# Shinobi: Read & Learn Japanese — user reviews > 706 indexed App Store user reviews of Shinobi by Jeremy Pitault, rated 4.90/5 from 824 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shinobi-read-and-learn-japanese/id6479197432/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shinobi-read-and-learn-japanese/id6479197432.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 748 · 4★ 58 · 3★ 9 · 2★ 3 · 1★ 6 ## What do users think of Shinobi? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🚀 Immersive and engaging stories - 👍 Easy to use with convenient features - 🎓 Helpful for learning and improving Japanese - 🎨 Interesting and enjoyable content - 💡 Useful for reading practice and vocabulary building **Cons** - 💰 Subscription model with limited free access - 🔍 Difficulty finding specific stories or content - 🔠 Small text size on mobile devices **Commonly reported bugs** - Occasional crashes or freezing - Inconsistencies in translations and definitions **Most requested features** - Ability to adjust text size - Option to read stories without illustrations - More advanced quizzing and comprehension testing - Expanded story library and content variety ## Newest reviews (19 of 706) ### 3/5 — app *2026-08-25, version 1.4.4* good ### 5/5 — Toute une histoire *2026-07-28* C’est entraînant d’avoir des petites histoires, dans les thèmes qu’on aime. C’est appréciable de voir l’écriture avec kanji mais aussi les hiraganas. ### 5/5 — Good *2026-07-23* Good app for learning from stories ### 5/5 — Easy to use *2026-07-22, version 1.4.3* It’s good to practice reading and listening skills ### 5/5 — Just for xp *2026-07-20, version 1.4.3* It’s really good ### 5/5 — Best! *2026-07-19, version 1.4.3* So helpful and fun ### 5/5 — Really nice *2026-07-18, version 1.4.3* Weirdly perfect app , straight mind read me on what I was thinking of vibe coding. No need now! ### 5/5 — Love it *2026-07-16, version 1.4.3* Really fun and useful great way to practice ### 5/5 — Fun and simple. *2026-07-12, version 1.4.2* This game is fun and easy for bigginers ### 5/5 — Cool! *2026-07-12, version 1.4.2* I haven't gotten to use much of this app, but the stories are great for beginners. I like how you can tap each word to find out the meaning. The comprehension questions afterward really helps lock it in. I already knew a bit of Japanese beforehand, so I don't know how much you need to know for this app. That was written by a bot, but genuinely this app is helpful to me. I like how it's still useful even if you don't have premium. I used this app the most before i kinda gave up on Japanese (but this is really good at helping me get back into it). There's also a version of this app for Chinese. Definitely underrated. These apps by this developer deserve more attention. The AI pictures are kinda off-putting, though ### 4/5 — Bugs await the higher-level students *2026-07-10, version 1.4.2* The app concept is great but for a serious or intermediate to advanced student, there are several subtle errors that will likely be a bit annoying for some. For example, some kanji words have incomplete hiragana shown. Some meanings or examples are missing. Some examples are for a different reading of the presented word. Probably the most odd error is when occasional compound kanjis are presented, the whole word is split into two words (for tapping on to get the meaning) when it should not be split, eg 被害地 is split into 被害 and 地 so the word’s meaning is somewhat awry. Granted it infrequent but shouldn’t really exist, so the app content really could benefit from good proofreading for accurate presentation. ### 5/5 — Highly Recommended *2026-07-02, version 1.4.2* I’ve found Shinobi to be one of the most helpful tools in my acquisition of Japanese. It’s pretty challenging in the more advanced levels, but it’s worth the effort. I spend a lot of time shadowing each page so it would be nice if there was a repeat button for looping the automated voice that reads each page, without having to press the play button each time I want to hear it again. One slight quibble: I found that I raced through the beginner levels pretty quickly because there weren’t enough stories to keep me occupied until I had improved enough for the advanced levels. I probably would have repeated a lot of the stories I had already read, but because I didn’t want to break my daily streak, I had to keep going - and pretty quickly I was on the upper levels which take a lot longer to read through. So more stories in the beginner levels would have better. Fortunately, new