Hi everyone,
Despite reaching the shiny new milestone, life and responsibilities didn’t slow down enough to celebrate immediately- so while I’m a little late to the punch, better late than never! As of ~a week ago all 2101 Kanji available on WaniKani have reached Guru status and I am up-to-date on all 6788 accompanying vocab words. Aside from grinding everything up into the burnpile, I have officially crossed the finish line on WK after 20-ish months of effort. A bittersweet, exciting feeling- and I figured I’d reflect on my progress here for my own documentation and/or if anyone else wants to read along.
My Japanese-Learning Rabbit Hole
Back in the fall of 2023, I had a near-instantaneous life rugpull as I got hit with an onslaught of harsh symptoms and eventual diagnosis of some pretty brutal chronic illnesses. Within just a few days I had gone from my regular self to a barely functional or recognizable husk. Physical and mental health tanked, but also the more tertiary components like living conditions, educational progress, relational health, etc. too- putting me into an extreme low without any real way of bouncing back aside from patience and hope. Energy was sparse, but I knew that I had to do something to keep myself alive and not continuing downward.
Recently before falling ill I had developed a mild interest in re-trying to learn Spanish for the first time since high school, and I elected to give it a shot since I could work at my own pace and without real stakes. For nearly a full year I tried my hardest- but I ultimately didn’t have any experience independently learning a language and the surrounding life circumstances made progress slow and demoralizing. Eventually I hit a wall and just found it too draining to keep throwing myself at.
My dilemma, though, was that I did ultimately enjoy the idea of learning a foreign language and found it rewarding enough to not want to ditch entirely. Thinking of ways to salvage it all, I made a joke to myself; if Spanish is proving difficult right now, imagine how brutal something way more unfamiliar like Japanese would be- give that a shot for a few days and I bet Spanish will feel more approachable afterwards in comparison, and hopefully serve as a nice motivator.
So I did. For one week I forced myself to study basic Japanese from-scratch for a few hours every day just as a way to refresh myself. No intention of commitment- but a change of pace until I had it in me to go back to the initial goal, and a way to see if my past experiences could help me find a better groove.
In my imagination Japanese was a comedically impossible barrier to even begin crossing- so I was shocked at how much I accomplished in such a short, halfhearted window of time. When the seven days finished up I had a full understanding of Hiragana (which included physical writing and typing), a little pool of vocab committed to memory, and enough early-level-Duolingo-tier understanding of sentence structure that I actually felt some blossoming confidence. Curiosity got the best of me and I extended my stay for a second week- picking up Katakana and (more importantly) a deep-down feeling I was about to start a third. Three weeks turns into a month, and at this point I realize that I was earnestly enjoying myself so much that I decided to just go all-in for the foreseeable future. What a happy accident that diversion turned out being..
Among some other random resources that research pointed me towards- shortly thereafter I decided to give WaniKani a shot, and here I am now..
Wanikani Thoughts
Having reached the end of Wanikani now- I think this program and the experience of using it was a near-essential, brilliant, foundational part of my Japanese learning ventures.. about ~75% of the time.
When WK is at its best, this is hands-down my definitive and preferred way to learn this (very important) part of Japanese.
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The interface and UX is simple but effective, with it having just the right amount of information to be meaningfully deep without overcomplication or added fat
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The level system adds in rewarding milestones to work towards and avoids biting off more than one can or should chew
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The quantity of Kanji available to learn here is significantly higher in quantity than any other resource I’ve tried, and the way they’re taught makes them leave a much deeper impression
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Almost 7000 vocab words is nothing to scoff at, and the selection here is mostly earnestly useful
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The site doesn’t feel clinical or corporate, and that added character and human-feel was appreciated. I’ve even gotten to interact with Koichi himself- which I can’t imagine something like that happening on any other service I’ve used for anything
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Etc. You all use this site, so you know plenty of why it works
If we’re talking about which individual resources left the strongest impact on me as a learner- I think Wanikani is easily the clear winner for how much and how well it taught me. Not even close to being holistic of all of Japanese (nor is that the intention), but gaining an understanding of the largest writing system and learning huge amounts of vocabulary make learning everything else so much more approachable. Because it is so dialed-in on the specific goal of teaching Kanji (and practicing with actual vocab), that consistency in utility always made it an easy thing to return to, know my standing progress, and keep working towards the next milestones. Every single time I have sat down to study- it has begun with WK.
