Trying to understand raw manga - need help.

[smile72]

I feel like like a dumb ass, I can't figure out how to read it. I understand some of the symbols but I can't understand how to put it together. Sorry if this hard to understand. I'm attempting a Japanese course in college. I know some hiragana. The manga I'm attempting is SKET DANCE. If anyone can send me in the right direction it would be very much appreciated.

 

[nryn99]

up to down? left to right? i'm not sure but i think that's how they're written.

 

[Densetsu]

I feel like like a dumb ass, I can't figure out how to read it. I understand some of the symbols but I can't understand how to put it together. Sorry if this hard to understand. I'm attempting a Japanese course in college. I know some hiragana. The manga I'm attempting is SKET DANCE. If anyone can send me in the right direction it would be very much appreciated.

If you only know some hiragana, perhaps you're trying to run before you can even walk? Even if you knew all of the hiragana, katakana and enough kanji, the Japanese you find in manga is nothing like what you'll learn in an introductory Japanese college course. You shouldn't attempt to read a raw manga unless you have the basics of grammar and reading down first.

But as far as the order of the panels is concerned, it's just like Narayan says. Start from the top-right panel and work your way down to the bottom-left panel, the exact opposite of what you do when you read a comic book in English.

 

[ShadowNeko003]

Another recommendation would be that after you have a grasp of the Japanese language, is to start with kids manga, like Pokemon. Since there is hardly any kanji (or at least they have furigana) and the structure are simpler.