Hey all! :D

I’m currently watching an anime series called Kaiji. Well, the most recent episode is out, but without subtitles! (yet) Since I was desperate to know what was going to happen, I decided to watch the episode without subtitles. I wasn’t sure how much I would actually understand, but I had to watch the episode!!!

I feel this has been one the best thing I’ve done to improve my Japanese. Yes, I know. Anime isn’t the best resource to use to learn Japanese, but it does work.

Here’s what it did for me:

1. Listening comprehension. I had to pay attention to what the characters. Most of it I didn’t get it, but what I did helped a lot. How come? It has to do with voice and speech.

Voice is how a person sounds when he or she talks. Speech is what they are saying, the words they are speaking.

When I speak Japanese with my girlfriend (who is Japanese), it’s very easy for me because I’m used to her voice. I can easily understand what she is saying. However, If I talk to someone else, it gets harder. I need them to slow down, and repeat.

Listening to different voices helps a lot. This is something you might need to try out before you understand why it helps.

2. You learn to speak Japanese like Japanese people do.

Say I only know 100 words. When I listen and recognize one of the words being said, I somehow get into super focus mode. I pay attention to how to conjugated the word, in which context it was used, how it was used, etc.. When you read and learn words from text books, or even from the subtitles, many translations are not accurate. They indeed work, but they don’t seem perfect. When you watch Japanese movies, TV, anime, whatever, you see in which context the word was used in.

3. The feeling of understanding without subtitles is amazing! It makes you want to push yourself much more and learn more! All the sudden you want to understand the whole thing!

4. Your eyes are not reading anymore and you pay more attention to what’s going on. When you read subtitles, you don’t pay too much attention to what is being said.

Give it a try! If you feel it did nothing, it’ll only be 20 minutes of your life, so you wont be wasting too much time. Otherwise I think you’ll love it! :D

About me: I don’t know much Japanese. I studied abroad in Japan during Spring 2010. That semester I took my first Japanese class ever. Since then my main resource for practicing is my girlfriend. I also read tons of Japanese-learning websites like TextFugu, and more. I also use Anki now and then. My point is, my level of Japanese is basic. Perhaps upper basic? Nah. Just basic.

Have you tried this before? Comments? Suggestions? Other benefits? Share! :D

Peace.