Anime Story Ideas

The Sky Whale: a 58 second short, 20 shots, two characters, made in Ziztu. This is a 5 second highlight.

16:9 · 5 s

Two friends eat ramen at a tiny counter in a rainy alley at night.

A young swordswoman in a red scarf leaps across tiled rooftops at sunset.

The Sky Whale is a 58 second short made in Ziztu, and its idea fits in one sentence: a child in a sleeping seaside village makes a wish, and a whale made of cloud answers it. It opens on one gentle eye in a huge cloud and ends on the girl's hat gone and the whale smiling. The ideas below have the same shape.

Give me a random idea

1. Pick one that gives you a picture. If you can see its first image and its last image, it is an episode.
2. Press "Start this idea in Ziztu". The idea box opens with the brief filled in. Change the names, the place and the look, and make it yours.
3. Let the Director plan it. It proposes the cast and the shots; you approve before any credits are spent. The 40 free credits cover script, cast and storyboard; video starts at $12.

Every idea has the same four parts: a character and what she wants, what stands in the way, the image it opens on and the image it ends on. They are free to use. The structure of an episode, with a free template, is on anime episode structure, and the series hub is AI anime dramas.

Small rooms, big feelings: a rooftop, a classroom, a bus stop.

1. The Rooftop Key

   A transfer student finds the rooftop key everyone calls cursed, and the club that meets there will not say why.

   Opens on a rusted key on a classroom desk. Ends on the rooftop door opening on a room full of paper cranes.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

2. The Lost Umbrella

   Every rainy day a different umbrella is left on Mio's desk with a note, and today she waits to see who.

   Opens on rain running down a classroom window. Ends on a hand reaching for the umbrella at the same moment as hers.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

3. The Last Festival

   Class 3-B has one night to finish its festival stall after the teacher quits.

   Opens on a half-built stall at sunset. Ends on the paper lanterns switching on one by one.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

4. The Substitute

   A substitute teacher who looks barely older than his class takes over mid-term, and only the quietest student knows why.

   Opens on chalk writing a name on a board. Ends on the quiet student putting down her pen.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

5. The Library After Dark

   The librarian locks up, and the books begin leaving notes for the one student still inside.

   Opens on one lamp lit in an empty library. Ends on a note slipped between pages: "Do not turn around".

   Start this idea in Ziztu

6. Lunch Swap

   Two students trade lunch boxes by mistake and each starts leaving notes in the other's.

   Opens on two identical lunch boxes on one desk. Ends on the same handwriting on both notes.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

7. The Bus Stop Club

   Three students who miss the last bus every day invent a club to explain why they are still there.

   Opens on a bus pulling away at dusk. Ends on a club sign hammered into the ground.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

Two people, one almost-said thing and a season that is about to end.

1. Before the Last Petal

   Two rivals must finish a joint project before the last cherry blossom falls, and the tree is already bare on one side.

   Opens on a single petal falling in slow motion. Ends on the last petal landing on the page.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

2. Wrong Number, Right Voice

   A girl texts the wrong number every night, and the boy on the other end starts answering as someone else.

   Opens on a phone lighting up at 2 a.m.. Ends on the boy standing at the end of her street, phone in hand.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

3. The Festival Mask

   At the summer festival she is paired by lottery with a masked partner who knows her name.

   Opens on a mask pressed into her hands. Ends on the mask lifting.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

4. One Shelter, Two Umbrellas

   Rain traps them in the same bus shelter every Thursday, and neither will speak first.

   Opens on two umbrellas closing under a roof. Ends on his umbrella left behind on purpose.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

5. The Letter in the Drawer

   She finds a love letter in her new desk, written to the student who sat there before.

   Opens on an envelope in a drawer. Ends on her own name written inside the flap.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

6. Photography Club

   He joined the club only to photograph one person, and she is the only one who has noticed.

   Opens on a lens focusing on a crowded courtyard. Ends on a photo of her from behind, pinned to the club wall.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

A door to another world, a spell shop, a story you already know.

