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(4.48/5)Well, I've finished this book, reading from November 2023-December 2024. This book has been with me through a huge change in my language skills, as I started it when it felt very above my level, and now it feels more or less comfortable to read.
I think this is a great 'challenge read' if you're at a lower level (I think I was working on Genki 2 when I started) and you read it a bunch of times as a kid. If you've never read it before, then it's probably not a good choice, as the main benefit comes from knowing the story and writing very well so that the challenging aspects in Japanese don't hurt so much.
Be warned though, if you start it as a beginner like I did, it will take a long time to read. (:
Progress: At the beginning, I was probably spending 15-20 minutes on a page, and at the end, around 4-6 minutes.
A short review of the audiobook
Ah, Harry Potter. Instead of going into much detail on the book itself (except to say that it's a surprisingly difficult read; past familiarity with the story should help tremendously, though), I'll mention here that I listened to the audiobook while reading along. The audiobook was narrated by 風間 杜夫 (Kazama Morio), who did a wonderful job, I thought: his voice is clear and easy to follow, which helps given that the audiobook and the Kindle version do not line up 100%. HP 1 must've gone through quite a few revisions while/after being translated, and while the story doesn't ever significantly differ between the two versions (it's only ever the occasional sentence), it can catch you off-guard if you're not anticipating it.
I highly recommend reading along with the audiobook to those looking to practice their listening skills; I definitely noticed how much easier it was by the end of the book. The audiobook runtime is listed at 12 hours and 44 minutes, and it breaks down nicely into listening sessions of a half hour to an hour if you listen by chapter.
Listened to the Japanese audiobook a while back, which was a fun experience on its own.
The early chapters are the hardest part, especially the scene where Hagrid first appears. His speech style is quite tricky. Things become noticeably easier once the story moves to Hogwarts. Knowing the story well from other languages also helps.
Started with the split Pegasus edition (2024) with full furigana, but having furigana on every single kanji slowed reading down and made the page tiring to look at. Switching to this single-volume digital edition with fewer furigana felt much more natural.
Great for immersion overall. The Japanese translation is sometimes criticized for not being very good, but at an intermediate level it works well enough. Since the source is originally English, cross-referencing is always an option.