Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I speak three languages and decided to learn Japanese with a friend but wanted to find a good system that wasn't boring but wasn't watered down with just tourist phrases and musical games. This system fits the bill. First, it comes with three books (one for basic, one for intermediate and one for advanced) for learning how to speak Japanese and an additional book for learning how to write Kana and basic Kanji. It comes with nine CD's (three for each level) and the books are well bound, well organized and are far superior to other language products that Living Language has put out in the past. The fact that one can buy this for $31.00 on Amazon (the product is usually $49.99) is a steal in and of itself. I have examined the reviews for their other language editions in this format (German, French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, English and Chinese) and all have had good reviews. I am hoping they put out a Russian edition sometime soon. Having had twenty years of foreign language experience, I can say that this program is the best in that it can help a student regardless of the level of proficiency they want to attain. If someone wants to learn just a few phrases and perhaps more I would recommend this course. If someone wants to become fluent, I recommend this course because it will get you a lot father than Rosetta Stone and for a fraction of the cost. This course however will not make you fluent (no language course can, only experience can do that) and you will not learn all the Kanji that a native Japanese speakers learns (I would get a good Kanji dictionary for that) but you will learn a lot of vocabulary. Two pieces of advice: (1) Don't just listen to the CD's. Do all the exercises and write in Romanji as well as Kana. (2) Use a black or blue BIC pen when you write in the book. The paper is thin and a heavy black or blue pen will bleed right through. A regular BIC pen won't do that.