Bored Apes, Pudgy Penguins, Cool Cats – this nft collection debuted much later than all of them, but in the space of two years, it has grown to become a major player in one of the world's largest entertainment industries.
This nft collection is Azuki.
Starting with the iconic debut mint, x.com/Azuki” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Azuki It has run into some controversies, but today it prides itself on being a new force that will revolutionize the anime industry. What is Azuki, what should you know about the collection, and why should it be on your radar?
Here's our complete Azuki guide for 2024.
<img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-76762 lazyload" src="https://nftplazas.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/azuki-guide-2024-1-nfts.jpg” alt=”A Complete Guide to Azuki in 2024 – nft” width=”800″ height=”448″/><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-76762 lazyload" src="https://nftplazas.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/azuki-guide-2024-1-nfts.jpg” alt=”A Complete Guide to Azuki in 2024 – nft” width=”800″ height=”448″ srcset=”https://nftplazas.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/azuki-guide-2024-1-nfts.jpg 800w, https://nftplazas.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/azuki-guide-2024-1-nfts-300×168.jpg 300w, https://nftplazas.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/azuki-guide-2024-1-nfts-768×430.jpg 768w, https://nftplazas.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/azuki-guide-2024-1-nfts-370×207.jpg 370w, https://nftplazas.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/azuki-guide-2024-1-nfts-760×426.jpg 760w, https://nftplazas.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/azuki-guide-2024-1-nfts-270×152.jpg 270w” sizes=”(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px”/>
What is Azuki?
Azuki is a collection of 10,000 anime-style avatar nfts, inspired by modern manga and Japanese streetwear. Each nft features a unique combination of traits, including hairstyles, clothing, accessories, and more, giving each Azuki a unique appearance.
Created by x.com/chirulabs” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Chiru Laboratories – a team of artists and developers based in Los Angeles – the collection is led by the pseudonymous creator known as x.com/ZAGABOND” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>ZAGABOND. With a team that has extensive experience in crypto, technology, and gaming, Chiru wanted to create an nft collection that took a unique look at the anime industry.
Azuki nft holders receive a variety of benefits. These include membership to “The Garden” online collective, access to exclusive asset releases and one-of-a-kind collaborations, entry to headline-only in-person events, and much more.
There are long-standing rumors that Chiru Labs is looking to develop a native token for the Azuki ecosystem, but as of this writing, this has yet to come to fruition.
Azuki's story.
The Azuki collection was minted on January 12, 2022 using a Dutch auction format, where prices start high and drop over time. The initial price was set at 1 eth, but that didn't stop the collection from selling out within 3 minutes, raising an incredible 8,700 eth, worth over $29 million at the time.
Following this historic launch, Azuki nfts surged on secondary markets, recording a trading volume of over $300 million, pushing the price floor to double-digit eth.
In April 2022, Azuki debuted. x.com/BEANZOfficial” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>bean – a complementary collection of 20,000 pieces. These nfts were airdropped to existing Azuki holders, giving them access to exclusive Discord channels and merchandise drops. Beanz has become a low-cost entry point into the Azuki ecosystem and is regularly traded in volumes to this day.
In early 2023, Hilumia, an online experience in the Azuki universe, was presented. Open to the public, but only Azuki and Beanz holders could interact, Hilumia hosted games, activities and branded online content, giving fans a deeper look into the world of Azuki.
In April 2023, Azuki partnered with IPX, the company behind x.com/_LINEFRIENDS” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Friends of the linefor a brand collaboration with the Beanz Collection, resulting in exclusive co-branded products and real-world activations.
During its “Follow The Rabbit” event in June 2023, Azuki announced its second companion collection: Azuki Elementals. The set was minted in 15 minutes on June 27, but controversy arose over the lack of mintage limits and the art's similarity to the main Azuki collection.
In response to the backlash, Azuki revealed that an anime anthology series was in production. Its official announcement occurred in January 2024, with the global advertising firm x.com/dentsu_global” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Dentsu announcing his participation in April 2024, helping to assemble an all-star team of anime veterans to work on the project.
This anime series, titled Enter The Garden, premiered in late April 2024 with the first episode, titled The Waiting Man. The episode received rave reviews for its writing, voice acting, and overall quality, especially as a free series. hosted on YouTube.
In June 2024, x.com/ZAGABOND/status/1803802757847200028″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>ZAGABOND revealed Azuki's long-term goal – to create what he called “anime 2.0,” powered by AnimeCoin. In September 2024 it was revealed x.com/animecom” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>anime.com – including new mascots Azuki, Ayame, and Decky, along with a public waitlist and private AnimeChain launch.
It hasn't all been sunshine and roses. In May 2022 it came to light that ZAGABOND had been involved in several abandoned nft projects, such as Tendies, CryptoZunks, and CryptoPhunks. There were widespread fears that Azuki could become a shooter, causing a sharp drop in floor prices, but after an apology from ZAGABOND and the commitment shown towards Azuki to date, any fears have largely disappeared.
As mentioned above, the Azuki Elementals mint in June 2023 did not meet expectations. With no mintage limits, all Elementals were minted solely by Azuki and Beanz holders, meaning there was no public access. Due to how similar the Elementals were to the original Azuki collection, the prices of both Azuki and Beanz dropped dramatically, although both stabilized in due time.
What's next for Azuki?
Azuki's goal is clear: to revolutionize the anime industry and improve the experience of being an anime fan.
Enter The Garden Episode 2 will premiere very soon and Azuki continues to grow in its animations, merchandise, behind-the-scenes content, and more.
Although we have yet to discover the exact purpose of Anime.com, AnimeCoin, and AnimeChain, there are high expectations for each of these initiatives, especially given the expertise, commitment, and quality demonstrated in their flagship series Enter The Garden.
Chiru Labs continues to put its owners (and the broader anime community) at the heart of Azuki, and they are bringing this community-driven approach from web3 to the mainstream environment.
In just two years, Azuki has had a groundbreaking impact on web3. Starting in 2025, they could have a revolutionary impact on the anime industry.
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