Kelsey Exeter (←not his real name), an AJATTeer, anime fan and professional musician from Murika, shares his success story:

Hello,

I first found your site 5 years ago when I became interested in Japan, and it was my first introduction to the idea that you could learn a language without taking a class.

I didn’t stick with studying Japanese at the time, but the IDEA stuck with me forever.

Well, now it’s 2017 and okay, I’m not yet fluent in Japanese. But I feel like I’m getting there. Also, I’m writing you this note from my 30th floor luxury hotel room in [a major Japanese city that does not rhyme with “Bapporo”], where I get to live and work for 6 months. I chat to people in Japanese and they’re all shocked that I can speak it at all, plus I think my pronunciation is really good because I’ve been watching and listening to anime in Japanese for the past 5 years.

Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you. 頑張ってください！