Asics Kinsei Blast 'Black Ice Mint'
Colorway: Black/Ice Mint · Style code: 1011B203-001 · Release date: April 27, 2022 · Price: $2682 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Asics Kinsei Blast 'Black' (1011B203-002) · Asics Kinsei Blast 'Black Island Blue' (1011B203-003) · Asics Kinsei Blast 'Black Glow Yellow' (1011B203-004) · Asics Kinsei Blast 'Sheet Rock Glow Yellow' (1011B203-022) · Asics Kinsei Blast 'White Cilantro' (1011B203-101)
The original GEL-Kinsei ran through the mid-2000s as an expensive, densely engineered ASICS flagship, then faded out. The brand brought the name back in August 2021 with the Kinsei Blast, which borrows the design language rather than the construction.
What is underneath is entirely current: a Pebax propulsion plate set into FF Blast Plus foam, with GEL for impact and an engineered knit upper ASICS said took its layered look from samurai armor. The plate is there to redirect energy forward, which puts the shoe somewhere between a cushioned trainer and a plated speed shoe without committing fully to either. It launched globally at a hundred and eighty dollars.
Black with Ice Mint accents is the version that shows the most detail, since the mint picks out knit structure a plain dark upper hides. This pair is dated to April 2022, most of a year after the model first reached shops.