ManabiDojo
ManabiDojo · Other
ManabiDojo is a Japanese learning extension for Chrome that adds interactive subtitles, dictionary lookups, and AI grammar breakdowns to help you learn Japanese with anime, manga, and any page.
About ManabiDojo
What Is ManabiDojo
ManabiDojo turns the Japanese media you already watch and read into study material. It's a browser extension built by two brothers, and it comes in two parts: a Video extension that overlays clickable Japanese subtitles on Crunchyroll and Netflix, and a Web extension that parses text on manga sites, YouTube, news pages, and blogs.
The problem it solves is fiddly word lookups. Reading anime or manga as a learner usually means pausing every few seconds to copy a word into a dictionary app. ManabiDojo keeps that lookup inside the page, so you click a word and get its reading, meaning, and kanji breakdown without leaving what you're watching.
The catch is the subscription. Netflix support, unlimited AI explanations, flashcards, and the entire Web extension sit behind premium, so the free tier is really a trial for the deeper features.
Getting Started
- Install the extension from the Chrome Web Store. There are two listings: one for the Video extension and one for the Web extension.
- Open Crunchyroll or Netflix and start an episode. Japanese subtitles show up over the video automatically.
- Click any word in the subtitles to pull up its dictionary entry, reading, and meaning.
- Save words to the Wordbook or create flashcards for the terms you want to review.
- For manga and web text, add the Web extension and hover over speech bubbles or paragraphs to get the same clickable breakdowns.
Product Information
A quick look at ManabiDojo's pricing, supported platforms, and performance.
Best for
The users, tasks, and scenarios where this tool fits best.
Users
- Intermediate and advanced learners
- Anime and manga fans
- Self-study learners who dislike textbooks
Tasks
- Watching anime with Japanese subtitles
- Reading manga with OCR
- Building a review list
Scenarios
- Turning a daily episode into a lesson
- Working through a manga chapter you already enjoy
- Drilling vocabulary between shows
Key features
Interactive Japanese subtitles
The Video extension overlays Japanese subtitles on Crunchyroll and Netflix and makes every word clickable. You click a term and get its reading, meaning, and part of speech right over the video. For learners, that removes the copy-paste trip to a separate dictionary app that normally breaks the flow of watching.
AI grammar breakdowns
When a sentence doesn't parse, the extension hands it to an AI that explains the grammar and nuance in plain terms. It's aimed at the moments where a dictionary entry isn't enough, like a string of particles you can't untangle. Unlimited AI explanations require premium, so free users hit a ceiling here.
Manga OCR and web parsing
The Web extension reads Japanese text inside manga images and turns speech bubbles into selectable chunks, and it also parses text on news sites, blogs, and web novels. So the same lookup popup works on a scanned page or a live website. You can also pause a YouTube video to turn hardcoded subtitles and on-screen signs into clickable words.
The Wordbook and flashcards
Every word you look up can be saved to the Wordbook, which sorts entries by how well you know them and levels them up as you review. You can also spin up flashcard decks for specific episodes or topics. The decks export to Anki format if you'd rather keep your reviews in a tool you already use.
Academy courses
Academy is a beginner-oriented course built around real episodes, with a lesson for each one. It picks a difficulty level, surfaces the episode's hardest words as flashcards, then quizzes you on a set of sentences and unlocks the next episode once you pass. It's a guided path for people who want more structure than raw immersion.
One-click lookup and custom dictionary URLs
Clicking a word opens a popup with dictionary entries, readings, and kanji details. You can also add up to three custom URLs that open with the selected word pre-filled, so a search on a site like Jisho launches in a reusable window the moment you click a term.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Keeps lookups inside the page, so you stop bouncing between a show and a dictionary app.
- One subscription covers both the Video and Web extensions, which is cheaper than running two tools.
- The Wordbook levels words automatically and exports to Anki, so it fits existing study routines.
- Manga OCR and YouTube OCR mean image-based and video-based text both become clickable.
Cons
- The core experience is paid. Netflix, unlimited AI explanations, flashcards, and the whole Web extension need a subscription, and the free tier is limited to basic Crunchyroll subtitles and lookups.
- It targets learners who already know kana and basic grammar. Complete beginners won't find a from-scratch curriculum except through Academy.
- It's Chrome-only, so Firefox and Safari users can't run it, and it's tied to specific streaming sites rather than working on any video player.
Frequently asked questions
It's a Chrome extension that adds interactive Japanese subtitles and dictionary lookups to anime, manga, and Japanese web pages. You click any word to see its reading, meaning, and kanji breakdown, and you can get AI explanations for sentences that don't parse.
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