Learning Japanese fast - Why not use frequency lists for 80% coverage?

Aijin Wrote:Studying kanji before studying any of the words that use those kanji seems a little odd to me.

When you started learning English, didn't you learn the alphabet first before any of the words that use those letters? or did you learn it in this way: A apple B banana. How can you you read the word "apple" if you did not study letters p, l, e yet?