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MAL MCP Server

by Grinv
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TypeScript
Remote

Search anime

search_anime
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Find anime by keyword on MyAnimeList. Returns compact summaries with the MAL ID needed by other tools, plus pagination info and optional filters (type, genre, rating, score, status).

Instructions

Search MyAnimeList anime by keyword; returns compact summaries (with the mal_id that other anime tools require) plus pagination info. If Tenrai is unavailable and MAL_CLIENT_ID is set, transparently retries via the official API, which ignores every filter except q/sfw/limit/page (type/status/genres/genres_exclude/rating/score/min_score/max_score/letter/producers/start_date/end_date/unapproved/order_by/sort are silently dropped), always returns empty themes/demographics/broadcast (no official-API equivalent for any of these), enforces an explicit sfw: true client-side (a filtered page can come back shorter than limit), and — for a query with no real title match — comes back with a page of unrelated anime instead of an empty result (a quirk of the official search endpoint itself, not a mal-mcp bug; don't treat a nonsense-query result as a real match during a fallback).

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
qYesSearch query, e.g. an anime title.
sfwNoIf true, exclude adult/explicit-rated entries (R+ Mild Nudity and up). Defaults to false (no filtering). Note: this alone still allows mainstream, safely-rated shows tagged with the Ecchi genre (fanservice) through — use `sfw_strict` to also exclude those.
pageNo1-based page number for pagination (1-1000).
sortNoSort direction.
typeNoRestrict to one or more media types.
limitNoMax results per page (1-50).
scoreNoRestrict to entries with exactly this average score (rarely useful — prefer min_score/max_score for a range).
genresNoComma-separated MAL genre IDs to include (max 25), e.g. '1,4'. Look up IDs with get_anime_genres.
letterNoRestrict results to entries whose title starts with this single letter.
ratingNoRestrict to one or more specific content ratings. More granular than `sfw`/`sfw_strict` — use this to target a precise rating band instead of a blanket adult-content cutoff.
statusNoFilter by airing status.
end_dateNoOnly include entries whose end date is on or before this date (YYYY-MM-DD).
order_byNoField to order by.
max_scoreNoMaximum average MAL score (inclusive), 1-10.
min_scoreNoMinimum average MAL score (inclusive), 0-10.
producersNoComma-separated MAL producer/studio IDs to restrict to (max 25). Look up IDs with get_producers.
sfw_strictNoIf true, exclude adult/explicit-rated entries AND anything tagged with the Ecchi genre, even otherwise-mainstream/safely-rated shows. Stricter than `sfw` alone. Defaults to false.
start_dateNoOnly include entries whose start date is on or after this date (YYYY-MM-DD).
unapprovedNoIf true, also include entries not yet approved by MAL's moderators (excluded by default). Defaults to false.
genres_excludeNoComma-separated MAL genre IDs to exclude (max 25), e.g. '1,4'. Look up IDs with get_anime_genres.

