What’s more annoying than a tiny green owl reminding you to keep your language learning streak? How about a tiny green owl threatening you with death games to keep your language learning streak?
頑張って (Ganbatte!)
The language learning app Duolingo is launching its own anime miniseries to promote its improved Japanese language courses. Titled “The Final Test,” these five 60-second episodes will launch on Duolingo’s YouTube channel on October 13th. According to Variety news, the series “expands the lore of Duo and his friends, revealing their origin story before they became guardians of the streak.” App users will recognize the characters as motivational avatars that encourage them to complete consecutive days of learning, also known as “a streak.”
Animation for “The Final Test” is helmed by Los Angeles-based studio Titmouse, best known for their work on Netflix’s Big Mouth and Amazon Prime’s The Legend of Vox Machina. It will be voiced in Japanese with English subtitles. A teaser trailer premiered at New York Comic Con along with exclusive merch and enamel pins. Special animations promoting the series can also be seen in the app itself.
Who Gives a Hoot
Online reception to Duolingo’s foray into the anime scene seems mixed at best. On one hand, people aren’t happy with Duolingo in general. The massive layoffs earlier this year in favor of an AI-first strategy still sting.
Many would rather the effort and money go towards actually expanding and improving the app’s lessons. As a user myself, I can attest that Duolingo is a great starting point with a very generous free account plan, but its depth is lacking.
On the other hand, those familiar with Duolingo’s marketing see this as a foregone conclusion for the little green owl. The mascot, Duo, has always had a chaotic side. From passive-aggressive reminders to mildly threatening remarks, it’s no surprise the PR team capitalized on the character.
Duolingo has always embraced pop culture, from memes to TikTok trends to current events. Given the number of references in the trailer alone, it’s clear the team wanted to pay homage to the anime genre in their own way. It even has a Danganronpa-esque setup, complete with chaotic evil smirks from Duo.
“The Final Test” releases on October 13th on Duolingo’s official YouTube channel. Wah-bing-Bing!
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