It’s manga time! While it’s sad that Tokyopop will be gone soon, VIZ Media is still around and doing better than ever. In fact, it’s even found a way to expand its readership! If you own an iPhone or iPod Touch, you can now get a free VIZ Manga app from iTunes. Once the program is on your iOS device, you can load it up with digital manga and read comics anywhere you want, without having to worry about carrying around actual books….

By now I’m sure you’ve heard about Tokyopop’s forthcoming demise. The publishing company that helped bring Japanese manga to North America in English is closing up shop. While Tokyopop does have a bit of a checkered past, and many may even think that it brought this upon itself, it’s still sad to see the company disappear after 14 years.

So this week, Important Importables is going to honor Tokyopop and help you find some manga to pick up. After all, once the North American branch is gone, all those series will go out of print. We don’t know if some, or even any, will even be picked up by other North American manga publishers. Let’s take a look at some series gamers might want to grab before they’re gone…

Wave goodbye to Tokyopop. You don’t see them after May 31, 2011. The North American branch of the company famous for helping get manga released in English’s reign is over. Stu Levy, Tokyopop’s founder, announced the closure via an article posted on the Tokyopop website. The 14 year run is over, and people will have to get their translated comics elsewhere.

So, what does this mean for all your gamers who also read manga…

3DS owners may have another game to start anticipating. A peek at Amazon suggests that Namco Bandai really is going to make an effort to support the Tales series in North America. A product listing hints at a North American release for Tales of the Abyss 3DS.

This particular, possible leak doesn’t come from an actual Amazon listing for Tales of the Abyss 3DS…

It’s no secret that there’s an otome game fan here at Gamertell (cough, me, cough), and Tecmo Koei’s Neo Romance line is known for its fantastic contributions to the genre. It turns out, a new game is on the way, one that should make DS owners and manga fans very happy. All you Miss Princess (or Misu-Puri!) fans will be pleased to hear that you’ll be able to help Kokoro find love and possibly become the next Miss Princess. The game will be called Miss Princess too, by the way…

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…

This week’s comic feature is The Dreaming for $1.99 by Tokyopop. In this series twin sisters Amber and Jeanie Malkin are accepted into the Greenwich Private College, an exclusive Australian boarding school, located in North Sydney. After girls begin disappearing from the school something begins to invade their dreams. Check out the first issue of The Dreaming and follow Amber and Jeanie as they try to solve the mystery of Greenwich Private College.

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)…