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Learn Japanese Together: Super Challenge 2013


Tay

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Japanese Super Challenge 2013

Do you want to learn Japanese?

Do you want to play Visual Novels/Read Love Hina/Watch Pokemon in Japanese?

Do you want to learn to do so with a bunch of friends?

Then join with me and take Super Challenge 2013!

(Background Music for this post -

Link)

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Introduction to the Challenge

There's been a lot of talk about learning Japanese on the forums. I, myself, essentially found Fuwanovel through Aaeru's landmark blog post about learning Japanese (

link). For many, learning Japanese becomes a years-long (or lifelong) quest that is full of fresh starts, re-starts, and re-re-starts. Some make it all the way to the level of reading/writing/speaking (or a combination of those three), and some never do.

I'd like to propose a Fuwanovel group dedicated to learning as much Japanese as possible this year.

Here's what the group will look like:

  • Sign Up. People interested in taking the challenge will sign up - The "Founding Members" (aka, anybody interested in starting ASAP) will sign up by responding to this post. If there's enough support, we'll create our own little sub-forum with a dedicated sign-up page
  • Strength in Community. Members will post progress updates at least once a week (more on this below) as to how they're doing. People who are struggling can request (or, if we like the idea, be given right off the bat) a "buddy" -- somebody dedicated to the program, or who is further along in the program than they are -- to regularly check in on them and give them encouragement. We'll all be encouraging each other in the forums along the way. Once we have a sub-forum, each person will have their own "topic".

  • Four Stages. There will be four stages in the program:
    1) The Kanji Stage
    2) The Kana Stage
    3) The Grammar Stage
    4) The Advanced Stage

  • Fuwa-Centric. All material necessary for success will be linked to/provided as we go. While we all have different learning styles, some tools are important for everybody to use. We'll link to lots of different resources to help us out on the way.




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The Four Stages

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The Kanji Stage


We will start by learning ~2200 Kanji (the

Jōyō kanji, or a list of kanji the Japanese government determined to be the most used and most important in regular life). This is the biggest hurdle for learning Japanese, but once it's over, the rest is MUCH easier (for two reasons: 1) you already have good study habits, and 2) Kanji are a huge psychological barrier).


The easiest way to study the Kanji is by using Dr. Hesig's Remembering the Kanji (RTK) method. This involves two resources: #1) Hesig's book (

amazon) (link) and a SRS-based memory program like Anki (program link) (RTK 6 recommended deck). I will be using the 6th Edition of his book, and recommend you do the same, as it has multiple corrections as well as new kanji.


Kanji Stage Breakdown:

  • Members are encouraged to choose a study plan: Pick a number of new kanji a day, such as 10, 25, 50, etc.
  • Ex: 25/Day - Done in three months!
  • Ex: 50/Day - Done in less than two months!
  • Using Anki on your computer/phone/tablet, you will study 25 NEW kanji a day per Hesig's study method (more on this below), and review old kanji based on SRS spacing technology
  • Seems like a big hurdle, but it's not! Once you get going it's fun and quick

One important point about the Kanji stage (and, really, the other stages): you will continue to SRS the Kanji through the rest of the program (and, in fact, your life). The day you finish RTK1 you'll have tons of reviews (though you'll be used to the load/pacing). Those will start spreading out further and further, though, proving mastery.

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The Kana Stage

For those that have already studied the Kanji, whipping out these puppies is a snap. I got both alphabets down in about 3 hours. My big advantage: I've already got great study habits from learning the Kanji (plus, I've learned great strategies for memorizing Japanese symbols). For this program, however, we're going to be a little more conservative.

Kana Stage Breakdown:

  • 1 week of study
  • One day devoted to Hiragana, one to Katakana
  • Five days of practice (waaay more than you'll need, but just in case smile.gif)
  • Mastery will come quickly, especially when we move on to grammar studies

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The Grammar Stage

This is where Japanese becomes very real and very fun. With our now-solid foundation of Kanji/Kana, we're now ready to move forward into learning how the language is structured. We will be using the AMAZING (and free!) grammar guide by Tae Kim. You can access the guide a number of ways:

This grammar guide is AWESOME. You should plan to work through it at your own pace. I'm not to this step yet, so I'm not sure what's a reliable timeframe to suggest.

