I used to own a website that taught Japanese.That does not mean I had any clue to what it meant.Many teens posted on that site.:)
A lot of them were likely anime/manga fans, or fans of games like Final Fantasy I-X2 (I don't count FFXI, as it's more or less MMORPG. x.x), or other games imported from Japan.
That is, so far as I have seen, how many fans of the language get their start. I know it's how I got mine! (I got interested in it after I got way into InuYasha, though I never did buy any merchandise for it. :)) And since then, I've become a raving anime/manga fan, and determined to learn to read, write and speak Japanese competently. It's hard, but really fun!
And does that site of yours still exist? ;)
~Moshi-chan