Harry Potter in Japanese

[Saiyan]

Okay I know it will take a long time to reach the level, but I want to read the Harry Potter books in Japanese. So I have a doubt. Are they written in Kana or Kanji? I've started the newbie course only yesterday, so how long do you think I will need to reach the level of reading the HP books in Japanese?

[Psy]

Several years. As luck would have it, I own a copy of "kenja no ishi" (The Philosopher's Stone), and while there is plenty of furigana to be found, there's no getting around that you're reading a Japanese novel. I don't think it's a big problem to copy out the first paragraph, but if there is, admins, just let me know and I'll edit it out:

プリベット通り四番地の住人ダーズリー夫妻は、「おかげさまで、私どもはどこから見てもまともな人間です」というのが自慢だった。不思議とか神秘とかそんな非常識はまるっきり認めない人種で、まか不思議な出来事が彼らの周辺で起こるなんて、とうてい考えられなかった。

Quite unlike the semi-straightforward style of newspapers/magazines, literary works such as this often use more involved/subtle grammar, and as such you'll need to have a good handle on them as well as vocabulary/usage. Unlike with TV/comic books, the only context you have is through the written word, so if you misinterpret something you'll be in the dark. The advantage, however, is that since this is Harry Potter, you probably know the situations already.

It's a nice milestone to shoot for, but it is a difficult one. Good luck with your studies!

[Squallman]

I've got Harry Potter 1-4 on my shelf next to the rest of my Japanese learning books. It's quite a task to read them, but every once and a while I'll sit down, pull out a paragraph and copy it down into my note book. Then I'll look up every word I don't know and make a list.

I wish I could tell you that you could probably read them by the end of the year if you have enough gumption, but it's probably only a little easier than reading a Japanese newspaper, in my estimation.

Considering that kids in Japan start learning Kanji in 1st grade, there isn't a whole lot of material out there that doesn't require it. I would suggest the Mangajin books if you're looking read real Japanese with a great deal of help. After a few (okay, a lot) months, you should then move onto books such as Breaking into Japanese Literature, but there's just no getting around the fact that "several years" is probably a realistic, or even a little optimistic, estimation of how long it will take you to get to that level.