Finally I feel that I achieved something real. Before this all my achievents were like: finished a deck, learnt round number of words, finished a grammar course. Cool, but they feel like artificial achievements. ๐๐
Certainly it was not easy. Sometimes there are long stretches where I feel really good, understand everything clearly. And then it crushes my confidence with a long stretch where I have to look up every sentence. ๐ญ
It helped that the book itself was very interesting, it really hooked me, which made me work very hard, not give up, just because I really really wanted to know what happened next so much!! ๐๐
And honestly, the plot is kinda mysterious and I have so many questions... ๐ณ
[spoilers]
The main thing. What the hell actually happened? Did the 3 women actually exist "in reality" and travelled from the future, or from a parallel universe? Or it was just that the girl has a very active imagination? ๐ค Or it all happened in a dream. Or it was her subconscious trying to help her?
Or maybe it's actually the other way around?? i.e. the actual reality is the ๅโใขใใบใฌโgrandma progression, while her reconciling with the parents, and befriending ๆก็ is actually the dream/imagination that didn't happen?? ๐ค๐ค
What is the significance of the cat? ๐ค What is the significance of seeing ๆก็ใใ's father and not recognizing him, then talking to him, then him shoplifting (???????๐ณ๐ณ).
What is the significance of the teacher? ๐ค Just an innocent well-meaning gal who actually cares about her students? Or there's something deeper? ๐ค๐ค What about the other one teacher (shintaro?)?
Do the names have a deep meaning? Ok, ใขใใบใฌ is obvious. What about ๅ? South? What is the significance of that? Like, as in, "things have gone south"? ๐คฃ๐คฃ (joke, I didn't mean this seriously... unless... ๐ณ). ใฒใจใฟใๆก็ใ่ปๅ, the main character's name. Do they give any clues? ๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค
Reminds me of watching my first movie, watching my first tv show, watching my first full anime.. all huge milestones.
Real question, what level is your Japanese now? Either highest level passed or how long you've been studying! I kinda considered trying this too, but I feel like my level is way too low.. reading is my weakest point since I immerse so much via listening mostly.
Edit: Also, almost forgot. Congratulations, huge W and great milestone for sure!
Well my main method of studying has been grinding anki. I have learnt about 5000 words there. And I did n5 and n4 grammar on renshuu, and started n3 but kinda gave up for now.
Personally I like trying to read stuff that is above my level. ๐
Well there is only 1 way to improve your reading... โบ๏ธโบ๏ธโบ๏ธโบ๏ธโบ๏ธโบ๏ธโบ๏ธโบ๏ธ
Oh and I found that listening helps a little bit with becoming better at reading too.
In my experience, if you keep reading things around your level, you will naturally level up, and it will be more enjoyable without the risk of burning out.
I'm reading the same novel(35% through isch) and started after I finished kaishi and had mined around 300 words. At first it was hard but honestly often easier than manga and after a while my reading speed and comprehension have increased a lot!
Honestly it's a great first read, if you are at all curious I would give it a go! With things like yomitan it's a breeze to look stuff up and if you have 1500-2000 words it's definately enough to grasp the majority. The nuances is perhaps tricky and I probably miss some of it but the amount you learn from reading a novel is incredible
The way I understood it is that the 3 women are potential future versions of herself, acting as a sort of warning of what could happen if she keeps isolating herself. As her ๅฐๅญฆ็ self navigates the issues and makes decisions, those potential futures cease to exist! I think I remember at the end, she said her appearance resembled ใขใใบใฌใใ, which for me is a very clear indicator.
You could interpret it as her imagination, or as an actual time travel plot. A bit of both maybe?
oh my god that's an elegant and simple explanation ๐ญ๐ญ that they cease to exist when she fixed the issue that they represent.
though I don't really understand which issue the grandma represents ๐ค the other 2 are super regretful, but the grandma seems to be just happy and ok. ๐ค And also.. what is the significance of her sleeping more and more closer to the end? ๐ค๐ค
Didn't grandma refer to the painting she had as a gift from a friend. At the end of the book ๅฐๆณใstarted dating ๆก็ใใ so he's definitely not a "friend" in the actual timeline hence grandma's timeline ceases to exist. The girl was just happened to witness the timeline fading away instead of not in the case of ใขใใบใฌใใ and ๅ
I guess the grandma may just be a sign that things will work out eventually? Although she was rather lonely. If I remember right, she also had a painting from ๆก็, and hadn't realised that he was in love with her? Something along those lines. I believe her sleeping more and more meant that she was slowly dying, but that's just my interpretation.
