Jump to content

Kenshin_sama

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    3167

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    28

 Content Type 

Blog Comments posted by Kenshin_sama

    Clephas

    Posted

    6 minutes ago, Clephas said:

    It happens, but you have to understand that people who read these types of games in the first place want to be drawn into a world of complexity and meaning.  I never really had any problem with adding to my vocabulary in English or Japanese, so I usually just eagerly try to devour the meanings of any words I haven't encountered.   

    Huh, I see. I haven't encountered a book that drew me in with the use of complex writing as opposed to engaging storytelling. I'm pretty sure I won't get that experience from the English TL of Dies Irae due to its frequent misuse of advanced terminology.

    Clephas

    Posted

    Quote

    I had a huge headache from the usual Light 'I've got to gather all the rare kanji into a single sentence!' when I was done.

    Do even native speakers struggle to read stuff like this? Seems like it'd be a major hassle to read.

    I don't remember any off the top of my head, but I remember running into a few English novels where I constantly needed to look up words, and I usually hate them, lol.

    Clephas

    Posted

    Out of the entries in your list, it seems only KoiTate and OtoBoku have been translated, and they're both dominant types. I prefer submissive type heroines in general, but I don't think I've come across a dominant trap type yet.

    There are a couple others that are translated, but didn't make the list. What are your thoughts on Heart de Roommate and Otomaid? I don't plan on prioritizing these titles over KoiTate or OtoBoku, but I'd like to know if they're at least worth reading.

    Clephas

    Posted

    Yeah, don't let yourself fall into an even greater state of madness! I don't think humanity needs something like that. :marie:

    Ya know, I also used to have a thing going on that I felt obligated to carry out. Please don't ask me what it is; it was such a horrible time sink and I still regret having ever done it at all. But man, it was so liberating when I finally gave it up and freed up more time to spend enjoying the things I want to do.

    Kenshin_sama

    Posted · Edited by Kenshin_sama

    14 hours ago, Kirashi said:

    On the internet, you can find a lot of guides for beginner, really, so when you want to start to learn japanese, you know where you'll start (kana and the syntax), and you have more than enough information about that on the internet.

    I'm not trying to compete with other guides, though. I'm really only interested in sharing a method that I found useful for learning the grammar. It's mostly because, in my opinion, the stage of learning that I'm currently at feels kinda neglected as far as application goes.

    14 hours ago, Kirashi said:

    But the main problem is after that: once you reach an advanced level, you'll want to start reading something (books, manga or visual novel and stuff) and that's where the complicated stuff begin: Reading the real stuff hardly looks like what you learnt.

    That's the crazy thing about languages; there are far too many complications to teach it reliably in a book. Otherwise, there'd be no reason for schools (in most developed nations at least) to put so much emphasis on language study from pre-K to college (and even they can't always make a capable wordsmith out of a native speaker).

    Do also keep in mind that it can take well over a decade (likely two) to become proficient in Japanese. Unless you're some sort of god-tier linguist with more than 25 languages under your belt, the path to learn Japanese will be a long one. Be patient with it.

    14 hours ago, Kirashi said:

    From this, it's not a matter of fun anymore, I could hardly tell if I was good or not, so I stopped from time to time as this point because I had a hard time to understand what I lacked and how to improve. Just saying that having fun in learning japanese won't prevent you to face this problem.

    If learning Japanese is anything like learning your native language, then I think your goal should be to read for fun rather than for improvement. I remember how I used to struggle to read Harry Potter when I was 10, but I didn't beat myself up when I came across a word I didn't know or a few sentences I couldn't completely comprehend. That never kept me from wanting to read more books throughout the years, and English comprehension is no longer an issue for me (hasn't been for years). As long as you continue to immerse yourself in a language over a long period of time, you will learn it.

    14 hours ago, Kirashi said:

    I guess the real solution would be something like a translated script (from a visual novel for example) with long sentance, and explain why the sentence is translated this way and not this way, with some explanation here and here.

    Huh, that's something I actually want to do. I'm nowhere near good enough to do this now, but once I become more proficient in programming, I was thinking about designing a desktop app that would act as a base for anyone who wants to write helpful guides on individual VNs for up-and-coming Japanese readers to reference while reading. Sadly, that is going to be something of a stretch goal since I'm still only learning the basics, but it is something I could devote myself to while learning how to code stuff.

    Considering how hard it is to translate VNs already, I don't think it'd be practical to include a translation explanation as well. I'm not sure if my approach would garner much attention either, but I do think there'd at least be a wider range of Japanese readers who'd be willing and able to explain the mechanics of difficult sentences rather than translate it outright. Also, while it may be necessary to translate the language in your head when you first start reading, you will eventually need to get in the habit of treating Japanese sentences like Japanese sentences. I don't think reading a translation will do much to help you progress.

     

     

    Also, if anyone's curious, part 2 is still in editing~ My first week back at college had me a little more preoccupied than I expected, but I'm finally caught up on everything for now so I'll have some time to work on the guide tonight. Sorry for the delays!

    Kenshin_sama

    Posted

    36 minutes ago, tymmur said:

    have fun while studying. Make sure it will not feel like a chore you have to do even if you don't want to.

    Yeah, that was the hard part for me. It wasn't until I put greater thought into my approach that I began to enjoy learning Japanese. If I'd figured this technique out when I first started learning, I'd have been reading VNs a long time ago. Thanks for the comment.

