4 steps to Japanese Immersion redefined

My goal for learning Japanese was always understanding raw Japanese anime and manga. After 10 years of on and off attempts including a semester of classroom instruction, maybe a year or 2 of Heisig + AJATT in the version of NihongoShark, and occasional exchanges with a friendly Japanese neighbor, I have found an approach that leads quickly to interaction with real anime material.

The answer is called Organic Japanese with Cure Dolly, Kawaii Japanese or other names but the substantial process is simple:

1. Clear explanations of Japanese structure on Cure Dolly's youtube playlist. About 12-20 videos, which are less than 15 minutes each are deemed enough for the next step.

2. Watching anime with Japanese subtitles on Animelon or a similar website, pausing each dialogue, deconstructing and understanding each line of subtitles. 

3. Re-listening to the audio of the anime.

4. Using Anki and Yomichan to "pin" the words in place until you encounter them again in anime or other material.

I love this approach so far! It is true that I went through the videos quickly, as lots of it was putting bits and pieces I had learned into a logical structure which is easier to comprehend. After a few weeks I am at video 40/70 from the structure course. I have already revisited some key videos. And I have already gone through 4 episodes of Shirokuma cafe to great enjoyment. Mr. Owl thinks that this is another one of my learning phases. Let's see in a few months! But in the meantime, I am watching and understanding anime. Since I am not a complete beginner, it takes me about 1 hour to tackle 20 minutes of anime. And I like the listening part. It feels like listening to an audiobook and I imagine scenes from the anime in my head as I listen.