Otakudle’s Japan section is not about anime but about the language behind them. Three daily challenges (Kana, Kanji and Word) get you reading and understanding a little Japanese every day. And a free, unlimited practice mode turns that challenge into a real way to memorise.
Kana, the way in
Japanese is written first with two syllabaries: hiragana, rounded, for Japanese words and grammar, and katakana, angular, reserved for foreign words. Each has 46 base sounds, plus variants (dakuten, yōon). The Kana game shows a symbol and you type its sound in romaji. It is the first step: without kana, nothing reads. A full gojūon chart is there for reference, coloured by your progress.
Kanji, meaning before reading
Kanji are characters borrowed from Chinese that carry meaning. There are thousands, but a few hundred cover most of what you need. The Kanji game shows a character and asks for its meaning among four options: you learn to recognise first, not to write everything. Characters are graded by school level, from the most common to the rarest, for a gentle ramp.
Vocabulary, real words
Reading symbols is not enough: you need vocabulary. The Word game shows a Japanese word in full (written form, kana reading and romaji) and asks for its translation, with type-ahead suggestions as you go. Words run from the most common (N5 level) to the more advanced, to build a useful base.
Practice, to make it stick
The daily challenge is played once; practice is free and unlimited. Every card is graded instantly and feeds a personal mastery track: each symbol goes from new to to review, then mastered after several correct answers in a row. Best of all, what you miss comes back first, even after you close the page: this is spaced repetition, the most efficient way to remember.
For kana you pick the script (hiragana or katakana, tracked separately) and the direction: read (symbol → sound) or write (sound → symbol, multiple choice). Every 12 cards, a short recap sums up the session.
The point is not to learn everything at once, but a little every day. Three minutes of practice beat a long session forgotten by tomorrow.