The best way to learn a language is to enjoy yourself interacting with the language, whether that be reading a manga/ novel, watching a TV show or anime, or getting out and having conversations with native speakers.
Getting the balance right between finding something that interests you but is also around your language level can be tricky, so here are some of the manga/ novel/ dramas that I have found both interesting and accessible as a Japanese learner (with links to posts where I have covered them on my blog)!
Easy Manga Recommendations
Most of the manga that is simple to read is within the genre called ‘slice of life’, which focuses on everyday situations. Dramas aimed at younger children will also have furigana (readings for kanji) which will make it much easier to look up new vocabulary. Therefore a lot of the manga I recommend tend to be ‘slice of life’ with a straightforward storyline:
- Cooking Papa (roughly JLPT N3/ intermediate level)
- Crayon Shin Chan (roughly JLPT N4/ upper beginner level)
- My Darling is a Foreigner (roughly JLPT N3/ intermediate level)
- Flying Witch (roughly JLPT N3/ intermediate level)
- Gin no Saji/ Silver Spoon (roughly JLPT N3/ intermediate level)
- Let’s Dance a Waltz (roughly JLPT N4/ upper beginner level)
- Nihonjin no Shiranai Nihongo (roughly JLPT N3/ intermediate level to fully enjoy, upper beginners may be able to follow the dialogues)
- Orange (roughly JLPT N3/ intermediate level)
- Oremonogatari!! (roughly JLPT N4/ upper beginner level)
- Shibata Bakery (roughly JLPT N3/ intermediate level)
- Sweets Penguin (roughly JLPT N4/ upper beginner level)
- Tsuredure Children (roughly JLPT N4/ upper beginner level)
- Usagi Drop (roughly JLPT N3/ intermediate level)
- Yumeiro Patissiere (roughly JLPT N4/ upper beginner level)
Stories and Novels
I try to introduce reading materials through my Author Spotlight series of posts, which focus on introducing authors whose works are readily available and are relatively accessible:
- Niimi Nankichi (JLPT N4/ upper beginner level and above)
- Ogawa Mimei (JLPT N4/ upper beginner level and above)
- Yumeno Kyusaku (JLPT N3/ intermediate level and above)
If children’s books are something you’d like to try, check out my posts on the best resources for children’s books in Japanese.
I also introduce stories through my What I’m Reading Posts, which tend to feature books and manga for those at JLPT N4-N2 levels.
The books from these posts that I would recommend to other learners are:
- 神様の制度/ Kamisama no Seido [The Accuracy of Death] by Kotaro Isaka (roughly JLPT N3/ intermediate level)
- きみにしか聞こえない/ Kimi ni shika kikoenai by Otsuichi (roughly JLPT N3/ intermediate level)
- 神様が嘘をつ/ Kamisama ga Uso wo Tsuku [The Gods Lie] by Kaori Ozaki (roughly JLPT N4/ upper beginner)
Dramas
As I’ve covered in another post, Netflix is a useful resource for anime and dramas, if you already have a subscription. In particular, the Netflix original content tends to have Japanese language subtitles which are useful for testing your language skills.
Some recommendations for TV shows are:
- Japanese Style Originator
- Terrace House
- Good Morning Call
- Itazura na Kiss
- Erased
- Case Closed
My Top 8 Netflix shows post goes into a bit more depth about the shows I’ve enjoyed and for each one I have written about how difficult I found the language used.
If you can’t afford Netflix, you can find a lot of popular J-dramas on other websites for free!