Visual Nove Reader/Translator Aggregator

[Scoot]

Is VNR/Translator Aggregator some what useable if you know basic japanese and around 300 kanji or is it still too hard to get context out? For those who used vnr or ta how much did you know japanese when you started using it?

[Yuuko]

I myself use TA with jparser. I started when I knew like 0 kanjis and I had problems. Now I still don't know many but I know the radicals,  grammar and my vocab is also on pretty good level to read simple stuff. Now I can read moeges without problems. I recommend to start reading untl's VNs cause my skill rose a lot after reading a one.

[Bolverk]

Have the grammar down, that's the most important thing. You can read vn's and studying grammar at the same time. The main thing to keep in mind is that you need to base your understanding on how the grammar works.

I'd just install the jp vn you want to read, hook it up and read it. Find out were you stand and decide where to go from there. If it's too hard, or too slow enjoy (you will no doubt be slow) change you plan.

 

So for VNR/TA. Basically the inside dictionary function for VNR is seriously slow if you use the normal jp-eng dic. Custom downloads of jp-jp dic's work a lot faster, but then it's in jp-jp. So I'd refrain from using VNR as a beginner. Although it can also be used as a ITH replacement to get the text hook of the vn. Bottom line, I'd rather recommend using TA at first.

 

For me personally, I started with quite little knowledge. Slogged through that, and can handle jp pretty well now. Moeges no prb.

[LinovaA]

I had basic grammar down before starting my first UnTL'd VN. I maybe had 300 kanji that I was confident in knowing the readings of, but really that doesn't matter much if you want to use tools for reading such as TA.

 

I personally use TA and when I went in... I had a very very very basic vocab level. Like, I wouldn't have even passed JLPT 5. I guarantee it.

 

Really, as long as you are confidant in basic grammar you should be fine. I mean, I got absolutely wrecked when I went into my first one (Akatsuki no Goei), and it took me like 7 hours to read what would have taken 30 minutes. Knowing kanji is a non-issue with TA and JParser, so really, you only need grammar knowledge. If you decide to jump in as early as possible, the going is probably going to be painfully slow. However, I promise it gets better the more time you put into studying and reading... especially reading.

 

Just stick it through and you will be fine.

[Yuuko]

it took me like 7 hours to read what would have taken 30 minutes.

[Scoot]

I can understand most sentences when I am using TA with jparser/atlas I just thought it wasn't right way to go word by word checking.

[Deep Blue]

You need to know the grammar specially the particles, I know around 600-700 kanji already but I'm not into grammar yet(I want to know all the kanji before starting to learn proper grammar) and when I read a vn it's still hard without the knowing of particles and some kana words, I can kinda guess sometime what they are trying to say but it's really hard and translating word by word is a pain, oh and you need to know vocab too, because even if you know some kanji when they are together with other ones the meaning can be a total different thing.

 

For example and this is a really easy one: 先生 = sensei, one means before and the other life... bu together they mean teacher or as an honorific. So even if you knew the meaning of the kanji itself there is no way to know the meaning of them in a compound if you dont know the vocabulary