It’s more like an intern is suggesting something, senior management explains why it isn’t so, and the intern refuses to listen. Feel free to buy as many more Raikou as you want to compare. But kindly remember multiple people have taken time out of their day to help explain to you why this card is not fake.
I am right by my Neo Revelation binder set and could take a photo for you but I am too annoyed now to help you any further.
My dude, you’ve got many different people on what is arguably the most knowledgeable forum all telling you that your card looks real. No one needs to post photo or video evidence because we have all seen numerous legitimate copies of the card you posted that look identical
The second sentence to me says it all to me. How can the very prospect of helping me out be so annoying, just because I’m not bowing down to replies immediately and asking for a little more substantiation? Being angry is more important than demonstrating a point?
In my experience sometimes - often in fact - the intern may a point, coming from an outside perspective, where senior management - equally sometimes - miss the wood for the trees. Not saying it’s the case here, but to stretch the metaphor I feel the need to point out that taking just written advice from experts isn’t always enough to put an issue to bed. I appreciate it, but I also don’t think my ask for just a little more help is unreasonable.
I don’t think I’ve been rude or aggressive, though clearly my lack of taking people’s word as gospel is misconstrued as offensive. You have to ask yourself why someone acts the way they do. Instead of thinking “they’re just an idiot”, how about because questioning the offhand and unsubstantiated advice of experts has served them well in life?
Some examples I don’t mind sharing online. I diagnosed my own acute appendicitis. Several docs questioned and were tentative until one, who went in there, found “oh dang it, he was right”. And it was a close to bursting as an appendix can be. During the search phase of buying our house (UK thing), our solicitor told us “the local authority search will take 3 weeks, soz about that”. Oh no - I contacted them directly and got it done in 5 minutes. So if I’d just taken the advice of several seasoned experts in medicine and property law… well I’d have a burst appendix and had a much longer wait to move into my house. See what I mean?
“the nuance of the question is being dismissed out of hand. Kind of like an office intern and a senior manager suggesting the same idea. The former is called an idiot, the latter is praised and sucked up to”
does it feel any different, more flimsy than the other? that would be a tell you could explore given your question of the light shining through. color/print wouldn’t change the feel of the cardstock. and no one is dismissing the nuance of your question by failing to follow it at the expense of all the other variables present. it’s starting to appear the real problem is beginning to shine through about as clearly as the light through your card.
Can’t get a light to shine through correctly in the case but here is the “blue spot” on my PSA 9 Neo Rev Raikou. It looks a lot like yours. The light shining through is probably due to the intensity of your light as well as you shining through the lightest portion of the holo.
Your card is legit. Put it in your binder. Enjoy it. Welcome to the Neo Rev Raikou Owner’s Club!
It seems like the only answer that will satisfy you would be ‘yes, the card is fake.’
For what it’s worth, I’m part of an MTG authentication group on Facebook and have a lot of experience handling and authenticating high-end cards in that hobby. There are dozens of different tests, all with differing levels of reliability, and all valid to some degree. But you know what authenticating a card generally comes down to? A basic look-- an immediate reaction an experienced person has in reaction to the card. When you’ve handled literally hundreds of thousands of cards, you’ve developed a sort of composite understanding of what real cards look like. Anything that deviates outside the normal range of variation sticks out like a sore thumb. Posting the photo here, you’re interacting with a lot of people like that – many of whom have likely handled hundreds of thousands of vintage Pokemon cards. If they tell you with a high degree of confidence that the card is real – they’re almost certainly right. If they were at all unsure, they’d ask for more photos/info. But it’s clear to people here (myself included – although I’m much less experienced than many of the people who’ve replied) that the card is authentic. The holo pattern, the saturation, the print clarity, and hundreds of other characteristics of the card all line up exactly with what one would expect of an authentic card. Occam’s razor would dictate that your card is authentic and that you’re WAY overthinking things.
Well bless your heart. Here are your own very recent quotes… You clearly understand cards aren’t all carbon copies of each other, so I’m quite confused:
“The more I learn about this set, the more print variations I’m starting to see. I have a couple of rev holos with variant patterns like this.”
“I was examining a new raw card purchase closely earlier, when I noticed something that now seems obvious: there’s quite a bit of shade variation in the blue border on the back of Pokemon cards.”
If you’re going to constantly question something very clear cut to everyone except you, why would people want to continue wasting time for you to inevitably ignore their advice and come to your own conclusion that the card is fake regardless of what people with decades of experience looking at fake cards tell you? Some things SHOULD be taken as gospel when they are objectively true.
The quotes you’ve cherrypicked don’t contradict anything I’m asking. I accept there are variations, it is the boundaries of those variations in one specific case I’m questioning.
Why thank you, bless your heart in return for clearly I have bruised your ego. The world is a much grimmer place for people assuming rather than asking / at least critically thinking about the motives of others. Oh and grimmer also for people not questioning the status quo a bit more. I do also try not to assume myself, and did try and give you the benefit of the doubt, but clearly unless I take you at your word with no evidence then you’ll be offended. I didn’t intend to do that, and I don’t see why asking for more evidence is that big of a deal.
@zorloth not sure where you get that idea from, I want it to be real. I just want substantiation. Perhaps similar to qwachansey it seems frightfully outlandish and offensive to you that I dare to rock the boat and question whether the advice can be substantiated. That’s despite me being an open book as to even explain why I have the “question experts more deeply” behaviour. That reason shows it’s nothing personal, but clearly in these strange times taking things personally is far more exciting and interesting than a more objective view of the situation.
Some of you guys are treating me like I started the thread “OI UZ LOT, DUN BY FROM SELLAAR 123ABC, THEY SOLD ME THIS AUFUL FAYK RAUIKOU. BOYYCOT THEIR EBAY”. And then replied to everyone “U WANNA FITE ME, ITZ A FAKE ARRRRITE”. Crikey, credit me some sentience.
@gengaranimal so someone has addressed the fact that such a large area lights up and the pattern visible is wavey vertical lines, which none of the other cards have? OK. Clearly this is more subjective than I first imagined.
@mario005 Much appreciate it my friend 
. One concern knocked off the list, I’ll keep that in mind for future cards too. Thanks for the supportive reply amidst a sea of “don’t you dare question me” and “lol n00b”.
I don’t know where you got this idea that “it seems frightfully outlandish and offensive to” me that you “dare rock the boat.” My response was sincere and not rude at all, IMO. You’re very bothered by the fact that people here aren’t indulging your paranoia about the card being fake. But, at best, you’re doing exactly what you’re accusing others of doing: not engaging with what people have said. Do you care to explain why literally everyone on this forum except for you thinks the card is real?
Here’s something that will hopefully ease your mind a bit: for MTG cards, there’s this test called the ‘green dot test’ (basically where you look through a loupe to see if there’s a tiny red ‘L’ made up of 4-5 dots inside the green mana symbol on the back of the card). It’s one of the most reliable tests of authenticity. But, while it’s uncommon, there are authentic cards without that dot arrangement. That’s because there are differences between print runs.
So here’s the important part: your card failing one ‘test’ of authenticity is not an indication that it’s inauthentic. If your card failed a dozen tests of authenticity, then that would be another thing. But your perception that it ‘failed’ the light test does not override the fact that your card is straight up legitimate. Like, there’s zero reason to doubt its authenticity aside from your highly unscientific light test.
Here’s a suggestion: take a jeweler’s loupe and look at the print pattern of the card. Compare it to another Neo card you know is real. If it’s fake, it’s almost certainthat the print pattern will have less clarity. Reason being that the only people who had access to the original source image was WotC. A 3rd party trying to create a replica doesn’t have access to that source image – they have to generate one based on a real card. And it’s effectively (if not actually) impossible to capture the exact clarity and definition of the original source image by duplicating it. So fake cards generally will be slightly blurry or low definition (often to such a small degree that you need a loupe to see it). Try this out – maybe it will ease your mind.
