I was attracted to the Japanese "Redwall Legend" Collection (レッドウォール伝説セット(全4冊)) initially because it appeared as if the books would arrive in a nifty box set; unfortunately I must report that the box itself seems to be nonexistent, and the collection part merely refers to the fact that all four of the Japanese Redwall translations - Redwall, Mossflower, Mattimeo, and Mariel of Redwall - are sold together.
However, the books themselves are certainly not disappointing. The jacket covers of Redwall, Mossflower, and Mattimeo all feature the artwork of artist Pete Lyon, while Mariel of Redwall features Chris Baker's artwork.
Like the Hebrew edition of Redwall, these books read from right-to-left, or the opposite of English language books.
All contain the original Gary Chalk illustrations and maps, but they're marked with Japanese writing.
These hardcovers are slightly smaller than the U.S. hardcover editions - which is actually convenient for me, because my bookshelf is almost full!
A cool feature of the books is that each one has a built-in bookmark string to keep your place. The color of the string matches the color of the hardcover:
- Redwall - purple
- Mossflower - dark green
- Mattimeo - orange
- Mariel of Redwall - light blue
Redwall - レッドウォール伝説 - 邦題『勇者の剣』
Mossflower - レッドウォール伝説 - 邦題『モスフラワーの森』
Mattimeo - レッドウォール伝説 - 邦題『小さな戦士マッティメオ』
Mariel of Redwall - レッドウォール伝説 - 邦題『海から来たマリエル』
Like the German edition of Mattimeo, the Japanese Mariel of Redwall came with an extra wrapper around it.
Redwall fan Mito Fox has chimed in with the literal title translations: "Sword of the Hero"; "The Forest of Mossflower"; "The Little Warrior, Mattimeo"; "Mariel, Who Came From The Sea".
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