In this blog, we will teach you Japanese language through Manga and Anime. The first…
This is the second article in “Spy x Family”. We will explain reason 2 and 3, why “SPYxFAMILY” is useful for studying Japanese.
2. In the Japanese Manga, Anya’s lines are only in Hiragana and Katakana.
3. In the Japanese Manga, Kanji has ruby (furigana).
In the Manga and Anime MISSION.1, Anya says she is 6 years old. She’s probably lying to be a year or two older than she really is. She’s doing her best so that no one can find out the truth.
Since Anya is smaller than 6 years old, Anya’s lines in the Manga are only Hiragana and Katakana. This is the ingenuity of Endo-Sensei, the author. Can you see why he does so?
Anya’s lines are only in Hiragana and Katakana. Becky’s lines have Kanji.
Types of Japanese Character
There are three types of Japanese Character.
- Hiragana There is one sound for each letter. Each letter has no meaning.
- Katakana has the same number of letters as Hiragana. Each letter has the same sound as its equivalent of Hiragana. It is used for words that came from foreign countries (Gairaigo) and Onomatopoeia.
- Kanji Each Kanji letter has one sound, or more than one sound. Each letter has sound and meaning.
You would say that 3 types are too many! But don’t worry! First, learn Hiragana and Katakana. Although Hiragana and Katakana are very similar, you can see the difference in shape.
Differences in the shapes of hiragana and katakana
- Hiragana has roundness.
- Katakana has square corners and straighter lines.
Kanji usually have more strokes than Hiragana and Katakana. It’s because Hiragana and Katakana are simplified versions of Kanjl.
- Hiragana Centuries ago, there was a Japanese character called Manyogana, which was made form Kanji, introduced to Japan from ancient China. Hiragana letters are simplified forms of Manyougana letters.
- Katakana made from a part of Manyougana letters.
History of Hiragana and Katakana
All Japanese Kanji, Hiragana, and Katakana are used in Japanese sentences.
In Hiragana and Katakana, each letter has only one sound. However, some Kanji letters have more than two sounds per letter. Kanji also have meanings. Therefore, sentences with Kanji are shorter than sentences with only Hiragana and Katakana.
Also, in Japanese sentences, there is no space between word. If a sentence is written in only Hiragana and Katakana, it’s hard to tell where each word ends.
These two are the same sentence.
Kanji makes it short and easy to read.
Becky’s lines that we saw before have Kanji. Because it is easy to read. But Anya’s lines don’t have kanji.
Looking at Anya’s lines only in Hiragana and Katakana, Japanese readers will feel that “Anya’s way of speaking is childish. She’s still a small child.” They feel that Becky is more mature than Anya. Becky is close to “adults” who use Kanji with no difficulty.
The author, Endo-Sensei, uses this trick to make readers feel that Anya is working hard to be equal to the others aound even though she is smaller then all. Anya’s hard work is amazing and make us feel she is so admirable and cute. This is a Japanese-only expression with three different characters.
Thankfully, Anya’s lines can be read with Hiragana and Katakana only. And Anya’s lines are short. Therefore, it is useful for memorizing vocabulary and expressions.
About ruby (furigana)
There are a small Hiragana letters next to Kanji of Loid’s line in this frame. This is “ruby”. This is how to read the Kanji(sounds). In writing or book for adults, Kanji often does not have ruby. Also, there are some Manga for children that do not have ruby for Kanji. Please pay attention when choosing other manga to read in Japanese.
In the Manga “SPYxFAMILY”, all Kanji have ruby! It means that you can read (know the sounds) in Hiragana and Katakana. However, The other characters than Anya speak longer. Vocabulary is also difficult. So, at first, let’s concentrate to read Anya’s lines or short conversations between Anya and other characters.
In next post’s topic: “Which one will you learn first, Hiragana or Katakana?”
You can buy Japanese ver. of『SPYxFAMILY』with format Kindle at Amazon.co.jp.
If you live in Japan, you can watch Japanese ver. of『SPYxFAMILY』 with Amazon Prime Video at Amazon.co.jp. If you live abroad, try to find at Netflix, Hulu etc.
⇒ See you at SPY x FAMILY in Japanese #3!