stories are being added all the time. Overall. Highly Recommended. ### 5/5 — I love this app! *2026-07-01, version 1.4.2* Please never completely paywall this app, it has been a complete savior for my Japanese learning. The stories introduce new grammar and vocabulary slowly, and the queues at the end make you think about what you read. Without Shinobi I wouldn't have come as far as I have. I really love this app! ### 5/5 — Great addition for practice *2026-06-27, version 1.4.1* I use a lot of different Japanese apps and this is a great new, unique app that builds on what I already know and really helps with practicing comprehension, recall, and kanji recognition. I’m going to enjoy adding this to my daily study routine. ### 5/5 — Interesting *2026-06-25* I really enjoy using it. But I often feel like I have to use credit. I don't know if I have to use credit. If I don't have to use credit, it seems like it would be pretty good. ### 5/5 — Hi *2026-06-25, version 1.4.1* Good work ### 5/5 — Great reading practice *2026-06-20, version 1.4.1* I after a few days I like it so far. I use it to complement other tools for my reading skills. I use the free version. It allows just 2 lessons of about 5 minutes a day. But it's fine for my needs. ### 5/5 — Good *2026-06-20* This app is good, requesting you to upload the kanji list according to the levels. Thank you! ### 5/5 — I like it *2026-06-18, version 1.4.1* It’s a good app for reading japanese from beginning ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Cringing from AI images *2026-08-06, version 1.4.3* Hire someone to illustrate stories or take images from stock websites. AI art looks really bad. ### 1/5 — AI art *2026-03-31, version 1.3.3* It looked like a very promising app to better your kanji reading skills but I cannot get behind the AI generated art for the stories so 1 star and deleting 👎 It makes the learning experience feel very distracting when there is different styles for the different stories rather than one consistent style. Though if one day an illustrator is hired Id love to redownload. This app has a really good concept, the app’s interface is clean and makes its to read the stories and to navigate the app. ### 1/5 — Terrible grammar & Weird Pictures *2025-12-12* The grammar isn’t entirely correct. Seems the sentences are just google translate. It’s pretty bad. And some of the words that were used in the sentences are unnatural. I’m N3 but I’m reading N4 to see if there’s anything I’ve missed, but even simple more natural words that should have been used were replaced by weird more advanced words that never be used in daily life. What’s worse is the ai art. They claimed a few months ago that they would change their art to real art but they haven’t. And the ai slop is weird at best and creepy at worst. The pictures of course are inconsistent and they’re ripping it from Hayao Miyazaki. I refuse to be get the premium because of that alone. CHANGE IT! ### 1/5 — Don’t work *2025-11-23, version 1.2.5* Don’t work. It’s freezing on the level choice screen. Duolingo is better. I removed the app. ### 1/5 — Don’t work *2025-11-22, version 1.2.5* Don’t work. It’s freezing on the level choice screen ### 1/5 — AI Slop *2025-06-17* I was really disappointed to find how much AI generated slop is included in this app. There are now more AI generated Ghibli images than there are real ones. It’s the kind of thing that spits on the original. No thanks. **Developer response:** We’re very sorry you had a frustrating experience. Please email help@shinobi-japanese.com with more information so we can investigate and resolve the issue. Our app is focused on learning content, illustrations are just part of contextualization. We're working on a feature to let users hide them. All the best, Jeremy, Co-Founder, Shinobi Japanese ### 1/5 — Got greedy *2025-06-05* Yeah I know, devs need money to live like everyone else, but the recent change has put me off the app entirely. Previously, you had 3 stories for free a day (it would reset every 12 hours or, if it felt like it…). Today I popped in to discover a new exciting change! Gems or whatever they were called are now replaced by keys! Yay! What that means though you get only 2 stories now per 24 hours (since one key takes 12 hours to regenerate, second takes 24 and your inventory limit is 2). I was going to go through a basic level as a demo and get subbed to power through l, but it seems we’re at the “keep pushing the goal post” kinda app so nah cheers. Keep your stories and good