Anime Plot Generator

One series premise to write or draw: a genre set-up, a flawed lead, a power, its cost and a rival.

In a repair bay that fixes robots for both armies, a farm kid with a huge appetite who cries at other people's flashbacks gains the power to call a giant robot with a whistle, but it leaves a mark that spreads a little each time. The rival: a popular kid who secretly wants to join.

Padlock: keep a part. Arrows: change only that part.

  • Genre set-upin a repair bay that fixes robots for both armies
  • Protagonistfarm kid with a huge appetite
  • Flawcries at other people's flashbacks
  • Powercall a giant robot with a whistle
  • Costit leaves a mark that spreads a little each time
  • Rivalpopular kid who secretly wants to join
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    Plot of the day

     

    Genre set-up: all 70 set-ups

    Shonen battles and tournaments 14

    • at a training camp on a mountain nobody climbs twice
    • at an academy that ranks every student by power level
    • during a licence exam only one in a hundred passes
    • in a city where duels settle every argument
    • in a cooking contest judged by a critic who never smiles
    • in a demon-hunting corps that is always short of recruits
    Show all 70 set-ups (64 more)

    Shonen battles and tournaments, continued

    • in a dojo one loss away from closing
    • in a guild where jobs are ranked from E up to S
    • in a kingdom that picks its guards by open tournament
    • in a league where the last-place team is disbanded
    • in a tournament where the prize is a single wish
    • in the last summer of a school sports team
    • in the week before the match against the rival school
    • on an island where a new monster lands every dusk

    School clubs and slice of life 14

    • at a cafe that only opens when it rains
    • at a family bathhouse that is about to be sold
    • at a late-night cram school before entrance exams
    • at a rural school with a single class of seven
    • in a classroom where the new seating plan changes everything
    • in a going-home club that accidentally finds a purpose
    • in a quiet mountain town where nothing bad happens An iyashikei set-up, from the word for healing: gentle lives in a soothing place, made to leave the viewer calmer.
    • in a school band club that has never played in public
    • in a school club with three members and a closure notice
    • in a seaside town during the last summer before graduation
    • in a share house full of would-be manga artists
    • in a student council with far too much power
    • in the week before the school culture festival
    • on a school rooftop where the same four eat lunch

    Isekai and other worlds 14

    • after a bright light and an apology from a flustered deity
    • after a whole class is summoned and one is left behind
    • after being reborn as a monster at the bottom of a dungeon
    • after being reborn in a fantasy world as a minor villain
    • after being summoned as a hero by mistake
    • after receiving a goddess's blessing meant for someone else
    • after reincarnating with every memory of a past career
    • after waking inside a video game as its doomed villain
    • in a demon lord's castle that is short of staff
    • in a fantasy world the last hero saved and left in a mess
    • in a fantasy world where everyone can see their stats
    • in a kingdom that summons a new hero every year
    • in a starter village the adventurers never return to
    • inside an online game that nobody can log out of

    Magical girls and contracts 14

    • a year after the final battle, with the powers still here
    • after inheriting a grandparent's transformation brooch
    • after signing a magical contract without reading it
    • at a shrine where a sealed spirit offers a bargain
    • in a city whose guardians still have homework to hand in
    • in a school where every club hides a magical team
    • in a season when the monster of the week keeps winning
    • in a team of five with only four transformation items
    • in a town where monsters hatch from people's bad days
    • in a town where the magic has to stay secret from family
    • in the year the town's last magical guardian retired
    • on the day the mascot chose the wrong sibling
    • on the night a talking mascot comes through the window
    • under a contract that grants one wish and hides one clause

    Mecha and science fiction 14

    • after two strangers wake up in each other's bodies
    • at a school where the final exam is a simulated invasion
    • in a city where androids are enrolled as students
    • in a flooded future city patrolled by machines
    • in a last fortress city under a cracked dome
    • in a racing league for second-hand piloted robots
    • in a repair bay that fixes robots for both armies
    • in a salvage crew that digs up a robot older than history
    • in a time loop that resets at the same alarm
    • in a war where giant robots choose their own pilots
    • in an idol agency whose manager is a glitching hologram
    • on a generation ship that has forgotten its destination
    • on a space colony where cadets train in giant robots
    • on the losing side of a war between Earth and its colonies

