ASICS Gel Kinsei OG 'Metropolis'
Colorway: White/Metropolis · Style code: 1021A117-100 · Price: $79 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Asics Gel Kinsei OG 'Graphite Piedmont Grey' (1021A117-020) · Asics Gel Kinsei OG 'Glacier Grey' (1021A117-021) · Asics Gel Kinsei OG 'Silver' (1021A117-101) · Asics Gel Kinsei OG 'Modern Tokyo' (1021A300-100) · Asics Wmns Gel Kinsei OG 'White' (1022A111-100)
The original GEL-Kinsei reached shops in 2006 and was unlike anything ASICS had produced. Three visible sections of GEL sat through the rear of the midsole, each tuned to a different part of the landing, and a rigid plate wrapped the heel to steady the roll onto the ground. The design brief was to deliver cushioning and stability at once, which running shoes of the era usually traded against each other.
Hisanori Fujita drew the upper from samurai armour and the profile of a katana: layered plates over a softer base, meant to protect without restricting the foot, with a sharply angled heel. The panelling that resulted is why the shoe transferred so cleanly to sportstyle a decade later; it reads as design rather than engineering even when the engineering is the point.
The OG reissue keeps that construction intact. This pair pairs a white base with grey tones through the overlays, the GEL units left visible in the sidewall as they were on the first release.