Thanks so much! If you stick to it, you’ll make it eventually and I’m sure of that. And welcome to WK! 
As for reading manga, I generally can, but I still do have trouble with some grammar concepts and that is my fault entirely for neglecting to study grammar.
And it naturally depends on the genre. For example, grand fantasy/heavy science fiction can be harder vocabulary-wise than your run-of-the-mill slice of life/school life romcom, generally because one doesn’t learn as many of those words as one would more “ordinary” or “daily life” vocabulary used in those types of series.
Here are a few great threads to get you started on resources for both grammar and reading!
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This Ultimate Resources list has a section dedicated to grammar. As far as I’ve heard, Tae Kim’s Guide is a popular free resource for studying grammar. It is divided into sections basically like a textbook, so I would say it’s somewhat “step by step”.
The Ultimate Additional Japanese Resources List! -
Here is another list of resources for getting started reading Japanese content.
Resources for Starting to Read Japanese Content -
FloFlo is another WK-friendly resource designed to help with reading, and it’s free! According to the creator, koohi.cafe is the new version of the website. Check it out if you’re interested!
(Back up) Floflo.moe - A WK-friendly website for reading
How I used FloFlo to read my first book in Japanese -
If you’re looking for a community or group experience, WK also has many different levels of book clubs. They read a manga/light novel together and discuss and bounce questions off each other! Here is the link to the beginner book club - it looks like they’re currently reading フルーツバスケット. If you don’t already own the manga/light novel they’re reading though, it would cost some money to purchase it.
Beginner Japanese Book Club // Currently Reading: フルーツバスケット
フルーツバスケット・Fruits Basket Beginner Book Club Discussion Thread
I hope some of this will be helpful to you, and I wish you well on your language learning journey. Don’t hesitate to stop by and say hi again, or let me know if you have any other questions!
