Got me through Japanese at uni
Very helpful tool, and cheap if you already own a DS. While not as widely comprehensive as a proper electronic dictionary, this game has more than enough definitions for anything you might want to look up.
It requires basic knowledge of the Japanese language however, but otherwise it is very good, and being able to write down kanji on the DS pad is also very helpful when you need to look up something quicksmart.

translate all in jap-eng
the perfect interaction with your DS. Only write the Kanji, Hana, Katana or word and you get the traduction. is now the best tool in your hands you no doubt to get one.

Very interesting dictionary, easy to use.
This is a fascinating little dictionary and has helped my japanese study.

Definitely worth while for those who have a DS. Much better value than a dedicated e-dict ... but there is strong competition from iTouch/iPhone software if you have one of those devices.

The interface is loaded with little buttons with tiny kanji which was a bit hard to figure out at first, but after an hour or so playing with it I understood what most of the buttons did. Thankfully it is a one-screen interface so you can't get lost in menus or something.

Entering kanji and kana is intuitive and reliable.

It does feature english - japanese, but it's hard for me to work out the japanese translation from this section.

Although I like this program a *lot*, I tend to use my iPhone "Japanese" application more often since it is more focussed on japanese - english. You can't beat the DS stylus for kanji entry though.

Useful tool to learn Kanji
Kanji is the hardest topic to learn japanese. Fortunately using this DS program we can learn the idioms, pronunciations and some samples in which the kanji is used. The down side is english description is very minimum provided here. So, you still have to equip yourself with japanese-english dictionary. Some words or kanjis here are also equipped with audio pronunciation. There is also alphanumeric input interface to type English word to find their japanese counterpart, which is only useful to japanese people I believe. I hope one day Kanji Sonomama series will come with english translation, so it will make non japanese user to learn the language easier.

Good dictionary at reasonable price
It serves well as a cheap Japanese dictionary.

Very Satisfied
I am very surprised at how much this dictionary can do and I would recommend it to anyone who wishes to further their studies in Japanese.

No title
So so so so helpful!!
I'm really glad I bought this.
Makes study so much easier :D

Worth whatever you pay for it!
I know that there are already a lot of reviews of this product but I think it deserves another one.
I am studying Japanese at a Japanese university at the moment on an exchange prgram from an English University and I use this product everyday.
I'm going to look at the strong and weak points in comparison to a standard electronic dictionary.
Strong points:
*Price (you will pay a lot more for an electronic dictionary with the function of a touch screen to input unknown kanji)
*The ability to enter unknown kanji (there is also a drop-down menu of kanji with the same number of strokes/radicals etc so you can find the kanji even if you enter it incorrectly)
*The fact that there is an English-Japanese and a Japanese-Japanese dictionary on this - as you progress with your studies you will increasingly come across terms that cannot be translated. However this dictionary provides an explanation in simple Japanese.
*The Genius dictionary is also well-respected and has let me down on very few occasions.
*The DS has a lot of dedicated kanji-learning software so buying this dictionary plus a DS will be cheaper than an electronic dictionary, plus give you the freedom to try these other products. (such as Kanken, etc)
*Pre-loaded quizzes on kanji for countries etc - they are very difficult but useful!
*Portable flashcard program allowing you to enter your own list for learning although it is limited to quite a small number.
*A lot of example sentences which help clarify the different usages of a word - very useful to save one from embarrassing mistakes!
*The ability to change the size of the kanji on screen to help with writing it.

Weak points:
*Doesn't contain any kanji for Japanese names. However, you can look up each individual kanji in the names and combine them to get the reading.
*Cannot use the other kanji learning software or play games in japanese at the same time (like you could with a separate dictionary)I have taken to writing down any unfamiliar kanji and checking them in this dictionary afterwards.
*After entering a word in English and being given the Japanese translation, the Japanese translation appears in kanji only so you must copy those kanji onto the touch screen to find out the reading.

Overall i think this software is worth everything I paid for it and more as it has become my constant companion. So far, as a result of me using it in my Japanese university, five other exchange students and Japanese students studying English hav purchased this software and all recommend it highly.
Definitely a very competitive alternative for anyone looking for an electronic dictinary but without spending so much for an applicance with only one use.
I will be looking forward to further software from this company and looking for similar products in other languages!

Excellent Reference
While obviously not meant to teach you kanji, the "game" serves as an excellent (and much less expensive) substitute for a denshi jisho. It makes it easy to look up unknown kanji since it doesn't require that you write it with perfect stroke order. The recognition is occasionally a bit iffy, but generally is quite good, and it quickly identifies kanji and words associated with them. It's also quite convenient that it can work both as a Japanese to English and English to Japanese dictionary.

Good Dictionary
A cheap electronic dictionary with an easy and somewhat fun method of looking up words/characters. I like that it combines a Japanese-English/Plain Japanese dictionary in that it means that as I progress in learning my Japanese I'll be able to switch from using one to the using other, but in the meantime it's still pretty accessible.

