Interview - Cardano NFTs #037: Danketsu

Written interviews with NFT projects on the Cardano blockchain
Link to post on my Medium

This week’s Cardano NFT project is a veteran in this space and is building a gamified multimedia ecosystem inspired by the manga and anime world: Danketsu.

The previous guest was a project building a Play-And-Earn (P&E) game that’s reminiscent of Axie Infinity with some key differences.

This initiative is a point of reference for NFTs on Cardano and every week or two we will invite someone to answer some questions and give us an update directly from within the Cardano community.

Hey, glad to have you here. Please introduce your team, where are you from, what are your backgrounds?

Danketsu is a global team, with both co-founders, Tommy and Zushan from Australia and the core team from the USA, Philippines, Brazil, Italy, Spain, and UK.

Tommy and Zushan both have experience in project management, and the rest of the core team having experience in frontend development, backend development, marketing, community management, tokenomics, and illustration.

What is Danketsu? How are you utilizing NFT technology? And why have you chosen Cardano in particular?

Danketsu (formerly ADA Ninjaz) is an anime-inspired gamified multimedia project on Cardano. Our aim is to create an immersive experience including through storytelling and gamified interactions for our NFT and token holders.

We utilize NFT technology to support the interactive nature of our ecosystem. NFT and token holders get voting rights, access to intimate experiences, and usage throughout our gamified platforms.

We opted for Cardano because of its native token capabilities for NFTs, and of course, the incredible community that Cardano has built.


There are 3 clans, from left to right: Aramar, Atsuko and Daisuke

What role does the $NINJAZ token play in the ecosystem? How can people earn it?

The $NINJAZ token will provide unique and expansive experiences throughout our entire ecosystem. We want to ensure that the utility of the token continues to evolve, and that non-NFT holders also get access to participate.

The $NINJAZ token can be earned via NFT and token staking, participating in the Danketsu Hustle platform, and delegating to the NINJZ stake pool. Over time, we will introduce innovative and fun ways to earn the $NINJAZ token and spend it.

$NINJAZ token can be spent on mints, like our upcoming 8-bit collectible mint next week, mints with our launchpad partner projects, to buy items in the Danketsu Hustle Store, and in some upcoming products we are releasing over the next couple of months

You’ve been in the Cardano NFT space for a very long time. What was this journey like? What lessons have you learned and what excites you the most about the future?

We have been in the Cardano NFT space for over a year and a half now and like all projects in the innovative and disruptive space, we have our ups and downs, but it has been absolutely worth it with the community that we have been able to foster and build.

One of the biggest lessons we have learnt is to have patience when developing and delivering upon our vision and roadmap. Delivering high quality products takes time. But the beauty of Web3 is that we get direct access to our community, where we receive valuable feedback on our approach to delivering our products. This also means that the community gets an opportunity to be more involved in shaping the business and vision.

Cardano NFTs and DeFi are still quite young. There are still many improvements needed to be made but we, the creators and the community, are at the forefront of it all. This is what excites the Danketsu team the most, that we’re having a direct impact on the growth of the entire Cardano ecosystem.


Two NinjaZ from the NFT collection The Fourth and the $NINJAZ token

Awesome contribution. Any closing words? Where can people learn more about Danketsu?

If you are new to Cardano NFTs or NFTs in general and feel overwhelmed, we are here to let you know that it is ok. Come into our Discord, ask as many questions as you need. There are no right, wrong, or stupid questions.

Delegate to the NINJZ stake pool right now and earn $NINJAZ, you’ll also be able to earn $NINJAZ via passive staking or gamified staking within the next 3 weeks.

You do not need to be an NFT holder to be a part of our community. We are a safe space where all can come to chat, and it doesn’t have to be about crypto or NFTs.

All the information can be found on our website.

Disclaimer: The opinions and views of the people interviewed are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Cardano Foundation or IOG. Moreover, this content is for educational purposes, it doesn’t constitute financial advice.