# The best apps to learn Japanese with anime

> Eight tools, what each is good at, and who it suits. Checked on 4 November 2026.

**The short answer:** choose by where you watch and how much setup you want. For anime on Crunchyroll, Netflix or YouTube from zero, **Ikkimi** (our app) and **ManabiDojo** are made for Japanese and anime. **Migaku** is a paid tool for several languages with courses and phone apps. **Language Reactor** is a well-known extension for Netflix and YouTube in 40+ languages, with a free version. **asbplayer with Yomitan** costs nothing and gives the most control, but takes setup. **Anki** is for remembering words, not for watching.

The Ikkimi web app and Chrome extension come on one plan. The iPhone app is coming soon.

Ikkimi makes this page, so we list ourselves first. Every fact about the other tools comes from their own websites or Chrome Web Store pages, checked on 4 November 2026, and we leave out what we could not check. Prices are in US dollars as their pages showed them, and can differ by country or change. If something here is wrong, tell us at [hello@ikkimi.app](mailto:hello@ikkimi.app) and we will fix it.

## The apps at a glance

| App | Best for | Price | Languages | Where you watch |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ikkimi | Anime fans starting from zero | $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year; 7 days free on yearly | Japanese | Crunchyroll, Netflix and YouTube, in Chrome on a computer |
| ManabiDojo | Anime on Crunchyroll, with lessons for beginners | $6 a month after 7 days free, $50 a year, or $120 once | Japanese | Crunchyroll (selected anime), Netflix (beta), in Chrome |
| Migaku | One paid tool for video, reading and flashcards | From $10 a month; $290 lifetime | 11 languages | YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, Rakuten Viki, Animelon; iOS and Android apps |
| Language Reactor | Netflix and YouTube in many languages | Free version; Pro $5.95 a month or $39.95 a year | 40+ | Netflix and YouTube, in Chrome on Windows and macOS |
| asbplayer with Yomitan | Experienced learners who build their own Anki cards | No cost, open source | Many | Netflix and YouTube, and most other sites with a subtitle file you bring |
| Trancy | AI bilingual subtitles on many video sites | Free plan; Premium $42 a year | Many | YouTube, Netflix, HBO, Disney+, TED and more; mobile app |
| Animelon | Watching anime on one site with Japanese subtitles | Runs on donations | Japanese | Its own website |
| Anki | Remembering what you learned | No cost on computers and Android; paid iOS app | Any | Not for watching; computer and phone apps |

## 1. Ikkimi

An app for learning Japanese from the anime and shows you already watch. The Chrome extension puts a Japanese line you can click on top of Crunchyroll, Netflix and YouTube, on your own account. Click a word and the video pauses; you see its reading in kana and romaji, its meaning, its JLPT level and a recording by a native speaker where one exists (never a computer voice; otherwise the line from the show plays again). Words you keep come back as spaced-repetition flashcards on the website, each with the scene it came from.

- **Who it suits:** anime fans and complete beginners. No Japanese is needed to start.
- **Stands out:** on Crunchyroll, where most episodes have no Japanese subtitles, it finds a matching file in Jimaku’s public catalogue and lines it up with the episode by itself. 192 anime are rated by hand from N5 to N1, and about 9,700 more have an estimated level. YouTube thumbnails get a level badge. Break it down explains each part of a sentence, and you can export your words to Anki or CSV.
- **Platforms:** Chrome on a computer for watching; the website for review, which also works in a phone’s browser. The iPhone app is coming soon.
- **Price:** one plan at $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year; the yearly plan starts with 7 days free (you add a card to start), and there is no free plan.
- **Less good for:** languages other than Japanese, watching on a phone today, and people who want to build their own Anki cards by hand.

Get it from [Ikkimi on the Chrome Web Store](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/ikkimi-%E2%80%94-learn-japanese/kknpmodmojiodjhbgapdgpabdehpnfcb). How it works on each service: [Crunchyroll](https://ikkimi.app/learn-japanese-with-crunchyroll/), [Netflix](https://ikkimi.app/learn-japanese-with-netflix/), [YouTube](https://ikkimi.app/learn-japanese-with-youtube/).

## 2. ManabiDojo

A Chrome extension for learning Japanese from anime. It adds Japanese subtitles to selected anime on Crunchyroll, lets you add your own subtitle files, and makes the words clickable, with AI explanations, grammar notes, quizzes and flashcards. A second extension works on manga, YouTube, NHK News and other Japanese pages.

