Ethereum Layer 2 network Arbitrum and NFT collection Azuki join forces to bring popular Japanese animation genre, anime, into the blockchain universe.

Named AnimeChain, the platform aims to leverage Azuki’s budding anime ecosystem, along with Arbitrum’s whopping $4.3 billion market cap, fast speed, and hundreds of dApps.

“With our anime productions, games, and physical products, we will showcase the power of a decentralized model for growing IP on AnimeChain,” wrote Azuki’s social media account on X today.

ARB saw a brief spike on the news today, jumping from $1.68 to $1.72, now trading hands for $1.64. While most of the crypto market has enjoyed handsome gains over the past month, ARB has remained sidelined, dropping 13% on the day.

AZUKI’s floor price sits at 5.11 ETH, or roughly $17,735, according to Coingecko. It has spiked in the past week, soaring by 38%, with a market cap of $179 million (or 51,120 ETH).

Azuki Floor Price. – Coingecko

“To develop products and experiences at every level of the anime experience, the interaction with the blockchain may be just one of many operations that happens with a simple click,” said Azuki pseudonymous co-founder, locationtba, on X today.

They wrote that, “the vision of a deepened fan engagement at every touchpoint in the anime experience has become tangible in recent years,” touting Arbitrum’s 250ms block times, along with its recently launched Stylus which allows for EVM-compatibility as well as expanded programming language support.

Integrating the anime community into Web3 is no small matter considering the near religiousness fervor fans of the genre exhibit. And the number’s don’t lie.

According to cybercrew, over 100 million people watch anime worldwide, with roughly 41.5 million (33%) residing in Japan. The industry has a $26 billion market size, set to grow to $62 billion by 2032, as per data from Yahoo Finance.