How to learn Japanese the nerdy way (like a boss)

Japanese... this language has fascinated me for so long, the way it sounds, the beauty of its writing, love it or hate it it's hard to deny its usefulness at the least.

So for those who are unlucky and never got the opportunity to study this in formal schooling or even for those of you who are indeed lucky enough to be doing this at school etc then lets dig in!

For all my fellow nerds out there Japanese is probably one of the most accessible and indeed useful languages out there! Want to watch your anime in subs without having to read? Better learn Japanese. Want to read imported game manuals or pre production game info? Again you are going to need to get a basic grasp. 

So what are some of the ways you can learn easily just by being your nerdy self you ask? Well believe it or not there are heaps of things you can do that will both passively and actively boost your learning of this amazing language. 

Anime: This is obvious to most people that watch anime but you really can start absorbing words without even knowing it just by watching anime. Language experts often say the best way to learn a language is to immerse yourself in it and for those of us that can't afford a trip to Japan anime is pretty much the next best thing.  With so many anime out there anyone can find something they like. So if your into anime already great! Keep watching and watch in Sub (Subtitles) and not Dub. If you haven't watched anime then give it a try, from love stories to adventure to space robots I promise there is an anime that will interest you out there. Again here watching it Japanese with subtitles is key. I myself have been watching anime in sub for years and can pick out and remember a tonne of words with no effort put in on my part! (Stuff like, always, everyone, dream, white, damn, I love you, I am, etc). Granted this is no substitute for actually studying it but boosting both your comprehension of sentence structure,  words and phrases with no actual work involved is a pretty sweet pay off for sitting down and watching some amazing stories. 

Ok you say so I can start to get a really basic grasp just by watching cartoons that's pretty neat and all but what I can do that is nerdy to actually study it? 

Well here are several nerdy things you can do with the help of word charts of Japanese Kanji for both Katakana and Hiragana. 

1. Pokémon Names: Have you ever wonder traded your Pokémon? Got some Japanese ones? Cool use the sheets to figure out the names of the Pokémon and the original Trainer! (write it down and keep a book) See if every now and then you can read them without using the sheet from memory!

2. Imported Games: If you have any Japanese imports use the sheets to try and figure out bits of the manual or game. (again writing it in a book can be helpful)

3. Pre-release game info:  If you love games  and the studio is releasing info before the release you can again use the charts to look up what the characters used actually spell so you can figure out what that boss is going to be and what the moves could be ahead of release!  A YouTuber Gaijin Goombah actually has a mini-series of videos on doing exactly this!

4. Last but not least you can use your internet skills! This may sound like a bit of a no-brainer but the internet is actually pretty jam packed with sites that will help you learn Japanese from Kanji sheets like the ones linked above to actual courses and lessons .

So there you have it folks! Ways to start or boost your leaning of a language just by being your fantastic nerdy self! 

Hope you enjoyed this article and as always if you want to fling me some pocket change so I can keep blogging you can donate via paypal to kara_mad@yahoo.co.uk all donations are loved and greatly appreciated. That is also the email you can get me on if you want to suggest content for me to blog about!

Minecraft Adventures: Pixelmon Mod ( Poke Frontier Sever) + Mini Reveiw

So I haven't been posting much on the blog lately (don't worry content is coming) ... the reason is I was gifted a copy of Minecraft. 

This game is unreal. Most people who don't live in a cave will get what I am talking about here its like Lego, you can build anything and the only limit is you. (Also a lot less pricey and cant be used as a booby-trap, Lego + feet = pain am I right?)

So I decided to instal a mod called Pixelmon that I heard a lot about. For anyone that likes Pokemon and owns mine craft I would check it out.

Brief mini review of Pixelmon: As I tend to do reviews here I thought it apt to do a mini review of the mod itself. Anyone who likes Pokemon will most likely get a kick out of this mod. The craftables the mod adds have really sensible recipes and look very nice, the models are nice looking and still blend well into the original game. The Pokemon models are on the whole very nice and there are some really nice nodds to fan cannon in the mod (cloning Mew gets Mewtwo but fail and get a Ditto) which long time Pokemon fans will really appreciate. The mod also has a dedicated wiki which is super helpful and the mod itself is fairly easy to instal. It can be a little buggy at times but it is being constantly updated, worked on and fixed. On the whole its a very well put together mod. If you wanna play a pokemon game but always longed for an MMO experience and love mine craft then this is your dream mod. Get it and find a server.

This brings me onto the more shameless plug bit of this post. So in the time I haven't been posting its because I followed my own advice.

I found a server and became a helper. I play on a pretty good Pixelmon sever called Poke Frontier (pokefrontier.nn.pe:25565) It's a community server with people on the whole being really friendly and helpful and also coming from all over the world! We have both Kanto and Johto maps that are pretty accurate and well built and also the gym challenge for both regions. The Gyms and the Elite four are all real people which makes it a tough but enjoyable challenge, also its totally optional. There are also drop parties and quizzes and Pokemon races held from time to time too which keeps things fun and interesting. Also a big draw for the server is that you have plenty of space to build either a faction base with all your friends or just carve out a little spot all to yourself. 

So come and join it if you think its your kind of thing! 

Now I'm going to show off my base and hopefully get you fired up to join in! 

Have a look at the awesome stuff I have made and the Pokemon I have caught, come and join in. The server even has a Youtube Channel so check it out!