Looks real to me, check the black ink on the texts, if they are bold solid and sharp you are fine. If its merged with the other ink layer, you are f**ked up.
He went through the same thing on reddit with dozens of people telling him it’s real and just won’t accept it. It’s real, be happy, move on.
Obviously real as anybody with half a brain can tell but at least it does give me another chance to share my favorite pic;)
The only solution is to trace the ink molecules on the card back to WOTC printing press.
Yeah sorry but at this point you should consider buying a booster box and open packs until you pull a Raikou yourself.
And if it fails the light test again? Well, looks like the whole box was fake. Into the trash it goes.
No, people collectively missing the point and instead of helping, piling into me to feel better about themselves is the issue. How so many people can miss the point is beyond me. Credit me with some sentience and self awareness (which I’ve clearly shown in every post) will you please. Including explicitly describing my motives, which no ‘troll’ or ‘fixed thinker’ would ever do.
The reductio ad absurdum @muk is real.
Many of you must think I’m telling everyone they’re wrong. I’m not.
I’ve tried my best. But clearly I need to spell out my request.
Please can someone just shine an iPhone light through a neo era lightning type holo and say “done it, same result, move on”. Instead of perceptive and unsubstantiated claims. What is so hard about that? Life has taught me not to just take people’s word for it, especially when the question is an unusual one. We all have unique experiences, and this is mine which I’ve been more than open about.
If the extent of it lighting up is similar in someone else’s - which someone’s should be given how allegedly common this is - then I’ll be placated and move on.
I must say between Reddit and here I’m kind of dismayed at how unwilling to help, how arrogant and ‘on their high horse’ this community can be. Don’t think I’ve seen a simple request to prove a point / reassure by demonstration be met with such a vitriolic and frustrated response in any other hobby. @mario005 and two redditors are only ones who’ve given respectful and helpful responses instead of trying to pike my head on the castle walls for daring to question.
Unfortunately I don’t have an iPhone nor Neo Revelations holo to take a picture of (except for a Misdreavus that’s completely damaged from my youth, which wouldn’t be a good representation for a light test with the dirt and creases it has).
Anyway, based on the pictures, I personally don’t see anything wrong. I have to look very closely to see the blue difference at the back at all tbh.
The most important factors when you’re unsure about a real vs fake card for the rare case of a convincing fake that doesn’t fail the light test, are the holofoil and Rosetta pattern. As other have already said, the holofoil looks completely real and is also very hard to mimic. I also just compared the Rosetta pattern at the picture where you show the real vs ‘fake’ back of the card, and I don’t see anything wrong with the Rosetta pattern of the ‘fake’ Raikou back. I’ve also looked at the Rosetta pattern at the picture of the front you provided, and don’t see anything wrong either.
Anyway, at this point it doesn’t matter anymore whether it’s real or fake to be completely honest. Even if 1000 people say it’s real, each with a different argument, and even if you eventually believe it, you will still have this ‘gut feeling’ it’s fake every time you see it in your collection and you’ll never be happy with it. Because of that, I can only give you the following advice:
Check if the seller accepts refunds. You can’t return it by eBay policy, since you received what you’ve bought; it’s not the wrong version; nor is it damaged. But if the seller accepts refunds, you can message him/her and send it back. In that case I would just state the truth: “Even though a lot of people on both reddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/pkmntcgcollections/comments/hj8it5/is_the_card_on_the_right_a_fake_top_right_of_the/) and the Efour forum (https://efour.proboards.com/thread/19643/return-fake-neo-rev-flags) say it’s real, I personally am not happy with the minor differences I see when comparing it to other Pokémon cards I have. So if possible, I would like to return it (I will of course pay for return shipping). I hope you’ll understand, and sorry for the inconvenience.”
If the seller doesn’t accept refunds, then I would just try to sell it yourself (or keep it), and buy another copy elsewhere that does make you happy.
Greetz,
Quuador
We are done here. There is only so much help we can provide to people who will not listen.