Learn Japanese with The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.

Anime by Japanese level › N2 to N1

How hard is the Japanese in The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.?

Ikkimi rates The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. at N2 to N1 (hard Japanese for advanced learners). What sets its level: narration at very high speed. Of the 192 anime Ikkimi rates by hand, 177 are easier and 9 are harder.

Levels follow the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, from N5 (easiest) to N1 (hardest). They are Ikkimi’s estimate of how hard a show’s Japanese is to follow, from how fast people talk, how many unusual words there are and how clear the voices are. They are not official JLPT ratings.

Format, episodes, year and genres are from AniList’s entry, which may cover only the first season.

How to learn Japanese with The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.

Ikkimi lists The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. on Netflix. What each service carries varies by country. Ikkimi does not stream anything: you watch on your own account, in Chrome on a computer, and Ikkimi adds a Japanese line you can click on top of the player.

On Netflix

On Netflix, turn on Japanese subtitles in the player, where your country’s Netflix has them for this title, and Ikkimi makes the line clickable. If there are none, open the Ikkimi popup, choose Find Japanese subtitles, and search Jimaku’s catalogue or load a file from your computer.

1. Add Ikkimi to Chrome

   Get the extension from the Chrome Web Store and sign in.

2. Play an episode

   Open The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. on Netflix. The Japanese line appears on top of the video.

3. Click the words you keep hearing

   The video pauses and the word opens: kana, romaji, meaning, JLPT level and a recording by a native speaker where one exists (never a computer voice; otherwise the line from the show plays again). At this level, turn on the English line under the Japanese at first, and keep only the words that come back.

4. Review them later

   Kept words come back as flashcards on the Ikkimi website, with the scene and the line they came from, just before you would forget them.

With 120 episodes on AniList’s entry, the same words get many chances to come back.

Easier and harder shows

Shows within a level of The Disastrous Life of Saiki K., with the most genres in common first.

Easier

• N2The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱fast, wordy narrationCrunchyroll
• N2Kaguya-sama: Love Is Warかぐや様は告らせたい～天才たちの恋愛頭脳戦～a fast narrator, formal and scheming speechCrunchyrollNetflix
• N2Bungo Stray Dogs文豪ストレイドッグスformal speech, writers’ names and book titlesCrunchyroll

Also N2 to N1

• N2 to N1Fate/Zeroformal, archaic speeches about idealsCrunchyrollNetflix
• N2 to N1Gintama銀魂fast parody, wordplay, period speechCrunchyroll
• N2 to N1STEINS;GATEnet slang, science talk, fastCrunchyroll

Harder

• N1Bakemonogatari化物語wordplay, very fastCrunchyroll
• N1DEATH NOTElong reasoning, formal wordsNetflixCrunchyroll
• N1The Tatami Galaxy四畳半神話大系bookish narration at very high speedCrunchyroll

See every N2 to N1 anime or all 192 anime by Japanese level, and read how to learn Japanese by watching anime from zero.

Questions

Is The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. good for learning Japanese?

No, keep it for later. Ikkimi rates it N2 to N1 (hard Japanese for advanced learners). What sets its level: narration at very high speed. It is among the hardest shows Ikkimi rates, hard even for advanced learners.

What Japanese level is The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.?

N2 to N1, on Ikkimi’s scale from N5 (easiest) to N1 (hardest). Of the 192 anime Ikkimi rates by hand, 177 are easier and 9 are harder. The level is Ikkimi’s estimate, not an official JLPT rating.

Where can I watch The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. with Japanese subtitles?

Ikkimi lists The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. on Netflix. What each service carries varies by country. On Netflix, turn on Japanese subtitles in the player where they are offered, and Ikkimi makes every word clickable.

How many episodes does The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. have?

AniList’s entry lists 120 episodes of about 5 minutes, first aired in 2016. Later seasons may be listed separately.

What should I watch before The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.?

Shows a little easier than The Disastrous Life of Saiki K., with genres in common: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (N2), Kaguya-sama: Love Is War (N2) and Bungo Stray Dogs (N2).

Sources: show details from AniList; meanings from JMdict (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0); readings and word splits from kuromoji.js with IPADIC; JLPT word levels from Jonathan Waller’s unofficial lists. See Credits. Spotted a mistake? Tell us at hello@ikkimi.app.