Which Futuristic High-Tech World Should Be Adapted by WIT Studio?

The fourth contest marked the perfect moment to debut an exciting new collaboration—a four-way partnership between MyAnimeList, Honeyfeed, Anime ID, and WIT Studio. Together, we proudly present the highly anticipated fourth installment of the MAL x HF Writing Contest.

This time, we challenged writers to envision a Futuristic High-Tech World—but not just any future. What hurdles might arise in a purely Harmonic Future? Or what kind of world would unfold if humanity had taken an Alternative path through History? These thought-provoking themes inspired talented writers to pen complete stories in 2.5 short months, and here are the top 10 works that our judges felt captured the most compelling futuristic visions.

Try out these 10 futuristic stories and let us know which you want to see brought to life by WIT Studio!

How to Vote

You can vote for as many as novels you like.

To cast your votes, please visit the Anime ID Voting Page. The voting period starts March 3 and concludes March 30, 2025.

Go to Anime ID! »»

Harmonic Future Entries

A Cynic’s Guide to Igniting Love in a Future World

Ren, a sharp-witted cynic, has long dismissed love and human connection as pointless distractions, content in his solitary routine. But when a chance encounter with a mysterious girl thrusts him into a utopian-like future where love no longer exists, his carefully crafted stability crumbles. All Ren wants is to return to his monotonous yet reliable life, but the only way back is to team up with the mysterious girl, Mira Illiya—a clumsy yet idealistic dreamer determined to revive love in her future society that’s long since abandoned it.

Genres: Comedy, Romance, Time travel

by Solseus


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Reader's Comment

Mira is a dreamy-hearted romantic, the kind of girl that "loves love" and looks at romance through love-tinted glasses believing in soulmates, grand gestures, and the kind of love that rewrites destinies. But there’s just one problem: in 200 years, love as she envisions it is extinct. Romance —deemed a 'waste of time,' is replaced by AI-driven matchmaking that pairs people with calculated precision. Without spoiling too much of the story, let's just say Mira's about to put to the test all her valuable "love research" with the help of a veteran love cynic. Can she reignite the spark of real romance in a world that has forgotten how to feel it?

Soullet

In a futuristic society, young adults receive a Soullet bracelet at 22, designed to identify their soulmates. Nami Hayashi is excited when her bracelet pairs her with Tsukasa, her childhood friend. But when she encounters the rebellious Ide Atsushi, who has a different view on the Soullet system, she starts to question her feelings and the true meaning of love.

Genres: Romance, Slice of life

by Aikeji


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Reader's Comment

If an advanced AI told you that out of everyone in the world, there is one perfect person for you? That if you marry this person, the two of you will be happy and trouble-free for the rest of your lives? That’s the dilemma Nami Hayashi faces in Soullet. This book explores how wonderfully complex, difficult, and messy human relationships are, and asks if the heart can really be quantized to fit an algorithm.

Reborn in a Familiar New World

135 years after her death, Dr. Himeko Zaiyabōto’s Human Consciousness Integration Project - combining the minds of humanity’s brightest and most noble with AI to create supercomputers that help run every city and government - has led to a prosperous future for all, where humanity’s greatest ills are no more. The computers made from the HCIP are flawless in every way and never malfunction…until the one holding Himeko Zaiyabōto’s own consciousness does. Faced with the potential collapse of every single one of these supercomputers, robotics scientist Kōji Nakamura does the impossible and resurrects Himeko Zaiyabōto, putting his faith in her to fix it. She does before declaring what she wants to do with her new chance at life: re-live it as an ordinary teenage girl!

Genres: Philosophical, Sci-Fi, Slice of Life

by oneiricElegy (MAL profile)


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Reader's Comment

Reborn in a Familiar New World is a touching story about a girl who gets a chance to do life over, but in the future, when the world is a much better place than the one she lived in. At times fluffy, at times somber, it will make you think about your place in the world, your relationships with your friends, and how things change with the passage of time. The sci-fi elements are front and center in a compelling, complex narrative that weaves together slice-of-life with classic science-fiction storytelling.

Food Truck in Space

The year is 3024. Ralphy is a young man who lives a relatively care-free life in the city of Space Chicago. On one fateful day, he is coerced by his obnoxious and impulsive older brother, Randy, into starting a space food truck business. This is the story of two brothers' misadventures as they travel the galaxy in their quest to sell the best burgers in the universe. Together, they will have a vast array of interstellar encounters, from alien hippy vegetables to killer fast food mascots, as they learn what it takes to run a small business in space.

