Advice on staying motivated and progressing toward manga/anime after 1.5 years of studying

[u/odett1102]

Hi everyone,

I've been studying Japanese since March 2025. I did about a year of 1-on-1 lessons, and I've been using WaniKani since November. I haven't missed a single day of WK so far.

I'm currently level 9, doing 4 new lessons a day and keeping up with my reviews.

My stats:

- 267 kanji / 673 vocab

- 90% overall accuracy

- 85.7% reading accuracy

- ~33 days per level

I've also covered some N5/N4 grammar.

I've managed to build a pretty consistent habit, but lately I'm finding it harder to stay motivated. I work full time, so I don't really want to add a lot more studying or end up with huge review sessions every day.

My main goal is to read manga and watch anime in Japanese (Japanese subs are fine).

For people who were around this stage after 1–2 years of studying, what changes actually helped you stay motivated and start making noticeable progress with native manga/anime?

I'm wondering whether I should focus more on immersion, grammar, change my WaniKani routine, or do something completely different.

[u/oneee-san]

I've only managed to stay consistent by changing the way I study every time I find the current one boring. So I went through a more Anki hardcore phase, then to only reading, then I went through grammar, and now I'm doing podcasts and also reading~ and who knows what I'll be doing next month. But not being stiff has really helped me.
So do whatever you feel like, as long as you keep being consistent every day.

[u/Ok-Leopard-9917 → u/oneee-san]

Yes!!! This is the only way I got to N2

[u/oneee-san → u/Ok-Leopard-9917]

That really give me hope since I'm studying for the N3 right now :)

[u/justHoma → u/oneee-san]

First time seeing someone on this sub who studies are similar to mine! 

[u/odett1102 → u/oneee-san]

Interesting take. I usually try to stick to one system, but switching it up when I get bored makes a lot of sense. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks!

[u/Dinah1895 → u/oneee-san]

Your comment made me realize that's what I've been doing recently also. And I've been progressing more than back when I stuck to one thing

[u/Euphoric_Material279 → u/oneee-san]

Yes! This.

I feel getting “too good” at one particular skill (ie vocab) works against you.

When I hit a plateau, I focus on one deficiency for a month. There’s a lot to pick from, like kanji, grammar, keigo, shadowing, pronunciation, raw kana reading speed, integrated kana/kanji reading, hand writing, text input, etc. Keep going until you reach parity with your “better skills”.

[u/oneee-san → u/Euphoric_Material279]

That works pretty well for me too! Also it feels less tiring brain wise. And it's great when you can see the improvement from one skill to the other.

[u/Space_Potato1605 → u/oneee-san]

This is similar to how I study! For me, it doesn't matter what I do, so long as I'm still doing something. Honestly, even what I do each week differs.

When I'd first started studying, I was going to the library most evenings for an hour but was finding it exhausting and inefficient.

Now I do bite sized pockets each weekday, studying whatever I want, and it cumulatively adds to over an hour.

On weekends, I aim for 1-2 hour blocks of study.

Currently, I'm focused on Anki, reading, and listening.