When it comes to reading/recognizing, kana was mostly burned into my mind. I first started studying it a good 10 years ago and I still haven't forgotten it. Writing it without having to think for a second or two is another matter.

Yeah, fuckloads of Japanese-only games, Undubs and anime helped me to get to a point where I can understand certain stuff without subtitles. Which is kinda cool.

I'm not planning to take classes, just read textbooks, listen to audio CDs and stuff at home. But I'm also not aiming for extreme masterclass fluency, so I guess it's okay.