vsim Posted January 10, 2021 Posted January 10, 2021 Hey everyone! Trying this forum for this question. I've started trying to learn to read Japanese again (via Duolingo and JapanesePod 101) and was looking for recommendations for any Macross manga which I might have some hope of eventually reading! Obviously I have a very limited vocabulary at the moment but I've been keeping at it daily for almost 3 months now so it's building slowly. I have Macross 7 Trash and I thought I might be able to try it but I'm not sure. I also have several older books/manga around as well. Any recommendations would be appreciated! Including other manga/books if there is an easier path for me to start on! Thanks! どもありがとうございます Quote
sketchley Posted January 11, 2021 Posted January 11, 2021 (edited) I'd go with Macross the First. It's close enough to the SDFM story that you can understand what's going on without even being able to read it. For a language learner, it also has the benefit of furigana—hiragana above the kanji—so it'll be a much easier read. The manga adaptations of Macross Plus and Macross F are also recommended for the above reasons. Unlike Macross the First, they were completed. However, Macross the First (despite being unfinished), is still the better choice—especially the first few volumes. Macross 7 Trash is pretty good, but as it takes place after the events of Macross 7 and is a unique story, it may be a bridge too far at your current ability level. Edited January 11, 2021 by sketchley Quote
jvmacross Posted January 11, 2021 Posted January 11, 2021 As longs as you are just interested in "practice" since Macross The First never got completed.... Quote
vsim Posted January 16, 2021 Author Posted January 16, 2021 I didn't even know they had manga adaptations of Plus. Thanks for the tips guys. And yes, furigana definitely helps at this point! I'll see if I can find Macross the First anywhere. Why was it never finished? Thank you! Quote
jvmacross Posted January 16, 2021 Posted January 16, 2021 2 hours ago, vsim said: I didn't even know they had manga adaptations of Plus. Thanks for the tips guys. And yes, furigana definitely helps at this point! I'll see if I can find Macross the First anywhere. Why was it never finished? Thank you! https://www.ebay.com/itm/MACROSS-FIRST-1-KADOKAWA-COMICS-ACE-6-21-2009-ISBN-/184541950670?_trksid=p2349526.m4383.l4275.c4#viTabs_0 Mikimoto also has a character illustration book that has been constantly delayed for the last 2 and a half years...I am guessing he is a busy man... Good Luck! Quote
sketchley Posted January 17, 2021 Posted January 17, 2021 12 hours ago, vsim said: I didn't even know they had manga adaptations of Plus. Thanks for the tips guys. And yes, furigana definitely helps at this point! I'll see if I can find Macross the First anywhere. Why was it never finished? Thank you! It's a long story to put in manga form, and Mikimoto-san has historically shown that he looses interest in such projects, and switches to other ones. In the past, he has eventually (that's on a scale of years) come back to finish the projects. However, Macross the First doesn't have a stable publisher. It started in one manga book (Macross Ace), then switched to another (Newtype Ace) when the 1st one stopped publishing, and then switched to an online publisher (Nicco?) when the 2nd book stopped. Then for reasons I'm not familiar with, it switched to a 2nd online publisher, and restarted from the very beginning with (slight) revisions. Quote
jvmacross Posted January 17, 2021 Posted January 17, 2021 Hope to see the return of some MtF in the form of some nice illustrations in his upcoming book....someday Quote
vsim Posted January 18, 2021 Author Posted January 18, 2021 On 1/16/2021 at 11:08 PM, sketchley said: It's a long story to put in manga form, and Mikimoto-san has historically shown that he looses interest in such projects, and switches to other ones. In the past, he has eventually (that's on a scale of years) come back to finish the projects. However, Macross the First doesn't have a stable publisher. It started in one manga book (Macross Ace), then switched to another (Newtype Ace) when the 1st one stopped publishing, and then switched to an online publisher (Nicco?) when the 2nd book stopped. Then for reasons I'm not familiar with, it switched to a 2nd online publisher, and restarted from the very beginning with (slight) revisions. Ah, gotcha, sounds...messy. BTW, thanks for the translations on your website sketchley. I try to look through your translations occasionally when I have time :). Quote
jvmacross Posted January 18, 2021 Posted January 18, 2021 There's also the original SDFM TV manga screenshot comics..... ...or the novelizations.... Quote
vsim Posted January 23, 2021 Author Posted January 23, 2021 On 1/18/2021 at 1:31 PM, jvmacross said: There's also the original SDFM TV manga screenshot comics..... ...or the novelizations.... Huh...never seen those either. I do have the movie adaptation though (2 volume color one). What's the difference between the "screenshot comics" and the "novelizations"? From a perspective of which would be easier for a beginner to read or are they similar as far as written content, just that one uses pictures from the series and the other has more traditional black and white drawings? Quote