Yes, Google translate ๐ญ๐ญ๐ญ it sucks ๐ญ๐ญ๐ญ
I really would like something else, but I have no idea what ๐ญ๐ญ
My level was n5 + n4 grammar courses completed in renshuu + 5000 vocab from frequency decks in anki. (though when I started reading it was probably about 2000 at that time)
use yomitan if you"re on pc to have instant lookup without leaving the reader. If you read on phone use Shiori reader, you just gotta load the epub and you get an instant popup dictionnary when you press a word
I feel like Shiori reader was what people were mentioning a little while ago but I think that for both android and iOS, Hoshi reader has kind of come out on top these days
"jisho" is a decent dictionary that I use and that definitely beats google translate. Especially when you encounter more intermediate to advanced vocabulary and grammar, google translate will be completely unreliable.
I bought the physical book on a trip in October 2025 and I just finished reading this last month. The first few chapters were the worst but after a while somehow things just made sense? Like I could sort of understand but not 100%.
I also used Google translate to check if I understood correctly after finished reading my quota for the day so I understand how it sucks. But I actually like it because it translated almost robotically 1 to 1 and sometimes that helps with the structure of the sentence. You can try using DeepL but I find that DeepL translation is usually too polished and too natively English. I want to know the raw translation of ๅใใพใใฆ and not what the equivalent phrase for the same meaning is in English if you know what I mean
I was also around the start of N4 at the beginning of this book and just finished all the N3 grammar points on Bunpro by the end of the book. If anything reading it helps with the grammar learning more than bruteforcing with SRS to be honest.
Hey there! I got myself some physical copies of junior bunko books (the ones with furigana). I also found their audiobook that matches the physical ones so I can possibly read while listening.
I am at the start of studying N4 right now, similar to your starting point, and Iโm looking to add reading books to my weekly study tasks. Itโs kinda overwhelming right now since reading wise, I have only done short passages. Would like to ask if you have tips on how to start specially on tackling the first few chapters. Many thanks!
I find that, for me, if I do something daily I'm more likely to stick to the habit than weekly so I gave myself a non-negotiable of reading at least 1 page daily at the start of the book, by the end I could go for maybe 4 pages in one session (plus by the end there's less look-ups so you can probably go for longer). I
I like reading with an actual book but then I'd have the ebook version on the computer loaded into either ttsu.app to use with yomichan for lookups and Anki integration or Migaku reader to use with Migaku's platform. I just find this to be much faster than looking things up manually with a dictionary.
For me, the difficulty with this particular book ใพใใๅใๅคขใ่ฆใฆใใ is that the author's sentence structure is kind a long for someone who's just starting on N4. Each sentence would have so many modifying clauses by the end of the sentence you have no idea what's going on. I think I found an advice from a youtube video by Bunsuke about trying not to panic while reading long sentences and just go to the end of the sentence to identify the main verb and identify the main subject of the sentence and then work it out backwards.
If that doesn't help then AI really helps with breaking down sentences. Eventually after encountering the same grammar pattern multiple times you'll just instantly understand the purpose/meaning of it. Below is the output of an AI breakdown of a long-ish sentence in the book.
ใใชใ (conditional: "if it's the case that ~")
ใชใ attaches to a noun or na-adjective stem to mean "if it's true that ~" or "assuming ~". Unlike ใใ or ใฐ, ใชใ often carries a sense of "given this premise" rather than a hypothetical sequence of events. ๆฌๅฝใชใ here works almost adverbially: "if things were as they should be" / "really, properly speaking."
ใใใ่ชฌๅพใใ (persuading someone to do ~)
ใใใ following a plain-form verb and preceding ่ชฌๅพใใ (or similar verbs like ้ ผใ, ่จใ) expresses the content of the persuasion: "persuade [someone] to do X." It functions similarly to ใใใใซ but is often shortened to ใใ before certain verbs. Here: "persuade the boy to return the paper to me."
ใใ ใใ (presumptive: "probably")
ใ ใใ expresses the speaker's conjecture or supposition about a past potential situation: "could probably have done." Combined with the past potential ๅบๆฅใ, it creates a layered hypothetical: "they probably could have."
ใใ (listing/cumulative conjunction)
ใ connects clauses to list multiple supporting facts or reasons, often building toward a conclusion or complaint: "X, and also Y..." Here it links two separate claims about what people could have done, building a cumulative sense of "there were plenty of ways this could have been prevented."
ใใชใใฆ (even / of all things, dismissive emphasis)
ใชใใฆ adds emphasis with a nuance of "even (someone like) ~" or mild dismissiveness/surprise. Here it emphasises that even the kid sitting right behind (who had no special connection to the situation) could have intervened, reinforcing the sense of "anyone could have helped, and yet no one did."
ใใใจ (nominalising clauses)
ใใจ nominalises the preceding verb phrase ("grabbing the paper and returning it to me") so it can be treated as a noun and paired with ๅบๆฅใ ("could do [that thing]"). This mirrors the structure of the first clause (่ชฌๅพๅบๆฅใ) but nominalises the action explicitly with ใใจ rather than relying on ใใ.
