The Obi, an enigmatic Japanese music staple.

[jaymee 405]

I keep them for CDs but throw them out for books and the occasional time they come with a DVD or whatever.

 

When most imported VK was from bootleggers, having a pic of the obi with the release was one way you could prove it’s authenticity to potential buyers. Now I just think keeping them is mostly out of habit lol

Edited July 20, 2019 by jaymee

[Arkady 396]

6 hours ago, jaymee said:

I keep them for CDs but throw them out for books and the occasional time they come with a DVD or whatever.

 

When most imported VK was from bootleggers, having a pic of the obi with the release was one way you could prove it’s authenticity to potential buyers. Now I just think keeping them is mostly out of habit lol

Bootlegs too did have obi tho (or at least some of them). I have one chinese bootleg Lareine DVD bought (knowingly) in my comic shop in like 2001/2 and it has an obi. The difference it's that is written in chinese and it's different from the original.

[jaymee 405]

On 7/20/2019 at 11:25 PM, Arkady said:

Bootlegs too did have obi tho (or at least some of them). I have one chinese bootleg Lareine DVD bought (knowingly) in my comic shop in like 2001/2 and it has an obi. The difference it's that is written in chinese and it's different from the original.

Yeah, that’s what I meant- it would be completely different so it was easier to tell when album covers were the same

[Kaile 57]

I never understood the point of keeping obi strips. I always treated them as a part of packaging and threw them away without thinking twice. But i also don’t keep my CDs sealed so they would just stay in cases anyway. 

 

Just checked my collection and i own only 2 CDs without anything on the spine so i have no issue with my collection looking bland on the shelf. And out of those two one never had a case to begin with since i got it in a paper sleeve during live; and the other is a gazette-disorder limited edition so it stands out anyway.(actually i have an obi for that one but just because i bought it used and there was an obi strip inside so i just left it there)

[spockitty 643]

1 minute ago, Kaile said:

I never understood the point of keeping obi strips. I always treated them as a part of packaging and threw them away 

[Arkady 396]

The 2 genders: the collector and the listener.  😆

[returnal 543]

[Nagisa 131]

I keep mine but I don't keep my CDs in their original case so they're not that big a deal for me I guess.

[Saishu 1589]

I used to stuff the obis inside the CD booklet. I’d the CDs came in a plastic sleeve I’d leave the wrapper on as well as the obi. 

 

However! With DEG’s book style packaging for deluxe singles and live releases, I’ve been throwing the obis away. The obis are on the BOTTOM, and every time I’d take the case out of the wrapper it was a bitch putting it back in without smashing the obi. 

 

At this point I don’t care anymore. The obis typically just mimic what’s already on the case itself. 

[ghost 2687]

Kind of related, but I like finding random items inside the spine of the case. Like with Dir en grey's Macabre having wooden beads or Mucc's Antique having a nail. Wish more bands experimented with that.

[Total Saikou 735]

Personally, I love OBIs. I love smelling the ~Japanese~ off of them and reading the special band messages on some of them (usually says shit like "Love, madness, and hatred... The sounds of life, captured within our journey. Join us, traveller-san~). Yup, I keep the little sticker on shrink wrapped releases too! Ad flyers, lyric pull-outs, posters, card print-outs, I collect and keep everything inside the case in only the most pristine condition! It's all part of the collection experience. I keep the OBIs on my books too.

 

I can trace back my need to keep things pristine all the way to my childhood, where I was so anal with keeping books in perfect condition that I yelled at kids who dropped them on the floor, or got pissy with people who open books so far that it strains their spines. I've cooled down from acting like that, but I still watch for stuff like spine straining and page warping on books and smudging and scratching on CDs that I own.

 

Western CDs aside, my VK CD collection is a mix of new and second hand so some have OBI strips and others don't, and the ones that do have two groups: pre-bent OBIs on the spine and unbent ones still in the case. I usually don't really think twice if a used CD comes without one at all, it's definitely no deal breaker for me. I can't bring myself to bend any of the untouched ones because I don't want to ruin its integrity, so to speak... I know that the OBI's one purpose is to be bent onto the spine of the CD, but I just can't do it for some reason... It's kind of like how some people who collect new CDs refuse to take it out of the packaging and actually play the damn thing, which is the CD's one true purpose. You just don't want to mess it up intentionally, y'know? That's also why I would never throw out an OBI under any circumstance.

Edited May 15, 2020 by Total Saikou