i have to split my answer into two parts as I went over the chracter limit: I have just bought minna no nihingo and I've used "Japanese for busy people" which I think is similar to Genki but I have no experience with the Genki books. Below are my thoughts on both and I hope it helps. Japanese for busy people: Pros: - it's a self contained book with explanations and vocabulary (I would recommend getting a book with kana only as this will improve your reading a lot. I bought the kana only book for a Japanese course and the other student got romaji/kana books and though I found it hard to begin with I learnt both alphabets before anyone else in the class) - you can use it yourself with no teacher needed. - I used this whilst at university between studying and found it great. it's not too expensive Cons: - it's very business orientated - it doesn't explore a lot of grammar until later and opts for learning set phrases - it's starts off easy so depending on your level it could get boring

Part 2: Minna no nihingo Pros: - it's all in Japanese kana so your reading will improve if you have the translation book you can work through the chapters (there are no instructions in the main book at all not even in Japanese so without the second book it's hard to work it out what to do) the translated book has good grammar explanations - it's a challenge so depending on your level/determination you shouldn't get bored - it seems to be more general (less business) but I'm only on chapter 4 Cons - it's an expensive option as you need to get the translation/grammar book at least plus there is an optional workbook and a cd book - it is hard to follow at first (I was flicking between both books continuously for the first chapter) - I would use this after some experience with Japanese. I'm enjoying this text book but most of it is familiar as I've come across it before and I've just started a course on italki and can ask my teacher questions but it is a challenge. In summary both books are useful and it depends on where you are starting from. I'm glad I didn't buy minna no nihingo until now as I probably would have been put off if I bought it too soon but now it's what I need. Time wise again it depends on your level. If you know your kana once you get used to the structure you could do a chapter from either in your spare time as they aren't huge. So if you are a beginner/no kana known/doing it all yourself - go for Genki then minna no nihingo later (maybe when doing your course as most of the courses I've seen use it) If you have done a lot yourself already/you know your alphabets/kana/using italki or speak to native speakers - minna no nihingo will challenge you more I hoped that helped sorry I can't give you insight into Genki specifically