You can certainly jump right in and not be lost. You could even post on the Official forums for a
Recruit-a-Friend hookup and get some free stuff to help you along :)
I don't know how to describe what it's like. I've never played FF in any form, and like you couldn't get past the cartoons on WoW. I think it supports all playstyles well, and it's a lot of fun.
Here's the new player forum - you may have to register with SOE to post there (no worries, it's free and you'll have to register to play). http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/forums/show.m?forum_id=2590