I've heard that apparently, Japanese pronunciation is simpler to pick up (anime, games, etc). when you hear it spoken. As in, when foreigners learn it: they find that easier to listen to than spoken Mandarin since there's no tones in Japanese (rather pitch accent, but it's not the same as it could be understood based on context even if said wrong) while Mandarin places a huge emphasis on tones that change the definition completely.

Also, how does spoken Japanese sound to the ear when you either watch subtitled anime when you compare that to anime being dubbed in Mandarin? I know that one of my friends watches Asian dramas and prefers either Japanese or Korean audio over Mandarin for some reason (I'd assume it has to do with accent and how a language sounds when spoken). Is Mandarin dubbed anime even good or does it sound bad?

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[–] 4 points 6 hours ago

I've never learned Japanese, but I found Mandarin tones very easy to learn. You learn how to say the word one way, one time. Whereas with Japanese, the way you say things changes based on context, and it's going to be hard for a foreigner to learn that. Either way, you're not going to sound natural as a speaker if you start after childhood.

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