Mirai Japanese

Great setup of lessons paired with lesson quizzes and larger overall section quizzes, which I find very helpful for retaining what I've learned. I also love that is has listening and reading, AND that you can use both or pick either. Also, it's a great perk that you don't need to have the screen on to use the listening function which is great for car trips or running. Mirai also has hiragana and katakana lessons built into the sections for those that haven't already learned kana -- that being said, the read-along lessons are in English and romaji which can be helpful depending on your starting level. I also love that there are two native speakers to help with pronunciation, one who speaks slower and with emphasis and one that speaks more commonly. Having 4 free sections is a great start before a subscription requirement as there is a lot of info in those sections. On the flip side, you can get through lessons quickly if you are diligent about it and don't want to have a drawn out subscription. Mirai teaches listening and speaking essentials that still feels light and not bogged down by rules, unlike other sources which focus heavily on grammar before vocabulary and basic sentence structure which leaves users boggled and unmotivated (myself being one of them). The first 4 free lessons of this app have users forming simple and efficient sentences. It's great practice and confidence boosting to be able practice relevant everyday speech like "I'm going to the market tonight", "could I have some ice cream?" and "let's go to a bar" in Japanese. All around great language learning tool.

The way this app is structured is very smart. Only two suggestions: 1) The PAUSE button on the top right corner is not the best thing ever. I would suggest to add a pause option on double-tap or something similar. Many times I found myself trying to formulate the correct translation of an English sentence, before the two Japanese guys did. Being able to stop the playback right away from the main window would be a great add. 2) The subscription is too freaking expensive! And I've even read somewhere that the lessons are not frequently updated as promised. I would pay something per chapter, but $10 a month is just too much, no matter how good the app is. Please reduce the price (or better, make it a one-time payment!) and I'll subscribe/buy it immediately.

I've studied Japanese through many apps, but this one has to be the most useful one I've found yet. In less than a day you can begin forming simple Japanese sentences! They slowly build upon the previous lessons until you can form larger sentences and understand how the grammar works. Best of all, there are NO ADS! *big sigh of relief* However if you want to fluently know the kana as well as speech, I would recommend a different app. This one is best for learning speech alone, as they only briefly cover kana in each lesson. The only problem I have is the prices for subscribing. $10 every month is well beyond my non-existent budget. I would pay $1 every month, or $1 for a chapter unlock... Maybe I'm just a cheapskate hehe.