Genres: Comedy, Slice of Life

by SkeletonIdiot (MAL profile)


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Reader's Comment

The moment I read the line, “If you at least try to get a real job like a social media influencer or a streamer, I'm sure dad will let you come home.” I knew I was going into a fun read filled with absurd humor and pop culture references. From the second you meet Randy, you understand exactly what kind of chaos you’re in for. He’s the kind of character who could effortlessly crash-land into the world of Family Guy, Rick and Morty, or Bob’s Burgers and feel right at home. Quirky, ridiculous, yet oddly relatable, Randy is the perfect protagonist for a story that thrives on whacky misadventures. And, of course, every tornado of nonsense needs a voice of reason—enter Ralphy, his long-suffering younger brother, who tries (and spectacularly fails) to keep things grounded. If you love humor that’s as over-the-top as a double-stacked, deep-fried space burger, loaded with pop culture nods and slathered in a ridiculous mix of cooking and sci-fi shenanigans, then “Food Truck in Space” is a must-read.

An Ode to the Stars

Thirteen years after leaving the Earth Union, the planet Lugus has been left on its own. It’s doing pretty good, mind you. With a combination of the human spirit, communal living and abandoned Earth Union technology, most people seem to thrive. Idealistic teenager Dorian Pepper is not one of those people. He dreams of the Union, of the stars and the heroic beauty of adventure. A dream that is constantly ridiculed by the collectivist, isolationist ideology around him. When he is falsely accused of technological malpractice, his denial starts a chain of events that may make his dreams of freedom a reality, but is he ready to take that leap? And will his peaceful community ever be the same?

Genres: Adventure, Sci-Fi, Slice of Life

by Mech


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Reader's Comment

An Ode to the Stars is a compelling narrative about two young men finding their places in the universe. This novel features complex, realistic characters that will leave you pondering whether those who do good deeds always have good hearts—or whether those who appear evil always have impure motives. In the vastness of the universe, is there a place for everyone? If you set your mind to it, can you find a place where you truly belong?

Alt-History Entries

Memoria

The year is 2033, eighty years after the world was plunged into a nuclear conflict that left much of the land uninhabitable and world economies and cultures teetering on the brink of collapse. A Japanese company—LiveRite Corporation—has completed work on a groundbreaking project. ‘Project Memoria’ gives families the option to scan their loved ones into the Digiscape, a virtual experience to house the minds and memories of the recently deceased so that they might live on forever. At a small, recurring cost. But if something seems too good to be true, it usually is, says Nagai Jiro, a convicted killer who finds himself signed up to be a Hunter in this strange new digital world. Tasked with protecting the existences who call the Digiscape home, he must team up with other Hunters to fight for his freedom and find out who was behind his wife's death.

Genres: Action, Drama, Post-Apocalyptic, Sci-Fi

by Kitsune (MAL profile)


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Reader's Comment

Memoria delves into the unsettling concept of using AI to preserve a "digital version" of a loved one after death. But what does this so-called second life truly look like from the inside? This novel explores that question—and the answer is far darker than you'd hope.
This novel reminded me a lot of the anime and game series .Hack as well as the game Once Human; if you know those, you just KNOW this will be a fun read. In the Digiscape, Hunters are tasked with protecting "Eternals"—digital echoes of the deceased—from viruses that threaten their "second existence". Unlike Eternals, Hunters are regular 9 to 5ers who clock in and out of 'realities'. But when Jiro, an unwilling recruit, discovers that these viruses can mutate into anomalies—nightmarish entities that can corrupt Eternals—he's forced to confront a moral dilemma: Are these digital reflections truly alive? Do they suffer? And how is all of this connected to his wife’s murder? With blackmail keeping him in the game and no way out but forward, Jiro has no choice but to burn through the chaos—just as you, the reader, will burn through the pages of this amazing read.

Cycrusade

World War III, taking place in the late 1980s, resulted in a nuclear winter, forcing humanity underground. Over time, they developed "exosuits", machines designed to block out nuclear radiation and explore the changed world. Now, in 2150, they are only tools of perpetual war, especially for the European Imperial Federation and the New Soviet Republic, two regional rivals forever locked in tensions. Wilhelm Frei aspires to be one such weapon of war. Intent on hunting down the man who took everything from him, an NSR pilot known as the "Red Reaper", he joined the military for a chance to get even. After a fortuitous twist of fate, he finds himself taking part in an experimental program, "Project Cyberitter", and becomes one of the first to pilot a "cybersuit", a high-powered exosuit with a direct connection to his brain. Alongside his fellow Cyberitters, he is tasked with leading a military campaign eastward, blissfully unaware of the trials in the way of his revenge...

