Can I actually learn Japanese by watching anime?
3 min read
Many people are interested in learning Japanese through anime or dramas, but often find the results less than satisfactory. While this is true, I believe learning Japanese through anime is severely underrated.
Why Isn't It Working?
Let's examine why we don't see progress when learning through anime. I've identified three main issues:
Problem 1: Lack of Comprehensible Input
Many people watch anime with subtitles in their native language or bilingual subtitles instead of pure Japanese subtitles. This won't work - if you can't understand the subtitles, you should pause and study rather than continue.
I understand this affects the viewing experience, so if your Japanese level isn't high enough and you need to pause frequently, I recommend watching once with native language subtitles first, then rewatching with pure Japanese subtitles, studying each line during the second viewing.
I understand this affects the viewing experience, so if your Japanese level isn't high enough and you need to pause frequently, I recommend watching once with native language subtitles first, then rewatching with pure Japanese subtitles, studying each line during the second viewing.
Problem 2: Lack of Systematic Review
Without systematic review of learned material, progress will be limited. Most people struggle to maintain a system for reviewing vocabulary and phrases.
Problem 3: No Shadowing Practice
Shadowing is crucial for speaking practice, but many people don't actually do it.
Why Do People Struggle with These Points?
Because it's too cumbersome! First, you need to take screenshots, write prompts for AI, then take notes for review - where to put them? What format to use? You need to copy the original text, copy AI's content, and organize the format yourself. It's all too much trouble. And when reviewing, with all these notes, where do you start? Which ones should you focus on because you keep forgetting them? For shadowing, you need to leave your note-taking app and open a recording app. Everything is scattered and manual, extremely tedious - this is exactly why we fail at these points. It's not our fault; these tasks are inherently anti-human! That's why I created Bunn, automating these processes. Now all these hassles have disappeared, and everything becomes enjoyable.
How Bunn Solves These Problems
Bunn consists of two parts: the Bunn plugin and Bunn app. The plugin allows you to copy the current video's subtitles to your clipboard with just one Ctrl key press. Then in the Bunn app, pressing Ctrl again automatically generates a memory card containing everything needed to understand the character's lines - translation, word breakdown, grammar analysis, and more.
The button in the top right of each card lets you instantly return to the exact scene in the episode, providing complete context for the Japanese sentence, making shadowing very convenient. All of this with just two Ctrl key presses!
The button in the top right of each card lets you instantly return to the exact scene in the episode, providing complete context for the Japanese sentence, making shadowing very convenient. All of this with just two Ctrl key presses!
2 months ago
人より速く走れるんだろ？
You're faster than the rest, right?
Please dictate the original text
Review Should be Enjoyable
Of course, to make learning truly effective, we need to ensure adequate review. People naturally resist review, which is why I designed the daily tasks to be minimal - just 10 card reviews (writing + shadowing) and 10 vocabulary words per day. While this might seem small, if you can consistently complete this amount of review and shadowing daily, you'll notice your Japanese level improving within months.
Additionally, you can chat with Bunn daily. Bunn will quiz you on forgotten content, helping you strengthen your memory of points that truly need review.
Additionally, you can chat with Bunn daily. Bunn will quiz you on forgotten content, helping you strengthen your memory of points that truly need review.
If you feel this learning amount isn't enough, you can freely browse your collection. Bunn supports user-created characters and associated lines, allowing you to fully enjoy your personalized Japanese learning space.
