Kanji Adventures for Gamers and Vtuber Fans is an online course by Nihongo Picnic, a Japanese language school that offers a variety of different courses geared towards the JLPT, business Japanese, kanji, and more.
The class is geared towards learners around the JLPT N3 level but can accommodate learners at the N4 and N2 levels as well. Words with kanji that are common in the Japanese gaming and vtuber (short for virtual YouTuber — someone that makes videos on YouTube using a virtual avatar) communities make up the main content of each lesson. And while word meanings and usages are broken down, the real focus is on their kanji. The entire course covers about 140 kanji and lasts three months, meeting once a week. English is often used by the teacher to explain difficult concepts.
A typical lesson will open with a theme and short discussion. The theme for the sample class was ゲームスキル (game skills) and introduced six words made up of two kanji each, totaling 12 kanji to be learned in that session. For example, we covered two words: 連打 (renda, button-mashing) and 裏技 (urawaza, hidden move or life hack).
Learners are first taught how to pronounce each word using standard pitch-accent based on the NHK pitch accent dictionary. Then, kanji for each of these words are broken down into their individual components and memory hints are provided (similar to what WaniKani does). Learners are also given a chance to write each character on the screen. Once each character is broken down and the full word can be recognized, there is a short conversation that utilizes the word in question. Students are given a chance to practice the dialogue with other students and the teacher. When the class finishes going through all of the words for that lesson, homework is assigned. The class also references WaniKani a lot, offering students a coupon code, and optional homework connected to the app; though being a WaniKani user is not required.
We sampled this Kanji Adventures for Gamers and Vtuber Fans class and it was highly enjoyable; the instructor was very understanding and really made sure all the students were accommodated. The colorful slides, and opportunities to use what one has learned are a huge plus that learners of any level will benefit from.
The course can seem a bit pricey, but that stems from the fact that Nihongo Picnic offers small courses with certified professional, native Japanese teachers. If you would like online lessons with a small class size, Nihongo Picnic likely has something you can take for the right price.