That said, man that remaining ~25% of the time sure tests your patience..
Just about everyone I’ve observed who has worked through the entirety of WK seems to be in agreement that the last 8-15ish levels (tends to be the range I see) have some pretty severe diminishing returns. I’ve been championing a “more is better” mentality from the start since I like this interface so much- and I still mostly do hold the sentiment- but goodness it gets soul draining watching your SRS forecast get so bloated with extremely situational, sometimes effectively useless Kanji and vocab. If I weren’t so obsessive about “completion” I think I would’ve tapped out a few months ago because it really isn’t a good use of your time and brain-energy when this language is so textured with other elements to learn and reinforce. Reaching the end pretty quickly becomes a pretty maddening endurance.
Beyond that though, there’s just enough little annoyances with this program that definitely add up the longer you stick with it. Things like;
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The inability to pull and learn content with any agency beyond the levels. Many times in immersive study I consistently saw a Kanji/word that I would’ve loved to add into my SRS pile here since it was actively relevant- but I just had to wait (sometimes months!) to get the opportunity
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Very vanilla user-options to tailor the site better to needs/wants. A thoroughly-beaten dead horse in these forums- but there are so many options like undo buttons, more detailed forecasts, SRS frequency editing, better ways to view and interact (like unburning) with items, UI features like dark modes, etc. that just aren’t present when it would really go a long way
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Random structural changes to the site and interface that very often removed features or edited workflow without much heads up, user input, or optionality. Leech practicing, hover forecasts, SRS priority, the homepage and content list UI, site profile pictures- all of those things were randomly changed in my time on WK, and each of those carried some dilution of feature-richness that I (bluntly) found really annoying to have to work around
I know the argument for at least a portion of that is “there’s a userscript to fix that”- but when I paid triple-digits for this (already kind of feature-lacking) service, having to rely on third party user-made fixes to duct tape easy-to-fix user conveniences never feels particularly good.
I’ve been using Bunpro alongside WK for the last ~year now and it’s really insane how much more content and services are offered (and the consistency of new constructive additions), how many options there are for making the UI better-to-taste, how much you can tailor content to your needs, and just how premium it feels all-around. On top of grammar just generally being a more labor-intensive and complex thing to teach, it’s absolutely crazy that the service is half the price of WK monthly or lifetime. I know the WK team is pretty conservative with how much they try to tinker on the site, but it is hard to ignore how far behind they’ve stalled in comparison to something like BP especially in option.
Ultimately I do love Wanikani dearly, it was a priceless and game-changing product that has elevated my ability as a learner to highs I could’ve never even imagined- and I don’t want to ever take that away from it. That said, if someone asked me “hey, do you recommend Wanikani” I feel like I’d have to write a detailed essay to capture the long list of wonderful pros and lingering cons. I’m out of the audience now, but I do hope that current and future learners don’t have to keep jumping through random hoops and compromises like I did with my time here.
Learning Accomplishments
Aside from my little gallery of learning site accomplishments like my gold badge here or random Bunpro medals- in terms of actual immersive milestones I have a few especially standout anecdotes.
Early in 2025 I found a random Youtube upload of Azumanga Daioh and decided to turn it on before bed, and naturally ended up loving the series. I was also in a particularly manga-read-y phase then, so I impulsively bought a handful of Yotsuba&! volumes a few days after rolling credits since they were from the same author. Over the next ~month I chipped away at and loved all 15 volumes, though I didn’t realize that vol.16 was already published in Japan. Since I was so absorbed in the series I ended up importing a copy just out of curiosity, not thinking my still decently early JP learning brain could do more than just appreciate the artwork and point out a handful of familiar words.
Upon arrival I intended just to skim through it and come back later, but I blindsided myself a bit because I was actually able to read along fairly decently. Maybe a little crudely and using a dictionary here-and-there, sure, but I wasn’t lingering on dialogue boxes terribly long and felt comfortable picking up the conversational gist and even more subtle things like character quirks or humor. One of the chapters even has a pretty obscure reference to Princess Mononoke that is misspelled/mispronounced intentionally by the 5-year-old protagonist- and understanding that joke was an especially poignant moment of “oh, I’m not just at a ‘mizu kudasai’ level but actually becoming a little functional”. That ended up being the first real piece of immersive material I went through beginning-to-end, and it (then) being a full year off from an English release and a part of a series I was invested in made it especially rewarding. I’d like to reread the entire series in JP at some point when time better allows, but that vignette will always be special.
