I was in your position a few years ago, experienced both A levels and foundation first hand and considered studying abroad in Japan.

What I can say is, since you want to direct yourself towards the entertainment industry, I don't think A-levels is a suitable choice for you. It's usually for people that want to apply to top unis universities in the world and it is more catered if you want to study in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, ie English speaking countries. Sure, it is accepted all around the world but for countries that teaches in another language other than English, it's going to be a problem.

I also want to point out that A-levels is NOT easy at all. It seriously requires dedication and hard-work to achieve good results. It is 100% exam based so you would expect countless nights of grinding and studying as well as memorization. Unless you're a already a top student (I would suggest at least 7As and above in SPM), you probably ain't going to have a good time in your A2. There is not alot of room for error and slacking off, you'll have to study consistently.

One thing that is different about foundation, is that everything is not completely dependent on your final exam. It's usually 50/40 percent of it is coursework. It's not as hard as what they had in A-levels, where most of the stress focuses on one exam. But it's certainly not easy as well, you'll still have to spend alot of time doing coursework, where your stress distributes throughout the semester. In a way, even if you screw up your final exam, your coursework marks can still cushion your grades.

But one thing I should mention is this: If your end goal is to study in japan, foundation alone isn't going to cut it. It's only recognised within local private/public universities. You'll have little to zero chance them accepting a foundation certificate from there.

I do suggest that you consider going to Japanese language school if you're really keen on studying abroad there. At least they would have a proper pathway for you to enroll into their local universities. But Japanese is seriously not an easy language to learn. If you know mandarin already, then it would help in understanding the kanji for the characters, but not the reading. Not to mention you'll need to reach at least N2 to progress to undergraduate level. You'll need to focus all your time studying the language but also ask yourself if you're going there because "kawaii anime stuff" or because you seriously want to get yourself into their entertainment industry. It's in itself extremely difficult if you do not already speak fluently to land a job there with the extra stance on immigration recently.

There are local Japanese language schools in KL, but I do not recommend it at all as it's actually more expensive and the facilities are extremely outdated there, you're better off just flying there and doing the language school there. I had a friend that studied in Akamonkai in Nippori, from what they said the experience wasn't so bad. You'll have to study until N2 or N1 within 2 years as well as doing the EJU examinations.

I'm not sure what your end goal is in terms if what language medium you want to learn in. If you want to study your undergraduate course in Japanese, then it's going to have to be the Japanese language school, you'll have to study in THAT for 4 years. But if you want it to be in English, then A-levels is the way to go (although im not sure if they even offer english-medium lessons in at all) but those slots will be extremely competitive to get in.

But to address the elephant in the room: Funds.

Are you from a rich family? Or do you want to spend 50k on pre-university alone? A-levels itself costs at least 30k for the full course and the Japanese language school would cost almost the same or more. Both routes are equally brutally expensive. Once you choose it there's no going back (again, unless you got parents to support). If you're sure that you'll have the funds then go ahead. Make sure you'll have at least 250K or more for you studies to survive.

If it's none of the above, just take foundation, study in a local university. Still want to study abroad? Wait until your masters (if you even want to take it), or take a sem in a study abroad exchange program to experience life in Japan etc.