madroscla

I definitely agree with you. Anything that's in native Japanese that requires you to listen is incredibly helpful. I feel as though it's best to only watch subbed anime that you have seen previously. That way, you aren't confused about the plot (since yes, trying to read the subtitles can be difficult to do if you are trying to watch the episode itself). The only problem I have with it is that it can teach very plain/informal language. While this in itself isn't a bad thing, sometimes beginners who learn their Japanese from only anime speak incredibly rudely. I only recommend watching subbed anime if you are at an intermediate level and already have a good grasp at the difference between plain and polite language.

I'm currently reading The Wind Up Bird Chronicle in English alongside the Japanese counterpart. What I do is ready a sentence or a paragraph in English and then go to the Japanese version and try to read the same amount. It's difficult because I don't know a lot of the kanji or vocabulary he's using, and it's taking a while to do. That being said, from what I've read so far, he's a great writer and I really appreciate his work. I also own his newest book, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, and I absolutely can't wait to read it afterwards.

The way I see it, "wa" is used to put emphasis on the rest of the sentence, while "ga" puts emphasis on the subject of the sentence. For example, take these two questions: 誰ですかWho are you? 誰はベンですかWho is Ben? The first question would have the response: 私はベンです I am Ben. The second would have the response: 私がベンですI am Ben. Both translate the same in English, but the connotation is different. Ga is also used to distinguish between the main subject and the subject of the dependent clause of a sentence: 私はベンが学校に毎日いくと思います。 I think Ben goes to school every day