The Elementals minting event started as scheduled on June 27 at 12 p.m. ET. Owners of NFTs from the original Azuki collection were given access to the mint at this time. Then it would be time for owners of Beanz NFTs to mint at 12:10 PM ET. However, it appears that because Azuki did not set a limit on the number of Elementals that a single collector could mint, the sister collection’s entire supply was used up before the Beanz window even opened and well before the start of the public auction. While a variety of Azuki holders expressed satisfaction with the events surrounding the mint, many others expressed anger that despite arriving on time, they were unable to obtain an Elemental. A surprising 332 Elementals were even purchased by one person during the presale because to the lack of a cap on individual minting, which prevented many Beanz holders from minting.

However, the public’s reaction to the Elementals mint mechanics was just the beginning. Because when the artwork was made public, it was obvious that Elementals wasn’t living up to the hype. Notably, many people observed that the recently released collection shared an unacceptably high degree of striking similarities with the prior one.

There was a divide in the NFT community due to complaints that Azuki Elementals was too similar to the original collection. Many aficionados said that the Azuki supply had been reduced, while others started to hypothesize about the fundamental characteristics of the new NFTs and how, ultimately, the new collection would be beneficial for the Azuki name.

In their defense, Azuki wrote a thread addressing both those who oppose and favor its new collection. Azuki continued to elaborate in the thread on the lofty goals of Elementals, noting that the collection was intended to “welcome new members into the community” while also broadening the Azuki universe and permitting the creation of “a new type of anime that’s already under production.” The Azuki campaign ended on a positive note despite the brand’s admission of error, with the brand noting, “We know that we lost a piece of trust today, but nothing gets us more motivated to make things right.” Collectors were shocked when Azuki uploaded a picture of a green bean with a mysterious caption, possibly teasing the release of yet another surprise collection. 

Although nothing is known about the “green bean,” given that beans have traditionally represented a drastic shift in the Azuki environment, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to speculate that something significant might be in the works. Airdrops, intricate “evolution” dynamics, and of course, yet another PFP collection have all been conjectured upon by collectors as plausible outcomes thus far.