kana: hiranga and katakana

Kana is syllables represented by letters, so the hiragana ka (か) would be a single letter. katakana is just hirigana only more square... Kind of

The first step to learning Japanese

Hey peoples! Here is a suggestion of book if you are first learning Japanese:

Japanese, the Manga Way.
This Japanese book is really interesting. It teaches you Japanese with Manga examples. I am reading it and is really helping me to understand in detail what I need to know to be able to converse in Japanese and, of course, read Japanese Manga!