Introducing: jr_fiction

Allow me to introduce you to jr_fiction. Mr. jr_fiction, a fellow learner of Japanese, is tackling Kanji with his DSlite in an attempt to become a Kanji Master and pass the Kanji Kentei Level 3. This is, by no means, a small objective. It requires mastery of 1600 characters, knowing the ON and KUN readings correctly, synonyms, antonyms, 4-character words, the correct kana to use at the end of verbs, knowing the radicals, and being able to use a Japanese Kanji dictionary.
This is about the level of a 15 year-old Japanese.

Vocabulary is the hardest thing to master. It's difficult to remember what はんさよう means when you never have read it before, never see it anywhere else, and never hear it. And you might need to recognize ひょうてんか as well. If just reading the kana doesn't ring any bells, imagine trying to guess which kanji are needed. The previous two example are for 3rd graders in elementary school, not Level 3 on the Kanji test. There are just so many words to learn to get up to the native level of an 8 year-old.

Remember, this is no multiple-choice test! You don't have a 50 percent chance of getting anything right. There is no luck involved. You have either passed or failed the test before it even starts. So you had better be sure you are ready before even registering for the test.

Let's keep a watch on Mr. jr_fiction and see how he does. It will be interesting.