Hello Kimberly, As Shishigami mentioned, one of good ways to say "you" is that you say "their name + さん(san)". "Anata" is a very neutral word, so it can change both offensive and gentle depending on your way to speak. If you say " Anata ha ...." gently to your friend, like a Japanese language teacher, your friend would not feel offensive. On the other hand, If you say it nervously, your friend can feel offensive. In fact, I rarely use "Anata" in daily life, and people rarely say "Anata" to me. They say a lot of you in the US, but I think Japanese usually do not say Anata to their colleagues. I think it is easy for English speakers to be confused about this. Good luck!

"Anata" is very far for offensive word. In fact, "anata" is how wives address their husbands. So, no, the word "anata" in itself is not offensive. Now, using it daily life for other than your husband and over-using it or adding unnatural stress to the word, can be irritating. It is not uncommon word to use when addressing the person you are talking to, but it should be used in moderation. However, "anta" (notice the missing "a") is what is a drop dead insult.

Use the name of the person you are talking to when you know it. Ex: マリアさんはとってもきれいです！ When addressing Maria, it can be translated to "You are very pretty" or for more literal translating "Maria, you are very pretty" or when addressing another person that say you spoke about Maria (Hu, seriously :0) :p (for me it keep being weird to speak like that but just try to hear in anime it's very common.