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The Advanced Stage

There's a lot to do once you've got this amazing super-foundation. I'll post resources for advanced students, but at a glance they include:

  • Reading VNs (for both enjoyment and vocab/practice)
  • Watching Anime with subtitles
  • Reading Manga
  • Practicing vocab/grammar through "Sentences" and "Cloze Deletion" decks on Anki (more on this later)
  • Farming sentences
  • And more!

At this point you're ready to really start enjoying your Japanese skills. From what I've heard by many folks, reaching this stage generally takes 6-8 months for the power-learners, but still less than a year for those who are persistent.







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The Roadblocks and Why We Need a Community


Research has shown that any large undertaking is likely to hit a barrier at a few different points in the process: after 3 days, after 1 week, after 2 weeks, after 3 weeks, after 4 weeks, and then ~once every three months after that. Hitting a barrier can come in different forms: discouragement, feeling overwhelmed, and -- very pertinent to our project -- getting so busy with other things a person "puts the project on hold for 'one or two days', and never returns."

One fantastic solution to this problem has been demonstrated by repeated clinical trials and observation: a phenomenon called "Community Recruitment". Community Recruitment means that a person tells a friend/spouse/child/or group of people about a goal, and then asks for encouragement and follow-up. They then have to regularly report their progress. By utilizing community recruitment, success rates DOUBLED in most trials.



So how are we going to use this in our program?

  • All members are asked to write up a progress report at LEAST weekly for the Kanji stage
  • We ask a special report be written on day 3 about how it's going, as well as first impressions
  • By doing a day 3 report, as well as weekly reports during the Kanji stage, the community can encourage each other through the toughest part of the trip
  • Post-Kanji stage, we'll recommend monthly updates

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Signing Up

For now, if you're interested in signing up, please post your desire below. Also indicate when you' like to start. Tay (me) will be starting on Monday 1/28/2013.

The first comment under this topic is a "Quick Guide to Starting". Refer to that for instructions on how to start, as well as a forecast through the Kanji stage.

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The Tools / Resources

Below is a list of recommended/alternate study tools and resources.

Anki (ankisrs.net)

Remembering the Kanji, by James Heisig

(Also, see

this note if you can't afford the books)

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Hooray! So you want to join our merry band, huh? We'd love to have you. Here's a guide to getting started.

1. We're going to start with the Kanji

Don't freak out. Don't worry. Don't stress. Instead, get excited. The kanji are super cool and really different from English. They have symbolic meaning, and often convey stories. As I've been learning them, I've found that they inspire my imagination and make me want to learn more of them.

You may be wondering why we're starting with the Kanji. The answer is pretty simple: #1) it's the biggest hurdle to learning Japanese, and #2) Once you've learned the kanji (and have the language-learning skills that will come with studying them) you'll be in a position to easily and rapidly absorb both the Kana and useful vocab in the future.

2. We're going to use some amazing technology to make this process easy

The Theory - There's a lot of really amazing research out there about how humans learn. So much, in fact, that people are getting PhDs in the field. A few of these very brilliant people got together and tried to create a useful and powerful way to absorb information. The final product is called "Space Repetition Learning System Technology" (or, as the kids these days call it, SRS for spaced-repetition-system). In a nutshell, it means that you build flashcards with whatever information you want to put on them, and then you'll review them the first time.

On your first review the program will watch which ones you got right and wrong, and will ask you how hard you had to think to remember them. Based on those facts, it will bring back those flashcards either sooner or later so you have to remember them again. This process goes on and on until the perfect day when you are often reviewing the content you have trouble with, and then reviewing the stuff that's easy for you less often.

Anki - There is a beautiful and free program out there with Android/Mac/Linux/iOS/Android ports that will serve us faithfully. It's called Anki. Here's a setup guide

  1. Download Anki from either http://ankisrs.net/ (for desktop users), or from the Google/iTunes app stores
  2. Install the App
  3. Sign up for a free AnkiWeb account (either through mobile app or at https://ankiweb.net/
  4. Login to your new AnkiWeb account inside the actual Anki program/app
  5. Now you need to download the "deck" (deck of flashcards) we'll be using to memorize the Kanji. I recommend using this deck, which is based off of the 6th Edition of the book we'll use (Heisig's Remembering the Kanji, Volume I). If you're using a desktop version of Anki, simply click the "Download" deck button on the bottom of the deck link to download it. You can then either double-click the file to automatically import it into Anki, or you can use anki to search/open it. On mobile Anki platforms, simply click the "Get Shared Deck" button and search for the RTK deck
  6. (More info on which RTK deck to use in the next section)
  7. With the RTK deck downloaded, click/tap the newly downloaded deck to open it
  8. Click "Options" (desktop version) or "Settings" (icon in mobile version)
  9. Change options for "New Cards" to however many new kanji you want to learn a day (25 or 50 are my recommendations, though lots of people do 15)
  10. Change options for "Reviews" to a maximum of 2200 per day (don't worry, this won't happen. It's just a crazy-huge number to allow maximum reviews)
  11. And that's it! Keep reading the guide to get started

