How I Learned Japanese with Visual Novels

Many of you have been curious about it, so here it is! I'll tell all about my own experiences with learning Japanese using Visual Novels, as well as how you too can start your own Journey into Japanese!

Tools Used:
Textractor GITHUB
Rampaa JL GITHUB
Online Grammar Websites:
IMABI
Wasabi Net
Guide to Japanese ORG

Japanese Hiragana/Katakana Charts From:
Chart 2: TOFUGU

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See you next time!

00:00 Introduction
02:56 Japanese? What's That?
05:49 The Alphabet
09:38 GRAMMAR AHHHH
13:48 Playing Visual Novels w/ Text Hookers

[Some_Guy_]

I have HUGE respect for anyone diving into VNs for learning purposes. I tried and just felt overwhelmed each time. In the end I jumped into Manga and games instead. A nostalgia-filled trip through Final Fantasy 8 with its short text-boxes and "text breaks" was much easier to stomach than pure reading of narrated, longer text - for me at least. It's not only the shorter sentences, but also that the pacing is usually much faster so that you feel like you are progressing more. VNs can be hard to get into with little language knowledge.

[Senraikai]

Nice. I was hoping to see you make this kind of video. This is pretty similar to how I got into learning Japanese for/with Visual Novels. There were Visual Novels I wanted to play, that were untranslated, and I had to do something to be able to play them. I refused to use a machine translator, so I was left with only one option. Back then VNs weren't even allowed on steam, so yeah things have changed quite a bit. It's crazy to think about how common official localization for VNs is nowadays.

If someone starts learning now, they will still be able to read Rance X before it comes out in English.

[matildawolfram]

Terrific video! Many thanks to the author of the channel for the recommendations! The problem with many people is that they want to take a "magic pill" or get "secret knowledge" and immediately have skills and abilities. However, the truth of life is that knowledge, skills, and abilities do not come by themselves. You can't learn a foreign language without doing anything, without wasting your time and effort, just like you can't learn to ride a bike lying on a comfy couch, listening to lectures and watching videos about "modern methods of learning" on a bike. To really learn something, you have to really practice every day. You're going to fall down while you're learning, and you're going to get bumps - that's normal! The ups and downs of learning are an integral part of our lives. Motivation from success and depression from failure will always be your study companions. However, every student has problems in his or her studies that he or she lacks the knowledge to solve. It can be: poor memorization of words; no progress in language learning; the student can speak, but does not understand speech by ear; misunderstanding of grammar; incorrect pronunciation, etc. Agree that a problem you don't know how to solve is very demotivating. In order to find the answer to our question we have to spend a lot of time to read videos, articles and books by polyglots. In today's world, we have to solve problems as quickly as possible. I don't have time to study and analyze a huge amount of information. My goal is to master the basic knowledge of a foreign language as quickly as possible and already start earning money effectively in the international arena. I settled on the practical guide by Yuriy Ivantsiv " Polyglot's Notes: practical tips for learning foreign language". This book is always in my bag. If I have a problem while learning a language, I quickly find the answer in this book. There are many different techniques and tips for learning a foreign language in Polyglot Notes. I have made my own individual schedule and plan for language learning. Now I know what I am going to study, how I am going to study, when I am going to study and what results I am going to achieve. No problem could stop me! With an effective language learning plan my professional skills are more and more in demand internationally every day. Friends, don't stop there! Everyone has talents that millions of people around the world need! Learn the language and make your ideas and dreams come true! Thanks to the author of the channel for the informative and useful video! Your videos motivate me.

[KnightCrown]

Rikai-kun(I think?) is amazing because it integrates with Anki flashcards. Reviewing them boost my learning speed by 10x I swear

[lua-yqux]

I can't help but feel a little (a lot) frustrated by the amount of vocabulary I have to note down in the process of playing a simple game, but watching this video is motivating me a little since you and a bunch of other people I see seem to agree as long as you get basic grammar down (and a grammar guide to reference) it's ok if you don't know a lot of words. Thank you

[Hydrit]

Interesting vid, when i saw you uploaded i was hoping for something Rance IX related tho. Any chance thats coming soon? Currently binging the heroine routes and love seeing your Rance vids, you're the only hardcore Rance fan on youtube afaik and it's just a joy seeing these vids.

