Kana Ninja
Kana fly up like fruit — swipe to slice the one that matches the sound. Start with あいうえお and unlock a new family every level.
Learn Hiragana by Slicing It
Kana Ninja turns character recognition into a fruit-slicing arcade game. A sound appears at the top — say, "ka" — and kana come flying up across the arena. Swipe through the character that matches and it splits in two; swipe the wrong one and you lose a heart. The prompt toggle flips the direction, showing the kana and putting romaji on the fruit, so you can drill reading in whichever direction you need. Because every slice is a forced choice between look-alike characters, the game trains exactly the skill flashcards struggle with: telling similar kana apart at speed.
How the levels work
Every level introduces one kana family and walks you through it in dictionary order — Level 1 is あ・い・う・え・お, sliced in sequence, followed by a short review round drawn from everything you've unlocked. Clear it and Level 2 brings かきくけこ while keeping the vowels in play as decoys; later levels add the dakuten families (が, ざ, だ, ば, ぱ) and the yōon combinations (きゃ, しゃ, ちゃ…). Decoy fruit only ever comes from families you've already met, so a wrong slice is always a character you were supposed to know. Your level, furthest level reached, and prompt direction are saved in your browser, and the level picker lets you jump back to any family you've unlocked.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to know all the kana first?
No. Kana Ninja begins with just the five vowels and unlocks one family at a time, in the standard gojūon order, so it's playable from your very first day of study.
What happens when I slice the wrong kana?
You lose one of three hearts. Lose all three and the level simply restarts with fresh hearts — there's no game over and no lost levels, so mistakes cost seconds, not progress.
Is it free?
Yes — completely free, no account required, and the swipe controls work with a mouse on desktop or your finger on phones and tablets.