- **Who it suits:** Japanese learners who watch on Crunchyroll and like structured lessons. Its Anime Academy teaches an episode’s hardest words as flashcards first, then shows only the lesson’s sentences in Japanese, then gives a quiz.
- **Platforms:** Chrome. Netflix support is in beta.
- **Price:** Premium is $6 a month after 7 days free, $50 a year, or $120 once. Some features are marked Premium.
- **Less good for:** shows outside its list on Crunchyroll, where you bring your own subtitle file.

Checked on 4 November 2026 on [manabidojo.com](https://manabidojo.com/), [its pricing page](https://manabidojo.com/pricing), [its Chrome Web Store page](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/manabidojo-learn-japanese/efbhkecfjhcpmepgbpogiiaidkmjhojl).

## 3. Migaku

A paid language-learning service with a browser extension and phone apps. Click words in subtitles or on web pages to see their meaning, pronunciation and an AI explanation, then make a flashcard with one click, with the sentence, audio and a screenshot of the show. It also has courses for complete beginners in Japanese.

- **Who it suits:** learners who want one tool for videos, reading, courses and flashcards, on a computer and a phone, possibly for more than one language.
- **Platforms:** a Chrome extension (its store page lists YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, Rakuten Viki and Animelon), iOS and Android apps, and flashcard review on the web.
- **Price:** Standard is $10 a month, with 20% off for paying yearly; Early Access is $15 a month; Lifetime is $290 once. Its pricing page offers a 10-day money-back guarantee.
- **Less good for:** Crunchyroll, which is not in the list of streaming sites on its Chrome Web Store page.

Checked on 4 November 2026 on [migaku.com/pricing](https://migaku.com/pricing), [migaku.com/learn-japanese](https://migaku.com/learn-japanese), [its Chrome Web Store page](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/migaku-really-learn-langu/lkhiljgmbeecmljiogckofcalncmfnfo).

More: [Ikkimi as a Migaku alternative](https://ikkimi.app/migaku-alternative/).

## 4. Language Reactor

A Chrome extension, formerly Language Learning with Netflix, used by over 2 million people. It shows two subtitle lines at once on Netflix and YouTube, with a pop-up dictionary, playback controls and auto-pause after each line, for 40+ languages, with transliterations for languages written in another script.

- **Who it suits:** learners of any language who watch Netflix and YouTube and want a free place to start.
- **Platforms:** Chrome on Windows and macOS computers. Its site says it also works on phones and tablets.
- **Price:** a free version. Pro is $5.95 a month, $13.95 for 3 months or $39.95 a year, and adds speech recognition and machine translation on Netflix, saving words across all its features, and export to Anki.
- **Less good for:** Crunchyroll, which its pages do not mention, and help made only for Japanese.

Checked on 4 November 2026 on [languagereactor.com](https://www.languagereactor.com/), [its Pro page](https://www.languagereactor.com/pro-mode), [its Chrome Web Store page](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/language-reactor/hoombieeljmmljlkjmnheibnpciblicm).

More: [Ikkimi as a Language Reactor alternative](https://ikkimi.app/language-reactor-alternative/).

## 5. asbplayer with Yomitan (and Anki)

asbplayer is an open-source subtitle player and Chrome extension for language learners. It shows subtitles you can select on Netflix and YouTube, or a subtitle file you bring on almost any other streaming site, and makes Anki cards with the line, a screenshot and the audio. Yomitan is a pop-up dictionary for Chrome, Firefox and Edge, with native audio and Anki cards. Together with Anki they are a favourite of experienced learners.

- **Who it suits:** learners who already use Anki and like to set up and fine-tune their own tools.
- **Platforms:** asbplayer in Chrome (with a Firefox build); Yomitan in Chrome, Firefox and Edge, and on Android.
- **Price:** both cost nothing. asbplayer is open source under the AGPL.
- **Less good for:** complete beginners. You install Anki, AnkiConnect and dictionaries yourself, and on sites without Japanese subtitles, such as most of Crunchyroll, you find the file yourself.

Checked on 4 November 2026 on [asbplayer on GitHub](https://github.com/killergerbah/asbplayer), [its Chrome Web Store page](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/asbplayer-language-learni/hkledmpjpaehamkiehglnbelcpdflcab), [yomitan.wiki](https://yomitan.wiki/).

## 6. Trancy

A browser extension and mobile app that adds AI bilingual subtitles to videos, with word lookup, AI grammar analysis and a reading mode that shows the subtitles as text beside the video.

- **Who it suits:** learners of several languages who watch on many sites and like AI help.
- **Platforms:** YouTube, Netflix, HBO, Disney+, TED, Coursera, Udemy and more, plus a mobile app.
- **Price:** a free plan, which keeps up to 100 words. Premium is $42 a year at its usual price, with a 3-day trial.
- **Less good for:** Crunchyroll, which its pricing page does not list, and help made only for Japanese.