3. Our texbook, guide and hero - J. Heisig's Remembering the Kanji, Volume I

There's an amazing book out there that is near-universally acclaimed to be the best way to learn the Kanji. Specifically, it's James Heisig's Remembering the Kanji (RTK). There are two versions worthy of being used: the 6th edition (most recent), which is what I'll use, and the 5th edition.

The Sixth Edition: Firstly, this book is worthy of your money. I'd recommend you buy it and cherish it forever. You can find it here on amazon. The deck I linked to above (and, again, here) is made specifically for this edition of the book. They are a beautiful match, and will serve you well.

The Fifth Edition: Alternately, there are illegal ways of downloading RTK, but most of them are the 5th edition. If you decide to use RTK 5th edition, you can still use the Anki deck I mentioned above, but there will be some mysterious Kanji (~200 of them) that are not in your book. Also, the order of many of the kanji will be off. Instead, I'd recommend using THIS deck. It's got nearly 4000 kanji in it, but that's because it covers both of Heisig's RTK vocab book (volumes 1,3), instead of just book I.

The Method: RTK uses a unique and effective method to learning the kanji: you learn smaller bits of the kanji (called primitives) and use them to build up the stories of larger kanji. This is used in conjunction with a story-based learning mechanism where you invent stories to remember each kanji's composite primitives. It's effective, and it works!

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Now that you're set up, it's time to look at your life, make changes, and begin.

5. Make room in your life

This is THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP OF ALL. Either after reading this section, or the quick guide as a whole, you need to stop, turn off your monitor, and take a good, hard look at your life. If you want to learn Japanese, you want to learn Japanese. Don't let any negative or self-criticizing thoughts about past failures creep into your mind. Have faith in yourself, in Heisig's technique, and -- most of all -- in the power of SRS learning.

Next, when you've chased away any negative thoughts, open up your calendar/daytimer/mind and find at least 30 minutes (but one hour is best!) every day where you will have time to study Japanese. This is kind of a crazy suggestion, but I recommend waking up 30-60 minutes earlier every day and doing the studying at the same time every day of the week.

The Goal: We need to build a habit, and so having repetitive motions like waking up at the same time every day and then studying Japanese the same way every day will build a momentum and make it easier to stick-with-it.

Once you've decided where you're going to stick Japanese, write down that schedule and put it somewhere where you'll see it (or where you'll be studying).

6. Read the introductory material to RTK (1 hour)

Now, if you have the RTK book, you should start with page 1 and read all the way to where the first kanji appear. This will explain the RTK method to you. Treat this as seriously as learning the actual Kanji: read it, know it, and try to do it in one sitting. (You can start right now, without having to wait for the book! See this comment)

7. Day 01 - Start learning them Kanji

Choose how many Kanji you want to learn on your first day, and then start working through the book (starting with the first Kanji/primitive). Heisig will pop in regularly to make sure you're using the story-based memorization techniques right (forgive him for this -- it'll stop pretty soon). In short: read through the Kanji and the supplied story, write down that Kanji ONCE in a notebook, and then move on to the next. Once you've done that for the 25/50 Kanji for the day, go take a small break, and then boot up Anki. Click on the RTK deck, click "Review Now", and the Kanji in the deck will be in the exact same order as the kanji in the book. Do the first 25/50 (or however many), and then feel good about yourself : ).

Reviews of cards you struggled with may pop up for review throughout the day. Just keep an eye on your phone/computer.

The time required to do all of this the first time is MUCH longer than it'll normally take you. After 2-3 days, you'll be able to start sailing. I can generally get 50-75 new kanji in an hour.

8. Day 02 - Do the next set

Wake up early/at the appointed time go and learn the next set of Kanji (read, make up own story, write down once, move on). Learn the new cards in Anki. Review old cards either there on the spot, or throughout the day.

