I'm not sure what's crazier... the idea that someone in Japan decided to make trading cards of cats dressed up as humans... or the fact that I bought a pack for $3.
As soon as I saw these packs at the Japanese grocery store, I knew I had to grab one. I mean... how often do you see a cat wearing a leather jacket on a pack of cards (actually... there's only one card inside).
In fact, I demonstrated absolutely no self control and ripped open the pack in the parking lot.
Inside, there was a stick of gum and this:
Nope, your eyes aren't deceiving you. It's a plastic card with three cats drinking beer & counting their Benjamins. I'm not sure what the purpose of this product, but I'll admit... the picture is definitely a conversation piece.
The back of the card resembles an ID card with a photo of a cat licking its lips:
I'd love to sit down with the creator of this product to pick his/her brain. I mean, who is this product marketed for? The 6 year old girl who loves dressing up kittens? The 75 year old woman who owns 15 cats? Or could it be the 39 year old guy who loves oddball cards?
By the way... in case you're wondering... that piece of gum was amazing! Just imagine the furthest thing from a piece of pink, brittle, and chalky Topps gum.
Happy Tuesday everyone... and sayonara!
26 comments:
Absolute Gold! I want a pack of these!
Best Post Ever!
I used to live near a Japanese grocery store and loved buying the little toys they sell. That and shrimp crackers, and the fake display sushi at the sushi bar - man it looked real.
Do you have any idea what the back of the card says? Is it supposed to be an ID card?
That may be the craziest card set ever.
beats ponies!!
That is awesome!!!!Who needs a Babe Ruth cut auto when you can have a cat in a leather jacket.Little Japanese girls and other SE Asian kids go nuts for this stuff.
This definitely tops BBM's yearly National Badminton Team set!
LOL... maybe I'll buy a few packs for my contest this summer.
Thanks... I give all the credit to the creepy cats in human clothing.
My personal favorites are the chocolate eggs with the figures inside of them. As for the sushi, my ex had hundreds of those miniature sushi toys/erasers.
I can't read Japanese, so I honestly couldn't tell you. But my guess would be they're novelty ID cards.
Lol... it's definitely the craziest thing in my collection.
don't tell cardboard junkie ;-)
If it didn't have a picture of them drinking beer, I'd definitely show it to my students. There's a small population of girls that are huge fans of anything Korean or Japanese.
I definitely need a pack of Japanese badminton cards for my collection.
Those are amazing! Topps did cats back in the 80s with Perlorian Cats. Not nearly as cool as these though.
Wow... nice call! It's like a smack to the back of the head... I totally remember those stickers. Damn... the Japanese always find a way of stealing our ideas and making it their own... JK.
We have a Japanese grocery store down the street. I haven't been in there for years, but maybe I should walk down to see if they have any. I think this is a must have!
--Jon
I highly recommend checking it out. If they don't have cat cards... there's bound to be something weird or outrageous.
OH BABY! If there ever was a post meant for me...Here we go...
I remember seeing these cards when I was an exchange student here (Japan) several years ago. Apparently, this was a fad around that time. Cats, dogs, even birds, if I recall correctly. None of the others stuck around quite like the cats. I've seen these cards here and there, but never in pack form. Very nice find!
Here's my attempt at translating the ID (which is what the Japanese Driver's License looks like, BTW).
From Top to Bottom...
Name: Tora Yoshi (tora means Tiger) D.O.B.: 2010/Feb/28
Address of Family Registry: Whale Prefecture, Bonito (fish) City, Saury (fish), Killifish (fish) 285-6
Home Address: Tokyo...Japanese Bar, Next to the Beer Server
Date of Issue: 2012/Jan/15 2850 (code?)
IN BLUE : Void if licked
Misc. Notes/Restrictions: Won't be distracted by wipers. Won't "cat punch" the car horn.
Card Number 285285064640
Everything else is too small for me to read...
Man that was fun!
Domo arigato! I'm sure I'm not the only one who appreciates the translation and the history behind these cards. BTW... I'd love to find one of the dog versions.
Cute and captivating...your design is generating new ideas in my mind...
I am glad to see this idea is still being done, or was recently. I had a Japanese import store locally, I will have to see if it's still there. Drunken cats...what could possibly go wrong?
Good luck. If my local Japanese store had anymore of these, I'd buy the whole box.
These are awesome. Ha! I did a quick search and found over a thousand different cards for sale in Japan of these. Where to begin.....
Wow. That's a lot. I really regret not purchasing more packs of this stuff.
I bought 10 packs several years ago when I found these at a local grocery. I had a pack of the sticker cards as a kid that I was fascinated by. I have since gotten a few items with tuda's cat photos but by far these i.d. cards are the best! Wish I had them all!
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