, coworkers, friends, and comrades. I’m thinking about whether I should start typing some of my posts in Japanese as well for practice… ^^;. /useless tidbit about myself
Do you study/know Japanese?
ガンプラ命 
oh man read the whole gto manga, ending made me have man tears. i heard the mangaka is doing a sequel, havent read it though, cuz they dont have it on tankobon yet.
Yup. The sequel’s name is GTO Shonan 14 days. It is as good as the original. You should read it.
i know i should read it, but its not on tankobon yet and i dont want to illegally read it
Yes it is actually. Up to volume 5 is out and it has been in circulation since late 2009. I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily as good as the original though. While it’s entertaining, it’s basically a copy and paste of the original series. Good, but not great. Worth reading nonetheless though.
TThere’s a SEQUEL? I didn’t know that!
GTO is one of the best Shonen manga in 90s, Onizuka is the most epic teacher ever. if you are interested in more Onizuka read Shonan Junai Gumi or Shonan 14 days after GTO
As for Japanese, mine is only good enough to play SRW since i suck in Kanjis :( .
I was quite satisfied with my Japanese being only able to play SRW xD… this was wayy before I started to actually learn Japanese.
eechi !!
haha, but GTO’s a great manga. a teacher who reforms his class of misfits students.
I only learn japanese (very few) from games and anime (dub version nowadays are no good here), I can understand a very few and unable to write at all (poor me)
they say the animated and the live versions omitted ALOT of scenes and characters from the manga the reason why it is said its better for you to read it even though you’ve watched it already..
Japanese once a major subject on my former school, so I understand tidbits but didn’t learned the language that much.. still, I’m gonna push myself to take the JLPT next year since I know now where it is always held here on the Philippines.
Wow… good luck on the JLPT! That test seems dreadfully long…
i learn japanese from japanese game, especially SRW games ^^
I wish I could learn japanese. But my high school only has chinese as it’s foreign asian language class… =(
GTO my fav manga (>w<)
Nop dont read or speak Japanese well i understand i little of it. but not much. never say the point of trying to learn it. or another language well maybe Spanish since i would probably use it. i can barely handle my native language of English LOL. there’s a few on line translator deal that work 80% of the time found sometime the translate doesn’t make since. but it just a computer program.
oh some one said dub version no good up there on top if i can it the only thing i watch i hate reading sub titles. i enjoy the show more in English then i do listing to Japanese and reading sub titles.
that would be me, hehe. Seems we have a different tate here. I am just referring to our own native dub version (filipino) nowadays. But we have a solid dub casting before. I was just simply disappointed watching in filipino dubs today (they just speak their lines without the so called “feeling” on the character. You will know what I mean when you watched Gundam seed destiny in filipino, grrrr)
you are pretty lucky Z. at least you have japanese folks to live by. i heard from a great blogger that its a good headstart.
on the other hand, i have no idea what 300 level japanese is. sounds very very VERY intimidating.and awesome. please enlighten me, o 300 leveled one.
Like I said, the stuff I learned makes me no better than my 6 year old friend…
Nihongo ga dekimasen. English wa dekimasu ka?
…that’s about it, haha.
I use that line plenty of times xD. I think it would sound more natural if you slip in “kedo” (but) between the two sentences.
I’m not a native speaker, but it sounds less natural for me with the “kedo” in the middle since the first line is a statement while the second is a question. If it were just 日本語ができませんけど、英語はできます I think that’d roll off the tongue just fine.
Hm, i havent read this manga myself but i am in a very similar situation where ive studied my fair share of Japanese and am becoming more and more aware of the limitations of study. I also opted to start reading manga, but also TV that my wife watches in Japanese but i am still remi ded that little kids can converse a lot better than me. Ah well.
It is better to become aware of the limitations than to think “i’m getting better at this!” and become arrogant with your newfound knowledge (like some of my classmates… even though I clearly see them struggling in class). Watching shows in Japanese helps too if you actually pay attention to the words they are saying and focus less on the subtitles.
Yeah i agree with yiu on all points. Ive seen students try to impress their teachers with their knowledge but you can see them, the teachers, wincing instead.
Indeed exposure is the key, in other words. Study is good for putting things you encountered in context but maybe not much else.
Agreed!
you’re lucky! i hope i’ll be able to keep my japanese when i return. it would be a shame to lose all that ive learned.
I have been trying to learn Japanese, but not yet at the phone that I can use manga to also learn. Memorizing Hiragana or Katakana is already taking me too long. =_=