In a dystopian future, detective Shinjuurou Yuuki—known by some as the "Defeated Detective"—solves mysteries throughout Tokyo. Aided by his odd associate Inga, Shinjuurou's insight and ingenuity in cracking cases, particularly homicides, lead to numerous mysteries solved and culprits caught. However, his partner seems to have some other, more sinister intentions for the people they catch, and the truth of the assistant's identity and motivation is shrouded in secrecy.

Amu Hinamori is a student at Seiyo Elementary, where she has a reputation for being "cool and spicy"; however, her real personality is that of an extremely shy and easily intimidated girl. One night Amu makes a wish that she would have the courage to be reborn as her "would-be" self. The next morning Amu finds three brightly colored eggs—red, blue, and green—in her bed. Each egg eventually hatches into a Guardian Character: Ran, Miki, and Su. Guardian Characters are angel-like beings that aid a person into becoming their "would-be" selves and fulfill the person's dreams. The Guardian Characters accomplish this by giving encouragement and advice, but they can also temporarily change a person's personality and abilities. With the Guardian Characters, Amu's life becomes much more complex as she now struggles to deal with her new personalities and the Seiyo Elementary Guardians—a student council group where each member has their own Guardian Character—who recruits Amu to search for and seal the X eggs and X Characters, corrupted forms of people's dreams.

Kyoto has been populated by groups of tanuki and tengu for years, living alongside humans who are oblivious to the existence of these creatures. Yasaburou Shimogamo is the third son of an influential tanuki family who spends his carefree days taking care of an old tengu, observing humans through his ability to shapeshift, and dealing with the mysterious woman named Benten. Behind the peace and tranquility, however, is a painful memory from long ago as Yasaburou's father, head of the tanuki community, was killed and eaten by a group of humans known as the Friday Fellows. Uchouten Kazoku follows the trials and tribulations of the Shimogamo brothers as they struggle to avoid their own grisly demise while coming ever closer to unraveling the truth behind their father's death. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

The story takes place in Nikko city, Tochigi Prefecture, where girls aim for the top of the world through ice hockey. Local junior high school student Manaka and her younger sister Ayaka, whom she forcibly invited, hit the gate of first-hand experience with ice hockey, held by the Nikko-based team Dream Monkeys. The two are joined by their childhood friends Kaoruko and Mami. As the girls practice, they become fascinated with ice hockey and eventually join the team.