Seconding using anime to help pick up vocabulary and pronunciation. It’s also great for helping with different accents, although a lot of characters don’t speak naturalistically.

The other good news is that a lot of manga is aimed at younger readers who typically don’t know too many kanji yet, so it can be possible to start reading stuff at a fairly low level and build comprehension that way. And even the stuff that’s intended for adults is usually easier reading than novels (but beware historical-set series, which can go all out on archaic and obscure vocabulary and end up notorious bears to read.) It doesn’t hurt that it has so much material readily available that’s appealing to people with fannish backgrounds (not that none exists in other languages, but the ease of online access and the number of people who can offer tailored recommendations are both higher.)