I am so glad to be here! I am about a week into learning Japanese (self-study, obviously) and I am relieved to finally be in a “program” of sorts with someone holding my hand. I had learned the hiragana and katakana on my own with mnemonic flashcards. But then I jumped into Genki and learning vocab and sentences and grammar. Then realized I should have started Kanji and that just tipped the scale. I was near tears, ready to give up. Then I found textfugu’s blog on the different methods to study Kanji and agreed completely with his method (which was what was freaking me out…where should I start??) I was very surprised that the entire first season was free–that was long!–and was even more touched with the price. Something I could afford! I jumped into WaniKani, am having a great experience, and before I even finished Season one, I payed for a lifetime membership. Everything I wanted to find in a method, Textfugu offered. Learning by sentences, rather than vocab. Using SRS methods. Using mnemonics. Free decks for Anki! Learning Kanji reading/vocab/context/20% rule AND learning radicals first. Perfect! I feel so much more confident and motivated now. The lessons may be a bit slow, but that’s only because I already knew all the information. I’m sure it won’t seem slow when I learn new things. And even then, I’d prefer slow to fast! I really feel each lesson will teach me, hold my hand and I’ll find much more joy out of learning Japanese and be far less likely to quit. I’m so excited to meet everyone here! Let’s do our best! If anyone wants to chat, I’m totally open! :)