jvmacross Posted January 23, 2021 Posted January 23, 2021 1 hour ago, vsim said: Huh...never seen those either. I do have the movie adaptation though (2 volume color one). What's the difference between the "screenshot comics" and the "novelizations"? From a perspective of which would be easier for a beginner to read or are they similar as far as written content, just that one uses pictures from the series and the other has more traditional black and white drawings? Yes, the "film comics" basically would be a direct conversion of the dialogue heard from each of the 36 episodes of the the actual TV show....the novels are more of a condensed re-telling of the events from all 36 episodes...with very little illustrated content. I would say the "comics" would probably be easier to read, based on the intended audience. Quote
vsim Posted January 31, 2021 Author Posted January 31, 2021 With some effort I managed to get through the first page of Macross The First book 1, lol. It took some effort with working some words I knew, and many I didn't through google translate to make sense of it and figure it out. I'll slowly get better, I figure it will be years before I am comfortable :). Quote
sketchley Posted February 1, 2021 Posted February 1, 2021 (edited) 15 hours ago, vsim said: With some effort I managed to get through the first page of Macross The First book 1, lol. It took some effort with working some words I knew, and many I didn't through google translate to make sense of it and figure it out. I'll slowly get better, I figure it will be years before I am comfortable :). There's another way to do it: just read it. As you know the basic story, it's more a question of how they said it rather than what exactly they said. At the very least, you'll be picking up the grammar (yes, there are rules to be learned, but a lot of syntax, etc. comes from repeated exposure to patterns). Re: looking up words For beginners, it's a bit of an overload looking up so many. Therefore focus on the words that are repeated about 3 times or more. Those are important to the topic, and are the ones worth spending energy on to learn right away. Edited February 1, 2021 by sketchley Quote
jvmacross Posted February 1, 2021 Posted February 1, 2021 Google Translate is getting better all the time, good to hear it is helping you and acting as a learning tool Quote
vsim Posted February 7, 2021 Author Posted February 7, 2021 On 2/1/2021 at 3:50 AM, sketchley said: There's another way to do it: just read it. As you know the basic story, it's more a question of how they said it rather than what exactly they said. At the very least, you'll be picking up the grammar (yes, there are rules to be learned, but a lot of syntax, etc. comes from repeated exposure to patterns). Re: looking up words For beginners, it's a bit of an overload looking up so many. Therefore focus on the words that are repeated about 3 times or more. Those are important to the topic, and are the ones worth spending energy on to learn right away. Yeah, mostly I need the time. I can do Duolingo just because it is on my phone and I can spend short periods of time with it, although it's not the greatest for teaching rules. You end up having to read the comments under certain things to get insight into that. My Japanese is coming along slowly. But I've only been putting forth a daily effort for just over 3 months now so still a ways to go. I'm at least to the point now where I occasionally see a Kanji I know, or sometimes part of a Kanji and get a little excited that I recognize it, lol. On 2/1/2021 at 10:01 AM, jvmacross said: Google Translate is getting better all the time, good to hear it is helping you and acting as a learning tool Yeah, it helps me sort out some issues, but I noticed it is terrible at translating if you just type everything in in Hiragana. It's a lot better if you convert it to the correct Kanji first. Quote
Corban2515 Posted October 9 Posted October 9 (edited) On 1/18/2021 at 8:31 PM, jvmacross said: There's also the original SDFM TV manga screenshot comics..... ...or the novelizations.... If you're looking to improve your Japanese while enjoying some Macross content, I'd recommend starting with "Macross: The First." It's a faithful retelling of the original series and uses language that’s relatively accessible for learners. Another good one is "Macross Frontier: Choujikuu Utahime Ranka," which has more modern vocabulary. For those needing a bit of extra help with translation or comprehension, I've found resources like this collection of nursing paper examples https://www.nursingpaper.com/examples/ really helpful. It might not be manga, but reading through well-structured essays can also boost your understanding of Japanese grammar and sentence structure. Cool! These comics offer a nostalgic look back at the classic moments and are a cool collector’s item for Macross enthusiasts! Edited October 14 by Corban2515 Quote
jvmacross Posted October 9 Posted October 9 Yeah..anything released by Shogakukan for SDF Macross back in the day is a nostalgic trip... Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.