Yeah, I know it looks daunting, but it's not as bad as it seems. There are only 150 or so radicals that make up all the kanji, usually 2-3 radicals put together to make the kanji — so once you learn those radicals, you can more easily read and write the kanji.

What helped me get a handle on a heck of a lot of them was this book:

https://amazon.com/Remembering-Kanji-Complete-Japanese-Characters/dp/0824835921

Basically you learn them by making up a small story that places each radical in the proper place. Sounds like it would be too slow, but it works remarkably well.