Crunchyroll and Duolingo unveil anime-inspired Japanese learning course

Crunchyroll and Duolingo are teaming up to celebrate anime and the sixth anniversary of Duolingo’s Japanese language course with nearly 50 phrases inspired by fan-favorite. “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,” said Terry Li, Senior Vice President of Emerging Business, Crunchyroll. “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.”

Since anime is one of the fastest growing entertainment categories in the world, it’s no surprise that Japanese is growing in popularity. Nearly a third (26%) of Duolingo Japanese learners cite fun, like watching their favorite anime shows, as their top motivation for learning. Japanese is the third most popular language for English speakers to learn on Duolingo.

“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. “We hope this partnership will be as delightful to anime fans as it was for our Learning, Design and Marketing teams to work on!”

As part of the partnership, premium Crunchyroll subscribers will be eligible for a two-month trial of Super Duolingo, the premium, ad-free tier of the language learning app. Free Crunchyroll users will be eligible for a one-month trial of Super Duolingo. Duolingo learners studying Japanese may be eligible for one free month of Crunchyroll Mega Fan premium access, which provides ad-free viewing of the world’s largest anime library of more than 44,000 episodes and 18,000 hours of series and films.

To encourage language learners looking to dive into the world of anime, Crunchyroll is also making a roundup of series with easy to understand, everyday vocabulary available on AVOD for a limited time, including: “Bananya”, which features an adorable kitty who lives in a banana, “Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club”, a sports anime following a high school swim club, “Laid-Back Camp”, the beloved slice of life series, and “Nichijou - My Ordinary Life”, a surreal comedy following three ordinary girls.