If my username and PFP being ripped straight from Dragon Quest didn’t already give it away- I am a big video game fan. While I’m still too time-consumed (and a bit intimidated) right now to start playing too many JRPGs in Japanese quite yet, I have used a nice handful of video games as learning material. I’ve been keeping a list of the ones I complete, and I’m quite happy with the lineup I’ve accumulated so far.
Boku no Natsuyasumi and Tokimeki Memorial both have joined my all-timer list, which is especially fun since they’re still JP locked and I didn’t know anything about them going in. The Famicom Detective Club games have been wonderful for study and it’s been cool being able to voluntarily play games in JP even with the option to play in English. Fire Emblem 3 ended up probably being my favorite game in the series, or at least a close second- so that was a ton of fun. Slime MoriMori was a blast, revisiting Link’s Awakening in JP was pretty magical, and the DS Urusei Yatsura game was pretty terrible but very funny so I’m glad I could experience it.
I have a long and ever-growing lineup of games I would like to play in JP as I keep moving forward, too, so being able to revisit some old favorites in a new way or just trying new stuff entirely will prove to be a long-lasting source of study material and simple fun. Haven’t decided what will be next up to play, but when I have some time again to spare I’m really looking forward to adding another into my trophy list.
And while definitely smaller accomplishments in comparison, I think they’re worth bringing up and being proud of. Things like;
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My family has occasionally taken pictures of some things (license plate frames, tshirts, restaurant signs, etc.) with Japanese text and asked me to translate- which I’ve been able to
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My uncle collects board games, and I’ve read some titles/instructions on some of the things he has accumulated from Japanese imports
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I’ve had brief conversations in places like Youtube comment sections with some Japanese creators
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I’ve been able to sing along with Japanese karaoke, which I’ve used as a brief revitalization during long and busy nights
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I’ve eavesdropped a little at ramen restaurants when I hear staff talking back and forth
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Last Christmas I was able to write all my gift tags in Japanese so that nobody in my family could guess what I got them
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I’ve loosely browsed some Japanese websites, wikipedia pages, and newspapers
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Occasionally I’ve been able to incorporate Japanese into some of my school assignments- like a video project that I wrote a script and narrated in JP, a song translation and analysis, or baking it into some of my projects in various art classes
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I’ve been making a big custom digital dictionary in my spare time, which has been a fun ongoing project
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I’ve been able to annoy my sister by responding to her texts in a language she can’t read
Future Plans
While I’ve ‘finished’ Wanikani now- I still have enough of a completionist brain to want to stick around and clean up loose ends here, and since I have a lifetime subscription I’ll always have access to do so. There’s still ~3000 items I have yet to burn so might as well keep my routine here and chip away at that. I imagine that before too long my daily influx of reviews will settle down and if it reaches a ~sub-30 or so I’ll probably slowly transition my routine into a non-daily thing. WK has also been pretty proactive lately with content additions, and I’ll likely try and stay up-to-date on any new material since adding 5-ish words every few months isn’t a terribly large time investment and I still like the interface.
Aside from that, I think I’ll still get some utility out of Wanikani with item unburning. During immersive study I want to keep note of certain Kanji and/or words that consistently slip my memory- and then if I feel like I need a firm refresher I can add them back into my (smaller and more tailored) lineup here. I’d like to avoid full level resets since I feel I’d likely not be motivated to work through months worth of content over again, but that’s also an option if I’m feeling particularly dire. We will see..
With the phasing-out of WK, though, I want to replace that time slot with the other holistic aspects of Japanese that still need (a lot of) work. Grammar is the biggest thing- and I’m already intending to be more intentional with Bunpro as soon as I finish up this school quarter, and also probably peruse around for some other resources like books and Youtube videos. Listening is another big one, which once more I’ll probably find some Youtube videos or podcasts and try and incorporate that more consistently into my daily routine. I also find writing to be really helpful for reinforcement of learned material and also developing speaking skills- so I’ll probably challenge myself to consistently just write random things like a diary, short stories, essays or reviews, mock-conversations, etc. and orally practice with them.
