History MacGuffin / AnimeAndManga

* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', the titular treasure is a [=MacGuffin=]; nobody knows exactly what it is, but everyone wants to get their hands on it. This is even more evident in the earlier drafts for the manga called "Romance Dawn", where there was no mention of One Piece, and Luffy was a pirate just for the hell of it.

** The Dragonballs actually stopped being a [=MacGuffin=] during the Frieza saga in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', where they have an important instrumental role in the latter part of the plot: first, when the Namek Dragon Balls are used to bring back Piccolo, which not only allows the namekian to join the fight against Frieza, but also prompts the resurrection of the Earth Dragon Balls. These are then used to bring back all the people slain by Frieza and his minions back to life, including the Great Elder (albeit the latter just briefly). This allows the Namek Dragon Balls to be used one last time to evacuate the collapsing planet, and except for Goku and Frieza, who stay behind to finish their battle before Namek explodes.

** The Dragonballs actually stopped being a [=MacGuffin=] partway through the Freiza saga in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', when they were used to bring back Piccolo. After that, they simply became the series' reset button, the gathering of which was completely glossed over (the characters had become too powerful to ''not'' just fly to where the Dragonballs were and pick them up).

* One of OsamuTezuka's numerous completely fabricated diseases in ''Manga/BlackJack'' is a disease called '[=MacGuffin=] Syndrome', said to be incurable (or, at least, impossible to heal without a lot of stamina). It was first mentioned as the disease that a character suffers from... take a wild guess at what it's used for.

* The flashy, expensive sneakers are the primary (and possibly only) motivators for Kirenenko in ''{{Usavich}}''.

* The anime version of ''WorldDestruction'' is about the World Destruction Committee, who spend the entire series carrying around an orb capable of destroying the world. (Only one of them is capable of using it, however, and he has no desire to destroy the world.)

* In ''{{Piano}}'', Miu's self-composed piano piece is the [=MacGuffin=]. Theoretically, the entire series is built around it. In actuality, it takes a back seat to the "slice of life" drama that makes up the story. The audience only really gets to hear it in the first episode, and it's just an extract. The series finishes ''just'' as Miu walks on stage to perform it, a source of snarling frustration if the viewer's been wondering just what she's been working on all this time. Still, at least no-one tried to kill her to get their hands on it.

* The collection of "hanamaru" in ''MagicalPlay'' is mainly used to give the three main characters a reason to hang out with each other.

** From LupinIIIRedJacket series, we have episodes where Goemon and Lupin are competing to get an ancient document from police headquarters, which [[spoiler:turns out to be the laws and regulations guide of Japanese policemen...circa 1885 or so]], and another such episode where Goemon is up against his former rival-what-killed-his-master, searching for a secret scroll with the final technique. [[spoiler:Turns out the scroll is blank, and another one of those ''Be Yourself'' metaphor things.]] The series played with the trope at one point - Lupin is captured by a RichIdiotWithNoDayJob and strapped with a bomb; the guy takes Fujiko hostage as well and sends Lupin to steal a file from the police. The file is the rap sheet for a minor criminal, and none of the heroes can work out why he'd want that. [[spoiler:Turns out the rich guy ''is'' the criminal, with serious plastic surgery]].

* ''KaitouJoker'' has a MacGuffin in each episode that Joker and Hachi are after. The other characters do their best to get in the way, this may be either to prevent the theft or take it for themselves.

* The Shinzaho in ''Manga/FushigiYuugi'' (Takiko's necklace, Suzuno's mirror, Yui's earring, and [[spoiler: Miaka's unborn child]]). Used to summon TheFourGods, especially if (for some reason) the summoning ceremony can't be performed normally. Half the plot is therefore the search for them.

* With the exceptions of ''Anime/FreshPrettyCure'', ''Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure'' and ''Anime/DokiDokiPrettyCure'', all of the ''Anime/PrettyCure'' series tend to have the girls go after various MacGuffins of various sizes and states of sentience.

