I am a Japanese language learner that has gone through the Japanese from Zero series. Books 1-4 and number 5 online. Starting at level one with this series has made me very happy. It is a little bit pricey. But it does come with a audio CD so you can get how the various words are said as well as the speed at how things are said. I think with the Japanese language learning background I have, level 1 is a great place to start. It has just enough of a challenge that it is not overwhelming but at the same time allows for practice with new material that is no longer on training wheels. Full marks.I am using these books for my high school Japanese classes. The books are aimed at beginners so it's perfect for what I need! Shipment came in earlier than expected so I had time to look them over before using them.Each book has a digestible amount of vocabulary, easy sentence sructures, and just a hint of idiomatic, actual text.It's not the easiest to find reading material for begining levels, but this was exactly what I expected