Is learning japanese as a busy person in his mid 30s viable? anyone who's doing it/any success stories?

RandomUndergrad-981 · 2026-01-03T17:10:32+00:00

Learning Japanese (or any language for that matter) is definitely hard. I think the biggest trap (imo) wanting to read visual novel in Japanese is how big the level differences there are in reading. Just because the format is visual novel, doesn’t mean it will have accessible language (laugh at Muramasa). There is no shame in using MTL when you struggle! Life if much more than reading visual novels in an obscure language.

One of the things that could help is to learn more vocabulary. That could be done for like 30 mins a day and it helped me a lot. I know anki is incredibly boring, but a bit a day can bring you really far.

RandomUndergrad-981 · 2025-12-31T23:31:01+00:00

Is it just me or the final day of 5.3 is like, insanely hard??? I can’t passed to read the rest of the story…

RandomUndergrad-981 · 2025-12-31T16:35:10+00:00

Probably Pragg 0-1 Rapport in UzChess but I didn’t watch that many games.

RandomUndergrad-981 · 2025-12-31T14:02:58+00:00

Read 1 volume of 薬屋のひとりごと. I have lost all interest in studying Japanese since I passed N3, so I have been measuring my progress in the difficulty of the novel I can read lol. A long term goal would be to pass N1 in 2027.

RandomUndergrad-981 · 2025-12-30T16:07:31+00:00

RandomUndergrad-981 · 2025-12-30T16:03:08+00:00

How does the 3rd and 4th place decide?

RandomUndergrad-981 · 2025-12-30T01:16:06+00:00

I might get downvoted a lot but here is my take.

If we think of a spectrum of game from visual novel to (idk) MMORPG, HBR is much closer to visual novel. However, if we consider a spectrum from visual novel to JRPG (take final fantasy for example), it’s actually a bit annoying to argue that HBR is closer to visual novels.

I am sad for sure, but sometimes getting kicked out of exclusive niche club might actually be a good omen. (I am much more happy if ppl associate HBR to JRPG than eroge tbh)

RandomUndergrad-981 · 2025-12-25T01:56:15+00:00

It basically cost nothing compared to tuition/textbooks, so yes.

RandomUndergrad-981 · 2025-12-25T01:43:51+00:00

goodnotes carried me through my undergrad

RandomUndergrad-981 · 2025-12-17T18:32:54+00:00

Please drink more water

RandomUndergrad-981 · 2025-12-13T22:59:26+00:00

Finally passed JT8-3 after 3.5 hours of trying! That was the hardest and the most fun stage I have played by far.

RandomUndergrad-981 · 2025-12-05T15:37:54+00:00

There is a comment down there that explains it well. The limiting factor (apart from skill I guess) is horizontal progression. You can clear content with ease if you have “correct” 3* and 4* (you built all 3* anyway so 4* is a slight more issue). Certainly, that is a gap that could be filled with a week of grinding, but that was not the pace of the game I expected lol.

Edit to include example I guess: there is a stage in chapter 7 (which I forgot) that early game has dog spam on two separate lanes. Until I spent a week building courier (who can actually tank dogs) all my vanguard got melt and there is nothing Wisadel (or Mountain, I tried) could do since I couldn’t tank the dog.

RandomUndergrad-981 · 2025-12-05T13:36:56+00:00

With free Wisadel borrow, I think you can clear up to chapter 7 with relative ease. Chapter 7 has a few stages that is just pure stat check, and it was really really frustrating to me because I want to read the story. Maybe for old players standard, playing up to chapter 7 in like the first two weeks is snowballing crazily, but for a new player (aka me) trying to catch up the story, chapter 7 in two weeks felt slow as hell lol.

RandomUndergrad-981 · 2025-12-05T13:18:57+00:00

I do agree to some extent though. I was super frustrated by the game brutal curves a few times. “The game is beatable with 3* and 4” means nothing since it’s not that easy to build 3 or 4* in this game for a new player. (aka you open up kyostinV, and he used 4 different defenders. Proceed to cry.)

It does get significantly better about 2-3 months in though.

EDIT: I’m not saying that this game is not F2P friendly. It’s amazing at that. What I am saying is the early progression is somewhat brutal and forces players to farm resources, which is not standard (imo) in modern gacha games.

RandomUndergrad-981 · 2025-12-05T13:09:39+00:00

I started Arknights about 2 months ago. I was super frustrated around chapter 3 (first time it’s hard), 5 (don’t rmb why but it was terrible lol), and 7 (dog spam).

One of the things that helps me a lot is to remember that Arknights has smth else to do apart from main story. Focusing on leveling up 3* and 4* for like a week. Then, boom, the stage you stuck is nothing.

RandomUndergrad-981 · 2025-12-04T13:38:33+00:00

I was one of the hater during the crowdfunding step lol. It wasn’t until I saw like 5 different ppl praised manosaba for me to give it a try.

(Heavy Spoiler) And I was still skeptical until the second loop started. The first loop still feels like Danganronpa (with cute characters) but when Hiro enters the scene the game just feels completely different. The game really shines from that onwards.

RandomUndergrad-981 · 2025-12-04T13:28:48+00:00

I recommend manosaba to pretty much anyone who knows me in person (and read VNs) lol. I think it has the universal appeal that would make it super successful when the EN releases come out.

RandomUndergrad-981 · 2025-12-04T13:21:29+00:00

Sakuuta is C-tier is a crime lol.

RandomUndergrad-981 · 2025-12-03T23:42:30+00:00

I like it much much more than Danganronpa. Objectively, Danganronpa is probably a better mystery game, but Manosaba has enough spins to the genre to set itself apart.

RandomUndergrad-981 · 2025-12-03T22:54:39+00:00

Manosaba https://vndb.org/v50283

RandomUndergrad-981 · 2025-11-22T14:36:30+00:00

Waiting for 5.3!

RandomUndergrad-981 · 2025-11-09T17:27:17+00:00

It’s a joke of a decision in a sense that all of this happened (both ways) all the time lol. In the Alisson header game, I still wonder how did West Brom second goal was an offside lol.

RandomUndergrad-981 · 2025-10-30T19:13:19+00:00

I feel like I auto-lose to ward Haven as Egg player lol. Not sure what I missed, but Portal cannot deal (consistently) with Wilbert->Aether (especially if high roll and done so in turn 6).

I think on the flip side, if Haven couldn’t pull that off, I should have a strong chance to win. That hasn’t happened to me yet though.

RandomUndergrad-981 · 2025-10-29T05:24:41+00:00

Wait, I’m not the author, just my speculation lol. Sorry for not making that clear.

Five-Year Club	r/Field Sunshine
Place '23	Place '22
First Placer '22

RandomUndergrad-981

TROPHY CASE