* The Crystal Flowers from ''PetitePrincessYucie'', giving the Platinum Princess candidates an excuse to visit each other's worlds.

* The Eto Gun from ''EtCetera''. Very nearly EVERYONE Ming Chao meets is after it.

* With the exceptions of ''Anime/FreshPrettyCure'', ''Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure'' and ''Anime/DokiDokiPrettyCure'', all of the ''PrettyCure'' series tend to have the girls go after various MacGuffins of various sizes and states of sentience.

* PrincessMononoke has ''two'' [=MacGuffins=]. One is the curse on the main character's arm (a ClingyMacGuffin) which he is trying to remove before he dies from the infection, and the other is the Forest Spirit's head, said to grant eternal life to those who own it. Despite both playing prominent roles neither has any functional impact until their relative plots are resolved at the end.
* The Imperial Seal and the Dragon Jade from ''IkkiTousen''.
* Every single episode of ''GetBackers'' revolves around one of these. Somewhat [[JustifiedTrope justified]], as the characters retrieve, transport, protect, etc. things for a living.
* In ''OnePiece'', the titular treasure is a [=MacGuffin=]; nobody knows exactly what it is, but everyone wants to get their hands on it. This is even more evident in the earlier drafts for the manga called "Romance Dawn", where there was no mention of One Piece, and Luffy was a pirate just for the hell of it.

* In ''TokyoGodfathers'' by Creator/SatoshiKon the baby, Kiyoko, found by the titular homeless people rests between this and MagneticPlotDevice to the point where the characters start considering the baby to be blessed. Also she is technically a MacGuffinGirl.

* In ''WindyTales'', the wind manipulation powers are used mostly as a backdrop for the more SliceOfLife nature of the tales in the title.

* The demon tool Brew in Manga/SoulEater. Originally sought out by Shibusen for no clear purpose other than to avoid the other guys getting their hands on it, it was used as a bargaining chip by Medusa. She tricked Arachne into thinking she had the real thing, and gave Brew itself to Shinigami in exchange for information and a deal to bring down Arachnaphobia. The one occasion the [=MacGuffin=] tool itself does something significant, is in a Chekov's Gun-like moment during the Baba Yaga arc. Its [[AmplifierArtifact soul amplification]] ability saves Death the Kid's life. And his left arm. Now placed in Noah's book, it may well turn up again to...be passed around by the cast once more.

* In a sidestory in the ''FruitsBasket'' manga, Akito's mother, Ren, and Akito manipulate various people in their family over the possession of a box left behind by Akito's father, Akira. When the box is opened, [[spoiler:it's empty. Akito's caretakers said Akira's soul was in the box, but Akito had long since stopped believing that and just used the mystery surrounding the box to jerk Ren around.]]
* The Shinzaho in ''FushigiYuugi'' (Takiko's necklace, Suzuno's mirror, Yui's earring, and [[spoiler: Miaka's unborn child]]). Used to summon TheFourGods, especially if (for some reason) the summoning ceremony can't be performed normally. Half the plot is therefore the search for them.

* The Eto Gun from EtCetera. Very nearly EVERYONE Ming Chao meets is after it.
* Celty's head in ''{{Durarara}}'' is a [=MacGuffin=] that falls in and out of focus, as no one who has it knows quite what to do with it, and Celty herself isn't sure she wants it.

* The Mew Aqua in TokyoMewMew
* In the original ''Anime/SailorMoon'' anime series, there were what the dub called "Rainbow Jewels", seven gems that would bring about the Silver Crystal. The Dark Kingdom wanted it to gain the power they needed to unleash Queen Metallia, Tuxedo Mask wanted it to help with his memories and the Sailors just wanted to keep them safe. The bad guys get them for all of five seconds before they become the Silver Crystal and end up revealing that Sailor Moon's also the missing Moon Princess.