Checked on 4 November 2026 on [trancy.org](https://www.trancy.org/), [its pricing page](https://www.trancy.org/pricing).

## 7. Animelon

A website that plays anime with interactive Japanese subtitles. Click a line for its translation, loop lines, pause after each one, and switch the side panel between Japanese, hiragana, katakana and romaji.

- **Who it suits:** people who want to try learning from anime in one place without setting anything up.
- **Platforms:** its own website. The videos play on Animelon, not on a streaming service you pay for. It calls itself a non-profit, says the anime belongs to the studios that made it, and points to fair use.
- **Price:** it runs on donations.
- **Less good for:** shows that are not on its site, and keeping words as flashcards with spaced review.

Checked on 4 November 2026 on [animelon.com](https://animelon.com/), [its About page](https://animelon.com/about).

## 8. Anki

A widely used spaced-repetition flashcard app. It does not play video, but many of the tools above can send cards to it, and Ikkimi can export your words to it.

- **Who it suits:** anyone who wants full control over their flashcards, and learners who use shared Japanese decks.
- **Platforms:** Windows, macOS and Linux, AnkiDroid on Android and AnkiMobile on iPhone, with sync through AnkiWeb.
- **Price:** the computer app, AnkiWeb sync and AnkiDroid cost nothing; AnkiMobile is paid.
- **Less good for:** learning while you watch. You make or download the cards yourself, away from the show.

Checked on 4 November 2026 on [apps.ankiweb.net](https://apps.ankiweb.net/).

## Which one should you pick?

- **You watch anime on Crunchyroll and are starting from zero:** Ikkimi or ManabiDojo. Ikkimi finds subtitles for any episode Jimaku has and shows kana and romaji on every word; ManabiDojo has lessons built around selected shows.
- **You want courses and a phone app today, maybe for more than one language:** Migaku.
- **You learn another language too, or want to start without paying:** Language Reactor or Trancy.
- **You already use Anki and like to tinker:** asbplayer with Yomitan.
- **You only want flashcards:** Anki.

Whichever you choose, the method is the same: watch with Japanese subtitles, look up the words you keep hearing, and review them over the next days. Our [step-by-step guide](https://ikkimi.app/learn-japanese-with-anime/) explains how, and [anime by Japanese level](https://ikkimi.app/anime-by-japanese-level/) lists 192 shows from N5 to N1. For a shorter comparison, see [Ikkimi and other ways to learn from video](https://ikkimi.app/compare/).

## Questions

### What is the best app to learn Japanese from anime?

It depends on where you watch and how much setup you want. Ikkimi is made for anime fans starting from zero on Crunchyroll, Netflix and YouTube: it finds Japanese subtitles for Crunchyroll episodes, shows kana and romaji on every word and turns words into flashcards with the scene. ManabiDojo is also made for Japanese anime on Crunchyroll. Migaku suits learners who want courses and phone apps for several languages. asbplayer with Yomitan and Anki costs nothing and gives the most control, but takes setup.

### Which apps add Japanese subtitles to Crunchyroll?

Most Crunchyroll anime has no Japanese subtitles. Ikkimi finds a matching file in Jimaku’s public catalogue for the episode you are watching and lines it up with Crunchyroll’s own subtitle timing by itself. ManabiDojo says it has Japanese subtitles for selected anime and lets you add your own. asbplayer can show a subtitle file you bring yourself.

### Which of these work on a phone?

Migaku has iOS and Android apps, Trancy has a mobile app, Language Reactor says it works on phones and tablets, Yomitan works on Android, and Anki has phone apps. Ikkimi’s clickable line needs Chrome on a computer; its website works in a phone’s browser for reviewing your words, and the iPhone app is coming soon.

### Are any of them free?

asbplayer, Yomitan and Anki on computers and Android cost nothing. Language Reactor and Trancy have free versions with paid upgrades. Animelon runs on donations. Ikkimi, Migaku and ManabiDojo are paid, and each offers a way to try first: for Ikkimi, the yearly plan starts with 7 days free, with a card needed to start.

### How much does Ikkimi cost?

Ikkimi is one paid plan with everything in it: $9.99 a month, or $59.99 a year. It covers the web app, with unlimited words and export to Anki, and the Chrome extension on Crunchyroll, Netflix and YouTube. The yearly plan starts with 7 days free: you add a card to start, and nothing is charged if you cancel before day 8. The monthly plan has no free trial. There is no free plan.

Tonight’s episode is a lesson.

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Source: https://ikkimi.app/best-apps-to-learn-japanese-with-anime/ · Updated 2026-11-04 · Contact: hello@ikkimi.app · More: https://ikkimi.app/llms.txt