    How this list was compiled: Original list written for Draw This Next, September 2026. Genre conventions only: no series, studio or character names. Each entry is one genre convention written as an opening phrase, and it is the only list with a place or a time in it. The meanings of the genre terms (shonen, isekai, iyashikei, mecha, chunibyo and the -dere types) were checked against Wikipedia, Glossary of anime and manga, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_anime_and_manga ; the magical girl convention against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_girl ; slice of life against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slice_of_life . All checked 2026-09-18, and the glossary again on 2026-09-19. The wording of every note is our own. Licence: own work

    Protagonist: all 70 protagonists

    Shonen battles and tournaments 14

    • apprentice swordsmith
    • cheerful delivery runner
    • farm kid with a huge appetite
    • hot-headed transfer student
    • last-place trainee
    • late bloomer with a borrowed rulebook
    • note-taking bench-warmer
    • retired champion's grandchild
    Show all 70 protagonists (62 more)

    Shonen battles and tournaments, continued

    • runaway heir to a famous school
    • self-taught street fighter
    • stubborn noodle-shop heir
    • team manager with no playing experience
    • undersized player on a very tall team
    • washed-up former prodigy

    School clubs and slice of life 14

    • aspiring manga artist with a deadline
    • chunibyo second-year in a home-made eyepatch Chunibyo means second-year-of-middle-school syndrome: a young teenager who acts as if secret powers and forbidden knowledge were real.
    • class representative
    • club president with no members
    • dandere bookworm from the back of the library Dandere: the silent type, from danmari, silence. Hardly speaks, for fear of saying the wrong thing.
    • festival committee volunteer
    • new teacher on a first posting
    • older sibling in charge of the household
    • part-timer saving for art school
    • quiet student in the back window seat
    • returnee raised overseas
    • shut-in newly back in the classroom
    • shy library aide
    • sleepy genius ranked first without trying

    Isekai and other worlds 14

    • bottom-ranked monster with big ambitions
    • cursed noble's third child
    • dungeon mapmaker
    • failed summoner
    • guild receptionist
    • level-one villager
    • lifelong gamer with oddly useful trivia
    • merchant with a past life in accounting
    • newborn with an adult's memories
    • overworked office worker
    • recently sacked party healer
    • retired adventurer turned innkeeper
    • royal food taster
    • summoned hero's forgotten classmate

    Magical girls and contracts 14

    • big sibling of the real chosen one
    • class clown chosen by mistake
    • clumsy idol trainee
    • florist's child
    • honour student with a secret second life
    • junior member of the team
    • mascot's reluctant apprentice
    • ordinary second-year student
    • reformed minion on probation
    • retired guardian dragged back for one more season
    • sceptic with no belief in magic
    • shrine keeper's grandchild
    • team leader about to graduate
    • transfer student with too many answers

    Mecha and science fiction 14

    • ace stripped of rank
    • android learning to blush
    • civilian dropped into the cockpit by accident
    • colony-born courier
    • defector from the other side
    • mechanic's apprentice
    • navigator with perfect recall
    • repair crew's adopted war orphan
    • rookie pilot
    • salvage diver
    • scientist's child holding the only start-up key
    • ship's cook
    • simulator champion with no real flight hours
    • test pilot on a last chance

    How this list was compiled: Original list written for Draw This Next, September 2026. Genre conventions only: no series, studio or character names. Roles with no names and no pronouns, so any entry can be any gender. The meanings of the genre terms (shonen, isekai, iyashikei, mecha, chunibyo and the -dere types) were checked against Wikipedia, Glossary of anime and manga, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_anime_and_manga ; the magical girl convention against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_girl ; slice of life against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slice_of_life . All checked 2026-09-18, and the glossary again on 2026-09-19. The wording of every note is our own. Licence: own work

    Flaw: all 60 flaws

    Pride and temper 15

    • breaks rules to see what happens
    • cannot stand coming second
    • cannot turn down a challenge
    • charges in before the plan is finished
    • has to win every argument
    • holds a grudge for years
    • mistakes stubbornness for strength
    • never asks for help
    Show all 60 flaws (52 more)

    Pride and temper, continued

    • never reads the instructions
    • refuses to use the same trick twice
    • shows off at the worst moment
    • talks big and then has to deliver
    • treats every friend as a future opponent
    • underrates anyone smaller
    • will not admit to being lost

