Genki 2: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese

Good intro to Grammar book!

This book is sometimes a bit dry but pretty comprehensive when covering grammar. I found it helped to supplement the book with other sources like Tae Kim but Genki provides a different perpsective on the grammar, and I think that helps solidify it in my mind.

What did like was the continuous dialogue about Mary and her friends. I was genuinely upset when Jon got robbed and lost his money that he worked so hard for!

The supplemental workbook is also very helpful to be honest. The listening practice there is a good way to test yourself, and the listening exercises actually get kind of hard later on. You need to know you vocab and grammar really well. I'd recommend this book as a starter book for Japanese learners.