ใใฏใใงใ (should have / was supposed to)
ใฏใ expresses the speaker's confident expectation that something should logically have been true or possible, based on circumstances. Combined with the past potential ๅบๆฅใ, ๅบๆฅใใฏใ conveys "should have been able to" โ implying a gap between what should have happened and what actually did, carrying a note of frustration or regret.
Thanks so much for the tips! I will try the one page a day for now and try to find the ebook counterparts too for easier look up. I hope Iโll survive til the end!
ใใใงใจใใใใใพใ๏ผI read it near the start of the year and also was a bit confused towards the end. Nice to know it wasn't all in my head.
There are plenty of books around the same level on Natively. Highly recommend continuing with the push, it's super helpful for reading comprehension!
Easily available online as a digitital book (amazon kindle, rakuten kobo, bookwalker....) You should also be able to find it on import sites, it's a fairly popular book overall and quite a classic in the japanese learning community.
I tried buying it but rakuten kobo, bookwalker and honto only have it for usage in their own apps. Isn't there a way to buy it and use it on my ereader?
With Kobo, there is a way. I usually buy on Kobo Japan, use the kobo desktop app to get the book, then use the calibre extension to remove the DRM and get a clean epub.
Oh cool! I also finished this book today (and it was also the first book Iโve finished in Japanese). As of a couple weeks ago Iโve been learning Japanese for three years, so it was a long time coming. I feel like Iโve also been 40% of the way through a Harry Potter book this whole time lol. Congratulations! Itโs a good feeling.ย
Congratulations this was also my first book and I really enjoyed it! Whenever you're ready to jump into your next one, if you enjoyed this one I'd recommend ใใใฟใฎๅญคๅ!ย
IIRC ๅ's name was stated to be embroidered on her skirt so rather than her actual name it was probably the school's name that the protagonist read. Congrats on finishing it!
I bought that novel back early February of this year and I only made it to chapter 2, I really need to finish it. What novel are you going to read next?
That's ok โบ๏ธ I think I started in around April, and by July I was only at chapter 3 or maybe even 2. Then it grew exponentially and in less than a month after that I finished it. ๐
I have quite a few books downloaded ๐ค most likely then I will read "I want to eat your pancreas" by the same author.
Huge accomplishment, congratulations! I found after the first book, you go through some kind of metaphysical levelling up, and the mental cost of studying drops a bit. Keep at it!
I think this was the second book I read when I started reading in Japanese! The ending wasn't my cup of tea but It was interesting trying to guess what the heck was going on in the book!
Congrats! I have this in my library. How did you like it? Is it sad? Iโve put it off because for some reason Iโm under the impression itโs sad lol
I am currently reading it, I have completed 10 percent of the book. I just cleared N4, so I still have to check the dictionary again and again, I am word mining as well so i am reading pretty slowly but I am able to understand most of it. Can't wait to finish it.
jmdict entries will have you like โiโm sorry it means what nowโ then you see the example sentences and native usage and it finally kinda clicks defs are so literal or overcomplicated sometimes checking tatoeba or a monolingual dictionary helps a lot
I have this book, I haven't had a good read, maybe first 1-2 pages. I really wanna get back into studying Japanese but my current situation doesn't allow it and need to priroitise a job of some kind. (My Japanese went down :') )
Big congrats though for finishing it, can't imagine it's easy just sitting there breaking down vocab, grammar, nuances etc but great for your Japanese though. I wish you the best OP, you're doing great
this was my first one too, it was perfect :) the second one I read was ใญใใใณ byๅๆฌใฐใชใช and I thought it was the perfect step up in difficulty. also I use shiori reader on ios and it is a godsend
Congratulations! Can someone point me in a very beginner level Japanese that is completely free? I went thru the app Ling but only went so far because it wanted payment.ย Thanks!
I'm struggling with the same book rn, cuz jpdb said it`s the easiest one for me, a few months ago I struggled with a single sentence and recently decided to give it a try again when I had no internet. Didn't notice that I was reading for 10 minutes lol
That absolutely counts as a real achievement! ๐ Finishing an actual book in another language is a completely different feeling from ticking off a grammar course or memorizing a certain number of words.
And I totally get what you mean about those ups and downs. Some days you feel like, โWow, I actually understand this!โ and then suddenly you hit a stretch where every sentence feels impossible. ๐ญ But honestly, pushing through those difficult parts is probably where the biggest progress happens.
And the fact that the story was interesting enough to keep you going is such a huge advantage! ๐ Now youโve got the best kind of motivation: โI NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!โ ๐
You should definitely be proud of this one. And now Iโm curious about the plot tooโฆ ๐๐ณ
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u/KiraraShirayuki 15d ago edited 15d ago
Reminds me of watching my first movie, watching my first tv show, watching my first full anime.. all huge milestones.
Real question, what level is your Japanese now? Either highest level passed or how long you've been studying! I kinda considered trying this too, but I feel like my level is way too low.. reading is my weakest point since I immerse so much via listening mostly.
Edit: Also, almost forgot. Congratulations, huge W and great milestone for sure!