/jp/ - Otaku Culture

/jp/, I just embarked on my quest to finally learn Japanese. I shall finally watch raw anime, read untranslated visual novels (!) and converse in Japanese! However, I have a few questions.

1) I'm a complete beginner. I'm learning through Rosetta Stone, which has the premise of "We'll teach them by association and never translate it into their native language!" Well. I'm trying to differentiate between "Onnanoko wa mizu o nonde imasu' and 'onnanoko wa mizu o o nonde imasen'. Is 'imasu' affirmative and 'imasen' negatory? Like, "The little girl is drinking water" as opposed to "The little girl is not drinking water"?

2) What do the little particles mean? Wa, or O, for example. Onna no hito wa kanji o kaite imasu. I interpret this to mean "The woman is writing in Kanji", but what do the 'wa' or the 'o' mean? Do they have direct translations?

3) The system offers four methods of reading. Romaji, Hiragana, Kanji and Kanji/Furigana. Romaji is automatically out, because I want to learn the written language, but should I learn in Hiragana or Kanji + Hiragana? I assume I'll need to learn the kanji eventually, so is it a good idea to jump in headfirst, or wait until I've grasped the hiragana 'alphabet' before dropping into kanji?

4) Are there any easy to read VNs/Eroge out there for learners?

All help, even if it doesn't relate to my questions, is appreciated. In essence, what should I do to make sure I get the best grasp of Japanese that I can? I'm a perfectionist at heart.

Will remain in thread to clarify/answer any questions if asked.

Thanks!

>>2502575
For Fuuko obviously, but I agree. It lacks ribbon.

>>1267125
>All I did was ask for help on something Japanese in a Japanese discussion board

haha