Without question, my favorite Japanese collectible in my personal collection is the 1997 Topps Japan Super Wide Movie Cards. 1997 was a huge year for Star Wars, and I think for many collectors changed how they collected, or what they collected in some way. For me, 1997 was the year I was able to suddenly connect more easily with all the millions of Star Wars collector's world wide. And suddenly I didn't just get to collect the American version of Star Wars cards, but was able to collect, although with huge difficulty, a complete set of trading cards written in another language.

The Japanese text on the back of the cards was cryptic, and inspiring; a whole new world of Star Wars to collect. From the challenge of collecting this set, I found myself collecting vintage Japanese cards, and an unbelievable number of other 'foreign' cards and pogs and stickers I'd never considered possible for my collection before.

I selected this card image as my sample image because it shows the two droids beginning their adventure. Like Artoo, I knew I had a purpose when I set out to finish this difficult to collect card set. Like Threepio, I had no idea what I was getting myself into! -- Cathy Kendrick

(Check out Cathy's Star Wars trading card site here)