Azuki is a collection of 10,000 anime-style profile-picture NFTs on Ethereum, made by the Los Angeles studio Chiru Labs and sold on Jan. 12, 2022. In January 2026 its founder said Azuki is "an IP company". Since then the brand has put out a physical trading card game, and its own manga was announced for a September 2026 launch. Holding an Azuki NFT now also ties you to two follow-on collections and a separate token, ANIME.
What Azuki is now (2026)
On Jan. 21, 2026, Azuki published its 2026 roadmap. The founder, who goes by the pseudonym Zagabond, wrote on X that "Azuki is an IP company, of which tcg is one of the main products," and that "an IP needs a story at its heart, which is why we have the official Azuki manga in the works," according to reports from Altcoin Observer (Jan. 23, 2026) and Inside Bitcoins.
The trading card game
- Gates Awakened (AZK-01): published by Azuki Labs, Inc. It reached stores on June 26, 2026, according to ICv2 (June 18, 2026). The set has 148 cards. Booster packs hold 12 cards, and a display box of 24 packs is listed at $119.99. Starter decks have 63 cards, 8 of them foil, at $12.99 each.
- Fractured Domains (AZK-02): the second set, due in stores on Nov. 20, 2026, according to a sponsored Azuki Labs release on ICv2 dated Oct. 9, 2026.
The manga
Azuki Labs said in a June 17, 2026 press release that AZUKI is an original manga written and illustrated by Arnold Tsang, a former character art director at Blizzard Entertainment who worked on Overwatch. Anime Expo in Los Angeles (July 2–5, 2026) got the first chapter early. The release said the free public launch on Azuki.com would come in September 2026, with new chapters every month. Azuki.com now has a manga section.
The original collection
| Item | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Supply | 10,000 tokens, symbol AZUKI, ERC-721 | Etherscan |
| Contract | 0xED5AF388653567Af2F388E6224dC7C4b3241C544 | Etherscan |
| Holders | 4,376 wallets as of Oct. 25, 2026 | Etherscan |
| Sale date | Jan. 12, 2022 ("1/12/22") | Chiru Labs ERC721A README |
| Public sale | 8,700 tokens offered; "all were minted within minutes" | Chiru Labs ERC721A README |
| Types | Spirit, Red, Blue and Human; 12 traits, 450 attributes | nft.com (Apr. 28, 2023) |
ERC721A: the code Azuki left behind
For the 2022 sale, Chiru Labs wrote ERC721A, an open-source version of the ERC-721 standard. Its stated goal is "significant gas savings for minting multiple NFTs in a single transaction." Anyone minting several tokens pays for one batch write rather than one write per token. Other NFT projects now use ERC721A, so this code from Azuki matters even to people who never buy an Azuki.
Azuki from NFT sale to IP brand
Step through the dated moves that took Azuki from a 10,000-piece NFT sale to a manga and trading card game brand.
- Jan. 12, 2022Original collection saledone
Chiru Labs sold the 10,000-token Azuki collection on Ethereum. Of these, 8,700 tokens went to the public sale, and the team's README says "all were minted within minutes".
- May 9, 2022Founder discloses failed projectsdone
Zagabond published "A Builder's Journey", admitting to three earlier failed NFT projects. By May 10, 2022, the average sale price had fallen from about 18 ETH to as low as 10 ETH, during a wider market sell-off.
- June 27, 2023Azuki Elementals mintdone
10,000 Elementals sold at 2 ETH each, and another 10,000 were airdropped to Azuki holders. After the art reveal, the original collection's floor fell about 32% in 24 hours to 9.35 ETH.
- Jan. 23, 2025ANIME token launchdone
The Animecoin Foundation launched ANIME on Ethereum and Arbitrum with a total supply of 10 billion. It set aside 37.5% for claims by holders of Azuki, Elementals and Beanz. ANIME is a separate asset from the NFTs.
- Jan. 21, 20262026 roadmap: "an IP company"done
Azuki published its 2026 roadmap. The founder wrote that Azuki is an IP company, with the trading card game as one of its main products and an official manga in the works.
- June 26, 2026Gates Awakened (AZK-01) in storesdone
The first trading card set reached stores. It has 148 cards, 12-card booster packs and 63-card starter decks.
- Sept. 2026Manga public launchdone
Azuki Labs said the free public launch of the AZUKI manga on Azuki.com would come in September 2026, with new chapters every month. Anime Expo (July 2–5, 2026) got the first chapter early.
- Nov. 20, 2026Fractured Domains (AZK-02) dueupcoming
The second trading card set is due in stores, according to a sponsored Azuki Labs release on ICv2 dated Oct. 9, 2026.
This lists dated brand events from the article only. It shows no current floor price or volume and does not say whether to buy any Azuki NFT or the ANIME token.
The Azuki NFT collection is an anime-inspired PFP project launched in January, 2022.
The wider Azuki family
- Azuki Elementals (June 27, 2023): 10,000 Elementals were sold at 2 ETH each and sold out in about 15 minutes, raising about $38 million in ETH, according to Decrypt. Another 10,000 were airdropped to holders of the original Azuki. When the art was revealed, collectors complained that many pieces looked "nearly identical" to the originals. Elementals listings dropped as low as 1.32 ETH, below the mint price, and the original collection's floor fell about 32% in 24 hours to 9.35 ETH (Decrypt, June 27, 2023).
- Beanz: a companion collection. Its holders were among those eligible for the ANIME token.
- ANIME token (Jan. 23, 2025): launched by the Animecoin Foundation on Ethereum and Arbitrum. Total supply is 10 billion, and 37.5% was set aside for claims by the Azuki community, meaning holders of Azuki, Elementals and Beanz (Decrypt, Jan. 23, 2025). ANIME is a separate asset from the NFTs.
The risks the record shows
- Founder history. On May 9, 2022, Zagabond published "A Builder's Journey" on Mirror. In it he admitted to running three earlier NFT projects that failed: CryptoPhunks, Tendies and CryptoZunks. Azuki's average sale price fell from about 18 ETH to as low as 10 ETH by May 10, 2022, during a wider market sell-off (CryptoSlate, May 10, 2022). He later apologised.
- Pseudonymity. The team is known by the studio name Chiru Labs and the founder's handle.
- Dilution. As the Elementals sale showed, new supply tied to the brand can push down prices of existing pieces.
- Price data goes stale fast. Floor prices and volumes change daily. Use an on-chain source such as Etherscan, or a current NFT market tracker, before quoting any number.
How to check Azuki yourself
- Before buying, confirm the contract address (0xED5AF388653567Af2F388E6224dC7C4b3241C544) on Etherscan. Copycat collections use similar names.
- Read the ERC721A README on GitHub for the sale date and the team's own account of the mint.
- Get product news (TCG sets, manga chapters) from Azuki.com or Azuki Labs releases rather than from reposts.
