The Official "OBI-Strip" Thread
 

I talked to ~Kitty~ sometime ago about the meaning of the OBI for me. I came to the conclusion that the OBI is what makes an Japanese CD for me. Cds who don´t have an OBI look weird to me today, even the western ones who don´t have one XD

So i tought we dedicate a Thread with questions and so on and so forth all around the little pieces of paper!

What is an OBI first of all....

The word OBI comes from the piece of cloth which holds the Kimono of a Geisha together.
But this meaning is different. It is the paper strip at the side of an Japanese CD which holds advertisement and other substancal information about the release. Fans consider the strip as very important and most of them don´t buy a used CD when the OBI is missing.


As i said OBis a very important to me. So which is your favourite OBI?
I really like the one of the Daybreak Single of Ayumi Hamasaki or the limited one of Yume no Uta/Futari de... by Koda Kumi....they are really cool looking and made out of plastic....

And I have a question too. Does Namie Amuros CONCENTRATIOn 20 have one?

I only started buying CDs very recently~
I know that people value the obi, so I try not to lose them (not because I want to sell my CDs XD just to collect), but I'm not that used to them yet. Not enough to actually think the CD looks weird without it~
It wouldn't stop me from buying a used CD though, 'cause there are too many CDs out there and not enough money, so any penny I can save up is a good thing XD
Maybe the time will come when I'll find them necessary ~ but right now I just find them interesting.

I love my OBI's, haha. I lost the OBI for FREAKY though, I need to get that single again. =*(

My Favorite OBIs:

-> Koda Kumi 12 Single Collections [very interesting concept to make an image of her when they are all put together in order]

-> Koda Kumi - FREAKY [both covers are sparkling pink and it looks really pretty]

Wow, that sounds really cool!

Hey, are there any people who, like, sell the obis without the CD? Like on ebay or something, for people who lose them XD I wonder how much they'd cost~

No... why would someone sell just an OBI? People aren't that nice :innocent

for me, a cd is not complete without obi :cry... and i m missing them for my 5coloured A :weep

^hmmm oww thats abd

and yeah i forgot about the 12 Koda Strips (looking at the naked koda in shelf *nose bleed*)

by the way...I bought tow singles on ebay and they came with a special obi sticker...can I buy those? I can´t explain them proper..they are clear and gleuing the OBI on the CD but you can toss them off without hurting the OBI....pretty cool

I have the OBIs for my Ai-chan stuff ^^ except Ai am BEST =(! lol I am rebuying it neways XD ~! As for my Ayu CDs I might have some lol ~ Dunno XD

All of my Ayu CD's have their OBI's, but I threw away every single one that came with my ACO ones because I bought them before I knew that you were supposed to keep them. :headache

^ I didn't realise we're supposed to keep them too... Oops?

:(

^its your own decisicon but I don´t see the point of throwing them away XD the are not trash and they don´t look like trash XD

I keep all my obi's. :D

I don't think they're that important...American CDs have something like that as well, except not as pretty-looking. For me saying that an obi is an important part of the CD is like saying that the plastic wrapping is important as well :)

I think OBI's are very cool!
I didn't throw ANYTHING that came with my GUILTY album (I even have the pack in which it came with when I ordered)because it's my first and only original album in my whole life O_o.
(I even now feel sorry for the plastic wrap that I ripped a bit in the middle,but It's all right to use though :D)

where do american Cds have it o-O

I love obis! Some of them are really pretty.

Oh yes, I definitely keep all of my obi's too. They're part of the CD! :yes

OBI's are so pretty ;D! I only buy CD's with obi's from ebay XD!

I lost the obi for the FREAKY single :cry

srsly. I do keep mine, though, but I stick them in the CD case and don't ever bother with them any more.

I am a total OBI strip snob... and I am not proud.

I cannot possibly have a CD without one because I honestly feel like the CD is not complete and I always end up re-buying it. It just feels so incomplete! I am not trying to offend anybody it's just the way I feel about them.

My favorite OBI strip is Ayu's INSPIRE OBI Strip I love the deep shade of red fading into black. My second favorite would probably have to be Kuu's 12-singles OBIs, I mean the fact that they put together a picture of her is super creative in my opinion. Plus I love how they are all different colors!

I hate my crap OS 12 single collection. It has those F-U-G SM stickers on the front, and... some of the OBIs are mis-printed. Like, not printed straight. So it looks weird. :cry

I MUST buy those Japan singles when I find them.

Me too! Let's weep together. :weep

I love OBIs~
My dog bent my Kingdom obi slightly. GRR. and how annoying is BEST ~BOUNCE + LOVERS~ because it's on the right -_-

Anyway i really like first press Yume no Uta / Futari de... Obi. (it's clear plastic in pink ad blue). i also love OBI on my kuu 12 singles yeahhh.

I always keep my OBIs on the spine because all m JPop CDs are in removable slipcases. ^^

-Which Kingdom OBI...?
-YES! And it's held on by a sticker...?
-That sounds so cool ;-; I only got the regular pressing.
-Buy me some of those cases please, lol. <3

1. KiNGDOM has an OBI...even tough it has a slipcase it also has an obi....
2. no she (or he sry XD) means the Information stikcer which looks wird...or the silver SM TOWN sticker which just won´ßt get off (I hate those!)
3. yeah there was one on ebay this week looks really pretty OS press has it too
4...

