This sounds like a scam. Is it even possible to get to level 60 in a year with those wait times? Do you learn better that way?
You don’t have to pay until level 4…
Not sure why you’d say that. It’s just to alleviate some (but clearly not all) of the whining about how slow the beginning is (not that you were whining about it, it’s just a thing we hear a lot). Yes, you can reach level 60 in a year.
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The fastest time to level up is around 6 days. That means learning ~30-40 kanji and ~110 vocab every week. It might sound like a scam but you’ll soon find out it’s hard to keep up with even this pace.
Edit: Also, those concerns are addressed in the guide and FAQ.
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Also, about a quarter of the levels (mostly in the final 15) only take 3 days and 10 hours at max speed (due to having few radicals), so that would kind of negate the “scamming you by making it longer” theory.
Note: very few people can maintain that pace at the end of WaniKani. It’s grueling as hell. I missed the max speed a bunch of times when I did it.
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It’s actually closer to seven days for most levels (6d 20h) but unless you want to change your schedule every week and get up in the middle of the night, seven days is what I’d consider a doable max speed. (Of course there are a few intrepid souls who are willing and able to give up regular hours in order achieve max speed).
Don’t worry @icewizard, if you keep going, it will soon have the potential to completely hijack your life. Best get your affairs in order now while you still have time.
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I joined exactly one year ago, so you can at least reach level 50. But I’m a lazy bastard, I think 5–6 more levels were possible.
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Yeah, it’s possible to have a regular schedule doing 7 days’ levels. However, it won’t be possible if you want to go for 6d20h. The schedule will always be changing to 4h earlier than last time. You’ll have to wake up during the night eventually for that.
But like, who the hell cares about 6d20h levels? 
That’s like just 10 extra days of WK and a lot of headaches for an entire year.
I’ll be finishing WK in 369 days. The 3 extra days were caused by me going out with friends and completely forget about my reviews. Worth it.
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I set up an account last April 30ish, didn’t do anything for 18 days, and am now level 57. Yeah it’s possible if your diligent enough, but the recommended time is about 1 year 6 months to 2 years.
As for do you learn the kanji best this way, I would certainly say so. By having mnemonics, you can get the shape and a reading down into your brain easily. Through the vocab, the readings and meanings stick. Not to mention the seperation of vocab and kanji so you can’t just memorize a vocabulary and some vague shape, you have to know the actual kanji. It’s probably one of the best resources for getting kanji in your head, to be honest.
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This. Finishing WK in 1 year is far from essential, mainly if it’s the only thing you’re doing towards your Japanese learning. Don’t do that (:
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Or if you have no life and are a masochist 
edit: Was talking about me, did not mean to imply anything else 
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Well, that’s debatable 
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Just wait till you reach my level. Your going to think its a scam to take over all your free time
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Just wait till you reach level 60 and find out that there’s no cake up there!
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The great Crabigator promised me cake as long as I devoted my life to it. I have faith.
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Random idea: pay someone to make a WaniKani cake for when you reach lvl 60, make an introduction post asking for your stickers and post a photo of the cake proving that it is real.
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LIES!!! I won’t believe it until I reach level 60 and see for myself. THERE WILL BE CAKE!!!
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Don’t listen to the infidels, @icewizard, Wanikani is not a scam, though you may need to pay for a second year in order to get the promised cake.
If it doesn’t feel like it’s going to work out for you, you’ve got sixty days to request a refund and Tofugu is staffed by very helpful, friendly people, so it shouldn’t be a problem. See “What is your refund policy?” under “Account” in the FAQ
As far as things feeling slow go, you’re at the start of level 3 right now. If the wait-times were half as long, the vertical axis below would look even more intimidating. When people say the system is meant to enforce some degree of pacing, this is why:
https://community.wanikani.com/uploads/short-url/f7OAtNhaw2sBN3i3pADMROgE6yU.png
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Is this considering max speed (6d20h and 3d10d levels)?