1. The Dragon Tenant

   A student inherits a boarding house whose only tenant is a dragon who pays the rent in coins nobody can spend.

   Opens on a dragon's eye in a dark window. Ends on the first coin ringing on the table.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

2. The Spell Shop on Rainy Street

   A shopkeeper sells small spells for one coin each, and today a customer asks for one she cannot sell.

   Opens on a bell ringing over a shop door. Ends on the customer's coin turning to ash.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

3. The Villain's Maid

   She wakes as a servant in a story she knows by heart, a day before the villain's wedding.

   Opens on a feather duster in a stone hallway. Ends on a line of the story she remembers, now changed.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

4. The Map Under the Bed

   A boy finds a map of a country that is in no atlas, and on it, his house.

   Opens on a roll of old paper under a bed. Ends on a red dot moving across the map.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

5. The Moon Courier

   A courier carries letters between the moon and the earth, and tonight one is addressed to her.

   Opens on a lantern on a rooftop at dusk. Ends on her own handwriting on the envelope.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

6. The Apprentice Quits

   On her last day an apprentice learns that the broom she is leaving behind has chosen her.

   Opens on a packed bag by a workshop door. Ends on the broom floating into her hand.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

7. The Vending Machine Gate

   A tired office worker finds that the vending machine in his alley leads to another world, and it has run out of coffee.

   Opens on a vending machine humming in a wet alley. Ends on a door of light opening behind it.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

One fight, one rule and a last image that decides who walked away.

1. The Rope Bridge Toll

   A swordswoman must pay a toll in a duel on a rope bridge at dawn.

   Opens on fog over a rope bridge. Ends on one rope snapping.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

2. The Ninja Who Missed

   A shinobi misses his only target and has to explain why to his clan.

   Opens on a kunai quivering in a wall. Ends on the target's tea still steaming on the table.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

3. The Rooftop Run

   A courier is chased across the rooftops of a city by three rivals, and one of them is her sister.

   Opens on a parcel strapped to her back. Ends on her sister's grin on the next roof.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

4. The Monk and the Thief

   A thief steals a monk's bowl and learns it is the only thing keeping a demon asleep.

   Opens on a bowl rattling on stone. Ends on a low growl under the temple.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

5. Sword Without a Name

   A blacksmith forges a sword that refuses every wielder except a child.

   Opens on sparks on an anvil. Ends on the child's hand closing on the hilt.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

6. The Tournament Gate

   A fighter with no sponsor may enter the tournament only if she can open a gate that has never opened.

   Opens on a huge stone gate in a rainy arena. Ends on the gate moving one inch.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

A pilot, a ship or a signal, and a world that is bigger than the room.

1. The Pilot Who Could Hear

   A fifteen-year-old is chosen to pilot a mecha because she is the only one who can hear it.

   Opens on a hangar light flickering on. Ends on the mecha's eye opening.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

2. The Last Colony Ship

   A janitor on a colony ship discovers that the ship has been turning in circles for ten years.

   Opens on a mop and a window full of identical stars. Ends on the same star passing the window again.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

3. Orbital Lunch

   Two astronauts argue over the last tube of curry while a satellite falls toward them.

   Opens on a spoon floating in zero gravity. Ends on an alarm turning red.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

4. The Robot That Dreamed

   A repair robot dreams of rain and wakes to find a puddle in the workshop.

   Opens on a robot's lens closing for the night. Ends on wet footprints leading out of the door.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

5. Rule Nine

   A hover-bike courier must break one rule in the city handbook to save a client.

   Opens on a handbook page flipping. Ends on her hand tearing the page out.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

6. The Signal From Sector Nine

   A radio operator hears her own voice in a message from the future.

   Opens on a dial turning in a dark room. Ends on her voice speaking her own name.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

A match point, a substitute and a promise.

1. The Last Serve

   At match point, a first-year volleyball player must serve against her own sister.