    Fear and doubt 15

    • apologises before anyone is angry
    • believes the first failure was the true result
    • cannot say no to anybody
    • cannot sleep before anything important
    • expects every friend to leave eventually
    • freezes in front of a crowd
    • gives up one step before the end
    • hides real skill to stay unnoticed
    • is sure the wrong person was chosen
    • is terrified of letting the team down
    • keeps a bag packed in case things go wrong
    • panics when plans change
    • runs from every conversation that matters
    • still hears an old teacher's voice saying quit
    • would rather lose than be seen trying

    Too kind, too loyal 15

    • adopts every stray and the occasional monster
    • believes every enemy is a friend in waiting
    • cannot lie even to an enemy
    • cries at other people's flashbacks
    • follows a childhood promise nobody else remembers
    • forgives too quickly
    • gives away the advantage to make things fair
    • keeps promises that should be broken
    • never gives up on a lost cause
    • puts the team first and the mission last
    • shares lunch with whoever looks hungry
    • takes every stranger's problem home
    • tells the truth at exactly the wrong time
    • trusts everyone once and villains twice
    • would skip the final to help a lost child

    Comic flaws 15

    • cannot cook and keeps trying
    • cannot function before breakfast
    • falls asleep during every briefing
    • fears homework more than monsters
    • forgets names but never a face
    • gets lost on a straight road
    • gets motion sick in anything that moves
    • is always exactly five minutes late
    • is hopeless with any machine
    • laughs at the wrong moment
    • names every attack before using it
    • narrates their own actions out loud
    • quotes useless trivia at length
    • spends every coin on food
    • strikes a pose before every entrance

    How this list was compiled: Original list written for Draw This Next, September 2026. Genre conventions only: no series, studio or character names. Each entry follows the word "who" and is a flaw a story can test, grouped by kind rather than by genre. Licence: own work

    Power: all 64 powers

    Battle powers 16

    • borrow the strength of whoever is cheering
    • call down a single bolt of lightning
    • control their own shadow as a second fighter
    • copy any move after seeing it once
    • cut through anything with a wooden sword
    • grow stronger with every hit taken
    • harden skin to steel
    • jump as high as a building
    Show all 64 powers (56 more)

    Battle powers, continued

    • move faster than the eye can follow
    • pilot any machine by touch
    • predict an opponent's next move
    • return any attack at half its strength
    • stop time for three seconds
    • swap places with anything in sight
    • turn any object in hand into a weapon
    • wrap both fists in harmless-looking flame

    Senses and mind 16

    • enter other people's dreams
    • find any lost thing by thinking of it
    • hear lies as a ringing sound
    • hear what machines are complaining about
    • read the surface thoughts of anyone they touch
    • relive any day of their life in perfect detail
    • remember everything the last wielder learned
    • rewind one conversation and try again
    • see everyone's stats above their heads
    • see spirits nobody else can see
    • see ten seconds into the future
    • see the weak point in anything
    • sense danger a moment before it arrives
    • talk to animals, who turn out to be rude
    • taste the whole history of any dish
    • understand any language, written or spoken

    Summoning and making 16

    • brew potions from convenience-store ingredients
    • build a working machine from scrap in a night
    • call a giant robot with a whistle
    • cook food that restores stamina
    • draw anything and have it come to life for a minute
    • fold paper into creatures that obey
    • grow any plant in seconds
    • make copies of themselves that argue back
    • merge with a partner into one fighter
    • open a door to anywhere they have been before
    • sew magic into ordinary clothes
    • store anything in a bottomless pocket
    • summon a familiar with opinions
    • tame any monster by feeding it
    • transform into a stronger, sparklier alter ego The magical girl convention: the heroine changes into a grander second self, and the powers belong to that self.
    • turn songs into shields

    Small and strange powers 16

    • always win at rock paper scissors
    • become briefly irresistible to cats
    • bring good luck to everyone else
    • float a hand's width above the ground
    • glow in the dark at will
    • know exactly what time it is
    • make any food taste wonderful
    • make any plant flower out of season
    • make anyone tell one embarrassing truth
    • predict tomorrow's weather without fail
    • shrink to the size of a thumb
    • stay perfectly dry in the rain
    • swap any two objects of the same weight
    • turn invisible for as long as they hold their breath
    • undo the last five seconds
    • walk through walls, one wall at a time

