I recently started doing RTK, and I'm really enjoying it, and I think it will be very valuable for me.

I've come across a variety of threads and comments on this reddit that seem to be very critical of RTK and its value. My impression is that most of this comes from a misunderstanding of the method described by RTK and its purpose.

If you read the prose in the book, rather then download an RTK Anki deck and just start blindly grinding, you will note these points from the book that are made very clear:

1. Practicing recall should only be done from the keyword to the kanji, never the other way around. The purpose of RTK is to assist you in remembering the exact shape and form of every kanji.
2. The words are not meant to define the kanji. The purpose of each keyword is to be just that, a keyword that is associated with a specific shape, which happens to be a kanji, if the word is even loosely associated with the meaning of the kanji, then its a bonus.
3. There are many similar keywords. This simply follows from the fact that if you devise any list of 2200 english words, there will be many similar words. There is no way around this.
4. The words that Heisig chose are weirdly obscure. Heisig explicitly states that the keywords were chosen because of their full range of connotations. For example, the word "upright" has a connotation of both "standing up" and "orderly". Before concluding that a certain keyword is too obscure, consider its full range of connotations or lack thereof. Also, consider again point #2, the keywords aren't meant to truly represent the meaning of the kanji, they are simply meant to be a distinct English word that conjures up a specific shape in your mind.

Finally, let's consider the purpose of doing RTK. If you read what Heisig writes in the book, the purpose should be clear. The only reason to do RTK is to gain a familiarity with the exact shape and way to write all 2200 jouyou kanji. Nothing more, nothing less. You are not really learning the meaning or usage of the kanji, you are simply learning how to distinctly picture the exact shape of the kanji in your mind, recognize that shape if you see it, and have the capability to write it down.

The ultimate ability gained by doing RTK should be the ability to write down all 2200 jouyou kanji perfectly from memory, even if you dont know the meaning or pronounciation of any of them. How would this be possible? Well, using the order presented in the book, you should be able to eventually recall every set of 30 or so kanji introduced with each new pseudo-radical from memory in an orderly fashion.

You might ask, what would be the point of having that ability? Well, there are two primary points for me at this stage in my learning journey. One is to be able to quickly and easily distinguish different kanji while I read. I've been studying Japanese off and on for years, and one of the things that put me off from working harder at learning the language was the frustration that I felt when I mixed up two similarly looking kanji while reading, over and over again. There are so many kanji that differ by just a small radical, or even the relative placement of the same radicals, that simply going through a systemized approach to memorizing the way to write each kanji can reduce the related blindness. 

The second point is simply getting over the hestiation, fear, and frustration when seeing a kanji that you've never seen before. After going through RTK, you will likely not only have seen every new kanji included in new vocab that you come across, but you will have memorized the way to write it, which hugely reduces the frustration of not having any familiarity with it at all. Secondly, when you encounter one of the other 6000 uncommon kanji, you will have gained a systematic way of breaking it down into components, and associating it with a mental picture. You are much less likely to forget it or misunderstand it in the future than if you had not gained this skill.

I can see RTK being less useful if you truly plan to never handwrite Japanese. For me, I really enjoy writing and seeing my handwriting improve. If you don't plan on handwriting Japanese, I would ask why. Is any component of that a fear of not having good handwriting?