Learning Japanese?

I know you guys probably get a hundred of these kinds of questions, but I'm looking to learn Japanese so I can watch my Chinese cartoons, and read VN's.

What's the best method out there? No classes are taught in my location, and I don't exactly have the money to go out and purchase a whole set of books.

Because reading classical literature has a rich history, an academic field, career/resume material, libraries and primers dedicated to it, and it makes a great discussion topic around family, friends, and work parties. VNs are largely translated by hikikomori in their mother's basements. And a lot of people who get into classical literature do so after they've already begun to study modern language. I'm not saying any of this to be an ass, or to suggest that you should only do what society approves of you doing, but when you go against the flow it's a lot harder to stay motivated and the main key to success in language study is sustained motivation. I probably would have fallen apart a while ago in my Japanese language study if not encouraged by meeting some incredibly hospitable Japanese and the impetus of (don't laugh) being able to start a relationship with a girl with the social values of Japanese rather than American society. It helps me get to sleep at night knowing that every word I studied the last night could be used in a conversation with a girl I might fuck the next night. This isn't me being a comedian, it's the reality of the situation.