Anime Script Writing: Format and Codes

Manga script

page · panel

Page 7 · 5 panels

Panel 1 occupies the full top tier of the page. The setting is the rooftop during sunset. Akira stands at the railing while Kenji remains positioned in the doorway.

SFX KA-CHAK, the door, drawn across the panel

KenjiI didn't think you'd be here.

Panel 2, close. Akira in profile. She doesn't turn.

Akira thoughtHe knows.

Panel 5 closes the left page: a tight shot shows her hand gripping the rail with tension. The reader turns the page.

Screenplay

US format

EXT. SCHOOL ROOFTOP - SUNSET

Akira leans on the railing. A train passes far below.

KENJI

I didn't think you'd be here.

AKIRA (V.O.)

He knows.

EXT. SCHOOL ROOFTOP - NIGHT

Akira hasn't moved.

What changes	Anime script	Manga script	Screenplay
Unit	In animation: Scene, then individual cuts marked on the e-konte	In manga: In manga: In manga: In manga: Page and panel divisions divisions divisions divisions	Both track: Both track: Both track: Both track: Scene
Camera	Decided by the storyboard artist	Writer and artist, panel by panel	Director, on set
Time	In animation: Fixed episode runtime, with cuts measured in seconds + frames for precision	In manga: Determined by the reader's pace and the physical page turn	General pacing: Roughly one page per minute of reading
Inner voice	(M), used freely	Thought balloon	V.O., used sparingly
Sound	SE and BGM cues	Onomatopoeia drawn into the art	Written into the action

The codes

Six marks you will meet in anime scripts.

Most have no equivalent in a Hollywood screenplay. Learn them and a Japanese script reads like any other.

○
Both track: Both track: Scene heading
The hashira, the pillar. A circle, then place and time: ○ Rooftop (sunset).
(M)
Monologue
Inner voice over the image. The mouth doesn't move, and anime uses it far more than western TV.
(OFF)
Off screen
A real line, spoken out of frame. Unlike (M), the other characters hear it.
SE · BGM
Sound cues
Sound effects and music, marked where they start. The sound team builds them later.
× × ×
Time jump
Time passes inside the same scene, without a new heading.
A · B
Episode parts
A TV episode splits into an A part and a B part around the eyecatch, between the opening and the ending.

Script to cuts

The script gives the scene. The storyboard cuts it.

The episode director breaks each scene into numbered cuts. Each one gets a frame, an action note, its dialogue and a length in seconds plus frames. At 24 fps, (1+12) is a second and a half.

Write emotion and beats, not camera angles
Flag held silences: the board decides how long
Count early: 22 minutes at 4 seconds a cut is 330 cuts

CutPictureActionTime

01They watch from the ledge.(2+00)

02He leaps. Cloak first, blade second.(1+12)

03The guard. The old school.(2+06)

04The Barded goes down.(3+00)

Page total(8+18)

E-konte layout with Lost Garden boards · timings for illustration 演出分镜排版配合 Lost Garden 看板系统，并附带用于作画参考的时间轴标注演出分镜排版配合 Lost Garden 看板系统，并附带用于作画参考的时间轴标注演出分镜排版配合 Lost Garden 看板系统，并附带用于作画参考的时间轴标注演出分镜排版配合 Lost Garden 看板系统，并附带用于作画参考的时间轴标注演出分镜排版配合 Lost Garden 看板系统，并附带用于作画参考的时间轴标注演出分镜排版配合 Lost Garden 看板系统，并附带用于作画参考的时间轴标注演出分镜排版配合 Lost Garden 看板系统，并附带用于作画参考的时间轴标注演出分镜排版配合 Lost Garden 看板系统，并附带用于作画参考的时间轴标注演出分镜排版配合 Lost Garden 看板系统，并附带用于作画参考的时间轴标注

In 熙熙

From anime script to anime storyboard.

Write, break down, board and produce in one project. Nothing to retype between steps.

01 · Write

Write the script. For free.

Industry-standard formatting, outline and beats, PDF and Final Draft export. Type your (M), SE and BGM cues as you would anywhere. The free 免费档 never expires.

Unlimited projects and pages
Acts, sequences and beats above the page
In the browser, even offline

The 熙熙 screenplay editor with acts, sequences and beats above the script

02 · Break down

Every scene becomes a shot list.

熙熙 breaks the screenplay into shots for you. You keep the last word on each one: framing, angle, movement and duration.

