I can actually talk a bit japanese now because of it :l
Im able to hold small conversations ~_~
are you actually listening to the words they are saying?
I agree with this.
I've only started watching anime in 2011 and I can pretty much understand 75-90% of an episode without looking at the subs by now (depending on whether there are new complicated words in that episode).
In fact, I learned all of my English listening and speaking skills from movies, songs, and sometimes radio all while complimenting that with self-learning grammar and light writing when I was in middle school (I went to a public school and public schools in my country didn't teach English until highschool at the time, and they suck very much at it).
Though, the biggest improvement in my writing came from a course I took after highschool.
So, you really can learn at the very least Listening and Speaking skills from anime. However, Writing and reading really need some effort. I'm trying to learn reading now but the Kanji is difficult and terrifying!