A Great Supplement
Anyone who is studying Japanese should consider purchasing this software. Most electronic dictionaries can run you close to $300 or more for a touch interface. While not as complete in terms of vocabulary, this software is still a bargain to beat all bargains. Even though I have an electronic dictionary, I still purchased this and use it frequently.

great dictionary
just draw the strokes on the touch screen and this dictionary will show you the right kanji for it with useful example phrases etc.
I use it almost everyday if I'm reading Japanese text or if I have to do homework. it's a very useful tool for people who learn Japanese!

A must for students doing self-study!
It's great if you see a Kanji you don't know. Although, it's sometimes challenging to figure out stroke order if you come across difficult Kanji. I generally use it all the time. It's good for practicing new Kanji you learn. I definitely recommend it for anyone learning Kanji.

extremely useful
though its not made for beginners in Japanese

i love that if i find a kanji i dont know i can just copy it down even though i don't know the stroke order and it'll tell me what it means. While it does its job as a dictionary, sometimes i wish it'd teach me the stroke order, but overall very good for what it's meant to do.

Japanese-English Dictionary on DS
It's much better than a book dictionary, simply write in English or Japanese and it will get the translation packed with cases of use and more.

Great software overall.

Excellent
This is a great language tool, but beware, do not get this if you're just starting Japanese study and know nothing about Japanese. If you know some obvious kanji, the difference between hiragana and katakana and some other various language need-to-know hows you'll fall in love with this product just like I did. Another plus is the pictochat expansion, but woe it is still not wi-fi.

Awesome dictionary!
This dictionary has it all! English, Japanese kana and kanji dictionaries. It is actually like several dictionaries in one. Understanding kana symbols is a must, but vocabulary and kanji knowledge are optional! No writing practice or games, just reference. I suggest you buy it with Kageyama Method - Dennou Hanpuku: Tadashii Kanji Kaki to Rikun if you are not yet skilled in Kanji.

Amazing
Bought this software 1 year ago and it comes in handy every day :) 10/5

great tool
Bought a ds lite just for this "game"

Instead of an expensive mini translator with pen input I gambled on ds lite and it worth the bet.

Highly recommended for learning japanese, however you must master english before since this is only japanese-english and japanese-japanese dictionary.

Pen input is awesome, almost never confuses the strokes.

Amazing
I'm not new to the Japanese language, per se, but I have very little knowledge of kanji, and this has been a huge help. Not only can you enter a word in English, getting results back in both hiragana (or in some cases katakana) and kanji alike, but you can also enter the words directly as hiragana or katakana. Furthermore, you can draw the kanji to search. This is incredibly helpful when reading a sentence and not knowing a kanji and it's meaning. However, if you don't at least have a basic understanding of stroke order, you may find the writing pad troublesome, as it may not recognize your kanji, even if it looks correct to you. For instance, if the katakana for "ro" is entered in the wrong order, it may not find it the first try. Luckily, stroke order is fairly easy to learn, and can be found in various places online, including Wikipedia. This program deserves a 5/5.

Absolutely fab
I am an absolute novice when it comes to Japanese (I hope to start studying in October though) but this 'game' is amazing. Write the Kanji on the touch screen and it converts it into Hiragana. Even better though, is that most entries have English translation!

Modern technology never ceases to amaze me!

If you're interested in Japan and its wonderful complex language then I fully recomend this product.

Perfect tool for Learning Japanese
This tool is jsut magnifique, with the pen recognition you can easily practive your knowledge and accuracity drawing kana and kanji. Also test your skills on Kanji, but don't wait any help on grammer, is jsut amazing how addictive this toll can be. I jsut wished they create a talkman version for english speakers to japanese,

I love it
It just came in the mail today, and I'm impressed with it to say the least. While I am disappointed that the Jump feature only works on English words, it's not too much trouble to scrawl a kanji I don't understand on the bottom screen anyway. But this dictionary is seriously excellent. No matter what stroke order I use, it usually gets it right when I write something, and if it's really messy then it still either gets what I meant, or something that looks really similar. Then you can just touch what it thinks you wrote, and choose from some similar looking characters. The interface is all in Japanese though, and while I count myself fluent, I'm not so big on kanji, so some of it's a little difficult to use at first. But if you've ever used an electronic dictionary before, most of it should be familiar.

Hope this will be the first of a long list!
I'm an italian girl, attending the first level of Oriental Languages at Universisty...
Maybe they'll made one other dictionary japanese-italian :)!
But in my class I've listen good rumors about Kanji Sonomama Rakubiki Jiten, so I'm going to buy it ^.-!!!

Very useful
I'm just starting to learn japanese (and starting out with kanji right away), and it's been wonderful. I don't know enough japanese to read a lot of the menus, but it's very obvious how to do basic lookups. I find that, while the kanji I drew might not be the one it guesses, the one I want has always been on the "other possible matches" list, despite my messy handwriting and having to guess at stroke order. (The ability to slow it down so you have longer to draw would be the only thing I'd improve, but even when I'm only half done, it still generally figures out what I meant.) The first time I looked up a multi-kanji phrase and there was an english definition was the best part so far.