    Also, any thoughts on studying every day as opposed to studying 6 days a week? I'd like to think the latter is more effective since it gives your mind some time to cool down, but I can't say I'm overly familiar in this area.

    Kenshin_sama

    Posted

    1 minute ago, Weiterfechten said:

    Nice, doesn't hurt to have a new guide on JP every now and then. Even if you don't take in much of what you read it certainly is interesting to hear how other people learn a language.

    I look forward to seeing how others got innate in the language. Personally hard learning grammar books/dictionary books/sheets haven't really done any wonders for me compared to the arguably more lazy route of just reading, watching JP Youtube/shows, looking up stuff and taking down notes of things you don't understand until you "understand" the grammar / sentences (and look up the things you've forgotten every now and then).

    Thanks. :)

    To me that feels like a more difficult than reading a book, but that's mostly because I perform better in a structured environment. But hey, any method's fine as long as you're able to learn.

    Clephas

    Posted

    Bookmarked. Thanks for the list, Clephas! I'm making a few life adjustments right now, but I plan on picking up my Japanese studies again in a couple months once I've gotten everything sorted out.

    I find your tier 1 suggestions to be a lot more interesting than the beginners list here. Not that I wouldn't want to read any of them eventually, but a chuunige would be a much better motivator for me (especially Draculius, which is something I'm particularly interested in).

    Clephas

    Posted

    For me, it's all about conditions. Even with the best anime I've ever watched, I usually won't retain information about them for very long. When I read or watch anything, I can only retain enough information to argue over it for a year. It takes somewhere between 8 to 10 years for me to forget something entirely. And see, that's the problem I had with re-reading Little Busters. Because the story is still so fresh in my memory from the 2013 anime adaption, I'm having some difficulty re-reading the whole thing from the beginning to get to the EX routes. I did want to learn the differences between the version I read way back and what I'm reading now, but I think I'll just take a pass.

    Clephas

    Posted

    That happened to me with Granblue Fantasy. It was the only mobile game I spent a lot of money on, and I do kinda feel that I was pulled into it. Given how difficult it is to set up an ideal team with good synergy, I fell into something of a spending trap with special offers that let you buy any non-promotional character you wanted. These promotions only came up every so often, so it was hard to resist them when they did. I didn't go overboard with spending, but I did invest about $90 in the game to buy the team I wanted. That's money I could've easily spent on a limited edition of a game, which I think would have been preferable (even if you stop playing, it still looks nice as a shelf decoration).

    Clephas

    Posted · Edited by Kenshin_sama

    I had previously voted no to the book reviews when you brought up the poll, and that was mainly because I already have a good number of recommendations from friends, and my grandma likes to shove books on me too, lol. You're the only one I know that religiously covers untranslated VNs, and I value them as a source of motivation for learning Japanese.

    That being said, I haven't heard of this trilogy until now, and it does seem awfully interesting. I've recently started picking up books as part of a nighttime cooldown routine before going to sleep also (it was suggested to me by my insomnia therapist), so it might not be long before I work my way through the bulk of what I've been planning to read.

    So, yeah, I've pretty much changed my mind on the vote. Thanks for the review! :)

    Clephas

    Posted

    Ah, I think I get it now. Would it also have something to do with their xenophobic tendencies towards foreigners reading visual novels? Normally I wouldn't think it was that bad getting to read a VN review given from a foreign perspective, but after mulling over what Sanah wrote about Dual Tail's response to the Venus Blood -Hypno- bug and the "For sale in Japan only" marketing, I think I can sort of guess at why they might not be interested.

    At the same time though, I can understand if it's just a general disconnect. I remember how, initially, Trevor Noah wasn't the most popular replacement for John Stewart, which I think was partially due to the disconnect older viewers had with him being an outsider (millennials seemed to love him, though). Granted, he has gained a lot of momentum since then, but it felt like he had to make a few leaps to adjust his act for an American audience.

    Clephas

    Posted

    14 hours ago, Clephas said:

    I could write in Japanese... but I don't have the right perspective or instincts.  My writing here is ultimately from the point of view of a Western (or just non-Japanese) otaku, and my obsessions come from different places than a Japanese reader's would. While I'm sure some might take an interest, those that did would probably not be able to understand where I'm coming from, just as I can only really hypothesize based on my interactions with Japanese and knowledge of Japanese culture both new and old. 

    Oh, I see. I was under the impression that your proficiency in reading and translation was all you really needed; I hadn't quite considered the cultural differences when communicating from a different background. I guess it's fundamentally different from learning English, where grammar and future tense are the main obstacles. So even if you are capable of reading Japanese quickly and have a firm understanding of its grammar (which doesn't seem that difficult to master), there's still a ways to go in order to overcome the language barrier. So I guess the only real way to gain that proficiency is to spend a lot of time in Japan, which might not be all it's cracked up to be.

    Clephas

    Posted

    Would you be surprised if I told you your blog was my personal favorite? :)

    And it's not just for the sheer uniqueness of your review format, but your review quality as well. I appreciate how you avoid fluffing up your reviews with excessive text all while giving detailed insight on the plot, aesthetics, and characters. But what really stands out to me is the audience you chose to provide your reviews for. If you wanted to, you could very easily become more mainstream and write these reviews for a Japanese audience instead, which I think speaks volumes about your review ethic.

    I've always been, and still kinda am, concerned with how much of a toll this project takes on you, so it's a bit of a relief to know that your enthusiasm for the medium hasn't completely died down yet. I do hope you're able to maintain that passion for a long time further.

×
×
  • Create New...