9. Day 03 - Third Set and Blog Post

Follow the pattern (Read, Create Own Story, Write Down Once) (Anki) (Review Old Cards)

Then post about your experience so far (how you like it, any questions, and -- most of all -- express your determination to learn Japanese!)

10. Keep up the pattern

Keep it up! Be sure to post entries at least once a week throughout the Kanji stage (to make sure you see your own determination, to get support about low periods or skipped days)

11. Don't give up

We're here for you. If you start sliding, post about it!

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Ok, last one, I can post xD

firstly to not spend any money I instantly found the recommended litarature, however it is only 4th edition (have also vol 2, 3 and kana 1, 2)

uploaded here https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BylWuAJokVXMRlBybTB4a0hpQm8/edit

don't know how it differs from the newer edition.

And then I have a question, should I really learn Kanji first? I mean the method I am trying to use now stays back on Kanji but I also make tons of grammar errors so I thought before continuing with Kanji I will try to improve grammar first :o

Also since I didn't open the book yet, what system does it use for remembering kanji, is it mnemonics? (because I want to avoid those as much as possible, as a non-english speaker and someone who hates mnemonics xd)

Or is it different method?

Thanks :)

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I'd like to sign up for this too.

I actually started learning Hiragana and Katakana, and I can read them without too much difficulty, but kanjis are totally different, and learning with a group has to be much more effective than doing it alone.

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The music made the post 10 times better :D

I've started to learn Japanese so many times now and each time I've thought "I'll just skip today and catch up tomorrow". The "catch up tomorrow" never comes and I end up forgetting what i'd learnt, essentially losing all the time I had invested.

Hopefully learning as part of a group would keep me motivated enough to continue and not to "skip" any days.

So yeah, you can count me in. :)

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I don't think I will participate in the daily study but I will surely use this page as a reference :)

I know that if I really want to learn separate kanji I should learn at least those 25 Kanji a day but I am already using slightly different method for Kanji learning, maybe not that effective as this method but more comfortable for me - the method is that for the Kanji I learn, I also learn words using that kanji, with that, it is impossible to learn 25 a day + all the commonly used words. And when I am learning the words I stumble across words using multiple kanji and learn the other one too and that's basically what fits me the best.

And even though I will learn the jouyou kanji much slower and maybe not even learn them all, I will learn the important words like お兄ちゃん xD

I am not planning to be able to read in 2013 yet, because I am too lazy to put too much effort into something, I work few hours a day, then I need several hours of random browsing loli pics, now rewrite is TLed so I will play that, GSL new season is here... and I am just too bad at focusing one one thing xD So there are even months I don't learn much of anything xD

What can I say, I am too easy going xD But well I should have at least 40 years of life left so I should learn it eventually xD

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I know that if I really want to learn separate kanji I should learn at least those 25 Kanji a day but I am already using slightly different method for Kanji learning, maybe not that effective as this method but more comfortable for me - the method is that for the Kanji I learn, I also learn words using that kanji, with that, it is impossible to learn 25 a day + all the commonly used words. And when I am learning the words I stumble across words using multiple kanji and learn the other one too and that's basically what fits me the best.

And even though I will learn the jouyou kanji much slower and maybe not even learn them all, I will learn the important words like お兄ちゃん xD

Yeah, I understand this sentiment. I've tried that, too, and found that vague goals and programs never had the power to push me. The program here is a conglomeration of the opinions I've seen on the web (Aaeru's post, kanji.koohii.com, Tae Kim, etc.). It's been working really well for me: I'm halfway through the Joyo Kanji, know the Kana, and have dabbled in grammar, and all of that effort came naturally and felt easy through SRS.

Now, just a thought: You mentioned you hate mnemonics. I do, too. I'd try out Heisig's story-driven method. It's extremely powerful, and makes kanji easy to learn.

Re: Vocab with Kanji - There's certainly an argument to be made about learning context with a Kanji. That said, in my experience it's never been particularly effective. It may be because absorbing both kanji and vocab is overwhelming (eating the whole elephant at once, instead of in pieces), or because kanji-conjunctions often have meaningful interpretations, and thus knowing all the kanji will streamline that process. Either way, Japanese is unique in that if you don't know a single kanji or a grammar princple in a sentence, it's easy to lose the entire meaning. By learning all the Kanji, and then focusing on vocab, you won't run into situations where instead of learning a new vocab you have to constantly go back and look up old kanji.