Great value for money but not perfect.
A nifty design, user-friendliness and really good character recognition make this a must buy for students of Japanese who already own a DS. It contains the "Genius" dictionary for Japanese-English that is also used in more expensive electronic dictionaries and has a lot of example sentences.

At this price of course it does not include very large dictionaries and therefore can't become a universal tool for students. Also it is not very helpful if you cannot already read at least a few kanji as many words show up only in the Japanese-Japanese dictionary.

Although it is obviously made for native speakers of Japanese I don't really understand why the jump function (to look up words inside an entry) only works for english words. No other electronic dictionary I have tried had this limitation.

Still a good product of Nintendo quality that comes in handy every now and then. Plus the addition of four Game&Watch titles "hidden" in the dicitonary is a big bonus. :)

Definitely useful!
If you get the stroke order right, it recognises kanji even if you write them so messily nobody else can read them. If you don't know the stroke order, but write them carefully and neatly, it will find them. Heck, I've missed strokes out and it worked out what I meant! Plus, if it doesn't get the right kanji, you tap the right spot and it gives you a bunch of similar characters to pick the correct one out of.

I love this thing, it's so much faster than looking up kanji any other way!

Excellent
Great fun as well as being incredibly useful! Very pleased with it.
Bear in mind that this is made for Japanese people, so don't expect it to be user friendly for non-Japanese. You will need a reasonable level of proficiency in the language before this software will be of any use to you.
Highly recommended nonetheless!

issues
I am beginner to intermediate japanese level, just starting to learn some kanji, I bought the dictionary, and found it to be cool software, and ALMOST useful.

One problem is that unless you already know how to write the kanji with the correct number of strokes and order, then the handwriting recognition just doesn't work very well.

Another problem is that well.... all the menu options are japanese, and the description of each kanji that you just looked up is also mostly in japanese.
So you usually have to make do with the 1 word English anser at the top, and ignore all the rest of the information below. (unless your japanese is already good.)

I really wish someone would make a kanji/kana dictionary for English speakers.
It needs jump feature. English description of each Kanji, and Hiragana/Katakana on & kun readings of each kanji. Example uses would be great also.
Visual recognition of the kanji, rather than stroke counting would be a huge bonus.

However, sometimes the dictionary is useful, the handwriting recognition is cool, and works pretty fast.

Wonderful, makes me feel as if I am cheating the Japanese language.
I got this "game" today and have to say I am very pleased. The only other way to get something like this, where you can directly input kanji to look them up is if you buy a 300 dollar one made for chinese students without any english. This is a real deal.

I have been studying Japanese for 3 years, have been to Japan and have quite a few classes. If there is any one thing I could possibly want to aid my studying, it would be this dictionary. While reading a book, playing a Japanese videogame, or anything, one will often run into a kanji they arent familiar with. To simply be able to slap it down on the DS screen to find the meaning and uses with example sentances with an english counterpart is just simply amazing.

Also note that this game includes tests. Grammar, kanji reading, kanji writting. Its made for Japanese but the grammar at least should be useful to most.

Although I have many books, including a tome of a kanji dictionary, a nice electronic dictionary and a number of Japanese friends, this little game in just a day has become my quickest and most useful reference.

A must have!
I am just finishing up my second year of japanese at college and have been looking into buying an electronic dictionary, but they are pretty expensive, ranging from about 150-300+ depending on how much you want it to have. Of course if you want to get something with kanji recognition the price is normally around $300.

When I saw that this was coming out and that it had kanji recognition I figured even if I wasnt able to use it much it would be well worth the price.

Once the game came in I was very pleased with it. The system for looking up words is very easy to use and is able to recognize kanji even when the input is very messy. Out of the three dictionaries the game has you will mostly be using the Japanese-English one unless you can read a good amount of Japanese, since the kanji dictionary the game has is all in Japanese. However the Japanese-English dictionary does have kanji for all of the vocab words that have it so you can still used the game to look up kanji you dont know. Also the English-Japanese dictionay can be useful but the definition and Japanese translation will be in Japanese with kanji so you may end up having to look up a few extra words to find out how the word is pronouced.

Over all I found this to be an excellent alternative to useing an expensive electronic dictionary provided that you do not need to go super deep into the language. Just ealier today I was reading a passage in Japanese for homework and this game cut the time that it normally takes to finish in half if not more. Rather than taking out the paper dictionary and flipping through a lot of pages to find kanji radicals and such you just have to draw it. It really saves so much time and I am sure it will make the translation part of my final exam so much easier.

However this game isnt for everyone who wants to learn japanese. Being that the game is in japanese I think it would be best if you have had atleast one year already in Japanese. You could use it if you have had less as well, but you dont use much kanji until your second year.

So in the end, while it doesnt have the large number of dictionaries to search through like other more expensive dictionaries have, the dictionaries it does have are useful. And having kanji rcognition at such a low price makes this a must buy.