Learning Japanese with Duo. Definitely not the best. I reached Checkpoint 6. One year left to go. I can barely make out a sentence in Animes.
You know what? Duolingo is Crucial. Not "all-encompassing / one-stop-shop", but it definitely makes you progress. Once I complete I will migrate to Memrise, aiming for the JLPT's (high-level Japanese). Duolingo will not make you an expert, but will get you started well into the basics. And for basics, there is no-one else who compares that is as fun and requires as little commitment and no punishment!
Btw. There are 2 types of Animes. One for Adults speaking high-level Japanese, the other for kids with lower requirements ..I do better on kids' cartoons like Pokémon!