I am not planning to be able to read in 2013 yet, because I am too lazy to put too much effort into something, I work few hours a day, then I need several hours of random browsing loli pics, now rewrite is TLed so I will play that, GSL new season is here... and I am just too bad at focusing one one thing xD So there are even months I don't learn much of anything xD

What can I say, I am too easy going xD But well I should have at least 40 years of life left so I should learn it eventually xD

Yeah, I understand. That said, the sooner I learn Japanese the sooner I can enjoy Japanese. : ) That's case and point for me. I totally respect your opinions/choice, though.

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Now, just a thought: You mentioned you hate mnemonics. I do, too. I'd try out Heisig's story-driven method. It's extremely powerful, and makes kanji easy to learn.

Oh nice, I will try the 4th edition, if you find the newer ones, let me know :)

By learning all the Kanji, and then focusing on vocab, you won't run into situations where instead of learning a new vocab you have to constantly go back and look up old kanji.

Thats true, I might need to change something a bit xD

But the biggest problem for me is indeed the lazyness xD And learning "as I read" is fun and useful at the same time, even though its much slower than learning properly xD

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For those interested in trying the program, I suggest you make a personal blog thread! I made one (link), and while I wont feel too self-conscious being the only one, other blogs will make it easier to support each other! Post links to the topic URLs, too!

(If you're interested, I titled mine "SC2013 - [Tay]'s Blog [Kanji Stage]") (If you want to title yours similarly, or at least make it clear that it's your journal, that'll help us out)

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Wow awesome thread. Ive been studying Japanese for a while and hit a road block. This sounds awesome. Thank you Steve for the link to the free book as right now my money is being held captive by my boss, erm i mean wife. So that will definitely help me.

Count me in. Id like to participate as much as possible. Barring health issues of course.

Man Tay you never cease to amaze me. Awesome work bro

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A few more notes (sorry, everybody, for so much posting!)

Learn the Method using a Legitimate Sample PDF

A sample PDF (~200 kanji from 6th edition) can be found here: http://nirc.nanzan-u...tion-sample.pdf

THIS SAMPLE IS AWESOME! It has the full introduction - giving you all the theory you need to understand how his system works (again -- make up your OWN stories, not just use his) (his are long and kind of crappy, anyway). It also contains ~250 kanji, which should buy you time if you're waiting for the book to arrive.

If you're not using the 6th edition (5th, 4th), I'd recommend a big change in the above program:

- Follow the guide up through the 250 kanji in the sample pdf (so read the intro, and do kanji each day)

- Check out/register for http://kanji.koohii.com/ -- a community built around the RTK books

- Using the Anki deck + the Kanji.Koohii community is enough -- you don't NEED the books (although, frankly, I'd highly recommend them). Just be sure to master the method as taught in the pdf

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Wow just went to Amazon to check book prices, yeah not gonna be able to get that book, as much as I want to.

Im searching the internet for a free copy, if i find ill post a link. The book looks awesome, I signed up for the Book Site

EDIT: Just found 5th edition parts 1 and 2 PDF. Download Torrent

You need a torrent software for this, but its easy enough.

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Wow just went to Amazon to check book prices, yeah not gonna be able to get that book, as much as I want to.

Im searching the internet for a free copy, if i find ill post a link. The book looks awesome, I signed up for the Book Site

Oh man, I put up the wrong links!!! Here's the right amazon link (sells for ~$33) http://www.amazon.com/Remembering-Kanji-Complete-Japanese-Characters/dp/0824835921/

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Ahh, I wish Tay had been here 7 months ago and made this post at that time xD. That way I wouldn't need to follow aaeru's guide all alone >_> ( I am at the 4th stage for those who didn't know)

Steve about your way of learning the kanji. Regardless learning kanji is a bitch, using a few months learning them or using a very long time to learn the kanji by: kanji + vocab + grammar + context together. I Found the latter too hard. So I chose the lesser evil :D It depends on preference, both works. But if we are talking about the most effective way, learning kanji early on is very practical.

Tay if you are wondering on how long it takes to read Tae Kim's guide, for reference I used over a one month. I read about 1 hour a day, reading randomly not everyday. It's more like studying than reading, as it takes quite longer than a normal book to read. Though I wanted to understand the whole of the sentences as well as the grammer in each section, so I used some extra time.