Above all else, though, immersive learning is always going to be the most valuable (and usually fun)- so I have some goals for that, too. There’s lots of manga that I would like to reread and/or experience for the first time in JP. Highest priority is that I started collecting the (really beautiful) Japanese box sets of Urusei Yatsura since that’s probably my favorite manga series of all time, but off the top of my head my list right now also has;
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Maison Ikkoku (pretty much tied for #1 priority with UY)
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Ranma ½
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Yotsuba&!
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Azumanga Daioh
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One Pound Gospel
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Dragon Ball
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Dr. Slump
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Sailor Moon
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Tokimeki Tonight
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Nausicaa
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Dragon Quest Dai
Video games are pretty similar- Dragon Quest is my favorite series so I’d like to replay all the mainline games (the 130+ hour 78000-page-script PS1 DQVII especially is my white whale) and check out more unlocalized spinoffs, but I have plenty of other goals alongside it all. Some of the most notable ones are probably;
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Revisiting some Final Fantasy, SMT, and Ace Attorney favorites
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Famicom Detective Club 3
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Unlocalized Fire Emblem, Megaten, etc. games
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Random stuff like Bokura no Kazoku, Frog for Whom the Bell Tolls, Tear Ring Saga
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Dragon Quest X (when I have ~90000 hours to spare)
At some point I’d like to transition any Japanese TV and Film I watch into JP-written subtitles instead of English, and eventually transition that into subtitle-free entirely. I’d like to start reading actual novels in Japanese, probably starting more lightly with something like the Majyo no Takkyuubin books and eventually stuff like Soseki Natsumi’s literature. I already listen to lots of Japanese music, but more thoughtful lyrical analysis would probably be fun. So on and so forth.
My health would need to improve before I really consider it quite yet, but I also would (of course) like to actually go to Japan someday- and the community college I attend occasionally offers school trips there, my travel-loving sister is dying to go eventually and wants me to go with, and I’m sure I can find some other opportunities to probably have multiple visits lined up eventually.
And probably the largest-commitment goals;
Ever since I started college my intention has been to hang around and experiment with classes and programs since I have a lot of interests, better defining what I find truly fun to study and narrowing down over time. I’ve studied things like art and computer science and also knocked out a lot of general-ed classes over the last couple years- but my “study JP as a hobby” has been so engrossing that it has slowly become probably the main thing I’ll choose to pursue going forward if/when I transfer to a non-community college university.
I’m still a fair way off from this so I haven’t nailed down an exact plan quite yet, but I have been looking around at schools nearby to see if they have a Japanese program and getting a taste into what that entails. Having more guided learning and human resources sounds extremely useful, being able to commit to JP language and culture study fully instead of it just being a side activity to juggle would allow me to give it much more deserved attention, pretty much all of the Japanese-related electives I’ve read about sound fun enough to want to try regardless of degree relevancy, and I think eventually having a degree in Japanese down the road would be exciting.
My (very assertive) sister has been strongly encouraging me to pursue it since she can then use me as a scapegoat to travel to Japan regularly, too, so I guess I have no choice- who am I to disappoint?
Until then, though, I figured the JLPT would also be a pretty natural way to ‘objectively’ gauge my proficiency and get some tangible certification under my belt- which I don’t need at the moment but am very curious about. Assuming I can get a spot for it, I’m thinking I’ll give it a shot this December and use it as an excuse to go visit my sister for a few days since she lives near one of the regular test sites. I’ll probably start with the N5 since I mostly just want to get a feel for the test expectations and environment above all else, but as I keep moving forward I’ll hopefully keep working my way up higher and higher eventually. Once again, we will see..
Could I end up with a Japanese-related career in the future? Maybe.
Will I keep creating new goals as I continue learning? Almost certainly.
Is there any real urgency? Nope.
Am I having fun? Very much so.
I can’t predict the future, but I can guarantee this learning venture will be a part of me for many years to come. Someday it’ll be fun to (hopefully!) look back on all these goals as retrospective accomplishments, but for now they’re nice and satisfying milestones to work towards.
It’s been a long, fun journey here and I’ve really appreciated all the support I’ve gotten along the way in these forums. Life has been busy enough that I don’t hover around here too much these days, but I have no intention to leave entirely just because I completed the accompanying program. Hopefully I can still hang around here with all you nice people, give advice, and keep learning all the same.
Thanks !!