a51ts4:
ah. thanks so much! 
yukio_michael:
actually, I was asking which one should I learn first. I know that it'll be hard both ways. right now, I'm working on using the language by simple construction of sentences then going on to more complicated ones. So I'll learn how to read and write it later. Is that okay to start? 
You're text is really tiny... I just got my eyes checked, and they're pretty good, but you might want to change that because it makes it a bit difficult to read.
I gathered that you're trying to chose which to learn, but I think it's important to know the difficulties in learning one part of the language (speech) vs another (writing).
It depends on what your purposes are for studying in the first place--- if you are going to be speaking to Japanese speakers, (or say, wanting to learn how to watch anime without the subtitles)* learning to speak Japanese is a natural good start, if you want to learn how to read manga, or how to write to friends in Japanese, learning the writing system is paramount... but again, learning both at the same time really is key... there are a lot of ways to do it that won't overwhelm you.
I recommend getting a good book, like Minna no Nihongo, or Genki, you need something structured... I've seen a lot of people try to learn Japanese in little bits at a time, and the end up being more confused because what they encounter sometimes wasn't introduced to them previously...
A fun way to start learning the basics of Japanese sentence construction, without getting to far into coursework, are with books like Manga the Japanese Way, and both editions of Basic Japanese through comics, all three of these publications are produced by either the people directly behind the magazine Mangajin (now out of print), or in the case of the first book, worked as the translation editor of Mangajin.
Whatever you do learn, you need to use it in order to reinforce it, so if you're learning to speak the language, you need to find ways to practice it, listen to the podcasts at japanesepod101.com (it's free), and try to repeat the way the speakers pronounce it... out loud!
Japanese can be very intimidating, because there is quite a lot to learn, that's why I recommend a structured coursework, which will give you a good understanding of grammar and gradually introduce you to the writing system... Before you start any coursework, I recommend that you learn the hiragana writing system, that's a must.
If you have any more questions, or questions about anything I've said, feel free to ask, and I'll be happy to answer.
*Learning Japanese to watch anime without subtitles is probably going to take you a lot more than just casual learning, as anime is fairly full of colloquialisms, and not-so natural speech--- you won't be using this sort of speech to talk to others in Japanese... But it can be good fun for listening comprehension practice. Basically, you have to devour whatever you can get your hands on. Have fun with studying and you'll learn to love it.
Thanks for your help in advance!
Ah. Sorry for the text. I have this fetish for small texts.
