Do you know what awesome, import game you could be playing next year? It’s Mahou Shojo Madoka Magica Portable (Magical Girl Madoka Magica Portable)! Namco Bandai and Nitro Plus are working together to make a PSP game based on one of the most popular and mind-bending recent anime series to come out of Japan. Granted, we’ll never see it in North America, but it’s still a really cool announcement!

Mahou Shojo Madoka Magica Portable is going to be a rogue-like RPG based on the original Puella Magi Madoka Magica series, so the same origin story works.,,

If you’re thinking about picking up Bleach: Soul Resurreccion for your PS3 next month, then odds are you’re a fan of the Bleach anime and manga series. Well, NIS America has a little treat for you. If you decide to be an early adopter, you won’t just get the game in your Bleach: Soul Resurreccion box. You’ll also get a voucher to download some episode of Bleach from the PlayStation Store….

Anyone who’s got an unhealthy obsession with that cute, pink blob named Kirby is going to wish they lived in Europe or Australia tomorrow. It turns out Nintendo is going to release a new Wii channel in those two regions. It’s free, and called the Kirby TV Channel. I bet you can see where this is going.

The Kirby TV Channel will, appropriately enough, only show Kirby cartoons. Remember that series called Kirby: Right Back At Ya!…

Have you heard of Mayonaka TV?

Yes, that’s a Persona 4 reference – except English speakers may be more familiar with Midnight Channel. See, a mysterious countdown website has appeared on the internet with the address mayonaka-tv.jp. There, you can watch a 15 second introduction video that mirrors some scenes from the video game.

Here, watch and see for yourself…

You loved playing Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, so EA and Funimation are betting you’ll like watching it too. The two entertainment powerhouses are working with T.O Entertainment to put together a Mass Effect anime. Well, techincally an animated, direct to video movie. So I guess that would make it a Mass Effect OVA (original video animation).

There are no details on the Mass Effect OVA’s storyline…

Surprise! I know, this week’s column was supposed to be about Nendoroids, but don’t worry. We’ll look over those cute little figurines next week. Since Valentine’s Day is Monday, I figured it would be more appropriate to offer a little list minute list of possible import-ish gift suggestions that you can give your special someone this year.

Now, since overseas shipping probably isn’t an option at such a late date like this, almost all of the gift suggestions below should be available in a specialty store near you. I may toss in an online shopping option if there’s an expedited shipping option so you could probably have the gift arrive by February 14, 2011…

A new Idolm@ster anime is in the works! And, unlike Idolm@ster: Xenoglossia, this one may just follow the storyline of the original games. I say may, because the new Idolm@ster anime series is still a bit of a mystery. Namco Bandai just announced it. More official information won’t be released until January 29, 2011, when the official anime website opens…

Let’s start out the new year right! Let’s get hooked on a manga series. After all, it’s going to be a few weeks before first few major released of 2011 start showing up. So kick back with a classic anime and manga.

Today in Important Importables we’re going to look at Lucky Star. It’s a good starter manga for gamers who like comics, but aren’t sure if they’re ready for the commitment a standard manga series or anime may require. It’s falls into the slice-of-life genre, which means it chronicles the everyday life of its main characters. And since the main character of Lucky Star happens to be an otaku, there may be a fandom cameo you’ll recognize.

The first Bleach PS3 game is in development and while Sony has been tight-lipped about Bleach: Soul Ignition so far, information should start flowing in soon. After all, that’s what tends to happen after an official website is opened. Fans can head there right now and start looking at all the pretty pictures. It’s not like there’s much else to do there yet…

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a creative amalgam of pretty much everything cool. It takes a quirky manga story, features scads of video game style fight scenes and special effects and, with a dash of eclectic European movie sensibilities (I’d say French films but would not want to offend the director), creating a funky fun film about young love.

After seeing the movie and watching several hours of the extra features, I’m now a Scott Pilgrim fan (and you will be, too, assuming you are not already, of course)…