8cm singles: love 'em or hate 'em?

[Total Saikou 735]

Along with OBIs, 8cm singles are a unique staple of Japanese CDs. They really put the "compact" in "compact disc"! They were all the rage in the 90s with both prolific foreign and domestic acts getting their newest single in this format, but they have since gone out of style for modern singles.

 

Some people I've talked to have strong opinions on 8cm singles. Some hate them and their admittedly cheap/quick gimmick, and others love them for being unique and cute. Honestly, I'm torn. They are more fragile than a jewel case because it's just paper instead of plastic, they don't come with album booklets, and I have a hard time putting them into my collection boxes with the rest of my regular 12cm CDs because of their cases' long, oblong shape. That being said, those mini discs are kinda cute, and they are unique to Japanese releases and stand out in a collection. Plus, due to their being exclusive/more common in the 90s, they give me this strong sense of nostalgia so I can't help but love them despite any flaws they have. How about you? Do ya love 'em or hate 'em?

[platy 3018]

I never owned one, but I think they're cute and there's definitely the nostalgia factor.

[Demivee 103]

My main issue with them also is to find a fitting place for them in my Collection shelf.. 😅
I organize my collections chronologically so it often happens that you have a 12cm in between two  8cm CSs and this looks horrible. XD

But otherwise I really like the esthetic of this little CDs and they feel like real treasures from a distant time.

[ghostpepper 158]

Pretty much any physical format I love so,

but the 8cms offered their own unique format for the presentation of the art so really love lots of the releases.

Their where even vending machines with 8cms in them, imagine going to one and getting a Dir en Grey single ; P

need that time machine already doc!

[zombieparadise 487]

I like them! The size is neat, though I'd agree they're a little difficult to position on a shelf. I wish bands did them more often.

[uirosos 32]

I love them. I have 3 and think they're really unique, but they're don't really go with my other CDs or cassettes. I wish I had more so I could make a space dedicated to just 8cms since they feel like an outlier in my current collection. 

[Kaile 57]

I don’t really have opinion about them. Most of the japanese bands i listen to were formed after 2000 and they don’t have any miniCD releases. And slightly older bands i like don’t have any 8cm singles i want in my collection.

If someone decided to release mini version of the single right now, i would rather buy 12cm version anyway, just because some CD players only read bigger CDs(in my car for example, even though i usually connect my phone via bluetooth and keep my CDs at home :p).

Size doesn’t matter to me at all, especially since i already have some irregular size cases like Leech from Gazette or Chuudoku Shoujou Ni from Xaa Xaa.(or limited edition of Dogma which is like 3 stories high)

[Katt 63]

I actually am a huge fan of them, and like other people here, have trouble putting them next to my other CDs and tapes on my shelves. I really like that some bands actually make 8cm singles from time to time as either a joke or a nostalgia factor. I think for me it is the cute and pseudo nostalgia factor that emulates a "Oh this is like buying a small piece or sample from the band", where I feel like it's a unique piece to have of a band you are wanting to get into or want to collect.  Although I hate when bands have a 8cm cd in a normal cd case lmao that stuff is wack.

 

Really wish there was more stuff like this that wasn't a total gimmick.