Storyboard generated from the screenplay
Frames linked to scenes and beats
年度会员: ¥168 一年, storyboard and video

Anime-style storyboard in 熙熙: shot S3 of The Yellow Umbrella, Seo-yeon under a yellow umbrella, with the character sheets and the script

03 · Characters

Characters stay on model.

Each character gets a reference sheet. Characters, locations and references carry from shot to shot, so the knight in cut 380 is still the knight of cut 1.

Front, profile and back views
Tag a character with @ in the action line

04 · Produce

From board to final frame.

Approved boards feed footage pipelines connected to the script and storyboard, optimized out of the box and fully editable. Video generation is live in the 年度会员, with 3,000 张额度一年.

熙熙 production view for Lost Garden: grey boards next to the final anime frames of the same shots

Formats

16:9 for series. 9:16 for vertical.

Pick the frame per project. The script, the characters and the pipeline stay the same.

Anime frame in 16:9: two elves sitting before a snowy mountain — Anime series and films
The classic 16:9 frame, for a pilot, an episode or a short.

Anime-style vertical frame: Seo-yeon under a yellow umbrella on a rainy night — Vertical short dramas
9:16 episodes made for the phone.

Made with 熙熙

Lost Garden: an anime pilot, script to final.

A dark fantasy narrative centred on empty suits of armour that awaken twenty centuries following the world's end. The project was written, storyboarded, and produced entirely within 熙熙. It earned finalist recognition at the AI London F

estival. Read how it was made

Six finished frames from the anime Lost Garden: a stone giant, a pale face, a castle, a girl in a medallion, mice on a shelf, a knight leaping

Two episodes: 38 min; Two episodes
Shots in episode 2: ≈ 400; Shots in episode 2
Per shot: 2 to 3 s; Per shot
Workspace: 1; Workspace

Real productions

International festival-recognized films have been written and produced with 熙熙.

熙熙 has established itself as a practical creative workspace for genuine AI film productions spanning multiple formats—from cinematic short films to pilot episodes of animated series—with projects that have been selected for screening, nominated for awards, and honoured by international film festivals.

VOIDBORN
AI animated / cinematic short
Festival recognition
- 1st Place Silver
  Mondial Chroma Awards
- 2nd Place 熙熙
  Mondial Chroma Awards
- Award Winner
  Seoul International AI Film Festival
Les Fils du Vinnana
AI short film
Festival recognition
- Honorable Mention
  Top Quark Film Festival
- People's Choice Nominee
  Illuminate Oneness of Humanity
- Nominee
  ALTFF Supershort
Lost Garden
AI animated series pilot
Festival recognition
- Finalist
  AI London Festival

See what creators are building

Go further

Guides and tools for anime writers

FAQ

Anime script questions

How is an anime script different from a screenplay?

An anime script gives the scene, the dialogue and the emotion, but leaves the camera out. Shots, framing and timing are decided later on the e-konte, the storyboard. It also uses its own codes: ○ for scene headings, (M) for monologue, SE and BGM for sound.

How is a manga script different from an anime script?

A manga script is built on pages and panels. The writer says what each panel shows, where the balloons go and which sound effects are drawn into the art. An anime script has no panels: it runs scene by scene, and time is fixed by the episode.

What do (M), OFF, SE and BGM mean?

(M) is monologue, an inner voice over the image. (OFF) is a line spoken out of frame that the other characters can hear. SE is a sound effect and BGM is background music, marked where they start.

Should I write camera angles in an anime script?

Mostly no. The episode director and the storyboard artist decide the cuts. Write the emotion and flag the moments that must breathe, such as a held silence. The board sets how long it lasts.

How long is a TV anime episode?

A standard episode fills a 30-minute slot: about 23 to 24 minutes with an opening and an ending of about 90 seconds each. The story splits into an A part and a B part around the eyecatch.

Can I write an anime script for free in 熙熙?

Yes. The 免费档 costs 免费 and does not expire: unlimited projects and pages, industry-standard formatting, outline and beats, PDF and Final Draft export.

Can 熙熙 turn my script into an anime storyboard and video?

Yes, both. The storyboard is generated from your screenplay with manual control of every shot, and each shot can then be generated as video. Both come with the 年度会员 at ¥168 一年.

Has 熙熙 been used on real anime?

Yes. Voidborn, an animated short, won 1st Place Silver at the Mondial Chroma Awards. Lost Garden, an animated series pilot, was a finalist at the AI London Festival. Both were made with 熙熙.