The Obi, an enigmatic Japanese music staple.

[secret_no_03 959]

Oh, obis, almost all physical music releases in Japan have them, little pieces of paper that provide the title of the product, track listing, price, catalog number and information on related releases. I for one love these little inserts, and have kept so many over the years from releases that I have in an envelope simply called "OBIS" dating back to 2006 with DIR EN GREY's 凌辱の雨.

 

So, what's your opinion on obis? Do you keep them or just throw them away and have you ever found any cool/interesting ones? I recall a band making a poster out of obis that you could collect and put together.

[God 264]

i honestly love them.  i’ve never thrown one away, but i usually just keep them in the case with the cd. tbh, i collect releases from koda kumi and sometimes i buy old ones from ebay etc, but i never buy them unless they come with it.  i’m not as picky about others, tho.

[returnal 543]

love 'em too, definitely always keep them. not obsessive about only getting old releases only w/ them, but i definitely like how they just... tie everything together.

Edited July 16, 2019 by returnal

[IGM_Oficial 1964]

I like them. Even if they don't have anything written on them, just making up with the cover.

 

Not to mention books have them too.

Edited July 16, 2019 by IGM_Oficial

[monkeybanana4 1732]

I love obis, and keep them with every CD I buy. I also tend to buy old/used CDs that include obis. For some reason, I feel it's incomplete without the obi, lol. Also, I like how some obis are aesthetically incorporated into the cover of the album/release (i.e. a part of the album's artwork will be on the obi, etc.). Makes it feels like it's a vital part of the release.

Edited July 16, 2019 by monkeybanana4

[ambivalentideal 183]

I like obi! I've always kept them over the years. I used to keep them all together tied with a rubber band lmao but now I usually just keep them inside the CD along with the booklet. I feel like they're part of the release as a whole so it's nice to have them so it's complete, but it's not 100% necessary for me. I'll still buy a CD even if it doesn't have the obi. Just a nice bonus to have them. 

[LIDL 692]

I kept the obi simply because it is part of the package. 

I must say tho, Japanese releases of non Japanese artists are looking more interesting with the obi and the translated titles. It's fascinating to read western names and song titles in Katakana. 

[Kuro 45]

I even keep the plastic wrapping the CDs come with. That's why I also leave the obi where it was when I got the CD. But I'm not as picky when it comes to buying used CDs. I love when they come with an obi but if it's missing I don't care, too.

[spockitty 643]

10 minutes ago, Kuro said:

I even keep the plastic wrapping the CDs come with.

Dude, I'm not they only freak around! I do the same ^^;;

 

Obviously I also keep the obi and any unrelated trash they feel like throwing inside the CD package (one notable trash I keep is an unused balloon that came with Miyavi's Shindemo Boogie-Woogie Single+VHS package). Obi itself makes the CD feel more special for me, for whatever reason.

 

 

Edited July 16, 2019 by spockitty

[returnal 543]

if a release has an info sticker on the shrinkwrap as opposed to an obi, i do the same thing!

[Kaya-Rose-Addict 60]

It is great the invention of the "Obi" in Japan either for the information of the CD (Songs, information, photos, etc.) I love it too and they are kept inside each disc so they do not get damaged, when I buy used CDs I also hope they are complete, without them they are incomplete, to me at least it matters to me, we must not forget also that some Vinyls Japanese editions also bring and it is very nice!!

[Kuro 45]

1 hour ago, spockitty said:

Dude, I'm not they only freak around! I do the same ^^;;

 

Obviously I also keep the obi and any unrelated trash they feel like throwing inside the CD package (one notable trash I keep is an unused balloon that came with Miyavi's Shindemo Boogie-Woogie Single+VHS package). Obi itself makes the CD feel more special for me, for whatever reason.

 

 

I'm very careful when it comes to my stuff from Japan (but actually also for books, so it's not just this).

And yeah, I also keep everything inside, stickers, those tiny flyers for upcoming tours, even those stamp cards shops like Brand X sent with the order. 😅

[Arkady 396]

I love obi. actually I have a whole ONE cd missing it in my collection and it bothers me constantly.

