Some Pokémon Cards are in high demand, especially among collectors and resellers looking to make quick money on rare cards or cards with special features that make them more valuable. For example, a card signed by illustrator Naoki Saito Reportedly sold for over $100,000 in July 2023, which had the unfortunate side effect of people harassing and stalking the artist in a way that, as he recently said, left him fearing for his life.
Saito is best known for his work as a contributing artist for the Duel Masters trading card game, Hatsune Miku merchandise and the Pokémon
Post on Twitter in Japanese on February 24th (and translated by VGC on February 27, Saito said he was repeatedly “systematically ambushed and surrounded by several people at the same time,” all vying for his autograph. The situation got so bad that in a recent incident that he did not disclose, Saito said he was “chased by a car for several minutes.” Therefore, he will not sign anything personally until the situation – and the people – calm down.
“I have always been very happy when asked for autographs, so I have always done my best to respond to all autograph requests,” Saito wrote, citing the situations in which people ambush him in groups or while traveling, ” really annoying”. ” He explained that at some events, people desperate for an autograph “called event management under false identities and tried to confirm my schedule.”
In a February 27th automat reportEditor and author Shinya Kusaka, who was reportedly with Saito at the time of the car stalker incident, said the pursuers were so clever in tracking the artist that they followed Saito into narrow alleys. Kusaka said that Saito’s relentless haggling “severe psychological stress
My city asked Saito for comment.
I understand that you want a signature from your favorite star, be it an artist, a musician, a writer or whatever. This autograph can be a beautiful keepsake and a fantastic memory worth retelling. But harassing and stalking someone to essentially force them to sign something just so you can make a profit from it? It’s not, so hopefully people will learn to leave others alone. Saito is just trying to live.