The idea behind this new series of textbooks and their accompanying activity books is to learn and practice Japanese in a way that will help you to participate in Japanese life from more or less the first page. They do this by selecting immediately-applicable, widely-used language, and putting that language in context by teaching the dialogues along with their cultural background, plus other, nonverbal aspects of communication. Written by an impressive team of six university professors, the material is based around authentic everyday scenarios that you're sure to encounter sooner rather than later if you travel to or live in Japan.
this series is a quality, in-depth resource that gives well-rounded insight into of Japanese language and culture.
In all there are four textbooks, taking you up to intermediate level. Each book is divided into learning units called "acts" ( 幕). In each act, there are around six scenes ( 場) focusing on listening and speaking skills, and two to three scenes that teach reading and writing skills. With additional online resources, including audio files and a teacher's manual, this book is good for both self learners, and teachers of Japanese.
The main drawback of this series is its high price tag, and since it's brand new there's not much chance of picking up secondhand copies just yet. Its academic style might also feel too dry for some learners. Those points aside, this series is a quality, in-depth resource that gives well-rounded insight into of Japanese language and culture.