Maybe I should switch from self-study to something more course-like in the future to give it more structure.
The best way to learn a language is whatever keeps your attention for long enough for you to put the time in. If you need a course to get you to eat, drink, and breathe Japanese for most of your waking hours, then by all means you do you, but I'm not convinced.
It sounds like you've already torn down your mental block that prevents the foreign language from making it to your subconscious, so you're right on the edge of getting WAY better WAY faster. The only thing you need to do is give your brain as much foreign language (with context) as you can, and get good sleep.
My recommendation, for anyone that has the ability to enjoy it, would be to have a Japanese live stream on at all points of the day, and set aside at least an hour every day to sit down and pay as much attention to the stream (or a movie, anime, whatever, so long as it doesn't have English subs) as you possibly can. Try to limit your English reading/listening/speaking to a couple hours per day for the next few months.
I canunderstand the basic context from conversation fragments but never good enough for a translation.
I get your annoyance at badly translated clips, but think of it this way - you find a moment in a stream that
you enjoyed because of the meaning
you took from it. You're not native level yet, so you didn't 100% understand it, but the stuff you
did understand was enough to let you enjoy the clip, right? Providing just that much translation can make the clip enjoyable for those who know less Japanese than you. You don't have to sub every line, just key points. Let your oshi's cuteness carry the rest of the clip.
If I recall, there is/was a clipper called Murasaki Ringo who started out that way.
Anyway, I'm yapping. If it's an idea you think you might enjoy, try it out. If you build a small audience, it'll spur you to do more and invest more time. If you don't like it or don't care to try, at least I was here being supportive.
