Firstly, I’d say to concentrate more on “which school” are you going to go in Japan.There is the Senmon gakkÅ (Vocational school).
Wikipedia:
“In Japan vocational schools are known as senmon gakkÅ (å°éå¦æ ¡?). They are part of Japan's higher education system. They are two year schools that many students study at after finishing high school (although it is not always required that students graduate from high school). Some have a wide range of majors, others only a few majors. Some examples are computer technology, fashion and English.”
Believe me, I’ve asked all my Japanese friends(university students/teacher) and they all said that this is the best. BUT, they all said that it is very, very expensive. Sorry, well, if you know it already then sorry.
But I think that if you have the talent maybe you could go directly to submit the idea.(Have you seen Bakuman?xD)
But then you’ll need ++money to start a living there.
I know I learned to speak Japanese fluently by watching anime/listening to japanese songs.I took notes on words, etc. But that’s because I didn’t have very much consciousness in that. (^_^) I hate to study, and that’s why I could remember it when having fun. This took 2 years and a half, I guess.
Are you in a hurry? I really think that this is the best way. Plus, usually it takes 2 years to be able to read a usual newspaper in japanese, I guess.There are so many kanji to learn. For that alone, I’d really suggest to have a teacher. There is more than just remembering the readings.You need also exercise with the conversation.
I’ve just looked about Rosetta Stone, and it seems like a good program! Firstly, I guess you should start with the Kana(Hiragana and Katakana).
I’ve found something pretty useful!(go to the navigation menu in the right):
http://www.learn-hiragana-katakana.com/free-language-translation-online/
For something pretty good and accurate that costs money:
http://readhiragana.com/
You have tons like these on Google.
My opinion is that there isn’t a sole program that teaches you the whole language, you need to gather from there and there.:D
Knowing some japanese people would be also great! Search in your city, maybe there is an association or something.
So, my Answer would be :
Best way to learn Japanese?
-Watch anime and take notes. Have fun.
-Navigate trough all the sites that appear useful to you about learning Japanese.
-Search for a Teacher.(I don’t want to make anyone feel bad, but preferably Japanese. My teacher is also japanese, and she talks so much about japan and its culture in the most detailed mode possible :)
I am sorry —>if<--- you can’t afford a teacher...But going to Japan wanting to Work as a manga-ka without knowing more than basic japanese would be harsh/probably impossible.
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Please allow me to comment about “"I have a dream”"’s answer.
I would suggest to ignore the answers with 'give up’ etc.It’s obviously a person that couldn’t make it.I DO KNOW MANY WESTERNERS WHO LIVE IN JAPAN AND ARE HAPPY WITH THAT.TRY TO GIVE A PROPER ANSWER TO THE QUESTION, NOT YOUR PAST. >:(
If you do your best and try to be a part of the conversation, someone is sure to acknowledge you.
I have a friend who went to Japan to study Japanese in a NORMAL Japanese school. She came back in a year and commented that “If you have and show interest in them, they will have and respond it back to you.” So, “”I have a dream””, Please, don’t discourage someone just because you think so.
Source?
Experience.
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Hope I helped somehow....! (^_^)
*Edit : Sorry I forgot this. To become a manga-ka you will need to be able to use more speaking ways, which can be found and heard in anime. (not necessarily in real life, but in manga and anime each character’s way of talking may differ very much from girl to boy, from character and dialect.)
These cannot be found in books.*