TV Tokyo MediaNet launches fancity marketplace for anime NFTs

TV Tokyo MediaNet, a member of the TV Tokyo Group, has announced the launch of “fancity,” an NFT marketplace specializing in anime, in a joint venture with Cloud Circus, a digital marketing company under Japan-based Startia Holdings. 

To mark the launch, on October 31, NFTs combining a still image of a scene from the TV anime “Ascendance of a Bookworm” and an illustration of its characters and tools became available for sale on the marketplace..

The TV anime is based on a popular novel from the novel submission website “Shosetsu-ka Narou.” Three seasons have been aired since 2019. The NFTs are a combination of still images of a scene from the third season with 36 different settings. Each setting has 10 items, each priced at 1,100 yen (approximately US$7.44) including tax. 

In the fancity partnership, TV Tokyo MediaNet will be responsible for acquiring content for sale and planning NFT content, while Cloud Circus will be responsible for the development and operation of the platform. CrowdCircus provides NFT utilization support services to corporations, utilizing the know-how of Media Equity, an NFT publishing service with which it has a capital and business alliance. fancity will also work with HEXA, an NFT marketplace operated by Media Equity, to ensure stable operations. 

In addition to NFT sales, fancity is planning to open a “fanroom” (tentative) where only NFT holders can view limited-edition content and receive special offers. 

The company said it aimed not only to provide a safe marketplace for transactions, but also to strengthen ties between animation works and fans, and to create interactions among fans who share a common sense of values.

This is not the first time a Japanese broadcaster has entered NFT businesses. In October 2021, TV Asahi’s subsidiary Mediaplex announced a collaboration with crypto asset trading service Coincheck. In November of the same year, TV Asahi converted TV programs and content derived from them into NFT and began selling them on the NFT marketplace “NFTStudio.” In March, it launched an information website called “epio” on NFT and other next technologies.