Attempt a year and a half, and speak to me about difficult xD. I have obtained the following masteries in the language: sentence structure, kana useage, kunyomi/onyumi alterations, and I am currently studying radicals in kanji (which I tell you now is quite a pain in the ass).
Actually, regardless of the polite attitudes of the Japanese, an influent accent can be embarrassing. I went to Epcot in Florida a few months back and I entered "Japan" and the people were quite nice. The cultural lessons they provided were quite nice and there was much more to learn about Japan than the obvious impressions and stereotypes we assume such as: Manga in Japan is a rare reading activity. Most students read them on the train but do not spend any extracurricular activities in manga as we do in America.
Meanwhile, in Epcot, I was searching in the gift shop for some language books (this was while I was in my forum gap, while I was gone) and I saw Helen Gilhooly's name for "Japanese Script for Beginners" which intrigued me since I had the first book so I purchased it. I went up to the counter and I had the intention of saying "Ikura desu ka"...but my nerves slipped. So, I said it in plain English. She tried to converse with me as well, which I felt was just jinxed for me as I was attempting to avoid conversation. She asked me "Are you trying to learn Japanese, sir?" in japanese and I responded with a typical Japanese custom nod and a "yes" in japanese. Her response was "Aren't you Japanese?" and my response was "No, I'm chinese. I'm studying". She gave me a "I see" and an attempted compliment "You speak pretty well", all in japanese conversation. I said "thanks" and walked out in humility. Regardless of whether she was being honest or not, I am quite intimidated to speak to any japanese person in their native tongue until my accent has been lifted completely.
Which brings me to my point! xD
A lot of newbie jap learners have an accent, mostly unnoticeable by the speaker but by the listener. I have done trial and error with my teacher and I believe I have the hang of it now. Anime is not really the best way to learn japanese, but I do not completely bar it from you. If you stress your sentence like the way anime characters do, you'll sound like a drama queen/king. Just remember one thing: "Japanese is not a screaming language, the words flow together."
p ) thanks for your help. I've always wanted to learn Jap but I never really taken an initiative, until now. This thread kinda motivated me once again. I'll have to check those books you recommended and hopefully in the future I can try out what I learn with you.