Why Duolingo Is Launching Its Own Anime Series ‘The Final Test’
Language-learning app Duolingo has cast Duo — its adorable and plucky owl mascot — as the star of the company’s first-ever anime series, “最後の決戦 (The Final Test).”
The company produced the five-episode, short-form series in collaboration with Titmouse, the L.A.-based animation studio known for its work on Netflix’s “Big Mouth,” Adult Swim’s “Metalocalypse,” Paramount+’s “Star Trek: Lower Decks” and Critical Role’s “The Legend of Vox Machina” for Amazon Prime Video.
Why is Duolingo doing anime? First and foremost, the series is designed to promote its updated Japanese courses, which are now available to learners in all languages. Execs also saw an opportunity to tap into the global popularity of anime as a new way to bring Duo and the company’s brand messaging to life.
The miniseries “expands the lore of Duo and his friends, revealing their origin story before they became guardians of the streak,” which in Duolingo lingo refers to the number of consecutive days a users has completed a lesson. Duolingo’s “最後の決戦 (The Final Test)” premieres Oct. 13 on Duolingo’s YouTube channel.
“The Final Test” reveals that Duo’s pals were “ordinary people” before they were recruited by the owl to help learners stay motivated. The squad must navigate different challenges “to keep their streak — and each other — alive,” per the series logline. (Watch the trailer below.)
The company describes Duo as “a persistent, social and emotional boy who communicates via text, and is a day owl.” While he doesn’t talk or make sounds in the app, Duolingo says it has “explored different ways of having him communicate in social media and marketing content.” In the anime series, Duo speaks but it’s his own language — which sounds similar to in-app sound effects like “wah-bing!”, according to the company.
All of the voice acting in “The Final Test” is in Japanese, with subtitles available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Hindi, Japanese, Korean and Thai. Each episode is 60 seconds long, which Duolingo said is “designed to match how fans consume anime on short-form video platforms.”
On Oct. 9, Duolingo will debut a teaser for the series at New York Comic Con alongside limited-edition anime plushies and enamel pins. In the Duolingo app, it plans to add customized lesson-completed animations and widget illustrations themed around “The Final Test.”
“Anime is a global cultural phenomenon, and for so many people, it’s the spark that gets them excited to learn Japanese,” said Duolingo CMO Manu Orssaud. “With ‘The Final Test,’ we’re channeling that passion and expanding our character universe in a way that’s unexpected, streak-obsessed and unmistakably Duolingo.”
In the second quarter of 2025, Duolingo’s apps averaged 128.3 million active monthly users (up 24% year over year). The company reported 10.9 million paid subscribers as of June 30, a 37% annual increase.
Watch the trailer for “The Final Test”:
