A couple times I’ve heard folks say that a card needed to be experienced in person or looked better in person. This can often be due to textures or holo patterns not coming across as easily in pictures.
I was inspired to start this thread by a lovely Phione that arrived in the mail today:
Japanese full arts and ultra rare cards, especially from the BW and XY era, have such intricate texturing that it’s impossible to appreciate them just through pictures. Oftentimes they look flat in scans (see below) and you just have to get them in good light in person to appreciate them. PSA scans can actually do an ok job of it, but I find that really only the older PSA scans from when they had Economy tier open do the best.
Just have to say this fits the bill so perfectly. I obviously knew about the card forever, but eventually bought one and once I got it in I was just blown away. Incredible card.
My nomination would really be a large majority of cards with an overlay holo like PokeKyun, Radiant Collection, CoroCoro Mew, the Dragonite from the Silver Deck Kit posted above, etc.
But my personal favorite is this Korean Radiant Collection chick - A “bubble”(?) holo layer that you really have to see in person to believe. Very unique and I was pleasantly surprised when I saw it for the first time.
Apart from the reverse holo Legendary cards, I think the Japanese Espeon vmax alt was the biggest upgrade in quality I’ve experienced. Yeah the artwork looks cool, but all the early leaks and pictures made it look flat. Then when I got it, and the sparkles and texture popped, it really struck me how amazing that card is. Only downside, is that was what I was expecting of the other alts so they didn’t have the same “woah” impact when I finally got them in person.
- A “bubble”(?) holo layer that you really have to see in person to believe. Very unique and I was pleasantly surprised when I saw it for the first time.
