Kana De Manga: The Fun, Easy Way To Learn The ABCs Of Japanese (Kanji de Manga)

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.

Pretty good for basic writing of the kana, but due keep in mind that different books or text will write the same kana slightly different.

This is not an easy book to follow. Actually its easy to follow - its hard to execute. You have to really want to learn Kanji and the chinese symbols.I have the whole series - it is accurate - I drew all the different symbols, but I am certainly not fluently able to read an write Japanese by any stretch - you have to want it!

It's is really easy to understand and makes learning how to write Japanese easy and fun!! It also gives you information about words and their meanings as well as how they are pronounced. I highly recommend it to anyone who is trying to learn Japanese!

first than anything i must tell that this book is just good. I have other japanese learning books at home and non of them are as good as it is this one. to be honest i like this book. i just got the book today and i started to study and i tell u the true. as much as i love anime this tool is just enough and amazing if u want to learn the hiragana and katakana.

I purchased this book for one of my little cousins. He learned all the kana with it, and I'd recommend it to anyone that's just starting Japanese! Learning the Kana is the first step & this book presents it in an easy way. I'd also recommend the  Japanese from Zero!  series! This really is an awesome little educational manga!

I'm an artist and currently working on several titles, original stories. The entire series from M.U. are must owns for anyone wishing to create great mangas. I'm also using them in teaching my friends and family. They're appropriate for most ages. Even my children are now learning.

Really helps for people begging Japanese! It helped me out a lot it's super adorable! :) I've also bought the Kanji De Manga Volume 1 with this and they're both very nice ^^

Good ABC book

Travel-sized and useful for brushing up on both Hiragana and Katakana. Would recommend using this in conjunction with other resources.

A great way to learn Kana letters. I sent this as a gift to my niece who is learning Japanese and she loves this book.

Good

I've been learning Japanese for 16yrs and am now teaching it! This is the most fun book that I've come across to teach kana.