Anime streamer Crunchyroll & Duolingo team up on anime-inspired language learning course
The two brands aim to help people learn Japanese through the country’s beloved art form.
Duolingo users can learn and practice Japanese with 50 different anime phrases / Credit: Duolingo
Get ready, anime and manga fans.
In partnership with anime streaming platform Crunchyroll, language learning app Duolingo has today released a Japanese language learning course comprising nearly 50 phrases inspired by popular anime series.
The news comes as anime takes the West by storm. According to Duolingo, Japanese is the third most popular language for English speakers to learn on the platform. Of those Japanese learners, nearly one-third cite fun (as in, watching their favorite anime shows) as their main motivation for learning the language.
“Anime is a dynamic medium and we know viewers have a curiosity for learning. Now on Duolingo, fans worldwide can celebrate anime through learning iconic phrases from their favorite series,” Terry Li, senior vice-president of emerging business at Crunchyroll, said in a statement shared with The Drum. “We also hope anime-curious learners will be intrigued by their Japanese lessons on Duolingo and will explore all that anime has to offer on Crunchyroll.”
As part of the partnership, premium Crunchyroll subscribers have access to a two-month trial of Super Duolingo, the app’s premium tier, while free Crunchyroll users can get a one-month trial of Super Duolingo.
At the same time, Japanese learners on Duolingo can score one free month of Crunchyroll Mega Fan premium access, which provides ad-free streaming of the world’s largest anime library.
To further help users learn Japanese, Crunchyroll also made a limited-time roundup of series with easy-to-understand, everyday vocabulary. These include Bananya, an anime following a cat who lives in a banana; Free! – Iwatobi Swim Club, a sports anime following a high school swim club; Laid-Back Camp; a slice-of-life series; and Nichijou - My Ordinary Life, a surreal comedy about three ordinary girls.
“We chose to partner with the leader in anime entertainment, Crunchyroll, to advance our Japanese course because we know watching TV shows and films in the language you’re studying is a great way to learn and we wanted to offer our learners a way to further immerse themselves in the Japanese language through anime,” said George Audi, senior director of business development at Crunchyroll.
“We hope this partnership will be as delightful to anime fans as it was for our learning, design and marketing teams to work on.”