Output Schema

TableJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
pageYes
resultsYes

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

  1. Changed51 schema fields changedv0.9.0
    • addedInput schema / properties / end_date
      Added value: +{
+  "description": "Only include entries whose end date is on or before this date (YYYY-MM-DD).",
+  "pattern": "^\\d{4}-\\d{2}-\\d{2}$",
+  "type": "string"
+}
    • changedInput schema / properties / genres / description
      Previous value: -"Comma-separated Jikan genre IDs, e.g. '1,4'. Look up the IDs with get_anime_genres."New value: +"Comma-separated MAL genre IDs to include (max 25), e.g. '1,4'. Look up IDs with get_anime_genres."
    • addedInput schema / properties / genres_exclude
      Added value: +{
+  "description": "Comma-separated MAL genre IDs to exclude (max 25), e.g. '1,4'. Look up IDs with get_anime_genres.",
+  "pattern": "^\\d+(,\\d+)*$",
+  "type": "string"
+}
    • addedInput schema / properties / letter
      Added value: +{
+  "description": "Restrict results to entries whose title starts with this single letter.",
+  "maxLength": 1,
+  "minLength": 1,
+  "type": "string"
+}
    • changedInput schema / properties / limit / description
      Previous value: -"Max results per page (1-25)."New value: +"Max results per page (1-50)."
    • changedInput schema / properties / limit / maximum
      Previous value: -25New value: +50
    • addedInput schema / properties / max_score
      Added value: +{
+  "description": "Maximum average MAL score (inclusive), 1-10.",
+  "maximum": 10,
+  "minimum": 1,
+  "type": "number"
+}
    • addedInput schema / properties / min_score
      Added value: +{
+  "description": "Minimum average MAL score (inclusive), 0-10.",
+  "maximum": 10,
+  "minimum": 0,
+  "type": "number"
+}
    • changedInput schema / properties / order_by / enum
      Previous value: -[
-  "title",
-  "start_date",
-  "score",
-  "rank",
-  "popularity",
-  "members",
-  "favorites",
-  "episodes"
-]New value: +[
+  "mal_id",
+  "title",
+  "start_date",
+  "end_date",
+  "episodes",
+  "score",
+  "scored_by",
+  "rank",
+  "popularity",
+  "members",
+  "favorites"
+]
    • changedInput schema / properties / page / description
      Previous value: -"1-based page number for pagination."New value: +"1-based page number for pagination (1-1000)."
    • changedInput schema / properties / page / maximum
      Previous value: -9007199254740991New value: +1000
    • addedInput schema / properties / producers
      Added value: +{
+  "description": "Comma-separated MAL producer/studio IDs to restrict to (max 25). Look up IDs with get_producers.",
+  "pattern": "^\\d+(,\\d+)*$",
+  "type": "string"
+}
    • addedInput schema / properties / rating
      Added value: +{
+  "description": "Restrict to one or more specific content ratings. More granular than `sfw`/`sfw_strict` — use this to target a precise rating band instead of a blanket adult-content cutoff.",
+  "items": {
+    "description": "A MAL content rating: g (All Ages), pg (Children), pg13 (Teens 13+), r17 (17+ violence/profanity), r (R+ Mild Nudity), rx (Rx Hentai).",
+    "enum": [
+      "g",
+      "pg",
+      "pg13",
+      "r17",
+      "r",
+      "rx"
+    ],
+    "type": "string"
+  },
+  "type": "array"
+}
    • addedInput schema / properties / score
      Added value: +{
+  "description": "Restrict to entries with exactly this average score (rarely useful — prefer min_score/max_score for a range).",
+  "maximum": 9.99,
+  "minimum": 1,
+  "type": "number"
+}
    • changedInput schema / properties / sfw / description
      Previous value: -"If true, exclude adult (NSFW) entries. Defaults to false (no filtering)."New value: +"If true, exclude adult/explicit-rated entries (R+ Mild Nudity and up). Defaults to false (no filtering). Note: this alone still allows mainstream, safely-rated shows tagged with the Ecchi genre (fanservice) through — use `sfw_strict` to also exclude those."
    • addedInput schema / properties / sfw_strict
      Added value: +{
+  "description": "If true, exclude adult/explicit-rated entries AND anything tagged with the Ecchi genre, even otherwise-mainstream/safely-rated shows. Stricter than `sfw` alone. Defaults to false.",
+  "type": "boolean"
+}
    • changedInput schema / properties / sort / enum
      Previous value: -[
-  "desc",
-  "asc"
-]New value: +[
+  "asc",
+  "desc"
+]
    • addedInput schema / properties / start_date
      Added value: +{
+  "description": "Only include entries whose start date is on or after this date (YYYY-MM-DD).",
+  "pattern": "^\\d{4}-\\d{2}-\\d{2}$",
+  "type": "string"
+}
    • changedInput schema / properties / type / description
      Previous value: -"Filter by media type."New value: +"Restrict to one or more media types."
    • removedInput schema / properties / type / enum
      Removed value: -[
-  "tv",
-  "movie",
-  "ova",
-  "special",
-  "ona",
-  "music",
-  "cm",
-  "pv",
-  "tv_special"
-]
    • addedInput schema / properties / type / items
      Added value: +{
+  "description": "A media type.",
+  "enum": [
+    "tv",
+    "movie",
+    "ova",
+    "special",
+    "ona",
+    "music",
+    "cm",
+    "pv",
+    "tv_special"
+  ],
+  "type": "string"
+}
    • addedInput schema / properties / type / minItems
      Added value: +1
    • changedInput schema / properties / type / type
      Previous value: -"string"New value: +"array"
    • addedInput schema / properties / unapproved
      Added value: +{
+  "description": "If true, also include entries not yet approved by MAL's moderators (excluded by default). Defaults to false.",
+  "type": "boolean"
+}
    • addedOutput schema / properties / page / properties / current_page / exclusiveMinimum
      Added value: +0
    • addedOutput schema / properties / page / properties / current_page / maximum
      Added value: +9007199254740991
    • changedOutput schema / properties / page / properties / current_page / type
      Previous value: -"number"New value: +"integer"
    • addedOutput schema / properties / page / properties / last_visible_page / exclusiveMinimum
      Added value: +0
    • addedOutput schema / properties / page / properties / last_visible_page / maximum
      Added value: +9007199254740991
    • changedOutput schema / properties / page / properties / last_visible_page / type
      Previous value: -"number"New value: +"integer"
    • addedOutput schema / properties / page / properties / total / maximum
      Added value: +9007199254740991
    • addedOutput schema / properties / page / properties / total / minimum
      Added value: +0
    • changedOutput schema / properties / page / properties / total / type
      Previous value: -"number"New value: +"integer"
    • addedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / episodes / maximum
      Added value: +9007199254740991
    • addedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / episodes / minimum
      Added value: +0
    • changedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / episodes / type
      Previous value: -"number"New value: +"integer"
    • addedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / mal_id / exclusiveMinimum
      Added value: +0
    • addedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / mal_id / maximum
      Added value: +9007199254740991
    • changedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / mal_id / type
      Previous value: -"number"New value: +"integer"
    • addedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / members / maximum
      Added value: +9007199254740991
    • addedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / members / minimum
      Added value: +0
    • changedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / members / type
      Previous value: -"number"New value: +"integer"
    • addedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / popularity / exclusiveMinimum
      Added value: +0
    • addedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / popularity / maximum
      Added value: +9007199254740991
    • changedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / popularity / type
      Previous value: -"number"New value: +"integer"
    • addedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / rank / exclusiveMinimum
      Added value: +0
    • addedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / rank / maximum
      Added value: +9007199254740991
    • changedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / rank / type
      Previous value: -"number"New value: +"integer"
    • addedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / year / maximum
      Added value: +2100
    • addedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / year / minimum
      Added value: +1900
    • changedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / year / type
      Previous value: -"number"New value: +"integer"
  2. Changed4 schema fields changedv0.8.0
    • addedInput schema / additionalProperties
      Added value: +false
    • changedInput schema / properties / genres / description
      Previous value: -"Comma-separated Jikan genre IDs, e.g. '1,4'."New value: +"Comma-separated Jikan genre IDs, e.g. '1,4'. Look up the IDs with get_anime_genres."
    • addedInput schema / properties / genres / pattern
      Added value: +"^\\d+(,\\d+)*$"
    • addedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / broadcast
      Added value: +{
+  "type": "string"
+}
  3. Changed2 schema fields changedv0.7.1
    • changedInput schema / $schema
      Previous value: -"http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"New value: +"https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema"
    • changedOutput schema / (root)
      Previous value: -nullNew value: +{
+  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
+  "additionalProperties": false,
+  "properties": {
+    "page": {
+      "additionalProperties": false,
+      "properties": {
+        "current_page": {
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "has_next_page": {
+          "type": "boolean"
+        },
+        "last_visible_page": {
+          "type": "number"
+        },
+        "total": {
+          "type": "number"
+        }
+      },
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    "results": {
+      "items": {
+        "additionalProperties": false,
+        "properties": {
+          "aired": {
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          "airing": {
+            "type": "boolean"
+          },
+          "demographics": {
+            "items": {
+              "type": "string"
+            },
+            "type": "array"
+          },
+          "episodes": {
+            "type": "number"
+          },
+          "genres": {
+            "items": {
+              "type": "string"
+            },
+            "type": "array"
+          },
+          "image_url": {
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          "mal_id": {
+            "type": "number"
+          },
+          "members": {
+            "type": "number"
+          },
+          "popularity": {
+            "type": "number"
+          },
+          "rank": {
+            "type": "number"
+          },
+          "rating": {
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          "score": {
+            "type": "number"
+          },
+          "season": {
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          "status": {
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          "studios": {
+            "items": {
+              "type": "string"
+            },
+            "type": "array"
+          },
+          "synopsis": {
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          "themes": {
+            "items": {
+              "type": "string"
+            },
+            "type": "array"
+          },
+          "title": {
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          "title_english": {
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          "type": {
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          "url": {
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          "year": {
+            "type": "number"
+          }
+        },
+        "required": [
+          "mal_id"
+        ],
+        "type": "object"
+      },
+      "type": "array"
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "results",
+    "page"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}
  4. First observedv0.1.0

TDQS

A3.8/5.0
Behavior5/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

The description extensively discloses behavioral traits: transparent retry via official API with filtered parameters silently dropped, enforced sfw client-side, and nonsense queries returning unrelated anime. This goes far beyond the readOnlyHint and openWorldHint annotations.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness3/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

The description is verbose and contains multiple paragraphs with detailed fallback behavior, which adds value but could be more concise. The main purpose is front-loaded, but the length may hinder quick comprehension.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness4/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

Given the complexity (20 parameters, output schema, annotations), the description covers important edge cases and fallback behavior comprehensively. It complements the schema well, though some parameter interactions are only implied in the fallback notes.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

The input schema has 100% coverage with individual parameter descriptions, so the tool description does not add much meaning beyond that. It mentions that many filters are ignored during fallback, which is behavioral context rather than parameter-specific semantics.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose4/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The description clearly states it searches MyAnimeList anime by keyword and returns compact summaries with mal_id and pagination info. It distinguishes from sibling tools implicitly by specifying 'anime', but does not explicitly differentiate from other search tools like search_manga.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines3/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

The description implies it is for searching anime, but does not provide explicit guidance on when to use versus alternatives, nor does it mention when not to use it. It only describes behavior during fallback.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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