sadly, learning japanese with love for anime alone is not enough. :P you WILL, trust me, give up after 1-2 months.
experienced. set more goals for yourself, not just i want to be able to understand anime bla bla bla. every single narutard out there want to too. except the dummies watch it on Cartoon Network xD

it has been 3 years since i started learning by myself, the first two years was total slack. i got past all hiragana, katakana, and 40-60 kanji, was able to very slowly read raw manga. with the help of dictionary.
and then i gave up for two months, using i still have a long way to go as an excuse, when i come back, all the kanji is gone from my head and i had trouble reading hiragana.

so i decided to set goal, I'll go to japan, be able to live there for two years, and live a happily ever after story.

so yeah, earlier this year i started studying seriously, using "My Japanese Coach" as a teacher, and Kanji Sonomama Rakubiki Jiten as my translator, both on DS.
my japanese coach is good, but with some flaws, eg it demands a high level of self study, as there's no revision lesson, (the minigames is not enough) no homework (they should've set some for you to do in real life). and a steep learning curve.
the dictionary is great though, i must say. :P you can draw your kanji (still have to do the correct strokes order) or Eng~jap words.
after the lesson, i tried to spot as much hiragana, katakana as i can as possible on NND. and try to read em ALL, ALL. no skipping.
then kanji, then the whole sentence :P
now i can pass 2nd kyu(i think) on a japanese test.

uhh now i don't see where I'm going with this, but i gonna continue to bla bla bla anyway.
-no no learning japanese though anime,manga. games is acceptable, not visual novel though, because they are the same as anime manga. if you ask me why:

Quote: Learning Japanese though anime
...is highly discouraged. Seriously. Ask anyone who's ever tried to learn through formal methods, and chances are they'll agree that attempting to learn the language solely from anime, doramas, and the like is futile and stupid. Take a class, use a CD or lessons online. Do something formal other than watching TV.

What foreign TV does do is provide a decent supplement for oral Japanese. Since your interactions are probably going to be clunky at best, television allows you to get a feel for the basic nuances of the language: speed, tones, rhythms, etc. There's also the chance to pick up a few extra words for your vocabulary. Depending on the material, TV shows can also provide some cultural context and basic social rules. The latter is especially important, considering the Japanese language revolves entirely around who you are in relation to who you are talking to.

If you wish to find good programming to try the above, I personally suggest kids shows. By their nature, they'll tend to avoid complex or sophistacted conversations. Even though the style of speech wouldn't be recommended for everyday use, it's easy to follow and a good way to cut your teeth. My personal choices are Chi's Sweet Home and Pythagoras Switch (which has the bonus of being educational, too).

now, i haven't tried it myself but rosetta stone is said to be only work with certain people, there's a level of effectiveness, but not for everyone. so watch out.

one note though, there used to be some japanese in my house in new zealand, as well as school. i talked to them often since some of em are real otaku (man, got to fear his room) and try to understand the convo. it helped me alot :P