Sorry for the lack of posts this month. I haven't been out of card collecting (quite the opposite, actually). With the help of The NPB Card Guy, I've located a few more shops. I should bring those details soon. Plus with the new year starting, new releases will be hitting shelves. I think BBM's First Edition streets tomorrow! I've made major advances in my NPB Awards collection and with these new card shops I've gotten even closer to 100% completion on my Calbee type collection. More on that eventually. But for now, pretty girls playing sports!
Now in its fourth year, Real Venus is a set that features Japan's best (and cutest?) female athletes in a multitude of sports. Each subject has three cards in the set - generally a posed shot in uniform, an action shot in uniform (of course), and a casual street clothes photo. The sports include ever-popular soccer, swimming, snowboarding, and of course gymnastics, plus much lesser-seen sports including running, lacrosse, and pole vaulting. The same subjects can appear from year to year - Rie Tanaka appears to be the perennial face of women's gymnastics in Japan and possibly the most popular name in the set.
I should now have all four issues, with the 2012 release hitting stores back in December. The sets are pretty popular, and they can sell out fairly fast. It's a pack-based release, with autographs, relics, parallels, and inserts. The base set for each year is part of Women In Sports collection. Below are scans of all the card fronts for the 2012 set. Enjoy!