I love my obi's sososososososososo much, you would not believe, but when I see them I put them behind the cd itself, where you take of the plastic that the cd goes on and put the obi behind it.

Yeah Kingdom had an obi!

I love obis, they are really special and I take good care of them I put them between those teeths that hold that booklets!
I lost just a few obis from my first collected CDs since I didn't mind obis at first but now I keep them with every CD I get.

I have 2 CDs but I threw those OBI's away *shame on me* but from now on I'll keep them! I promise :D

As needed. They are really special and we are all obsessed with them.

I'm sorry. Are you still mad?
I promise that I won't throw my next OBI's away... And I hope my mom doesn't throw them away either. Because to her it'll look like "more trash, more dust" :laugh (but I love my mom)

EDIT: Does anyone have a picture of the Mirrorcle World OBI? :eyes

Does all Japanese CDs come with OBI strips?

a bit off-topic
I got ayu's stamps in the frame from my japanese best friend but I will be able to take pics only next week since my parents went to a trip and took the cam >_>.
It's really cool actually it's inside a file that has pics of all of ayu's release to date including the latest! and 2 postcards with MW's CD+DVD covers!!
And the file is well glittery, and of course the awesome stamps.
I think that I'm the only one in this forum who got it (wonders...)..

-WHAT?!? Mine has no OBI wtf?
-Um, no. The OBI for B&L is held on by a small circular sticker on the right of the album, as opposed to the regular left.
-DAMN. I got the regular Japan version. Ugh, oh well~
-LOL. XD

Seriously? X_X
Kingdom did come with an OBI, I will take pics of it next week with my ayu stamps and file unless if someone else can take a pic of it until then and upload...

I got the HK version, and I swear it has no OBI, just a slipcase. And the bonus booklet :lech

OH so that might be the case, maybe they were too lazy to release an OBI with the HK version as well =P
The obi looks regular though, smaller and BC's and FT's but it's still wide :yes

I love obi's!! =D I think they're really cool...out of all the CD's I've bought myself, with the exception of (miss)understood and Memorial Address, I've kept the obi's. I think they're really cool accessories for the CDs. =3 Idk what happened to the (m)u and MA ones...I probably threw them away. :-/ Now that I'm looking at my collection, I think one of my HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR obi's is in my locker at school, and my Nami Tamaki "Make Progress" one has been thrown away... =(

lol I got around 24 CDs from my friend in Japan this past weekend, and 21 of them didn't come with obi's. ='( They were all used (probably, they look really good, though), so that's probably why they didn't come with them...

I am such a doofus. I had the OBI in my case the whole time :roflmao

It's gold. I put it in there coz it was ripping at the bottom, off the dotted lines. :headache

I left my "H" Pink OBI Strip laying around a while back and my mom threw it away, I seriously did not talk to her for like four days lol and I also made her buy me a new one with OBI strip, I can be such a ****** lol :innocent

LOL so mean but you must've been super mad XD

LMAO about time you find it!!

OBI-Strip fan here.

I find Utada Hikaru's Keep Tryin' and ULTRA BLUE OBI's very stylish and delicate. <3

I also have the HK Edition and it has one...its gold...Ill take a pic later...

I love to save my OBI's too~ But my mom threw out my (m)u and Secret ones ;_;

I still have the ones that came with Memorial address and Mirrorcle World though~ XP

If you got the CD Only or CD+DVD of Kingdom Japan Version, please tell me. Is the strip in the middle white?

My mother threw away my lovely Secret obi too :dead2

Obis are cool. They're really unique, you know. You buy a Japanese CD, which is quite exciting in its own right and then you get an obi as well. :O <3

OBI's are those strips that are on the side of your cd
they are considered collectibles as well as the cd's itself
soooo if u find cd's without OBI for sale on ebay compared to cd's WITH OBI
the one with OBI would sell for much more, or at least more...
and furthermore, CD's stacked up on your shelves look MUCH MUCH better with OBI's

Neater. It makes those ugly CD+DVD 2 cases stuck together's look natural. <3

yea neater thats the word
oh oh oh
does anyone know like...a store online or not, which sells OBI strips?
mann that'd be sooo cool =D

OUCH! That's the whole fun of the 12 singles, lol. :faint

lols 12 singles without obi...
SINGLES NEED OBI
they look sooo dodgy without OBI
coz they have no side thingo
lols

^of course they have....kuu 12 singles can be recognized from the site without OBI.....other than ayumi singles which look plain stupid without OBI XD

Ugh. What is UP with the Ayu singles having NO back cover!! :wtf

^yeah they are so stupid..but I forgot that che only has ayu singles so clear that he thinks japanese Cds have no back cover...okay.....but its only ayu who has none

haha i love OBI's...i've saved them for every release :D i just stick them inside the booklet :D but i wouldn't say I have a favorite one... i guess if i had to pic..."fairyland" and "memorial address" are really cool, how it has the pics of the music videos :D

oh serious?
yea i've only got ayu singles...which don't have the side thingos =(
oh w8
i actually have some BOA singles and some of hikki's too, just that i nvr looked at them the way i looked at ayu's <3

Yes I love those! :love I wish they did that with all of her CDs!

