A year ago, we made a commitment to stay closer to the Azuki community, listen to your feedback, and make meaningful changes.
While there’s always room for growth, we've been making progress. Here are the key pieces of feedback and what we’ve been doing in response:
"We want to see the Azuki IP grow beyond web3."
> We launched the Azuki anthology anime series, starting with Episode 1: "The Waiting Man." We collaborated with Goro Taniguchi (director of Code Geass and One Piece Red) and licensed Azukis from the community, with Kinu Nishimura (the character artist behind Street Fighter) bringing them to life. The episode is viewable through a custom viewer featuring a dynamic billboard. By connecting your wallet, your own Azuki appears in the anime!
> Ep 2 is looking insane... details soon
"As collectors, we want to see value returned to mid-rares and grails."
> We introduced the Collector System, which assigns a custom score based on emblems earned in your collection. This is the foundation for rewards, licensing opportunities, and integrates directly with Gacha Grab
@animecoin
"We want more transparency and better communication from the team."
> We initiated the Garden Gathering calls on Discord for regular updates and Q&A sessions
> We started the Behind-the-Beans documentary series on YouTube (shoutout Minh 🐐), which shows the how and why we run Azuki the way we do
> Personally, I’ve also made it a priority to be more visible, speaking at conferences and sharing our vision through podcasts and interviews
"As builders, we need more support from Azuki."
> We launched the Azuki Passport program, where stamps double as tickets to local events, with all proceeds going to Azuki sub-communities
> We completed the Garden Tour in Singapore, Taipei, Melbourne, Hong Kong, and Tokyo, with events hosted by local communities and operational support from the team
> The Buy Garden Local initiative ensures all Passport events source products directly from community creators. No one is doing it like this... come on now
"We want more clarity on the long-term vision."
> We published our vision for Anime 2.0 - a democratized anime industry where fans and creators hold a stake in what they help create
> We announced Anime.com as a core pillar of this strategy, alongside Azuki and being early contributors to AnimeChain
> Deeper.
"It’s important that Azuki stays rooted in web3 tech innovation."
> Brought Bobu to life through an AI livestream
> Partnered with Lagrange to create a visual data experience using their ZK Coprocessor
> Working on some more unreleased dope tech
While we’ve made strides, there are still areas where we can do better:
Communication: There's always more room for improvement on comms. I want to be providing frequent updates on what we’re working on, changes to timelines, and why. A unified garden where our most passionate holders are fully in sync with the team will help amplify our vision and messaging.
Physicals: Azuki has always taken pride in our physical goods, but with our focus on Anime.com and the Azuki IP, we haven’t had as much creative bandwidth to design standout physical drops like we did early on. Once Anime.com finds PMF, we’re excited to put energy back into crafting killer physicals.
Product Pacing: While we ship a lot of products, we're working on improving the pacing of announcements and developments to better fit the rhythm of web3.
TL;DR: we’ve listened, and the team has been working hard over the past year to implement changes based on your feedback. There’s still much to do as we continue pushing towards Anime 2.0.
We rise together
We build together
We grow together
Onwards ⛩️