Can we discuss the japanese ex era of the tcg. I am a hoenn hoe and was just wondering on what other people think of the jpn side of the ex era. The gold stars are expensive but for the most part, a lot of other stuff isn’t, especially when compared to english. Why do people here think this is? Lack of reverse stamp is one reason I think a lot of people gravitate towards english versions.
I’m curious if I am in the minority here in preferring jp copies ( in most cases), and I think that overall I lean towards liking the Japanese side more for the ex era, which is predominantly the era I’ve been working on collecting
Again, not trying to shill, just curious why this era gets so little talk beyond ‘ex sucks, do not buy’.
Let me know what you think!
Memes aside, Japanese ex era is my favorite era. I also prefer the Japanese copies of most cards, especially things like regular delta holos where the yellow border can really ruin a card. Overall most Japanese set cards are given less attention by the market, so it doesn’t shock me how prices are relatively affordable.
Japanese ex is an awesome era to collect, I think it has a perfect mix of exclusivity, attainability, chase cards, and unique artwork. I would really encourage people to dip their toes in on at least a couple cards.
This is actually my favourite era (and language) to collect right now! It has so much to offer, even disregarding goldstars. Artwork rivaling the e-series, beautiful card layout (the best ever in my opinion), great holos for a reasonable price, some Japanese exclusive prize cards, and above all, the PLAY promo’s. I can’t really explain how it is so underappreciated. Maybe it’s that the ex cards are a bit lacklustre in general?
In terms of the biggest chase cards (other than gold stars) are the ex’s. A good chunk of them can be found in half decks and such in Japanese which makes them more readily available and cheaper for some of them. I think that helps a bit. I think also just the lack of familiarity with 3rd Gen Japanese sets is part of it too.
Like you mentioned Sher, a lot of folks really like the assortment of stamped reverse holos you could pull from English sets and the variety that gives. I also think a lot of folks grew up with the English sets so that’s what they want/gravitate towards.
Adv-pcg/ex era is my favorite as well, with a lot of quirks and cool cards being made in this awesome era making it so collectible and diverse. Many nice JP exclusive cards were released in half decks as movie related promotional products which are one of my favorite things about this era. The return of Dark Pokémon in TRR/RGSB, the exploration of world building/a tcg exclusive region in Holon (such a freaking cool concept!), delta species having different types than normal, countless cool promos, amazing pack art and more! Even down to the card frames/design that I love. There’s so much here to appreciate and explore for collectors. Even if you didn’t grow up with Gen 3 or experience it first hand, it’s got a lot to offer and JP is the way to go
I collect English EX era. I have a good understanding of the amount of sealed product available, the general condition of raw copies floating around, PSA pop reports and the likelihood that they will change, what will tend to do well short-term and long-term, etc.
For me, the problem with Japanese e-Series and EX-era is that I don’t know a lot of these crucial pieces of information to make an informed choice. I have seen too many listings, pictures, videos of hordes of vintage Japanese cards that make me wonder about the relatively rarity of chase Japanese set cards compared to their English counterparts. In simple terms, I don’t know what I don’t know. If I lived in Japan, I might have a different perspective.
My dollars are limited, like everyone, so I want to make sure that I’m buying what I enjoy. I collect Japanese-exclusive promos or those with a unique holo pattern or stamp unobtainable in the English print, but I generally prefer English set cards.
All of this said, I think the Japanese EX era is great and I would collect it if I had a genuine interest in Japanese set collecting. If I did go down that road (and I may in the future), I would/will stick to binders.
even though i wasn’t collecting at this time, the cards from these eras hit harder than any era for me. It’s when so many artists hit their stride…lots of peak Arita, Harada, Kusajima, Saitou, etc. Kusajima especially during this era is just
Pretty much my same exact sentiment. I prefer english ex era but god damn does the japanese version absolutely nail booster box and booster pack artwork
I think also the card rarity preferences affect it, if you are solely collecting holos, ex cards and gold stars the japanese variants look awesome and it’s just a matter of opinion which ones are better looking. But for common and uncommon cards the reverse holo aspect of this era in english is the most unique one through pokemon tcg history and adds so much that objectively i see little reasons to prefer japanese cards over english ones. Also e-series borders that japanese set cards are lacking is a big plus for english in my mind
I actually collect both English and JP ex era. I try to buy whatever ex and gold star that is cheapest, which is usually Japanese. However as someone who loves the art of this generation and holographic cards in general, the reverse holo layouts from the English side add layers of beauty, rarity, and challenge to the cards that I cant pass up despite their higher cost. Similarly, some of the promos from this era are only holo as the POP series promos in English so I like to grab those as well. But then I’ll grab the holo rares in JP from the first few sets until Hidden Legends for their cost savings.
EX famously didn’t sell very well over here due to Pokemon going through a small slump in Gen 3. A lot of OG collectors had stopped or paused for that moment in their lives due to growing up into teens/adults and it took a while for things to take off again.
I don’t know how it was for Japan during this time but maybe the cards sold much better over there and so there is more available stock in general for this time period? I can imagine that the English print runs were tightened up somewhat to absorb dipping sales but I can’t speak for Japan.
Has anybody got any facts or stats for the Japanese side? Even anecdotal evidence?
