“Spring Anime for Cryptocurrency Enthusiasts! First Episode of “Azuki” Anime Released on YouTube
Once a popular NFT project in the previous bull market, the well-known Japanese anime-style NFT “Azuki” has ventured into the anime industry after experiencing ups and downs.
The first episode of the “Azuki: Enter The Garden” anime, titled “The Waiting Man,” was officially released on YouTube and the official website on May 1. Although it is only around 8 minutes long, the overall production quality, thanks to its talented animation team, is quite impressive. Even if you are unfamiliar with the background of the “Azuki” project, you can still enjoy it.
Further reading:
Azuki Universe Continues to Expand! What Secrets are Behind its Stable Position and Strong Community?
Synopsis of the First Episode of “Azuki” Anime
Since the first episode of “Azuki: Enter The Garden” does not provide a Chinese translation (only Japanese audio with English subtitles), “Cryptocity” will provide a brief introduction to the plot and summarize the Easter eggs discovered by netizens.
The following content contains spoilers, so it is recommended for capable viewers to read after watching!
There are two worlds in this world: one is the world we currently live in, called “The Alley,” and the other is “The Garden.” However, many people are unaware of the existence of The Garden, and only a few chosen ones can enter.
On a rainy night, a mysterious man named T.K. (voiced by Tomoaki Maeno) stands motionless next to a vending machine. After the rain clears, the camera shows us a cyberpunk-like street scene, with signs in various languages such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Amidst the bustling morning, a worker in a reflective vest approaches the vending machine. After scanning his pupils, the machine automatically recommends an energy drink to replenish his energy.
Curious about the mysterious man next to the vending machine, the worker asks, “What are you doing here?” T.K. simply responds, “I am waiting…”
After a while, the female protagonist HARU (voiced by Akari Kito) with twin ponytails appears. She arrives on a skateboard and is about to take out some change to buy a drink when the coins accidentally roll into the drain. T.K. uses a mysterious fishing rod to perform a trick that turns the fake frog attached to the fishing rod into a real one, helping HARU retrieve her coins.
HARU tries to initiate a conversation with T.K., but she doesn’t receive a definite response. T.K. still insists that he is “waiting for someone.” Later, in order to avoid being late, HARU quickly leaves.
After some time, a serious traffic accident occurs on the street near the vending machine. When the police are looking for witnesses, they see T.K., but he remains unresponsive when questioned about his personal information. The police scan T.K.’s face and leave, but the personal information system shows that they can’t find any information about T.K.
After the police leave, HARU returns to the vending machine to buy a drink. She complains about getting fired from her job again and dislikes the many rules imposed by the company, such as wearing the uniform properly, letting go of her twin ponytails, not dyeing her hair, and not riding skateboards. The machine scans HARU’s pupils and recommends the same energy drink as before, but this time, she angrily says, “Let me decide what to drink at least!” She then punches the vending machine, and instead of a drink, a red bean (Azuki) falls out.
Seeing the red bean fall, T.K.’s eyes light up, and he encourages HARU to eat it. HARU hesitates but eventually eats the red bean after two police officers approach, suspecting T.K.’s mysterious identity and mistaking HARU as his accomplice. With the police closing in, HARU listens to T.K.’s words and eats the red bean. Suddenly, her eyes change from brown to red, and T.K. declares that he will take her away from this world.
Subsequently, T.K. summons a skateboard with his fishing rod and together with HARU, they ride the skateboard through the police, causing fire hydrants around them to burst and spray water. They ride the waves into another world that resembles a torii gate.
At this moment, T.K. reveals to HARU that this is another world called “The Garden,” and HARU responds, “Let’s go!” The story concludes.
From the end credits, we can see that the original concept of this episode was developed by Goro Taniguchi, the director of “One Piece Film: Strong World,” and the script was written by Takashi Kanno, who was in charge of the script for “Haikyuu!!”. Junichi Yamamoto, who worked on the opening and ending sequences for “Jobless Reincarnation Season 2,” directed this episode.
Easter Eggs in the First Episode of “Azuki” Anime
From the above synopsis, it can be seen that the first episode of the “Azuki” anime mainly showcases the world-building and does not have many plot developments. However, enthusiastic fans have already discovered some Easter eggs, such as the inclusion of “Azuki” series NFT images and characters, as well as one of the vending machine’s drinks featuring the logo of the brand “The Espresso Shot.” There are many more details like these waiting to be discovered by the “Azuki” community members.
In addition to the aforementioned Easter eggs, the appearance of the red bean (Azuki) in the episode represents not only the “Azuki” brand itself but also reminds people of the extended project “BEANZ” associated with “Azuki.” Furthermore, the final line spoken by the female protagonist HARU, “IKZ” corresponds to the community term used in “Azuki.”
Second Episode of “Azuki” Anime in Production, First Episode Officially Turned into NFT
On May 1, the official “Azuki” team revealed that the second episode and subsequent episodes of the anime are currently in production, but they did not disclose the release date of the second episode. The “Azuki: Enter The Garden” anime series is planned to have a total of three episodes.
Furthermore, the team has turned the content of the first episode and the main visual poster into NFTs, which are now available on the Zora platform. The minting price for the video NFT is 0.006 ETH, while the minting price for the poster NFT is 0.003 ETH. Currently, over a thousand users have minted these NFTs.
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Cryptocity”