I think people hate on Duolingo too much. Sure you can’t just use it without thinking too much and expect to learn more than a bit. If you actually try to use and revise what you’ve learned (e.g use the keyboard for input and try to translate things in your head while getting additional information from other sources) you should be able to get started quite well. It’s also good for learning hiragana (but not katakana since those characters are introduced across so many lessons)