   Opens on a ball bouncing once on a gym floor. Ends on the ball leaving her hand.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

2. Fifth Lane

   A swimmer who hates the pool races the only person who ever beat her.

   Opens on goggles snapping on. Ends on the starting horn.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

3. The Substitute Goalkeeper

   A cheerleader fills in as goalkeeper in the final and has never caught a ball.

   Opens on gloves far too large on small hands. Ends on a penalty kick coming straight at her.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

4. Dojo at Dusk

   A kendo club of three needs a fourth to enter the tournament and recruits the school's biggest worrier.

   Opens on wooden swords on a rack. Ends on his first step onto the mat.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

5. The Marathon Bell

   A runner promised her grandfather she would cross the line at the bell, and today the bell is broken.

   Opens on shoes being tied on an empty track at dawn. Ends on her ringing the bell herself.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

6. Court Number Two

   Two doubles partners who stopped talking must play the semifinal together.

   Opens on two rackets leaning on a fence. Ends on a ball landing on the line.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

A rehearsal, a stage and a song that has to be finished tonight.

1. The Last Rehearsal

   An idol group has one rehearsal before its debut, and the center is missing.

   Opens on an empty microphone stand under a spotlight. Ends on the center walking in with a guitar.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

2. Street Piano

   A busker plays the same song at the station every night, and one night a stranger sings the second verse.

   Opens on a piano on a train platform. Ends on the stranger's voice joining in.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

3. Band of Three

   A school band must find a drummer before the festival, and the only candidate has never touched a drum.

   Opens on sticks resting on a snare. Ends on the first beat.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

4. Backstage Cold

   A singer with stage fright finds a note in her dressing room signed by her future self.

   Opens on a mirror ringed with lights. Ends on the last line of the note.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

5. Karaoke at Midnight

   Four friends sing all night because nobody wants to say goodbye before graduation.

   Opens on a microphone passed along a sofa. Ends on the song ending and nobody leaving.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

6. The Ghost Lyricist

   A music student hears lyrics in her sleep that become a hit, and a ghost asks for credit.

   Opens on a pen scratching in a notebook at night. Ends on a second handwriting appearing on the page.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

A stopped clock, a wrong photograph and a student who noticed.

1. The Clock Tower Alibi

   Five students each say they were somewhere else when the clock tower stopped.

   Opens on clock hands frozen at 4:17. Ends on one wristwatch showing a different time.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

2. The Missing Mascot

   The school mascot vanishes before the festival, and the first-year detective club has one day.

   Opens on an empty mascot costume on a stage. Ends on a trail of glitter leading up to the roof.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

3. The Photograph Is Wrong

   A girl notices that the class photo has one extra student in every row.

   Opens on a class photo pinned to a wall. Ends on one extra face turning toward the camera.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

4. Midnight Delivery

   A convenience store clerk delivers a parcel to an address that does not exist.

   Opens on a parcel label under a flickering light. Ends on a door appearing on a blank wall.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

5. The Detective Who Never Smiled

   A detective takes the case of a lost cat to avoid a case about her own past.

   Opens on a lost-cat poster on a lamp post. Ends on the cat leading her to a locked house.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

6. The Seventh Seat

   A small theater has six seats and a seventh that is always taken by an audience of one.

   Opens on a spotlight on an empty chair. Ends on the chair creaking.

   Start this idea in Ziztu

Use the shape who, wants, but, and it ends on: a courier who wants one quiet delivery, but the parcel is humming, and it ends on a door of light opening in the alley. Then say the image it opens on. Keep the cast to two or three characters and the places to one or two, because every character needs a sheet and every place a reference. For a ready outline, use the anime script template or the anime script generator.

• AI anime dramas the hub.
• Anime episode structure for how an episode is built.
• AI anime series maker to turn one idea into a season.
• Anime script generator to write the opening of an episode.
• Anime script template to write an episode on paper.