Buzz Break: 2021 Topps Japan Edition baseball cards

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2021 Topps Japan Edition baseball cards
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (when available)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

Packs per box: 24
Cards per pack: 10
Cards in this box: 240
Base set completion: 
110 of 220 (50 percent)
Duplicates: 110
Triplicates: 7

Notables on base cards – Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Ronald Acuña Jr., Fernando Tatis, Juan Soto, Ozzie Albies, Max Scherzer, Bryce Harper, Anthony Rizzo, Aaron Judge, Kris Bryant, Freddie Freeman, Dansby Swanson

Rookie Cards (113) – Notables include Ian Anderson, Triston McKenzie, Deivi Garcia, Alec Bohm, Dylan Carlson, Casey Mize, Luis Garcia, Cristian Pache, Brady Singer, Daz Cameron, Tarik Skubal

Insert/short-print cards: 13 (all in gallery below with some base)
MLB in Japan (3) – Derek Jeter, Hideki Matsui, Matt Chapman
Japan comes to MLB (3) – Yusei Kikuchi, Shun Yamaguchi, Kenta Maeda
Cherry Blossoms parallel (2) – Joey Gallo, William Contreras (/99)
Jade Green parallel (2) – Matt Chapman, Luis Garcia (/75)
Purple parallel (1) – Justin Verlander (/50)
Red parallel (1) – Jonathan Arauz (/5)
Gold parallel (1) – Mike Trout (/25)

Autographs/Memorabilia: None

What's Buzz-worthy: Much like the UK Edition last year, this one is an MLB release made for fans in Japan -- though you can get your hands on them here, too, with some hunting. Essentially, this is a 220-card edition of Series 1 -- at least it felt like it was mostly those guys who I have probably seen too much of this year -- and the collation here was rough ... or perhaps consistent with exactly half of the base set. There's ultimately little difference between basic cards and these other than a Japanese flag on the fronts. With the weird collation, I didn't get key names like Ohtani or Bichette but I did land two of everybody I mentioned and 55 different Rookie Cards twice ... and a few guys three times. If you land the right names in runs like this, boxes could run hotter than normal. This time? I'm not sure ... I didn't love it but I didn't do awful, either. My run of parallels here was pretty crazy as Purples, Golds and Reds are not guaranteed in any single box based on the odds. Purple is one in 26 packs (every other box), Gold is one in 52 (every third box) and Red is one in 254 (one in 11 boxes). I only failed to land a 1/1 Platinum here (one in 54 boxes). The two inserts dropped as they should -- three per box -- and all have parallels, too. The only other inclusions here is a small crop of autographed cards (one in 149 packs) and a really rare "Japan Comes to MLB" Relic (one in 2,702). Had this been a release last year, a box like this could have been a true monster -- stronger RCs -- but landing a Trout here (albeit with very minor edge damage) made this a strong box and the other parallels weren't bad finds, either. Had the base collation here been perfect, it would be an A+ box. This one is simple -- you might try the waiting game to see if they dip but they may not since it's the start of Topps' enhanced presence in Japan that already includes cards made for stars of Nippon Professional Baseball and plenty more to come.

Product Grade: B+
Box Grade: A- (base collation a trainwreck of sorts but landed one of every parallel except 1/1s ... plus a rare Trout)
Fun Grade: B- (rough with all of the dupes but helped by the parallels)

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