luck. **Developer response:** Our apologies for the disappointing experience. You can still reach out to us at help@shinobi-japanese.com with any details, feedbacks or recommendations so we can keep improving the app and make your experience better. Jeremy, Co-Founder, Shinobi Japanese. ### 1/5 — AI Slop and Google Translate Japanese *2025-03-25, version 1.1.1* Came into this app with high hopes until I noticed the AI generated artwork in its stories and red flags in its grammar and sloppy writing, probably ripped from Google translate or some poorly proofread AI translation. Disappointing low quality gimmick product, don’t waste your time. ### 1/5 — Broken *2024-11-14, version 1.0.22* App does not work whatsoever ### 2/5 — AI-Generated Graded Reader: Easier than Satori Reader but unnatural Japanese and more expensive *2026-06-17, version 1.4.1* Everything seems AI-generated here, not just the pictures (which definitely are). Stories are at least AI-assisted. The grammar, word choices, everything feels weird. If you want a robot for a Japanese teacher, okay, but you’ll end up talking like one. It’s a far cry from something like Satori Reader where everything is carefully curated and human-produced. And Satori Reader is actually far less expensive. That said, Satori Reader (zero AI used) is much higher level and harder for N5 learners. This is easier practice. Pictures didn’t load for days; got one support message (after putting in 10 requests), then no reply after that. But… it’s back to working now. Yet frequently goes back to some pictures not loading. When pictures load, it’s a handy app that works well for low level content that can be hard to find before you hit N4. It’s not up to Satori Reader’s level of quality at all, though, and it’s janky and wonky and unnatural Japanese. And expensive if you use more than free mode. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Excellent supplement to learning *2026-08-30, version 1.4.5* I got this app to support my attempt to learn Japanese. It is exactly what I was looking for: beginner-level stories that I can try to read without help, but support is readily available. There are little quizzes at the end of each book to help make sure you are comprehending what you read. I only have the free version, which allows me to unlock two books a day. But can re-read unlocked books as often as needed. The only thing I don’t like about it is that I wish there was a way to unlock flash cards at the free level, haha. I’d happily watch ads or require x amount of reading. Or maybe convert xp into points to spend on them… but that would just be an extra bonus. ### 5/5 — That’s the flow that makes a difference *2026-08-18, version 1.4.4* I have tried many languages learning apps, I will stick with this one. ### 5/5 — Shinobi FC from Laos 🇱🇦 *2026-08-18, version 1.4.4* I love this application. This app makes me feel better about myself because I can understand Japanese language more accurately than before. ### 5/5 — Très bonne application *2026-08-10* Bonjours, l’application est super, mais je serais intéressé de connaître le nombre d’histoire disponible… ### 5/5 — Great App for Learning Japanese *2026-08-03* I really enjoy using Shinboi! The app has short and interesting stories that make learning fun. I also like that I can translate new words easily while reading, which helps me understand the stories better. After each story, there is a small quiz to check if I understood what I read. It’s a great way to improve reading, vocabulary, and comprehension. Thank you for creating such a helpful learning app! ### 5/5 — 👍 *2026-08-02, version 1.4.3* Only a few stories in but I like it so far. Definitely helping me to start reading and developing vocab. Would love if the flash card vocab was free ### 5/5 — 5 stars *2026-08-01, version 1.4.3* I really love this app ### 5/5 — This is my Favorite Japanese App *2026-08-01, version 1.4.3* I never thought I would start to read Japanese. I thought it would take me years to even attempt. Shinobi has made me so much more confident in my abilities and is the app that keeps me going with my attempts to learn Japanese. I appreciate the free version so much. どもうありがとうございます for supporting me through this journey!!! ### 5/5 — Bacana *2026-07-30* O aplicativo é bom ### 5/5 — Découverte de l’application *2026-07-29* Quelques jours seulement d’apprentissage et l’application me semble déjà tellement ludique que je progresse sans vraiment m’en rendre compte ! --- *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 2026-09-10.*