The beginning of the Taishou era spelled the end of the tanuki's tricks. These raccoon dogs, who are able to transform into human beings, used to love fooling humans until advanced technology rendered their endeavors futile. However, Mameda, a young tanuki girl, has not given up on this tradition, and—resolved to follow in her father's footsteps—travels to Osaka in hopes of duping people. As others in her village predicted, Mameda fails to deceive a single person, and she is even hunted down by an angry crowd. After finding refuge in a theater, she stumbles upon a rakugo performance given by a master of the art, Bunko Daikokutei. Fascinated by the vivid images created by the rakugoka's acting, Mameda becomes enamored with this style of storytelling and decides to become Bunko's apprentice! Despite her initial reluctance to take a disciple, Bunko begins to teach Mameda rakugo after witnessing the young tanuki's perseverance. Between undertaking a taiko apprenticeship, handling her work at the theater, and memorizing plays, Mameda needs to give her all if she ever plans to master the only art that still has a chance to fool people.

With the completion of the Summer Troupe's show, Izumi Tachibana must now recruit five members for the next sub-troupe, the Autumn Troupe. Luckily, enough people arrive at the audition: Banri Settsu, a talented but boastful jack of all trades; Juuza Hyoudou, a stone-faced delinquent passionate about acting; Taichi Nanao, a man wanting to impress girls through the stage; Omi Fushimi, a college student, amateur photographer, and adept cook; and Sakyou Furuichi, a yakuza member who shares a past connection with the Mankai Company. But between the non-existent teamwork and multiple threats jeopardizing the show's success, Izumi realizes that the troupe might be more difficult to handle than she first thought. How will she be able to unite them in time for their debut performance?

The chaotic aftermath of a confrontation between Jinka Yamato and Yazen results in the power dynamics between the magically gifted katawara and humans being turned upside down. As the news of the downfall of dangaishu—the katawara-hunting monks led by Yazen—spreads across the country, rogue groups of katawara start to form, worsening the already-fragile relationship between them and humanity. Having lost faith in his abilities, Shinsuke Hyoudou now spends his time heavily drinking in the company of Senya, a former enemy of his who controls one thousand katawara within his body. Senya indirectly causes the death of the father of Tsukiko, his newfound friend, after a surprise attack of a local god gone berserk. Despite the circumstances, Tsukiko holds no grudge against Senya and is determined to become Shinsuke's disciple no matter what. Although Shinsuke refuses to become Tsukiko's sword instructor, he reluctantly agrees to let her travel with him and Senya. While the unlikely trio heads towards their next destination, Tama Youko continues her journey to find the trail of Jinka, the nine-tailed fox who has the power to destroy the world.

Due to her mother's work, Chizuko Date has never remained in one place for long or grown attached to anything in particular. However, while temporarily staying with her grandfather Suikyou, she witnesses something extraordinary: a magical girl named Berry Blossom fighting against Chroma, member of the evil organization Fossa Magna. Seeing Berry Blossom save the day ignites a passion in Chizuko, and she swears to be a fan of the new magical girl in town thereafter. As time passes, Berry Blossom's popularity dwindles due to the incompetence of her opponent. When Chizuko randomly encounters Chroma himself, she does not hold back her complaints against him. For his part, Chroma does not enjoy being defeated again and again; moreover, Fossa Magna will force him to resign if he continues losing. In desperation, Chroma begs Chizuko to become his second-in-command and help him with his evildoings. For the sake of Berry Blossom regaining the spotlight, Chizuko must question whether it is right to join forces with the magical girl's sworn enemy.