Exactly what I was looking for - PERFECT!
I finally found a Kana WRITING Practice tool, which is what this application should be called. Then I would have found it a lot sooner.
Every other Kana application is focused on READING Kana ONLY, so they only have the option to look at a Kana character and submit the corresponding romaji. But for writing one needs the opposite: show me the romaji and I will enter the Kana. This app does just that. In addition it detects and shows sloppy writing. It also lets you pick an arbitrary set of characters that you can focus on. I could not have asked for a better tool!
Every other Kana application is focused on READING Kana ONLY, so they only have the option to look at a Kana character and submit the corresponding romaji. But for writing one needs the opposite: show me the romaji and I will enter the Kana. This app does just that. In addition it detects and shows sloppy writing. It also lets you pick an arbitrary set of characters that you can focus on. I could not have asked for a better tool!
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Great for learning strokes
Many apps focus on helping you recognize the characters and not necessarily on writing them. This app is very helpful for learning the strokes and helping increase your ability to draw them accurately. The ability to choose sections and decks is incredibly worthwhile!
Nice, but ...
I like this so far, and it works on my iPad 1 with iOS 5.1.1, but crashes when I try to open on my iPhone 4S with iOS 6.1.2.
Response from developer
Unfortunately there was no way for me to respond to this until recently, but please contact us at support@rakudasoft.com at anytime if you're having these kind of issues. Thanks!
Meh
The stroke order in も is incorrect and the number of strokes in そ is incorrect as it should be two in handwritten style. You need to turn the sensitivity down in order for it to accept correct characters but then it is too loose and also accepts incorrect characters. It's odd that it shows you the correct character in normal script but you write them in handwritten script, especially because some characters vary significantly between the two.
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Buggy, but helpful for practicing the kana
I was recently looking for something to help me practice writing the kana, and this app fit the bill.
Pros:
This app allows you to select either hiragana or katakana, and then to designate exactly what to include in your practice session (i am, for instance, only halfway through the hiragana and it allows me to focus just on what i have covered). For each syllable, it gives you the English and you write in the appropriate kana. Unlike most flash cards that show you one of the kana and the you pronounce it, this app actually helps you work on generating the kana yourself based on the romanji. After using it for a few days, I have found that it is nice to have this additional practice to help me work on both types of memory.
Cons:
This app seems a bit buggy. I have found that about a third of the time, it does not seem to read what I have written: marking a correctly drawn character as wrong or even indicating that I have drawn a completely different symbol. Additionally, it also does not display things in a true random order, so you will still notice some patterns to the order of the syllables. This is only a bit annoying, as part of the reason I wanted to use this app is to randomly test my knowledge (it is easier to remember the kana in order than it is to pull a random one from memory).
On the whole, I am happy with my purchase. It is a very useful tool for working on writing the hiragana and katakana properly (it even judges you based on line order and direction) and is decent practice for writing/recall. Perhaps in an update or two some of these issues will be addressed.
Pros:
This app allows you to select either hiragana or katakana, and then to designate exactly what to include in your practice session (i am, for instance, only halfway through the hiragana and it allows me to focus just on what i have covered). For each syllable, it gives you the English and you write in the appropriate kana. Unlike most flash cards that show you one of the kana and the you pronounce it, this app actually helps you work on generating the kana yourself based on the romanji. After using it for a few days, I have found that it is nice to have this additional practice to help me work on both types of memory.
Cons:
This app seems a bit buggy. I have found that about a third of the time, it does not seem to read what I have written: marking a correctly drawn character as wrong or even indicating that I have drawn a completely different symbol. Additionally, it also does not display things in a true random order, so you will still notice some patterns to the order of the syllables. This is only a bit annoying, as part of the reason I wanted to use this app is to randomly test my knowledge (it is easier to remember the kana in order than it is to pull a random one from memory).
On the whole, I am happy with my purchase. It is a very useful tool for working on writing the hiragana and katakana properly (it even judges you based on line order and direction) and is decent practice for writing/recall. Perhaps in an update or two some of these issues will be addressed.
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What I needed
As a visual/tactile learner this is exactly what I was looking for. It doesn't include sounds, but I can get that elsewhere. The provided symbols aren't drawn as nicely as I would have liked, but the point is to remember the different characters and not specific ways of writing them. I can select which specific characters I want to practice. I'm presented with the Roman characters I need to write, and if I need a reminder I can press a button to see an outline. It's limited but perfect for me.
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Does what it says on the packet
This application is pretty basic, but being able to draw the characters really helps me remember them. That's pretty much all I use it for. Would be nice if it had sound samples to go with the flash cards.
Complete crap!
Don't waste your buck. This is completely useless. You have to draw the characters the exact size and shape as their templates for each character - but their templates are sloppy and inaccurate. On top of it there is no context, like how to pronounce the character (how hard is it to drop an audio file into each character?) or even how the character is used in words. It completely removes the act of creating the characters from language - you could be learning how to tag gang symbols for all this program teaches you about Japanese.
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Meh.
I bought this to try out the program instead of getting Japanese my way (didn't want to pay full price), and I won't be buying it. All it is is a flashcard program when you practice writing, and if you weren't taught to write the kana in a handwritten font, it won't accept them as right. I guess you could have the outline of it up but then it wouldn't be much practice. If I wanted flash cards I would just make them. I just was not too impressed with the format of the program, and so I bought kanji ls touch instead of Japanese my way. If you are looking for just a flashcard program though, this is a good buy.
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My New Fave
Wish I had found this sooner. As the other reviewer said... simple but fun. Love that you get a % score of how well you drew the character. Great app!
Yokatta!
If you're like me, even if you've been studying Japanese for while you sometimes forget some of the kana (especially Katakana). Having this application makes it possible for me to practice those kana I don't write very often or are hard to remember. For that, it's well worth a dollar.
Fun!
This app is simple, but really fun. Drawing the strokes makes them really stick in my mind too, and having them graded too is a nice touch. Strong recommend!
