Originally posted by Mr MU
Da best way to improve your Japanese is to watch animes!
Actually, I have found that anim is not nearly as good as manga.
Anim in Japanese is produced for native speakers, and hence speaks at fluent levels of speed and intonation, often making the dialogue incomprihensible for students. Also, it only effectively trains your listening skills if you pay close, consistent attention to what is said (which is difficult because they speech is so unclear).
Manga, however, can be read at one's own pace - with a dictionary in hand at that. Whilst progress is initially very slow (looking up every second kanji can be tedious) you are forced to absorb a much broader vocabulary than any syllabus would dare implement, and do so enjoyably. The natural variety of grammatical structures also lead to a more fluent understanding of Japanese idiom and situational use of phrases. The greatest benefit, in my opinion, is the astronomical number of kanji you will quickly learn to identify and understand. Even easier manga like
Doraemon force the reader to put work into their reading, and hence expand their knowledge of Japanese. These benefits, in my opinion, far outweigh those apparently gained through viewing anim. Of course, doing both is by far the best addendum to a self-study program (where you haven't much oppurtunity to interact with Japanese speakers) but if forced to choose I would most strongly recommend manga. They're cheaper too
When studying for exams I switch bedtime reading from English to Japanese fiction and Manga. I prefer the work of
Murakami Haruki in novels, and
Akamatsu Ken for manga (specifically
Love Hina).
If anyone wants to know where to buy this kind of thing see the "Resources" thread in this forum.