<p>^“Mandarin sounds absolutely daunting”</p>
<p>As someone who has studied both Japanese and Chinese, please don’t pick between the two based on the idea that one might be easier than the other. Both are as hard as languages come (for English speakers, that is).</p>
<p>You’ll have to learn more characters in Chinese than Japanese, since Chinese doesn’t have phonetic scripts, BUT almost all characters in Japanese have multiple readings whereas only certain Chinese characters have different readings. Also, Chinese grammar is simpler, and you won’t have to worry nearly as much about politeness levels in Chinese compared to Japanese. Don’t pick either one if you’re not willing to spend large amounts of time memorizing.</p>