It turns out that not allPokémon Trading Card Gamecards are made equal, as fans compare English and Japanese editions of the same cards with some shocking results. ThePokémon TCGhas remained immensely popular worldwide since the first cards hit stores in 1996. Today, Japan usually gets new cards and set releases before Western English speakers do, but the English versions remain more popular among collectors.
It’s well known among many fans of the card game that English and Japanese versions of the same cards differ in quality, butthe extent of the difference is still surprising. OneTCGcard collector who goes byMPLangan1205shared a video comparing the same Blastoise ex card fromScarlet & Violet 151set in both languages, stating thatthe difference is “truly eye opening to me.”
The video shows the two cards being rotated in the light to show off the rainbow holo effect. While the English card has a nice rainbow shine effect,it pales in comparison to the Japanese card’s strikingly vibrant holographic sheen.
The Difference In Quality Between Japanese And English Pokémon TCG Cards Is Astounding
Side-By-Side Comparisons Reveal A Clear Difference
The Redditor says they only recently started collecting the Japanese TCG cards, but “the difference in the quality and the uniqueness and vibrancy of the holo effects and art really can’t even compare.” It’s clear from the comparison video thatthe Japanese cards have a much more striking and colorful appearance,and other fans have joined in to share some more examples.
One popular example of how different the two language cards are is the beloved “bubble Mew” holographic card from theSV: Paldean Fatesset.Even a still photo comparison between the two like the one shared bycjexploreron Reddit is enough to see they are very different despite having the same artwork.
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But the most striking Japanese cards, according to Reddit userFun_Contribution_708, are the cards from the JapaneseEevee Heroesset. Although the cards eventually made it into the EnglishEvolving Skiesset, the Japanese versions of the cards “absolutely blows English out of the water,” they say, as “the cards texture actually tell a story with each card in Japanese.” In the Japanese printing, the Eevee evolution cardsreveal some fun additional details with their holographic details. The holographic details in the Glaceon VMAX card, for instance, show the shockwave radiating from the ice Eeveelution stomping on the ice, a detail that’s not as evident in the English printing of the card.
Japanese Pokémon TCG Cards Are Better Quality And Cheaper
Fans Share Why They’d Rather Collect Japanese TCG Cards
Despite having a higher quality and packing more details into each card,the Japanese versions of the TCG cards rarely sell for as much as their English counterparts.For instance, the recent release of thePrismatic Evolutionsset in the US wasplagued by shortagesthat spiked resale value of the boxes from a $60 retail value to over $100 on eBay, at the time of this writing (the prices were even higher when the set had first come out). However, the Japanese sets thatPrismaticis based on,Terastal Fest ex subset and Generations Start Decks,are still available at their normal price.
The Bubble Mew card has a similar price discrepancy, with the English version having a market value of $314.90 onTCG Playerand the Japanese edition sitting at nearly half that, $178.38 onTCG Player. If you were on the fence about collectingPokémon Trading Card Gamecards, this might be the push you need to dive into it. Not only are the Japanese cards less expensive, they often also look more impressive!
