# ウーパールーパー — WaniKani companion app

> Companion app for WaniKani Japanese kanji and vocabulary learning. (iPhone/iPad app by Gabriel Barandiaran Silveira.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/id6757488964 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Gabriel Barandiaran Silveira](https://appshunter.io/developer/1867230690)
- Category: Education
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 5.00/5 from 4 App Store ratings · 2 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 17.6 · 18 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-01-08
- Data updated: 2026-09-17
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/id6757488964/reviews.md

## What is ウーパールーパー?

ウーパールーパー is a beautiful companion app for WaniKani, the popular spaced repetition system for learning Japanese kanji and vocabulary.

FEATURES
  • Complete Reviews & Lessons
  Take your WaniKani reviews and lessons anywhere. Clean, intuitive interface designed for focused study sessions.

  • Track Your Progress
  View detailed statistics, level progression, and accuracy rates. See which items need extra attention.

  • Dashboard Overview
  Quick glance at upcoming reviews, lesson queue, and current level progress.

  • Offline Support
  Your data syncs automatically so you can review your progress anytime.

  • Beautiful Design
  Modern, clean interface with support for light and dark modes.

REQUIREMENTS
  • An active WaniKani account (https://www.wanikani.com)
  • WaniKani API token for sync

ウーパールーパー is a third-party app and is not affiliated with WaniKani or Tofugu LLC.

## Key features

- Complete reviews and lessons
- Track progress and statistics
- Dashboard overview
- Offline support
- Clean, intuitive interface
- Light and dark modes

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Small Tip | $1.99 | one-time |
| ウーパールーパー Large Tip | $9.99 | one-time |
| ウーパールーパー Generous Tip | $19.99 | one-time |
| ウーパールーパー Medium Tip | $4.99 | one-time |


## Recent user reviews (2 of 2)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/id6757488964/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Best Underrated Wanikani Companion!

*2026-07-05*

Love this app, bravo!! So clean UI that is so easy to use. I love how easy it was to set up with my Wanikani account (took me under a minute and everything was immediately synced) and how I can easily see my progress and practice. I’m impressed with the amount of settings on this app as well! Subject and stats are great. I only wish I had an ability to get notifications when lessons/reviews unlock (though perhaps I have not seen how).

### 5/5 — Dark Mode 🙌

*2026-02-26*

A great native app experience for WaniKani. Would love to see a similar one for NativShark in the future as well!

## Frequently asked questions about ウーパールーパー

### How does ウーパールーパー help with WaniKani studies?

ウーパールーパー allows you to complete your WaniKani reviews and lessons anywhere, providing a clean interface for focused study. It also offers offline support, so your progress syncs automatically for anytime access.

### What kind of progress tracking does ウーパールーパー offer?

You can view detailed statistics on your level progression and accuracy rates within the app. It highlights items that require extra attention, helping you optimize your study sessions.

### Is ウーパールーパー free to use?

Yes, ウーパールーパー is free to download and use. The app does offer in-app purchases, but the core functionality for WaniKani companion features is available without cost.

### Does ウーパールーパー have ads?

No, ウーパールーパー does not contain advertisements. The app is designed to provide an uninterrupted study experience.

### What are the requirements to use ウーパールーパー?

To use ウーパールーパー, you need an active WaniKani account and a WaniKani API token for data synchronization. The app is compatible with iPhone and iPad devices.

### How often is ウーパールーパー updated?

The latest version of ウーパールーパー is 1.5, which was last updated on March 3, 2026. This indicates a recent update, suggesting ongoing development and support.

### What is the user sentiment for ウーパールーパー?

Based on the available data, ウーパールーパー has a perfect rating of 5.0 stars from 1 rating, indicating very positive initial user sentiment.

### Is ウーパールーパー suitable for young learners?

ウーパールーパー has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for a wide range of users. Its educational focus on language learning is beneficial for learners of all ages.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.6.1 — 2026-09-16

**Uparupa 1.6.0 — “Offline hardening”**

Uparupa now works reliably offline. Reviews and lessons you complete without a connection are queued on your device and sent automatically as soon as you're back online — even in the background, so you don't need to reopen the app. Radical images and audio are cached on your device, and audio downloads automatically over Wi-Fi, with a manual download option in Settings whenever you want it.

**Also in this release:**

* Lessons now explain near-miss kanji readings instead of simply marking them wrong.
* Faster launches — Uparupa no longer re-syncs everything every time you open the app.
* Many fixes to ensure queued reviews are never lost, submitted under the wrong account, or asked twice.

### 1.6.0 — 2026-09-08

**Uparupa 1.6.0 — “Offline hardening”**

Uparupa now works reliably offline. Reviews and lessons you complete without a connection are queued on your device and sent automatically as soon as you're back online — even in the background, so you don't need to reopen the app. Radical images and audio are cached on your device, and audio downloads automatically over Wi-Fi, with a manual download option in Settings whenever you want it.

**Also in this release:**

* Lessons now explain near-miss kanji readings instead of simply marking them wrong.
* Faster launches — Uparupa no longer re-syncs everything every time you open the app.
* Many fixes to ensure queued reviews are never lost, submitted under the wrong account, or asked twice.