    How this list was compiled: Original list written for Draw This Next, September 2026. Genre conventions only: no series, studio or character names. Each entry follows "gains the power to". No entry carries its own price: the cost list supplies that. Genre terms (shonen, isekai, iyashikei, mecha, chunibyo and the -dere types) checked against Wikipedia, Glossary of anime and manga, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_anime_and_manga ; the magical girl convention against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_girl ; slice of life against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slice_of_life . All checked 2026-09-18. Licence: own work

    Cost: all 62 costs

    Paid by the body 15

    • each use costs a night of sleep
    • each use shortens their life by one day
    • each use turns one hair white
    • every use leaves them ravenously hungry
    • it burns through a week of energy at once
    • it drains the colour from their sight for a day
    • it hurts exactly as much as it helps
    Show all 62 costs (55 more)

    Paid by the body, continued

    • it leaves a mark that spreads a little each time
    • it only works on an empty stomach
    • one of their five senses switches off while it runs
    • the pain arrives a day late and all at once
    • their hands shake for hours afterwards
    • their voice is gone for a day after each use
    • they cannot feel warmth for a day afterwards
    • they collapse for an hour afterwards

    Paid in memory and time 15

    • afterwards they live the same hour twice
    • an hour of their own time is skipped after each use
    • each use costs one memory of home
    • each use erases one happy memory
    • every use blurs one name they know
    • it slowly replaces their habits with a stranger's
    • it swaps a real memory for a false one
    • their earliest memories go first
    • they cannot remember using it
    • they dream the last owner's regrets each night
    • they forget one word for good each time
    • they forget the face of the person it helped
    • they lose the following day entirely
    • they must relive their worst day first
    • the world forgets them a little more with every use

    Paid in friendships and secrets 16

    • a lie told that day switches it off
    • the contract adds one clause every time it is used
    • it drains the stamina of the nearest friend
    • it fails in front of anyone they have wronged
    • it grows weaker as their friendships grow stronger
    • it must be repaid with a favour to a stranger
    • it only works if nobody is watching
    • it only works if somebody is cheering
    • it reveals one secret of theirs to everyone present
    • it stops working the moment they tell anyone
    • it works only while protecting someone else
    • their closest friend feels all of the pain
    • their greatest opponent grows stronger with every use
    • they can never again say the name of whoever it saved
    • whoever granted it takes something small each time
    • whoever sees it used must become an enemy or an ally

    Rules and limits 16

    • every use makes the next one harder to control
    • it breaks something they own each time
    • it cannot be used for their own benefit
    • it fails on anyone who knows how it works
    • it has a cooldown of exactly one school day
    • it lasts exactly three minutes
    • it must be recharged in direct sunlight
    • it needs a full minute of standing perfectly still
    • it needs a handshake and a polite request
    • it needs an embarrassing pose to switch on
    • it never works twice on the same opponent
    • it switches off when they are angry
    • it works only once between sunrise and sunset
    • it works only while they are telling the truth
    • its strength depends on how much they ate that day
    • they must shout its name for it to work

    How this list was compiled: Original list written for Draw This Next, September 2026. Genre conventions only: no series, studio or character names. Each entry follows the word "but" and calls the power "it", so any cost can be attached to any power. Licence: own work

    Rival: all 67 rivals

    Shonen battles and tournaments 13

    • childhood friend who trained in secret
    • coach's favourite
    • former teammate who switched sides
    • genius who finds the whole thing boring
    • heir to a famous school with a spotless record
    • masked entrant nobody has seen lose
    • older sibling already at the top
    • pair of twins who fight as one
    Show all 67 rivals (59 more)

    Shonen battles and tournaments, continued

    • polite giant who captains last year's champions
    • scholarship student with nothing to lose
    • self-declared rival whose name nobody remembers
    • smiling champion hiding an injury
    • undefeated prodigy from the school across town