[Pralii]

I got motivated to learn reading Japanese thanks to you !
At first I just wanted to understand at least half of all the scenes in an anime without subtitles, it took about a year or so...
Just with the help of a basic textbook and loads of simple anime I accumulated vocabulary and some sense of grammar

But then when it came to reading anything I was hopeless.
I tried playing japanese VNs using machine translation with hooks but it didn't really work out for me until I discovered Z memories !
I went on to learn hiragana and katakana better and slowly, but surely, bit my way through Rance 03 with that same setup + machine translation just to be sure. And i finished it a few months ago !
Now after studying more basic kanji I'll probably tackle Galzoo Island but with JL only.
I'm also going to share this to my friends ! It's awesome thanks !

[TSComega]

If anybody doesn't like tae kim, I really recommend watching cure dolly's grammar series. It is amazing for grammar. However, most people are turned off by her voice and slow pace during her videos so I recommend searching for her video transcripts online.

[chengxiaoshi]

For grammer. I think that ToniKanis Genki guide is the best for easy contexulised grammar explanations that arent overcomplicated

[DarthRane]

Wish i could find a video/guide that shows how to actually get and play japanese visual novels. I found tons of videos talking about tools to use them but nothing about actually setting yourself up to actually get and use them.

[anttirelev]

I'd love to know the names of the games used in the video. Pretty much, all of them. The art of many got me interested.

[burntt]

Whoa now! What is this program on the screen 16:23 ? Not the dictionary window that’s popped up. The whole full screen app

[supdude]

Great video, thank you for sharing your experience, altough my main interest would be to play console or portable games, do you know of a way to use this method but with an emulator?

If i'm not mistaken this texractor + JL method only works with PC games right?

[animagamer]

I saw this video half a year ago and I always knew I'd come back to it. I'm learning Japanese myself right now and I'm taking MattFromJapan's full immersion approach- the one he outlines on Refold. Ultimately though, my goal is to get good enough to play Japanese Games/Read Manga and LNs- not get good at speaking Japanese, which is mainly what Matt is all about. I figure that's a goal I can tackle if visiting Japan ever seems realistic. I think I'm about ready to start dipping my toes in visual novel land again. It is, after all, what sparked my love for Japanese media along with anime. I like Alicesoft games as well, I've played Rance 1 and 2 and enjoyed them both (though the remake of 1 was way better than 2), but I don't want to dive deeper into the series until I'm a bit more confident in my Japanese. Any other suggestions on Alicesoft games I could try? Other than Gaouzu Island I mean, you didn't exactly give a glowing recommendation 😅

[lisa_aand]

Nice vid! whats the game at around 4:00
Also I am looking for some visual novel recommendations, would anyone be so kind as to give me some? I don't know any thing about the genre but im kind of interested in getting started. I've already played ace attorney, zelda and some other games in japanese so i think I could go with pretty much anything when it comes to the language difficulty.

[TuxedoVaileGAMES]

I have a number of japanese PSX and Dreamcast games I was hoping to be able to do something like this with using emulators and trying to figure out how to do that brought me here. Do you have any recommendations for tools and things to use with emulators like ReDream and ePSXe? I have a horror game for the dreamcast for example called Nanatsu no Hikan that I'm really into but I have no idea what I'm reading on my own even though I have a general understanding of the grammar and can read the kana characters.

[tonk]

1:39 just a nitpick... ever 17 had an official release by Hirameki. back in the day. They did phantom of inferno or hourglass of summer too.

[singbiribiri]

Any games would you personally recommend that fits the criteria you provided ? Would sengoku Hime 3 ? Although the game is Abit long in that regard

[renaldiroekanto]

can you textract with へブバン？ i cant so im confused

[AngeVNs]

I've learend some Japanese through VNs. Been wanting to read more untranslated stuff.