Comparison

ひらがなヒーローズ! vs Trace and Learn

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

ひらがなヒーローズ!

Features
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身近な場所に「ひらがな」がかくれているかも!? カメラで撮って、ヒーローと一緒に“ひらがな探し”の冒険に出かけよう! ・ 遊び方 50音の中から探したい文字をえらぶ カメラで写真を撮って、見つけた文字をタップ! ひらがなが正しく認識されると、コレクションに追加できるよ 君だけのずかんを作ろう! ・ 特徴 遊びながら自然にひらがなを覚えられる おでかけ先でもおうちの中でも楽しめる 集めたひらがなを図鑑でふりかえり ・ こんな方におすすめ 文字に興味を持ち始めた未就学のお子さま 親子で一緒に楽しく学びたい方 遊びと学びを両立した知育アプリを探している方

About

Trace and Learn

Features
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Learn the 80 kanji taught in grade 1 of Japanese elementary school by tracing them in the correct stroke order. The 80 kanji follow the “Allocation of Kanji by School Year” of Japan’s Ministry of Education (MEXT). TRACE The stroke that is lit up is the one to write. Follow it from the start of the stroke (the numbered dot) to the end. The strokes come one at a time, in the correct stroke order. When the whole kanji is traced, Namamono holds it up and cheers. Lines that have nothing to do with the lit stroke are not counted, and a voice asks you to trace it again. WRITE IT Write the kanji that goes in the box of an example sentence without looking (5 questions each time). If you are not sure, tap “Show me” to see the model kanji and its stroke order numbers, and practice by writing over it. At the end, the kanji written without looking are counted up with a flower circle. No score is shown. If the writing is clearly different, for example lines simply placed side by side, you are asked to try writing it again. The app does not grade how neat the writing is. FRIENDS When you finish tracing your first kanji of the day, a new friend joins you (one a day). Sakigaki writes the stroke first to show you how, Hakari weighs the kanji you traced today, Karappo finds kanji you haven’t written yet, Sekisho gives you a stamp for every 10 kanji you complete in the order of the school list, Pokayoke guards the lock on the settings, Yamedoki lets you know when it’s time to stop, and Namamono cheers you on. Each friend speaks in their own voice. In the friends’ room, choose a favorite friend to cheer when you finish a kanji. READING VOICE Example sentences and questions are read aloud in the voice of Zundamon (VOICEVOX:ずんだもん). PLEASE NOTE The app screen is in English, but the reading voice, the example sentences and the readings are in Japanese. The app is for children who can read hiragana. FOR PARENTS ・ No ads and no in-app purchases ・ The app does not connect to the internet, and collects no names or other information ・ Practice records are kept on this device only ・ Settings open only after an arithmetic question for grown-ups (two-digit multiplication). You can set a daily play time (just a reminder, or ending for the day) ・ You can rate this app on the App Store from Settings SOURCES ・ Kanji: Japan’s Course of Study for elementary schools (2017), appended table “Allocation of Kanji by School Year” (学年別漢字配当表) ・ Readings: Japan’s Ministry of Education (MEXT), “Table of On and Kun Readings by School Level” (音訓の小・中・高等学校段階別割り振り表) CREDITS ・ Voices: VOICEVOX:ずんだもん, VOICEVOX:中部つるぎ, VOICEVOX:九州そら, VOICEVOX:中国うさぎ, VOICEVOX:四国めたん, VOICEVOX:東北きりたん, VOICEVOX:東北イタコ ・ Stroke order and model character shapes: adapted from KanjiVG (c) Ulrich Apel (CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ · http://kanjivg.tagaini.net). The adapted stroke data is published under the same license (https://nazotte.github.io/stroke-data/).

Screenshots

ひらがなヒーローズ!4 screens
Trace and Learn4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Trace and Learn at every 3 days against ひらがなヒーローズ!'s weekly. ひらがなヒーローズ!'s advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ひらがなヒーローズ! ships an update weekly, Trace and Learn every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
ひらがなヒーローズ! versus Trace and Learn: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameterひらがなヒーローズ!Trace and Learn
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKaoru NishimuraTakahiko Kato

In-app purchases

None

ひらがなヒーローズ!

No in-app purchases

None

Trace and Learn

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ひらがなヒーローズ! free?
ひらがなヒーローズ! is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Trace and Learn free?
Trace and Learn is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do ひらがなヒーローズ! or Trace and Learn have ads?
Neither ひらがなヒーローズ! nor Trace and Learn shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ひらがなヒーローズ! or Trace and Learn?
ひらがなヒーローズ! ships an update weekly, and Trace and Learn every 3 days. Most recently, ひらがなヒーローズ! was updated on October 6, 2026 and Trace and Learn on October 14, 2026.

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