>Problem is, I don't know anyone who could teach me Japanese (don't they
>have books or something to teach you, though?), and my mother, being from
>Taiwan, teaches me Chinese daily, making that considerably more handy to
>learn.
>
>Seeing that Chinese and Japanese written languages are very similar,
>shouldn't the manga remain mostly unchanged?
>
>Also, after I learn Chinese, Japanese (at least written) should come fairly
>easily.  One thing at a time. :)

You may take my views with more than a grain of salt, considering my
relative ignorance of the languages involved.

My impression is that the two things Japanese and Chinese have in common
are (1) many of the kanji and word roots transmitted with the kanji, and
(2) a common body of cultural lore. China seems to have been a dominant
cultural force which influenced all its neighbors.

(It's kind of like the relation of English to Italian via Latin and Greek
roots,
and "Western Culture".)

On the other hand, you have the parts of Japanese _not_ written in kanji,
and all non-Chinese readings of the Kanji, which you aren't going to learn
from Chinese.

My understanding is that the grammer of Chinese and Japanese are rather
different; (on the other hand Japanese and Korean grammer seem to have a
number of parallel features.)

I don't want to discourage you from learning things close to home; just
have reasonable expectations.

I've been trying to learn Japanese via self-study. My method involves books
but also watching lots of subtitled anime. It's an educational expense,
honest ;)

---
    Albert Lunde                      Albert-Lunde@nwu.edu