I’ve been pretty out of the japanese app biosphere, other than slowly watching wanikani become… not obsolete, but not the top dog kanji app anymore. I hear a lot about marumori lately, and I was interested in checking out. The fact they have higher grade content is interesting + mixing everything into one app feels better than managing five billion specific srs apps. What were your experiences with it?
Also… do they have a place to talk about that isn’t discord… I don’t hate discord but I like forums more…
i’ve literally been asking myself that question just a few minutes before you posted xddd
It comes with a trial, so you can give it a shot, but from my perspective, it seems that if you’re between N5 and N3, might be one of the best structured and hand-holdy, auto-scrolly experiences in terms of learning Japanese, with different methods of teaching things and keeps the staleness at bay for a bit longer than WaniKani and Bunpro.
But that being said, sometimes what’s worth is to just commit to one thing and even if there are better things, just stick to it and follow the formula. If you’d like to persist with Marumori, make it that service, but familiarity with WaniKani if you have any can be a decent argument to keep going here instead.
As far as I know all the MaruMori discussions take place on their Discord server. I haven’t used the website much because I’d already been learning Japanese for 5+ years when it was started, but I have used Kitsun and spoken personally with the creator of MaruMori/Kitsun several times. I do believe in the creator and his vision, to the point that I bought the lifetime subscription just to support the continued development of MaruMori.
My recommendation would be to just give it a shot. I believe the free trial lets you access the first several lessons of each JLPT level. Plus the monthly sub isn’t that expensive if you want to try it a bit longer.
I’m poking around, the gamefied part does scare me a bit to be honest LOL it seems so complex… but i’m still giving a shot, you can always get used to a new app
I am familiar with wanikani still, though I haven’t touched it since the new ui and api stuff broke. I think my reluctance to come back is that I already enjoy kanji, and I easily go out of my way to learn them when reading new material. grammar and vocab are what i need help with. so i dont feel like i need an app to teach me just kanji anymore. Plus its easier to learn kanji as I find them and add them to my anki deck, while its hard to separate grammar and the meanings it has lol
I’ve been mulling the same thing - I haven’t tested it yet (I haven’t quite had the free time I’d want to explore it properly) but it looks like an excellent platform. The reason I’m 50:50 is because I wonder whether being that “on rails” would be good for me or whether I’d get a bit distracted by completing more gamified lessons/SRS at the expense of consuming more of the language. Bunpro gets a lot of good reviews but I haven’t added it because I don’t think extra SRS beyond WK/Anki is the best return on my time vs reading (obligatory Satori reader shoutout) or watching more Japanese content - at least for me right now.
If MaruMori keeps doing its thing I’m imagining it will become the go-to recommendation for new beginners though. Huge kudos to the team for pushing the field forward - makes WK seem totally neglected in comparison. I wonder if some healthy competition might spur some extra investment in this platform, or if the strategy is just to milk the returns until the natural conclusion…
Also Baku agree - I prefer forums too! Can’t keep up with the volume on Discord.
I haven’t tried Marumori SRS or kanji part enough to comment, but I think their approach to grammar is really helpful for learners. First you get a very approachable article that introduces situations and examples for related grammar points, and then some separate terse SRS items. In contrast, on Bunpro I like the examples, but most explanation articles really don’t work for me. You have to read explanations in separate online or offline textbooks, which makes for a less smooth experience.
I’m trying to decide this as well - especially between bunpro and marumori. Has anyone had deep experience with both and how they complement wanikani? bunpro appears to be the established solution to pair things with, but I’m curious how marumori compares. What does it provide in addition that Bunpro doesn’t? Bunpro appears to be more comprehensive and takes users all the way through N1. I’m assuming Marumori intendts to get to N1 eventually - but also trying to understand what it offers that’s truly unique.
The main difference for grammar study is that MaruMori provides its own grammar explanations, while Bunpro just provides references to outside sources. Also, MaruMori has its own kanji lessons, so in theory there’s no reason to use WaniKani if you’re using MaruMori (though of course you could).
