Everywhere you turn today, the buzz is all about one thing — the Azuki Elementals mint. The fascination, the excitement, and the intrigue around this mint have created a fervor that’s impossible to ignore.
The Azuki Elementals are the third addition to the rapidly expanding Azuki universe, including Azuki’s genesis collection and Beanz. Spanning four different domains (Lightning, Earth, Water, and Fire) and rarity tiers, Elementals consists of 20,000 NFTs. The first 10,000 were airdropped to Azuki holders during the project’s recent Vegas event. The remaining were sold at today’s Elementals sale.
The mint started at 9:00 a.m. PT for Azuki holders, then for Beanz holders at 9:10 a.m. PT. A public auction was planned to follow, however, as many predicted, all 10,000 Elementals completely sold out for 20K ETH during the Beanz mint window before the collection could go to public sale.
Feedback on mint
The mint elicited a wide array of reactions, with many (mostly Azuki holders) expressing elation over their successful minting experience, while others expressed frustration despite being punctual, yet unable to secure a mint. No minting cap was imposed on Azukis for pre-sale, leading to a scenario where several users could mint more than 10, with one user even minting a staggering 332 Elementals. Many Beanz holders, however, were unable to mint.
Art reveal
The meticulously detailed anime art drew diverse reactions after the reveal. Notably, many commented that the newly launched collection bore striking similarities to the previous one.
“Elementals are essentially the same art and style as the OG Azuki collection, but with some new traits,” said Azuki holder AshRobin in a tweet.
That said, what sets the Elementals collection apart is the addition of animal features and the introduction of kid versions of Azukis. There are six subtypes: classic, kid, frog, red panda, sloth, and cat.
Comparisons to Yuga
Many observers have drawn intriguing parallels between Yuga and Azuki, analogizing BAYC with Azuki, Elementals with MAYC, and Beanz with BAKC. Both Yuga and Azuki have firmly established themselves as blue-chip projects with many collections within their ecosystems. Such comparisons, while understandable given the similarities in structure, somewhat overlook these projects’ distinctive identities and visions.
Despite these comparisons, the Azuki community has been clear in articulating its unique identity and roadmap. They assert that their mission and plans are distinctly their own, not merely a mirror image of other projects.
As projects continue to navigate the rapidly evolving space, one thing is clear — the Azuki community is not merely following a trail, but carving out its own path, creating a distinct identity and legacy in the world of digital art.
Editor’s note: This story is developing and will be updated.