EDICOLA NEWS: THE REVIEWS nr. 162
stickers: 35 (1-34 + sticker cover)
album + complete stickers set € 20.00
Behind this album there is passion, a lot of passion. When we were contacted by the Saint Seiya Vintage Italy Association, we appreciated that they followed our site and even more that they wanted to inform us about their editorial initiative. We are the first to be stubborn in carrying out our projects, so we wanted to give our small contribution by purchasing a copy and doing the necessary review, we consider it an honor rather than a burden.
The stickers are just 34, as if it were a negative aspect, for some time we have been carrying on the firm belief that it is not the length of an album or its amount of stickers that makes it interesting and enjoyable, sometimes publishers exaggerate, perhaps adding the (not always) superfluous cards or other.
The album reflects the reason why the association was born, the collecting of toys (ok, the term is limiting, but to make everyone understand what we are talking about) released in Japan and Italy since the end of the years 80. Not all toys, but the specific Saint Cloth Series collection starting from the first series that we find here represented. We apologize to the boys of the association if we have written inaccuracies. It is a world parallel to ours, we know it, but we are certainly not experts.
The album is a catalog book containing 17 characters from the series, Pegazus, Dragon, Swan, Andromeda, Phoenix and the 12 Golden Knights corresponding to the zodiac signs. Each with two stickers, a photo of the front of the box and the inside with the character still in its original packaging. If Mr. Preziosi has been able to buy Saronno, Como and finally Genoa Football Club over the years, it is also thanks to the great commercial successes of his company such as the Knights of the Zodiac!
The surrounding photographs are also beautiful, certainly from private collections and not found on the internet. They also write it on the album but it is clear that there is a great job behind it, that passion we were talking about at the beginning of the review. Final pages with many curiosities and details for those wishing to venture out in search of these small jewels related to Japanese animation (and in turn to manga, but in reality the toys portray much more the characters as they are represented in the TV series rather than in the comics).
Interesting project, commitment to be supported, the main flaw is the size of the stickers, rather small which do not do justice to the work behind it and above all do not allow you to fully appreciate the details inside the boxes. Probably an obligatory choice, linked to the indications of those who printed albums and stickers.
We allow ourselves to make two additions:
- there are 34 stickers but we wrote 35 because you can also find the sticker of the album cover. It does not have a space inside but is still, in our opinion, part of the collection
- we name it volume 1, the copy in our possession is part of the first reprint. We hope the success of the initiative will push this handful of collectors to repeat the initiative and propose another album. Maybe to be presented at a future edition of Figurine Forever Fair where we would certainly like to have them with us 😉
Anyone interested in purchasing a copy of the album can contact the Association directly by visiting their interesting website http://saintseiyavintage.it/
For Athena! For the stickers!
(EN)