Japanese Collectibles Meowth’s 1997 Amada Sticker and the Japanese Pokemon Boom
A 1997 Amada paper sticker featuring Meowth, made during Japan's first Pokemon boom — a year before the franchise launched in the West.
Japanese Collectibles 
Japanese Collectibles Why Munchlax Arrived Before Its Own Pokemon Game
Bandai's 2004 Pokemon Kids line gave Munchlax its own sofubi figure the same year the character debuted in anime, two years before any Pokemon game.
Japanese Collectibles Giren Zabi’s 1990 Joker Card and the SD Gundam Furoku Era
In 1990, Comic BomBom bundled an SD Gundam playing card deck as a furoku bonus, casting Zeon's supreme commander Giren Zabi as the Joker.
Japanese Collectibles How Tentacruel Earned Its Place in Japan’s Pokemon Card Era
Tentacruel GB Mini Card No. 73 is a licensed Japanese collectible from the late-1990s Pokemon boom, part of a shokugan-style card series tied to the original Game Boy games.
Japanese Collectibles Sorcerer Mickey and the Art of Japan’s Telephone Cards
A 1992 Tokyo Disneyland New Year telephone card featuring Sorcerer Mickey from Fantasia, issued during Japan's peak telephone card collecting era.
Japanese Collectibles The Story Behind the Puka Kinoko Sofubi Figure
Puka Kinoko 2 is a Japanese sofubi squeaky figure — a blue mushroom design with visual echoes of Mario — rooted in Japan's rich soft vinyl tradition.
Japanese Collectibles What Makes the 1989 Marasai Carddas a Zeta Gundam Artifact
A 1989 Bandai Mini Carddas battle card featuring the Marasai from Zeta Gundam, sold through Japanese vending machines and linked to Comic BonBon.
Japanese Collectibles When Bandai Turned a Gundam Escape Pod Into a Trading Card
Card No. 82 from Bandai's 1989 SD Gundam Carddas series features the Escape Pod personified as a comedy soldier, tied to Japan's Comic BonBon magazine.
Japanese Collectibles Four Picks From Demon Slayer, Dragon Ball, and Gintama
This week: a Muichiro Tokito wafer sticker, a Vegeta GR Dragon Ball sticker, a Gintama Ichiban Kuji postcard, and a 2003 Lawson Lotus Esprit figure.
Japanese Collectibles Tokoyami’s Choco Egg Figure and Japan’s Shokugan Culture
Furuta's Choco Egg is a long-running Japanese shokugan line. This My Hero Academia figure captures Fumikage Tokoyami's unmistakable bird-head design.