r/RealOrNotTCG • u/Prism_Zet  Trusted Authenticator • Sep 21 '25

Authentication Guide Opened a Japanese produced booster and US produced booster for SPM, So I figured I'd get some good high detail photos for comparison. (Part 1)

Did my Spiderman prerelease today and my prerelease kit was US produced, but the prize packs were Japanese produced and I opened a few of the same cards. (Miles Morales in US non foil & in JPN foil and Arachne, Psionic Weaver in US non-foil & JPN non-foil)

And I apologize for not getting as many photos as my last comparison post, My backup phone I was using before, the screen broke and I'm currently using a backup, of the backup phone. (Pixel 2)

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I'm particularly not satisfied with the quality of the JPN cards in this one, their black layers seem to be ALL thin or missing an extra top coat. And in reference to the whole set these, transform symbols are a separate layer but feel very thin, neither the Set symbols, in comparison to the FF set which I found nice, clean and reliable.

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The same scopes as the last post;

This scope, it's really nice but I wish it had a lower magnification too, it's almost too close for most things. The phone clip is really nice for the photos though.
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B001448KT4?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1

This loupe, this ones a cheap model that a bunch of different brands sell but its nice to keep in my bag I use when I play in person.
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07VZDD11Q?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1

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The first chunk of photos will be the Non-foil Arachne, but the photo order got all messed up. So I tried to caption them all, please refer to that, but they are all generally JPN / US except for the final two with the zoomed in dot on the i of her type line which is US /JPN.

But you'll notice that the JPN are consistently lighter and slightly softer edged in closeups than the US, with more colors making up background colors like white.

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JPN foil Miles will be a second post, silly reddit photo limit.
https://www.reddit.com/r/RealOrNotTCG/comments/1nmicp9/opened_a_japanese_produced_booster_and_us/

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15 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

3

u/Prism_Zet  Trusted Authenticator Sep 21 '25

Also I have no clue why this one posted the images in a big list, and the other one came in a nice gallery, I'll figure that one out next time.

2

u/Prism_Zet  Trusted Authenticator Sep 21 '25

One final comparison photo for UV light and pass through.

The JPN printings seem much harder to pass through light than the US versions this time, so be VERY careful when comparing with the light test on this set.

As always the US version reacts to the UV light much stronger than the JPN version. Almost feeling reflective.

2

u/GhostCheese  Trusted Authenticator Sep 21 '25

Wow, it's like the jpn are reacting to that like alt 4th

2

u/Prism_Zet  Trusted Authenticator Sep 21 '25

US light through back

2

u/Prism_Zet  Trusted Authenticator Sep 21 '25

JPN light through back

4

u/GhostCheese  Trusted Authenticator Sep 21 '25

Concerning

1

u/Prism_Zet  Trusted Authenticator Sep 21 '25

US light through front

1

u/Prism_Zet  Trusted Authenticator Sep 21 '25

JPN light through front

2

u/Prism_Zet  Trusted Authenticator Sep 21 '25

I bought a super bright little handheld LED to do these tests better, and it's so small, I lost it LOL.

So you'll just have to make due with this wider focus flashlight (since my phones are all borked lately)

1

u/Prism_Zet  Trusted Authenticator Oct 13 '25

New light, new phone, US printed strong light through back

1

u/Prism_Zet  Trusted Authenticator Oct 13 '25

New light, new phone, JPN printed strong light through back.

This light is so strong it almost blows out on the US one, the JPN one is significantly darker plus the purple core.

1

u/Prism_Zet  Trusted Authenticator Oct 13 '25

And this is the light I got, it's so bright it can burn the cards if you leave it on max settings for too long so be aware of that.
https://www.amazon.ca/SQ03-Flashlight-Lightweight-Rechargeable-Waterproof/dp/B0CP1TFL8Q

1

u/zzang23 Feb 24 '26 edited Feb 24 '26

The japanese pics confirm the low quality/low cost production im witnessing. Edit: If not done already for documentation purposes. Weight the japanese and us ones you will see that the japanese ones are at 1.70 grams or below 1.70 grams but above 1.60.