(I'm too one of those that keeps all the stuff the cd came with, except the wrapper)

 

It's at a point that my western cds seems shabby and incomplete, and I don't buy many of them.

[spockitty 643]

This has turned into People Weirdly Obsessed with Japanese Paper: The Thread

Edited July 16, 2019 by spockitty

[monkeybanana4 1732]

7 minutes ago, Kuro said:

I'm very careful when it comes to my stuff from Japan (but actually also for books, so it's not just this).

And yeah, I also keep everything inside, stickers, those tiny flyers for upcoming tours, even those stamp cards shops like Brand X sent with the order. 😅

Haha, same here! I kept every stamped Brand-X point card they sent to me, hoping I could use it one day (which can never get used sadly ^^;) and the random free magazines/flyers. Receiving packages is kind of like a treasure box, lol.

[Arkady 396]

5 hours ago, spockitty said:

This has turned into People Weirdly Obsessed with Japanese Paper: The Thread

 

"Me and my kawaii paper fetishism desu"

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Honestly, I could live without them. Usually when I get a new release I just put the obi inside the booklet, never to glance at it again, lol. So when I buy a used CD it's not a make-or-break situation for me if the obi strip is missing.

 

The only case where I actually appreciate the obi is when the bands (or, well, the graphic designers) place some funny/amusing/cool artwork or note on the inside part, like a little 'easter egg'. Otherwise I'm not attached to them in any way.

[Bear 1817]

I love obi's on vinyl releases, but I can't stand them on CD's.

Edited July 16, 2019 by Bear

[ghost 2687]

I think on CDs, they're just okay. They can be hit or miss for me depending on the "type" of obi it is. And by that I mean, I've seen a few common types used.

 

1. Solid strip of color with some text

2. Have just the album name and band logo on the front.

3. Be an extension of the booklet artwork.

 

It's nice when they're more fleshed out and have more info about release, add to the aesthetic of the overall package, or include easter eggs or photos like @Jigsaw9mentioned. But, either a) extra content is rarely included, or b) they're more often than not, boring.

 

Here's an example of what I'm talking about (Please excuse the old and terrible photo):

2 out of the 4 CDs here that have OBIs are just a plain black strip with minimal text, and 1 is just an extension of artwork. The one on the bottom right I think is actually interesting to look at and it also has more information about the CD beyond just the band name and title.

 

 

@Kaya-Rose-Addict & @Bear bring up a great point about obis on vinyl, which I also love. The medium allows for bigger OBIs, so I've seen some pretty cool stuff being done. These are a few of my favorite OBIs on vinyl releases (the first two are obis that slide onto the sleeve and stay on)

 

 

Edited July 16, 2019 by ghost

[Paraph 826]

kind of a completest with this sadly. something feels off if i get a used cd and the obi is missing. i too keep all of them and usually lay them flat up against the booklet in the case.

[sleepy coffee 1476]

I've eaten like 2 of my obis and just toss the others to the side

[spockitty 643]

1 hour ago, Bear said:

I love obi's on vinyl releases, but I can't stand them on CD's.

whyyy tho?

[Ioto 193]

 

with OBI is aesthetically beautiful 

[Bear 1817]

On 7/16/2019 at 8:55 PM, spockitty said:

whyyy tho?

 

I just think it looks really ugly. They're small and boring, and I don't keep my CDs in plastic as I see no need for it, so they would just fall off. They're just not for me, but I don't buy CDs (with a few exceptions, and they're CDs without obi anyway) so it's not a problem anymore.

 

Vinyls however I do keep in plastic and the big, beautiful obi's just sit there beautifully and does their job perfectly. Which is to be fat and sexy-looking.

[Zeus 7997]

1 hour ago, Bear said:

 

I just think it looks really ugly. They're small and boring, and I don't keep my CDs in plastic as I see no need for it, so they would just fall off. They're just not for me, but I don't buy CDs (with a few exceptions, and they're CDs without obi anyway) so it's not a problem anymore.

 

Vinyls however I do keep in plastic and the big, beautiful obi's just sit there beautifully and does their job perfectly. Which is to be fat and sexy-looking.

Glad to know I'm not the only one that throws those out. I didn't know you were supposed to keep them lol.