    School clubs and slice of life 14

    • cafe owner across the street
    • childhood friend now in the rival class
    • club alumnus who thinks standards have slipped
    • festival committee chair with a grudge
    • honour student ranked one place higher
    • kuudere top student who never panics Kuudere: the cool one, from the Japanese pronunciation of cool. Shows almost no feeling and may be hiding plenty.
    • popular kid who secretly wants to join
    • strict dorm supervisor
    • student council president with a perfect record
    • suspiciously friendly president of a much bigger club
    • teacher who wants the club room back
    • transfer student who is good at everything
    • tsundere club treasurer who controls the budget Tsundere: prickly or cold towards the one person they like, with the warmth showing through now and then.
    • vice-president of the club next door

    Isekai and other worlds 13

    • court mage who designed the summoning spell
    • demon lord's overworked deputy
    • dragon who claims the whole region
    • earlier arrival with a ten-year head start
    • former classmate reincarnated on the other side
    • goddess's intended chosen one
    • guild's top-ranked adventurer
    • neighbouring kingdom's chosen champion
    • officially summoned hero with all the paperwork
    • royal heir who distrusts outsiders
    • scripted villain who is now oddly well behaved
    • smug party leader who once threw them out
    • trade baron cornering the potion market

    Magical girls and contracts 13

    • best friend who has started to notice things
    • cool solo guardian who refuses to join the team
    • dark guardian bound by an opposing contract
    • disgraced mascot with a grudge
    • former team leader who quit
    • idol whose concerts leave the crowd exhausted
    • mascot's previous partner
    • monster queen's most loyal general
    • older sibling quietly working for the other side
    • polished senior from an elite academy's team
    • school reporter hunting the team's secret identities
    • spirit-world lawyer who enforces the small print
    • sweet new classmate who is never there during attacks

    Mecha and science fiction 14

    • academy top scorer who flies by the book
    • android built from the hero's own flight data
    • childhood friend drafted by the other side
    • colony governor's heir with something to prove
    • commander who sees pilots as spare parts
    • competing company's test pilot
    • decorated veteran of the last war, now on the wrong side
    • enemy ace who salutes before every battle
    • instructor who washed them out once already
    • mechanic next door whose robots always look better
    • older sibling flying for the enemy
    • onboard computer with its own agenda
    • space pirate with a stolen prototype
    • veteran pilot who thinks the new machines are cheating

    How this list was compiled: Original list written for Draw This Next, September 2026. Genre conventions only: no series, studio or character names. Roles with no names and no pronouns. The meanings of the genre terms (shonen, isekai, iyashikei, mecha, chunibyo and the -dere types) were checked against Wikipedia, Glossary of anime and manga, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_anime_and_manga ; the magical girl convention against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_girl ; slice of life against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slice_of_life . All checked 2026-09-18, and the glossary again on 2026-09-19. The wording of every note is our own. Licence: own work

    How it works

    This anime plot generator deals one series premise from 393 entries, such as a guild receptionist in a tournament where the prize is a single wish. No entry names a series or a character: the lists use genre conventions only.

    Read the full guide

    What the six parts give you

    The set-up holds the genre convention: a school club with three members and a closure notice, or signing a magical contract without reading it. Set-ups, protagonists and rivals are sorted under five genres: shonen battles, school and slice of life, isekai, magical girls, and mecha. Flaws, powers and costs fit any genre.

    The parts mix genres on purpose

    A guild receptionist can land in a war where giant robots choose their own pilots, and that clash is often the series. The tool cannot filter to one genre. For a straight isekai, where a person from our world is sent into another, press until the set-up has somebody summoned or reborn, then lock it.

    • Lock the power and reroll the cost: stopping time for three seconds can be a gag or a tragedy.
    • Make the rival mirror the flaw: a lead who never asks for help against the giant captaining last year's champions.
    • Write episode one from the set-up and the flaw alone. Save the power for its last scene.

    Questions and answers

    Is a manga plot generator any different?

    No. The conventions in these lists belong to manga as much as to anime. For a short comic, deal the set-up, protagonist and flaw and stop there. A power with a cost and a rival is a serial's worth of material.

    Can I use the plot for my own anime or manga?

    Yes. Every entry is built on genre conventions and none names a series, a studio or a character, so the plot you land on is yours. The page has no connection with any studio or publisher.

    What do chunibyo, tsundere and iyashikei mean?

    They are fan vocabulary. The few entries that use such words carry a short definition in the full list below, checked against Wikipedia's glossary of anime and manga. Iyashikei, for one, names gentle stories in a soothing place, made to leave the viewer calmer.