You know what I really hate? How in the majority of Ayu's singles the spine of the OBI is WHITE WITH BLACK LETTERS blergh! I don't understand! The best OBI "spine" period was between Daybreak and Bold & Delicious when all the OBIs had multicolored spines and they looked super cute! After that, back to the White with black letters, it's so ugly in my opinion! :tired:tired:tired

OMG HOW CAN YOU HATE THE WHITE WITH BLACK LETTERS!?!?!?!?!?
I LOVE THEM <3
lols
especially when you've got like, 80 of them lined up <3
lols
ummm
yea i love daybreak more than the white with black letters though, its like...seethroughish dark blue S2

i feel cheated when i open them up....*sob* i just have to rebuy them.

i think those white with black letters are boring compare to others, too plain.
That's why i prefer kuu's obis, they are so colorful and more creative

OBIs is like a part of the whole CD. Without them the cd just doesn't look as pretty. I even save the plastic bags as well. Every time I opened the package, get the disc out, look at the booklets for a few minutes, then I will put the whole thing (except the disc of course) back into the plastic bag. Most of the time tho I accidentally tear off the side of the bag, so I had to use tape the torn part.

Back then I would open the slipcase (the part that hold the cd) and slip the OBI within.. Now I just put them at normal positions (left side of the cd case). I wanna put my DEEP RIVER + Distance OBIs back to normal place, but I dun wanna tear off the plastic bags... :no

Honestly, for those of you who got mad because your mama threw your OBIs away... Why would you leave those pieces of papers away from the package? We treat them as valuable stuff, but our mom don't. They probly dun even know what that is. So next time if your mom throw away anything from the cd package, you should be mad at yourself instead. :P

ummm i agree xD don't leave it lying around
its precious stuff
leave it in ur room or something then put it back to the package or where ever u wanna keep it, not lying around in random places
and yup i i also keep the packages i open them, the have a look at it and all then shove the OBI + cd back into the package/wrap thing
then i put it into these CD wraps that i bought, to preserve BOTH the CD CASE + the OBI + the PACKAGE
lols...the wrap is like...a resealable version of the package but...yeaa...

You keep the platic wrap too? lol.
I just put the OBIs between the teeths that hold the booklet.
No dust arrives there and it won't rip or anything and I'm able to see it whenever I open the cd case!

I know! They look so plain, specially lined against each other is like and endless sea of "sameness". Kuu's CDs have some of the best OBI spines in my opinion :luv2

I am back to raid this threa :innocent :wave
lol

LOL i like ayu's singles with no back covers. that way I CAN SEE THE DISC ART WITHOUT OPENING THE CASE ;) w00t


furthermore, i actually like ayu's obi being black and white xDD looks neater and easier to identify compare to colourful obis when stacked together.. lol

I also keep plastic wraps :D if I ebayed them without wraps :wtf i buy similar wraps to put the cds in ;) looks great when obi is inside a wrap.. :D:D

if it is missing obi xD i sometimes download obi scans and print them out :D i only do that when i have nothing to do and very broke. :D otherwise i buy another copy :dead2

man, i should be splitting that into 3posts :innocent INCREASE SPAM COUNTS!!! lol

They come with the plastic wrap, so they come off when you tear off the plastic and don't actually touch the jewel case. They're usually just white paper with black print on them.

Honestly I don't think that people would love obi's as much if they came as nicely packaged on American cd's. I still don't see what's so special about them...just a piece of paper with the tracklisting. It confuses me when people say that the cd's aren't complete without the obi...

i know yea!?
i mean like, of course the OBI's make Ayu's CDs look much neater and better on show especially if they're singles, but they are still CDs...still complete =D
but then again i agree with them wen they say they're not complete because the compete package when it was bought was with the OBI
hahas

hu you mean a sticker?
and actually as said I can´t describe it...its just a feeling of incompleteness ....
and of course it looks better with....

ARGH! I've thrown out like a whole years worth of OBI's :thud The past few months though I've been able to save about 10 > < I'll never throw them out again! Why can't they sell them seperately on eBay? :headache

Actually, do you realize that for many Japanese cds, the OBI is the only place where the ISBN barcode is printed on the package? That way they don't have to have an ugly barcode on the actual CD package. There are exceptions, but for the most part, that barcode is a big reason why the OBI exists. For some CDs, there will be a slipcover with the ISBN in place of the obi, and the only time I've seen the ISBN printed directly on the back cover is when no OBI came with the CD to begin with.

Also, another interesting fact - the reason the slip of paper is called an Obi goes back to the time of analog records - record covers would have a loop of paper that went over the gatefold which contained extra information about the album. Thus, the original obi was actually a "belt" for the album, much like the kimono obi is a "belt" for a kimono - the name makes sense!

(I love Obi!)