### 1.5 — 2026-03-03

What's New in v1.5

New Features

  • Interleave Lessons with Reviews - New setting to mix lessons into your review sessions. Lessons appear in batches with Previous/Next navigation, and their quizzes are added to your reviews afterward.

  • Subject Search - Search through all your unlocked subjects by character, meaning, or reading.

  • Accept Any Kanji Reading - New setting that accepts any valid reading for kanji (on'yomi or kun'yomi), not just the primary one.

Improvements

  • Leeches - "Critical Items" has been renamed to "Leeches" and now uses WaniKani's official formula to identify items you struggle with.

  • Reorganized Settings - Settings are now grouped into clearer sections for easier navigation.

  • Better Audio Playback - Improved pronunciation audio handling for more reliable playback.

  • Improved Wrap-Up Mode - Items you've attempted are now included when wrapping up, so you won't lose progress.

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed various issues with lesson and review sessions
  • Improved sync reliability
  • General stability improvements

### 1.4 — 2026-02-18

Version 1.4

  What's New

  NEW FEATURES

  - Anki Mode: A new self-grading review mode. Instead of typing your answers, tap to reveal the correct answer and mark yourself as correct or incorrect. Great for quick review sessions or when you can't type. Enable it in Settings > App Preferences.
  - Back-to-Back Reviews: Reading and meaning questions for the same item now appear one after another, so you can fully review each item before moving on. Toggle it in Settings > App Preferences.
  - Vibrant Colors mode: An optional high-contrast color palette for users who prefer stronger, more distinguishable subject colors. Enable it in Settings > Appearance.
  - Tip Jar: A new way to support the developer directly from the app. Look for the heart icon on the main screens.
  - Audio download controls: Choose to download only male or female pronunciation voices, and cancel downloads midway if needed.

  IMPROVEMENTS

  - Cleaner settings screen: Setting descriptions are now shown as info tooltips, making the settings screen less cluttered while keeping helpful explanations just a tap away.
  - Simplified color scheme: Streamlined the app's color palette for a more cohesive visual experience across all screens.
  - Reorganized lesson tabs for better learning flow: Kanji lessons now show Meanings first, followed by Readings, then a combined Related tab with both radicals and vocabulary examples. Vocabulary lessons now show Meaning first, followed by Reading, Context sentences, and finally the Kanji composition.
  - Consistent card design in Kanji lessons: The radicals tab now displays cards in the same style as other sections throughout the app, showing your learning progress at a glance.
  - Improved lesson content layout: Reduced excessive bottom margins in lesson tabs for better content visibility.
  - Smarter kanji reading validation: When you enter a valid but non-primary reading for a kanji, you'll now see a helpful hint instead of being marked wrong, helping you learn which reading WaniKani expects.

  BUG FIXES

  - Fixed the "Force Full Re-Sync" button so the loading overlay appears properly when syncing data from settings.
  - Fixed the upcoming reviews forecast so it updates correctly after completing lessons or reviews, without requiring a manual full sync.
  - Fixed the "Enlightened" label wrapping to a new line in the statistics view.
  - Fixed the app getting stuck on the loading screen after restarting.

### 1.3 — 2026-01-15

Release Notes - v1.3

Improvements

Quiz & Review Experience
  - Faster auto-advance on correct answers (reduced from 1s to 0.5s)
  - Redesigned lesson completion screen to match review summary format with card-based layout
  - Improved kanji reading section with larger fonts, vertical dividers, and better spacing

User Interface
  - Level selector dropdown now highlights selected level with background color instead of checkmark icon
  - Custom end session confirmation dialog with wider layout and centered text (iOS)
  - Smoother app launch experience - loading overlay stays visible until fully loaded, preventing flash between screens

Bug Fixes
  - Fixed daily lesson count not syncing across platforms (lessons done on web now properly counted in app)
  - Fixed wrap-up button not dismissing the confirmation popup (iOS)
  - Fixed subject progress counter to only count items where lessons have been completed (srsStage > 0) (iOS)

Performance
  - Optimized ViewModels with more efficient database queries
  - Improved week forecast caching and sync performance
  - Various UI component refinements

## Apps similar to ウーパールーパー

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Kakehashi - For WaniKani](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kakehashi-for-wanikani/id6757765444) | 5.0 (82) | Free | Education |
| [Gakugame - WaniKani Companion](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gakugame-wanikani-companion/id6755092872) | 5.0 (10) | Free | Education |
| [Bunpro Japanese SRS](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bunpro-japanese-srs/id1615337616) | 4.9 (612) | Free | Education |
| [MaruMori](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/marumori/id6642702724) | 5.0 (8) | Free | Education |
| [KanjiMado for WaniKani](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kanjimado-for-wanikani/id6757909656) | — | Free | Education |
| [Nihondex: Learn Japanese](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nihondex-learn-japanese/id6749200791) | 4.7 (14) | Free | Education |

## More apps by Gabriel Barandiaran Silveira

- [Manhole Notebook](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/manhole-notebook/id6759797202)

All apps by Gabriel Barandiaran Silveira: https://appshunter.io/developer/1867230690

## Related topics

[wanikani](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/wanikani) · [kanjimado for wanikani](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/kanjimado-for-wanikani)

---

*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-17.*