Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai - what is an OBI for?

Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai (http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/index.php)

- Asian Music Chat (http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=19)

- - what is an OBI for? (http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39071)

So the thing on the left? That's cool :)! I really like the one for Duty and the Daybreak single

lol....good thing i save those...>>! Too bad my My Story one was kinda damaged...

But I wanted to know what happens if u lost them?

oh..the paper that really useless its called obi
but its still really important although i don't know what it is used for

I think it's there just so you know which cds are creditable and which aren't.

It came into use for two main purposes. One was the importing of western cds, so that the cds could be alphabetized by their katakana spelling. On domestic (japanese) cds, it was used to advertise the artist's other releases (you still see that sometimes on japanese cds now). Now a japanese cd just looks bare without one, so they're almost always there, just for decoration really. Alot of times the designer of the artwork will use it for the track list, and with some CDs, you NEED it if you want to keep the tracklist (i.e. kanariya, Fly high... it's hard to read the one inside Far away so having the obi helps). It doesn't help make it easier to see what cds are real, as the few japanese-manufactured bootlegs i've seen also include obis, and HK/China manufactured bootlegs don't end up in japanese stores, as that'd be too damaging to the japanese economy. Japanese CDs are expensive, and japanese people know that. Western CDs almost always have to have extra bonus tracks and have to be released up to a week in advance of their original street date just so they're a little more appealing to the japanese people than their western counterparts. But i digress.

Oh, another thing is (again, a design thing) that the release date, price, copyright info, and UPC scan code are on the obi, so as not to interfere with the design of the back cover. (Just compare the US and japan versions of Utada's Exodus there. The US version is just ... yuck >:P)

Well I kept all mines i don't kno why but I did...anyways thanks!

also why don't westerns do that!?

i keep em ^_^
thanks for explaining

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akurei

But I wanted to know what happens if u lost them?

nothing really, just the overall collective value of the single/album/thing goes down.

Most of the extra details go onto the obi like the detailed tracklisting and tie ups. Sometimes, it also indicates whether its PC or Mac Compatible etc.

Yup, its main use is for decoration so that the stickers and everything don't interfere. It also makes the spine of the cd look "fuller" because u'll just see the title and everything when the spine is facing you instead of the plastic cover then the title of the CD (you can't even see it clearly at times because of the reflection of the light on the CD) and it makes the entire CD look as if its a box, without the spaces in between.

It's mostly for decoration but it also helps because it contains quite a substantial amount of information.

What do you do with those?
I often hear it quoted on sites that sells CDs, but I've never quite understood what makes those piece of paper a selling point. I mean, the CD, case, booklet all have (obvious) purposes, but I honestly don't know what I am supposed to do with Obi strips.

i use them as bookmarks :D

what is an OBI for?

I always wanted to know what those things are XD

I've kept a few cool ones such as Ayu's Duty, Namie Amuro's Queen of Hip Hop, and Koda Kumi's Secret OBI (which I taped to the case) but a lot of the time I'll just throw them away. I buy the CDs so that I can enjoy them. I don't plan on selling them later so that's just what I do.

I always keep the obi, if you get rid of it, your cds worth nothing.

I think OBIs put a unique quality to Japanese CDs...=) I keep all of mine, heheh.

i keep all of my ayu cds wrapped in plastic with the original packaging cause i don't want it to get damaged..i forked out good money for the cds so i'll keep them looking new :)

obis are ok except when i want to take out the cd from the plastic wrap it can get in the way sometimes..

I have a question concerning obi's for overseas releases (Hong Kong and Taiwan), does the info in the obi come in japanese of chinese, I think it's obvious that it might come in chinese, but I don't really know (I'm more interested in knowing about HK obis).

I keep all mine ^^ I think they're unique too myself

...I throw all of mine away...