I’ve been an English collector all my life, I always could remember that JPN Pokemon were fake when I was a kid due to the amount of JPN Cards being imported from JPN in the early 2000s. I have talked to many collectors recently and their main decision to choose JPN only is because of card texture. Does texture truly matter when they will more than likely be behind a PSA case? I am overall interested in collecting JPN and would love some expert insight if there are more differences. PeepoLove <3
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Once you cook them down, English or Japanese, they all taste the same.
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Me don’t comprehend
the texture is better, but there are many reasons why people collect one or the other. I think most people collect some of both. For me, English is whats on my Target and Walmart shelves. Its easy to buy and the yellow borders don’t (didn’t?) bother me as much
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You can see the texture behind the PSA case. And the holo on secret rares in general just looks different than English.
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Make sure to use a cooking oil with a higher smoke point – avocado, sunflower, coconut etc.
It’s not just texture, at least for me. I prefer Japanese because (as with most Japanese-made products) there is a level of care and respect paid toward the manufacturing process that makes American mass-production pretty inferior in comparison (though it does seem that manufacturing processes are starting to become a little more homogenous in the states).
Most of the time, Japanese product is the source, whereas English is a delayed reproduction of the source material. It sounds snooty, but I imagine that’s the basic psychology behind it.
But hey I still buy some packs when I actually see them at Walmart or Target. It’s fun to rip and takes me back to being a kid.
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Japanese texture has consistently been ‘finer’ than english with more lines but the big thing that pushed me over to japanese was how unpronounced english texture has become which started during mid SM era. I think theres an argument for either english or japanese texture early sun and moon or earlier but since mid SM, english texture has significantly fallen off. If people really saw the difference in person between japanese and english texture for cards these day, they’d all choose japanese.
I started collecting Japanese because it was cheaper than English. What I love: texture/holo, silver borders, smaller more cohesive sets, not knowing the language allows me to focus on the art more. I enjoy collecting Japanese sealed product because I prefer the designs on the boxes and they take up less space. I’m ultimately an artwork collector so if the English version is much cheaper I’ll buy it even if the texture on the Japanese version is better.
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Exact same reason why I decided to collect Japanese. It was simple financial motivation when I began. I collect Promos and in my opinion, I feel Japanese promos have more history on their releases. Be it a lottery promotion, event release, tournament prize etc and I enjoy that aspect of the hobby as well. Now I can say that Japanese over English just feels right, same way that I prefer watching anime subbed rather than dubbed.
Cheers!
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Yeah the silver borders are hot, what are your thoughts on English new silver borders?
I collect Japanese because they are the original.
English cards are foreign cards with not as nice texture and quality.
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I started collecting Japanese because it was cheaper and quality was much better. Sucks now Japanese is a lot more expensive.
Mind giving an example? I don’t think English changed their textures throughout.
I agree with others:
- texture
- price point
- card quality
- special non-English releases
We’re seeing that change in recent years with English exclusives e.g. Special Delivery, Celebrations promos, UPC Charizard VMAX, Silver Tempest FA Gym Trainers, Tournament box FA Klara, etc
The rest of the points will hold on in favour of Japanese releases. We will see in next month’s Scarlet & Violet Build & Battle pre-release this new generation of English card quality (
)
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Good point! I am hoping that we see even more special English releases with Scarlet & Violet. It’s a win-win in my book: creates tons of (mostly) positive excitement and often includes incredible art.
Honestly the price of chase cards in Japanese modern is out of hand
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It can be hard to capture in pictures but hopefully these two examples show it. Both are early sun and moon vs early swsh. And the difference in texture is very noticeable when you feel the surface of the cards.
Raw, graded, or both? I’ve seen the most dramatic increase in PSA 10 Japanese Waifus and select stonkers like the PSA 10 Japanese Moonbreon.
The raw prices for waifu and certain alternate arts, cards costing 10x the price of the booster box. Supply and demand I guess
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