Genres: Action, Drama, Military / War

by Maluger


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Reader's Comment

Fans of military-focused anime like “Attack on Titan”, will definitely like reading this novel. There’s a good balance between tense combat scenes, and how the bonds between the eight young pilots of the cybersuit program deepen. The characters are engaging and memorable, with varying motives that complement each other and drive the plot to its thrilling conclusion.

The World Doesn't Change So Easily

A group of students from a prestigious military academy are in space with their instructor for a practical exam. What should have been a routine trip goes horribly wrong, causing the death of one of the crew members. One of them is responsible, and one of them is not who they say they are. Lost and drifting in space, can the students solve the mystery and can they work together to overcome the challenges ahead of them? Set in an alternative 1989. where space travel technology has advanced far more than in our timeline, major technological breakthroughs were made after World War 2, allowing humanity to instantly traverse large distances of the cosmos and settle on far-off worlds. However, humanity has not united, nor does peace seem any closer than it was in our 20th century. The Cold War rages on, now expanded to the final frontier.

Genres: Action, Drama, Military / War, Survival

by Ćunfre


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Reader's Comment

This is not the "Futuristic High-Tech" world we deserved, but the futurism we needed.
I was skeptical when diving into this story, where usually most people set a timeline hundreds of years from the present, this story starts in 1989; but let me tell you, it has that "nostalgic futurism" we imagined as kids back in the 90s, reminiscent of cartoon shows like "The Jetsons" and anime like "Astroboy". After reading it, I would give anything to see this adapted into manga or anime with the style of ORESAMA. Memes aside, the quickest and best way I can describe "The World Doesn't Change So Easily" is just: It's the anime version of Among Us— if it was taken very seriously. Honestly, if you want to heal from your brain rot with an actually good story, this military space drama is what you'll need.

California Samurai

History turns on the smallest of things, and the Battle of Sekigahara was no small thing. A few traitors instead remain loyal, a few brave men instead cower, and Tokugawa Ieyasu never becomes Shogun. No isolationism, no end to ties with Portugal, and the Edo Period becomes Japan's Colonial Period. 433 years and a three-way Cold War later, the Monarchist bloc has stepped forward with a treaty proposing an alternative to conventional (or nuclear) warfare for international conflict resolution. The Treaty of Budapest requires signatories to stake their interests on single combat between their Duelist mechs. The ink on the treaty is barely dry, and already the People's Republics of Gran Colombia has contested the California Shogunate's control of Mexico City. Now Chris Hernandez, samurai and fighter pilot, must wield California's Duelist against the forces that seek to turn La Ciudad's twenty million souls into the forced labor that turns the wheels of the Red war machine.

Genres: Action, Military / War, Sci-Fi

by Samogitius


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Reader's Comment

A future where samurai tradition meets high technology, where international conflicts are resolved through one-on-one battles using giant humanoid weapons. Christopher Hernandez, an ace pilot of the California Air Force, is chosen to fight in a duel with Mexico City's sovereignty at stake. But this proves to be more than just a battle between machines. Amidst espionage and political intrigue, he finds himself questioning the meaning of "martial honor." With its meticulous world-building and rich storyline, this ambitious work goes beyond mere mecha action to explore the nature of warfare in a new era.

Children of Ares

When the discovery of a new mineral gives birth to new machines, the Cold War heats up once again. Two sides squared off until they brought about the threat of total destruction in the form of an accidentally released bio-weapon that turned men into monsters. NATO stands poised on all fronts, but the No Man's Land between the Russians and the rest of Western Europe establishes new strategic gaps and shakeups. Corporal Allison is an operator of one of the new machines, dubbed by NATO as the ARES. When a mission goes awry, she finds herself transferred to a new unit. While trying to prove herself capable to her new teammates, Allison finds that No Man's Land holds more deadly secrets than just infected creatures. With a new threat revealed, she races to deliver this vital intel that holds their entire operation at stake.
Genres: Action, Drama, Military / War, Survival

by Whiskey Delta


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Reader's Comment

Set in post-Cold War Europe, it's a story about a pilot fighting in a giant combat unit called "ARES." But this isn't just another military SF. We follow a protagonist carrying past trauma as she searches for her place in a new unit. We watch as she builds deep bonds with initially hostile teammates through desperate battles. Before I knew it, I was completely drawn to her story of growth. While military SF fans will certainly enjoy this, I especially recommend it to those seeking a deeply moving human drama.