Started reading manga in JP last month — here's what nobody told me beforehand

I'm a French dev, learning Japanese for fun (around N5 level). Last month I finally tried reading my first manga in Japanese — Yotsuba&! because everyone recommends it. Almost gave up after the first 3 pages.

Some things I wish someone had told me before starting:

1. Yotsuba is "easy" relative to other manga, not easy in absolute. Don't feel bad if you're looking up half the page at first. That's normal at N5.
2. Furigana is your friend. Pick editions/series with furigana even if "real learners shouldn't need it." Skip this rule, your brain will thank you. Reading speed > purity.
3. The hardest part isn't kanji, it's grammar particles in context. I knew は/が/を separately from textbooks. Seeing them stacked in actual dialogue with casual contractions was a different beast.
4. Don't read in browser tabs. Switching to Jisho every 10 seconds destroys reading flow. Use a tool that does lookups in place. Anything works as long as you don't lose your spot.

For point 4 — I actually got frustrated enough to build a small tool for PDF manga that explains grammar in-context (not just word translation). Full disclosure I made it. Not dropping the link in the post, happy to share in comments if anyone's curious or if a mod allows it.

Anyway, mostly wanted to say: if you're stuck at "I want to read but I quit after 3 pages", you're not failing, that's just the first wall. Push through. What's everyone reading right now?