RTK Reconstructed: Unscramble kanji in the optimal order

Update: If you like the idea of using kanji breakdowns on the front of kanji cards, so you're unscrambling kanji (keyword+decomposition→kanji), but don't need this deck, see this add-on.

Respectful responses to deck reviews here and here.

I created this deck as a kind of substitute for the main Heisig lists, as a move toward thinking of Remembering the Kanji as tactics rather than content. See this page for more. Essentially, the kanji are ordered by the radical frequency and complexity of the kanji 'parts', which are scrambled on the front of cards. See also: Deconstructing and improving RTK (Remembering the Kanji) If 'encoding' the cards in Anki, in particular if using encrit, a strategy for new and lapsed cards, then review new cards in "order added" to learn the kanji in the most optimal learning order (also indicated in the Optimal Sort ID field): first by the kanji grouped together according to the most to least frequent radical in the original Joyo, then by least to greatest number of strokes, and finally by least to greatest number of constituent parts (e.g. radicals and phonetic components). So 水 is #1, because 水 is the most common radical, placing it in the top group, and within that radical group the character 水 has the least number of strokes, and then it has the least number of parts. You can see the raw list here. The frequency thus refers only to the number of times a radical occurs in the original Joyo kanji. Further optimization would therefore include using cb's Japanese Text Analysis Tool (JTAT) to generate a kanji frequency report based on your target materials. Then update the deck's External Frequency field with the JTAT frequency list, weeding out kanji if you like, based on frequency in target media. I did not include the full contemporary Joyo, though I did remove the 5 kanji that were removed with the 2010 update, thus giving the deck 1940 characters, but this matters little as it's not relevant for my recommended system (e.g. here). If you'll permit me to ramble further: balance between general use kanji and particular characters relevant to the vocabulary in your target materials, and don't treat the kanji like an alphabet, where you have to memorize the lot at the onset. Kanji are entwined with vocabulary on the semantic level, so let them enhance one another by learning them together using cb's Kanji Word Association Tool (KWAT) with batches of your mature kanji. Also, by the time you have learned a number of kanji in this list, ideally using the Heisig technique (reviewing cards from meaningful keyword to kanji, bottom-up visualization aided with subcomponent-based mnemonics), learning new kanji as they're encountered is easy. The deck includes a decomposition field and a bushu (semantic radical) field. I have also added extra radical fields for radical meaning, radical name in kana, and radical number. Originally I intended the decomposition field to be used for a delayed feedback technique with the old and unported Anki incremental hint plugin (reveal a piece at a time until you recall the kanji). Now I feel that rather than relying purely on a keyword and mnemonics system, you should also routinely use the scrambled pieces of the kanji on the front with the keyword. I personally think this is better as a primary method for learning kanji, with mnemonics as a supplement, as between the scrambled components and spaced retrieval, emphasis on elaborate mnemonics may not be necessary for most characters and learners. Decomposition was taken from kradfile-u. If you are dissatisfied with a kanji's components as presented, try jisho.org's kanji look-up as an alternative with easily copied parts lists. Also, if using the decomposition field prominently and you feel it gives too much away (sometimes it offers larger chunks than ideal, which are often redundant), you can always remove pieces. The bushu fields are added simply to aid semantic associations, as they will aid learning and future recognition and recall. Finally, if you need to you can use the Heisig Info (Edit: It was taken down, try here.) add-on to add more precise Heisig-related information. Use Kanji Colorizer for stroke order diagrams.