I'm not much of a drawer, but when I do it's more realistic things. I attempted it once and it was a drawing of Chun Li and it turned out pretty good for a novice. But it didn't stem into a passion for it.
I do have two friends who are avid artists, my korean friend and my polish friend. They both LOVE anime and started out drawing anime. My polish friend is pretty good with drawing anime. She's better with drawing anime than drawing realistic things. She draws out of hobby and her drawings get better and better. She's better than the average anime drawer, but you can tell she hasn't really been serious with it nor have taken any classes. She's still active with it, but she has turned her passion into culinary.
My korean friend is VERY skilled at drawing and always has been since a young age and it started with cartoons and anime. He likes to draw cartoons, anime, and some abstract/futuristic. He can draw realistically very well, but prefers animation. He's now a graphic designer.