Meiji is a food company in Japan. They produce both chips and candies. For the release of Episode One, Meiji issued a set of trading cards as a premium in specially marked bags of chips. A total set of 30 cards could be collected. Chip bags were large and highly decorated. Bags had a black background with the familiar red-burst logo for Star Wars Episode One as well as a character montage. A yellow sun-burst advertised that the bag contained a collectible Star Wars Character Card, and that there were 30 to collect. Cards were protected inside the bags in a foil wrapper.

Cards were divided into three categories, Good Guys (blue backgrounds), Bad Guys (red backgrounds) and Droids (yellow backgrounds). Each card measures 3 1/2 inches by 2 inches. The front of the card has the character's picture in a scene from the film, their name in English and Japanese text, and the Star Wars Episode One logo. Card backs contain a photo of the character, the card number, and descriptive text (in Japanese characters). Cards are made of a thin plastic, and seem very durable.

This is a fun set of cards. I have provided a partial checklist below. Any assistance in completing the checklist would be greatly appreciated.

A big thank you to Sakai Hideyasu for the information provided here and to Bob Rankin for assistance with the scans and partially completing the checklist.

Card Values ·  set value: $25-30 ·  single: $1-2 Find these cards on ebay or trade for them in the Collector's Connection. Images can be seen at Andy's site

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