One thing you can do when reading the tae kim grammer guide, is addition using a anki deck with all the grammer examples so that you don't forget what you have learned. Very practical, although I know it's not very fun adding another big deck to review... I didn't have the willpower to do it while reading it, I'll probably restart it and study the whole deck so I know the grammar 100%

Finally I would say. It's alot of fun learning japanese!! :D Good "luck" (presistence) to you all.

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Wow just went to Amazon to check book prices, yeah not gonna be able to get that book, as much as I want to.

Im searching the internet for a free copy, if i find ill post a link. The book looks awesome, I signed up for the Book Site

EDIT: Just found 5th edition parts 1 and 2 PDF. Download Torrent

You need a torrent software for this, but its easy enough.

Hey Tay, how different is 5th edition from 6th? I mean the deck you recommended is for the 6th edition yea? That going to be an issue?

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Hey Tay, how different is 5th edition from 6th? I mean the deck you recommended is for the 6th edition yea? That going to be an issue?

Good question. I'll try to be clearer here than above : ). As I tried to explain in step 3 (link), there are some differences in content (5th edition has ~200 less kanji and some of the kanji are in different orders than the 6th. Also, there are a few mistakes). If you're going to use the 5th edition, I'd suggest two things:

#1) Use a different Anki deck. I recommend this one (link). It's 5th edition (note: it also has RTK Volume 3, with an extra 1000+ kanji. That's why there are so many notes)

#2) Absolutely use the Kanji.Koohi site (link)

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Good question. I'll try to be clearer here than above : ). As I tried to explain in step 3 (link), there are some differences in content (5th edition has ~200 less kanji and some of the kanji are in different orders than the 6th. Also, there are a few mistakes). If you're going to use the 5th edition, I'd suggest two things:

#1) Use a different Anki deck. I recommend this one (link). It's 5th edition (note: it also has RTK Volume 3, with an extra 1000+ kanji. That's why there are so many notes)

#2) Absolutely use the Kanji.Koohi site (link)

You sir are my hero, thanks for the fast reply and link to new deck.

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#1) Use a different Anki deck. I recommend this one (link). It's 5th edition (note: it also has RTK Volume 3, with an extra 1000+ kanji. That's why there are so many notes)

#2) Absolutely use the Kanji.Koohi site (link)

Thanks for the info :)

I believe a guidance like in this thread is the most important thing, even though I won't be doing my blog (because I am ashamed it would be too blank for few weeks not due to rewrite xD) I will consult for help here with materials etc ;)

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That's a very nice idea indeed. I'd join in, but I already started on my own path to the moons, so i'd rather follow it. Plus I don't think I have the time to follow 25 kanjis/day. Well for the first few days/weeks it would be ok but when you launch Anki and find out you have 200 reviews to do today... well that happened to me a month or two ago when I started learning kanjis the same way and that was my first give-up :P

I got back at a slow pace, 5 kanji/day, working the grammar and vocab in parrallel...

Although I'd happily share some of the resources I found lurking on the net here and there (mostly /a/ I must admit, you'd be surprised by the amount of useful resources you can find hidden between the crap):

-Those are plug-ins for respectively firefox and google chrome, once installed when you go over a japanese word on your browser it let you see a dictionary definition:

http://www.polarcloud.com/rikaichan/

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/jipdnfibhldikgcjhfnomkfpcebammhp

-You can also install google IME in order to write kanas and kanjis easily on the web:

http://www.google.com/intl/ja/ime/

-Reading practice stuff:

http://nihongo-dekimasu.blogspot.com/2008/10/japanese-childrenbooks-practice-reading.html ->children books

http://chokochoko.wordpress.com/the-great-library/ ->Texts classified in JLPT levels

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/lv?key=0Agk2IH0ZXhn7dDNmSW1BVFU5dVgyOHkzWjU4b2l2dkE ->Various games/LNs/VNs list with beginner/medium/advanced level

http://kitsunekko.net/subtitles/japanese/ -> Japanese subs for lots of animes

And if required I should have somewhere various grammar websites recommendations, but Tae Kim is already very good.

You should add a link to the how-to Translation Aggregator plus ITH/Mecab/Jparser, it's very useful for VNs and subbed animes.

Oh, and I found you the Love Hina raw scans :Phttp://www.j-comi.jp/book/comic/1

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