One thing I forgot to mention: if you're going the MIA route, the basic plan isn't "learn the very basics, then start acquiring through immersion" in a sequential manner, but to do both alongside each other. If you're intent on actually acquiring the language at some point anyway, I need to emphasize that you're supposed to spend hours and hours on the language every day pretty much from day one. Don't go "well, I'm not confident enough, I'll just focus on textbooks for the first few months". Do both, because no matter how you go about it, you will not understand much at the beginning. You should be comfortable with not getting most of what you watch/listen to, and with ambiguity. Most of your time time should be devoted to actual immersion. The rest should be devoted to making flashcards, doing you flashcard reviews, and, in the initial stages, going through basic vocab/grammar decks such as Tango and Tae Kim. Once you're done with N5/N4 level stuff, ideally you want to drop conscious learning entirely, and devote all your time to actual immersion + flashcards. I forget the exact ratio MIA would recommend, but it goes without saying that immersion should get the bulk of your 'study' time. Don't spend hours on flashcards and reviews. They're there to prime your brain for acquisition and make immersion more efficient, not to cannibalize it. If you had to choose between immersion and flashcards, flashcards would have to go. After all, others have achieved fluency without SRS. But nobody has achieved fluency without immersion.
Anyway, I'll stop the propaganda here :p. It's getting super boring I'm sure, and you'll find all the info you need on YouTube and on the website anyway. Plus I'm not entirely up to date on the latest developments, so some of the advice I give might be inaccurate in part. Don't take all I say at face value.
