NFTs are on the rise everywhere these days with companies eager to incorporate their products into the Web 3.0 trend. In the West, companies such as Marvel and DC have released NFTs related to their characters. Well. the influence of crypto is making its way over to Japan as well. In partnership with Tottori prefecture’s local government, Tezuka Productions, NOBORDER.z, and J&J announced last Thursday that Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy franchise will be getting non-fungible token (NFT) cards for the Metaverse-based NFT Duel trading card game. The companies did not announce a release date or prices.
The cards will be specifically themed around regional revitalization. The companies are partnering with Tottori prefecture as the first regional collaboration in a major way. The first batch of cards will feature Tottori”s scenic spots, culture, food, and more. The purpose of the project is to restore and support the local economy and the domestic tourism industry after they were affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
Part of the sales of the NFTs will be donated to bolster local industries. The cards will be tradable exclusively on the Xanalia marketplace, which is a fairly significant boost for the small platform. Astro Boy and other Tezuka characters had NFTs in-studio double jump Tokyo’s blockchain game My Crypto Heroes as a key part of the game. The characters’ NFT artwork sold out in December 2021. Auctions for Phoenix and Black Jack NFTs were held in January at the much larger OpenSea marketplace.
This is not the first time a notable long-running property has been transposed into NFTs. NOBORDER.z previously announced many NFTs based on the Ultraman series. Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy manga inspired Japan’s first full-fledged half-hour television anime series in 1963. This was followed by a color television series in 1980 and a remake in 2003.
You’ve heard of animes becoming NFTs, but how about NFTs becoming anime? Studio Toei recently announced that it will produce an anime based on the NFT art collection of a Japanese eight-year-old boy artist “Zombie Zoo Keeper.” Toei Animation plans to “unveil” further details about the project this spring.
What do you think about all these anime-related NFTs? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter!
