Man, I need to learn more kanji. Just look at this update from NHK news!

Can sound-out all of the hiragana and katakana in there (and even understand some of it) but there’s so much kanji used, I am lost.  Google Translate works OK, but it works better coming from English than from Japanese.  I just wish kanji were as easy to learn as kana is.

Kana Invaders from http://learnjapanesepod.com a GREAT way to practice reading kana!

If you’re having trouble getting really comfortable reading hiragana and katakana, I HIGHLY recommend trying your hand at Kana Invaders, a Flash game from http://LearnJapanesePod.com and designed by Ricardo from cataplasma.net.  The game play is simple—each invader carries a big sign with a kana on it. Spell out the sound for that kana and your tank destroys the invader.  Here’s me about to die at level 15:



I got distracted trying to take that screengrab and couldn’t recover in time, so here’s me lost:



There are 20 levels for both hiragana and katakana, so there’s definitely some challenges there for you if you’re not yet comfy reading quickly.  Hell, I bet level 20 might even give some fluent Japanese speakers a run for their money. :)

I’ve been informally studying Japanese off and on for ten years and I’m still a little shaky with my reading skills, so I’m loving this game. I think it’ll be my new study buddy until I finally nail kana once and for all!

Now if they can just whip up a Kanji Invaders game! :)