Carddas (カードダス Kādodasu) is a name given to Bandai's card vending machines and, thus, a generic term given to the cards sold by these machines. The name comes from AMeDAS (Automated Meterological Data Acquisition System), a system in Japan used for gathering weather data. The aim behind this naming is to make Carddas an information source for kids.[1] Carddas is a registered trademark of Bandai.
The first Carddas, released in 1988, is based on the Saint Seiya anime series (also known as Knights of the Zodiac). In the past, Carddas was for trading and collection only. But since trading card games like Magic: The Gathering have become popular in Japan, more and more Carddas is made in the form of trading cards that can be played in a game.
Apart from Saint Seiya, many popular anime, manga and tokusatsu series has been made into Carddas, the most famous ones being Bleach, Digimon, Dragon Ball, Fullmetal Alchemist, Gundam, Kamen Rider, Naruto, Neon Genesis Evangelion, One Piece, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Ultraman, and Yu-Gi-Oh! (the Carddas game is based on the first series and is not to be confused with Konami's version, the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game).
In 2006, a Super Sentai-based trading card game, Rangers Strike, was released in commemoration of the Super Sentai Series' 30th Anniversary.
In 2007, Carddas started to sell Top Trumps in Japan.