I’m looking for a replacement for my trusty old and no longer in development Obenkyo that has seemingly gotten shafted by changes in folder permissions in newer versions of Android, being no longer able to load custom kanji lists.

Here’s what Obenkyo’s writing practice looked like in action:

https://streamable.com/juh3j5

Things I liked about Obenkyo’s handwriting practice mode:

  • The ability load custom lists
  • The ability to choose the number of flash cards
  • The ability to toggle off English translations and only go by on-yomi and kun-yomi
  • A hint system (first hint: English translation, second hint: the kanji flashes on screen briefly)
  • Half points for wrong stroke order
  • The ability to replay your strokes side by side with a correct example to see where you went wrong
  • No gamified elements beyond a simple scoring system
  • Free, with no ads

Paired with a cheap stylus Obenkyo was an incredibly handy way to quickly brush up on writing individual kanji. I could just keep using its predetermined JLPT lists but I enjoyed using my own lists