Demon Slayer and One-Punch Man better watch out, Duolingo is getting a five-part anime starring Duo as a Sailor Moon-inspired villain

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle may be one of the highest-grossing movies of the year, but the real anime hit of 2025 has just been announced. Duolingo – yes, the language learning app – has announced a short animated show that's premiering in just a few days. It looks, well, odd, frankly.

The anime series was revealed with a brief teaser giving us the general plot: a selection of people are trapped inside a gauntlet overseen by the duplicitous Duo, who states it's all part of beta-testing a new feature. They then have to traverse dungeons and complete linguistic challenges to progress.

"Welcome to… THE FINAL TEST," threatens the synopsis. One of the heroes looks like an anthropomorphic bear, and eventually Duo undergoes their own Sailor Soldier transformation, as if they're in Sailor Moon. I love magical girl stuff as much as the next person, but this might be a stretch.

COMING SOON: Duolingo’s first anime series! - YouTube

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Nonetheless, this production will last five episodes, all released via the official YouTube channel. The first episode arrives on October 13 at 8am PST/11am EST/4pm GMT. There's no indication of when further installments will arrive, but weekly seems like a safe bet.

No production credits are provided, leaving us none the wiser on staff or animation company. Many of the comments are cynical, as Duolingo threatened to replace contract workers with AI earlier this year, a move that drew enough criticism to prompt a backtrack one month later.

As far as publicity stunts go, I'm not sure this one will sway public opinion. One-Punch Man season 3 probably shouldn't be too worried, either.

Duolingo's first anime series streams on YouTube from October 13. For more, check out the new anime heading your way this year.

Anthony is an Irish entertainment and games journalist, now based in Glasgow. He previously served as Senior Anime Writer at Dexerto and News Editor at The Digital Fix, on top of providing work for Variety, IGN, Den of Geek, PC Gamer, and many more. Besides Studio Ghibli, horror movies, and The Muppets, he enjoys action-RPGs, heavy metal, and pro-wrestling. He interviewed Animal once, not that he won’t stop going on about it or anything.

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