* In ''TokyoGodfathers'' by SatoshiKon the baby, Kiyoko, found by the titular homeless people rests between this and MagneticPlotDevice to the point where the characters start considering the baby to be blessed. Also she is technically a MacGuffinGirl.

* The titular Dragonballs in ''Manga/DragonBall'' were originally just an instigator for the story. Goku admitted at the very beginning that he had no plans for a wish and just wanted to see a cool dragon. Bulma was planning to wish for a boyfriend, while Yamcha was going to get rid of his fear of women. The very first wish ended up being just a gag... a pair of woman's panties by Oolong, done to keep Pilaf from using the dragon to conquer the world. Bulma and Yamcha fall in love, not having needed the wishes after all. The second Dragonball hunt was also just Goku looking for his Grandfather's 4-star Dragonball. The necessity to make a specific wish only became important when Tao Pai Pai killed a newfound friend of Goku's while searching for the Dragonballs.

* In ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' the entire Orange League episodes are caused by Ash trying to get the mysterious GS Ball to a Pokeball expert named Kurt. No one knows what's in it. By the end of the Johto League episodes, [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse it's just forgotten]]. In the games, the GS Ball contained Celebi. However, Celebi has appeared in the anime/[[TheMovie movies]] since then, with no known connection to the GS Ball. They tried throwing it, using a crowbar, electric saws, and a ''laser''. Nothing worked, and it was completely forgotten about later. Chances are, not even the producers really knew what was in it.
** The GS Ball in the {{anime}} was supposed to be exactly like how it was in the games, but the producers decided to use Celebi for the movies, so when they had Ash give the ball to Kurt, the producers left that subplot unsolved in hopes that the audience would forget about it. They didn't.

* In a certain episode of ''Manga/LupinIII'' in which Goemon and Lupin are both trying to get an ancient document from police headquarters, which [[spoiler:turns out to be the laws and regulations guide of Japanese policemen...circa 1885 or so]], and another such episode where Goemon is up against his former rival-what-killed-his-master, searching for a secret scroll with the final technique. [[spoiler:Turns out the scroll is blank]] and on top of that, [[spoiler:the scroll is another one of those ''Be Yourself'' metaphor things]]. Considering the nature of this show, there's probably more.
** The series played with it at one point - Lupin is captured by a RichIdiotWithNoDayJob and strapped with a bomb; the guy takes Fujiko hostage as well and sends Lupin to steal a file from the police. The file is the rap sheet for a minor criminal, and none of the heroes can work out why he'd want that. Turns out [[spoiler:the rich guy ''is'' the criminal, with serious plastic surgery]].
** Barring a scant handful, every... single... movie revolves around a [=MacGuffin=], which is inevitably lost by the end.

** As the story progressed nearly every BigBad had their plans for the Dragonballs (most wanted to be immortal) but even then the Dragonballs could be replaced with a credit card and the story could still mostly be told, except without a handy ResetButton. It wasn't until GT that the Dragonballs themselves became a danger to the characters.
** The Dragonballs actually stopped being a [=MacGuffin=] partway through the Freiza saga, when they were used to bring back Piccolo. After that, they simply became the series' reset button, the gathering of which was completely glossed over (the characters had become too powerful to ''not'' just fly to where the Dragonballs were and pick them up).

* In a sidestory in the ''FruitsBasket'' manga, Akito's mother, Ren, and Akito manipulate various people in their family over the posession of a box left behind by Akito's father, Akira. When the box is opened, [[spoiler:it's empty. Akito's caretakers said Akira's soul was in the box, but Akito had long since stopped believing that and just used the mystery surrounding the box to jerk Ren around.]]

** The Dragonballs actually stopped being a [=MacGuffin=] partway through the Freiza saga, when they were used to bring back Piccolo. After that, they simply became the series' reset button, the gathering of which was completely glossed over (the characters had become too powerful to *not* just fly to where the Dragonballs were and pick them up).