Gravity Blog
Notes on language, memory, and the small daily moments that make learning stick.
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The Japanese words you'll hear in every anime
The words and phrases anime characters say nonstop, grouped by theme, with notes on which ones you can use with real people and which ones will make you sound like a rival from episode 3.
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The best Japanese YouTube channels for learners, sorted by level
My picks for Japanese listening practice on YouTube, from slow beginner videos to native vloggers, who each channel suits, and how to get more out of it.
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Gravity vs LingQ for Japanese: an honest comparison (2026)
I agree with LingQ's method. For Japanese, the software gets in the way: a dated app, word splitting that guesses wrong, and a free plan that stops at 20 words.
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The best Japanese podcasts for beginners, by level
Ten Japanese podcasts I'd put on your phone, sorted from first-month beginner to upper intermediate, with what each one is like and who it suits.
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How to learn Japanese with anime (and actually remember the words)
Anime can teach you a lot of Japanese. Bingeing it with English subtitles mostly won't. What I'd watch, how I'd watch it, and the tools that make words stick.
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How to learn Japanese with songs (and which ones to start with)
Songs make Japanese words stick in a way flashcards never do. They're also a bad grammar teacher, so this is how I'd use them, and the songs I'd start with.
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Gravity vs Migaku for Japanese: an honest comparison (2026)
I've used Migaku. On a computer, nothing I've tried turns a show into flashcards faster. On a phone, it was the most frustrating language app I've used, and that's where Gravity does better.
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Gravity vs Duolingo for Japanese: an honest comparison (2026)
Duolingo isn't a scam. It's just solving a different problem than the one you think you're paying for. Here's where the green bird app actually gets you in Japanese.
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The Best Apps to Learn Japanese in 2026 (By What You Actually Need)
There's no single best app for Japanese. Here's an honest breakdown of Airlearn, WaniKani, Anki, Migaku, and more, organized by what each one is actually for.
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How to Learn Japanese Through Immersion (A Realistic Guide)
Immersion isn't just watching anime with subtitles and hoping you'll absorb something. Here's how to actually immerse in Japanese without spending 10+ hours a day pretending you're in Japan.
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Why being mid at Chinese completely ruins learning Kanji at the intermediate level
Growing up Chinese-Canadian, I thought knowing hanzi would make learning kanji easy. It did until it didn't. Here's my experience with two systems colliding.
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Sentence Mining: What It Is and Why It Beats Your Textbook
Turns out that sentence mining accidentally aligns with a lot of research on memory and language acquisition.
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Hello from Gravity
What we're building, who it's for, and why we think language apps have lost the plot.
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