I'm with you there — Japanese is wildly different from the usual suspects, and the mental acrobatics involved in learning it are almost too much sometimes. But I’m honestly not convinced age is the blocker people think it is. It might raise the bar a bit, sure — but it doesn’t make the process any less rewarding or fun.

That’s at least part of why I keep trying. Not to “master” it, but to get those occasional aha-moments when something suddenly makes sense. Even recognising a phrase in an anime without checking the subtitles feels like a small miracle.

And thanks for the tip! I’ll try posting some puppy content in the Hive Pets community too. They might enjoy the chaos.