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…

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.

In a surprising twist, likely inspired by Disney’s Alice in Wonderland movie, Tokyopop has chosen to pick up Alice in the Country of Hearts. Alice in the Country of Hearts is the manga equivalent of Quinrose’s PC, PS2 and PSP game Alice no Heart no Kuni, which in turn is inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. There’s still an Alice, and she still finds her way to wonderland, but the character she meets there and world is entirely different. (And quite violent!)

Important Importables’ focus is usually on video game related, Japanese imports. Every once in a while, it takes a brief break to look at something that’s an import and has no gaming ties what-so-ever. (Though gamers may enjoy it.) This is one of those times.

Ever heard of Battle Royale? There’s a good chance you have, since it’s an incredibly popular property from Japan. It’s a story that’s so renowned, controversial and thought provoking that the original story has been adapted and presented in several different forms of media. It all started back in 1999, with Koushun Takami’s novel, Battle Royale. It’s a title you probably won’t be reading at your next book club meeting, but it would be awesome if you did…

On August 16, 2008, Kamikaze Pop in conjunction with Tokyopop held a Gothic & Lolita Fashion Showcase to promote the pre-release of the Gothic & Lolita Bible book. The event was held in the Action Theater of Sony’s Metreon in San Francicso, California (USA), amid a swarm of participants of all ages and sizes.

While waiting for the showcase to begin, guests were invited to shop the wares of local vendor, Miss Carlyfornia. Miss Carlyfornia offered many dainty and eloquently detailed hand-made accessories and crafts intended for the GothiLoli fan. Guests were also encouraged to…