となりのトトロ（１）・ My Neighbor Totoro: Volume 1

スタジオギブリが好きな人にとって、とてもいい本です。映画(えいが)「となりのトトロ」のフィルムコミックです。ちょっと難(むずか)しい本ですが、わからない言葉(ことば)はたいてい映画から知(し)ています。漢字(かんじ)がたくさんありますが、ふりがなもいつもあります。この本を読(よ)むは難しくて楽(たの)しかったです。

For fans of Studio Ghibli, this is a great book to read (even though Totoro himself doesn’t actually appear in this volume).  It’s the first volume of the “My Neighbor Totoro” film comics, following the story from the beginning of the movie to Satsuki and Mei’s first night in their new house.  It’s a little hard to read, but if you know the film, you’ll be able to understand more than you realize through memory and context.  There’s a lot of kanji that are new for a first-year student, but furigana is always provided, and there are also a lot of kanji that we have already learned.  Being able to read this book is a good goal to aim for, even if it’s on the more difficult side right now.  Reading this book was difficult, but it was a fun challenge.

I recommend this book for fans of Totoro at any level, but as a first-year student it might be more of a goal to strive for than an easy read.  First-year second semester or second-year students might be able to get more out of it from the start.