Signal Forge

signal-forge

Intent

First stage of the AnimeLegends generative pipeline. Ingests trending anime topics from configured sources (Reddit anime communities, AniList trending), applies a weighted 4-axis scoring rubric (engagement 35%, brand-fit 30%, controversy 20%, recency 15%), strips any copyrighted character names or franchise references via legal firewall, assigns appropriate channel (PowerScaling/Philosophy/LoreDrop/TrainingArc/LegendsLabs) and mascot trinity (Mira/Kage/Akashi), and produces a validated SignalManifest JSON that feeds downstream to concept-forge.

Inputs

What this skill expects to receive:

interface SignalForgeInput {
  source: "url" | "manual" | "ingest";  // input type
  topic?: string;                       // manual topic string if source=manual
  url?: string;                         // Reddit/AniList URL if source=url
  override_legal?: boolean;             // bypass legal firewall (default: false, requires explicit flag)
}

Source of input: user prompt via /from-signal command, or automatic ingest from configured Reddit/AniList monitors (if configured).

Outputs

What this skill produces:

interface SignalManifest {
  signal_id: string;                    // UUID v4
  topic_raw: string;                    // original topic before legal pass
  topic_clean: string;                  // sanitized topic (copyrighted refs stripped)
  source: string;                       // "reddit" | "anilist" | "manual"
  source_url?: string;                  // original URL if from reddit/anilist
  scores: {
    engagement: number;                 // 0-100
    brand_fit: number;                  // 0-100
    controversy: number;                // 0-100
    recency: number;                    // 0-100, 48h half-life
    weighted_total: number;             // composite score
  };
  channel: string;                      // PowerScaling | Philosophy | LoreDrop | TrainingArc | LegendsLabs
  mascots: string[];                    // ["MIRA", "KAGE", "AKASHI"] trinity in assigned order
  status: "accept" | "defer" | "reject";
  legal_flags: string[];                // detected copyrighted refs (empty if clean)
  timestamp: string;                    // ISO 8601
}

Where the output goes: passed to concept-forge as input, logged to grimoire-keeper, saved to signals/ directory if configured.

Core logic / rules

1. Source resolution — Determine input source: if source=url, extract topic from Reddit post title or AniList entry; if source=manual, use provided topic string directly; if source=ingest, poll configured monitors (Reddit r/anime, r/OnePiece, r/JujutsuKaisen, AniList trending API) every 30 minutes and queue top 5 new entries.

2. Legal firewall (pre-scoring) — Before scoring, scan topic_raw against the copyrighted reference database (character names from Shonen Jump, Studio Ghibli, Trigger, Ufotable, Mappa franchises). If match found: replace with [redacted character] or [redacted series] in topic_clean, log to legal_flags array. If override_legal=true (manual only), skip this step but still log detected refs.

3. 4-axis scoring — Compute weighted scores:

   • Engagement (35%): Reddit upvotes / 1000, AniList favorites / 10000, manual topics default to 50.
   • Brand-fit (30%): keyword match against AnimeLegends brand pillars (training arcs, power systems, philosophy, lore depth) — score 0-100 via keyword density.
   • Controversy (20%): Reddit comment velocity (comments/hour in first 6h), AniList discussion threads — higher = better. Manual topics default to 40.
   • Recency (15%): exponential decay with 48h half-life. Topics >96h old score <10.
   • Weighted total: (engagement * 0.35) + (brand_fit * 0.30) + (controversy * 0.20) + (recency * 0.15).

4. Channel assignment — Map topic to sub-channel via keyword heuristics:

   • PowerScaling: "power level", "strongest", "vs", "battle"
   • Philosophy: "meaning", "theme", "philosophy", "symbolism"
   • LoreDrop: "explained", "lore", "theory", "timeline"
   • TrainingArc: "training", "growth", "journey", "development"
   • LegendsLabs: "animation", "sakuga", "production", "studio"
   • Default: Philosophy if no strong match.

5. Mascot trinity assignment — Assign mascot order based on channel:

   • PowerScaling: Akashi leads (closes with power judgment), Kage measures, Mira opens curiosity.
   • Philosophy: Mira leads (opens with wonder), Kage probes, Akashi synthesizes.
   • LoreDrop: Kage leads (analytical), Mira contextualizes, Akashi delivers verdict.
   • TrainingArc: Mira leads (warm journey framing), Akashi challenges, Kage measures progress.
   • LegendsLabs: Akashi leads (expertise assertion), Kage dissects, Mira humanizes.

6. Accept/defer/reject — Set status based on weighted_total: ≥60 = accept, 40-59 = defer (low priority queue), <40 = reject. Deferred topics resurface if engagement spikes within 48h.

7. Manifest generation — Populate SignalManifest with all fields, generate UUID for signal_id, set timestamp to ISO 8601 UTC.

8. Grimoire logging — Log invocation to grimoire-keeper with stage="signal-forge", input_id=null (first stage), output_id=signal_id, decision=status, rationale (one-line: why accepted/deferred/rejected), duration_ms.

Worked examples

Example 1: Reddit trending topic (accepted)

Input:

{
  "source": "url",
  "url": "https://reddit.com/r/anime/comments/xyz/why_gojos_domain_is_philosophically_perfect"
}

Output:

{
  "signal_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
  "topic_raw": "Why Gojo's Domain is philosophically perfect",
  "topic_clean": "Why [redacted character]'s Domain is philosophically perfect",
  "source": "reddit",
  "source_url": "https://reddit.com/r/anime/comments/xyz/why_gojos_domain_is_philosophically_perfect",
  "scores": {
    "engagement": 78,
    "brand_fit": 92,
    "controversy": 65,
    "recency": 95,
    "weighted_total": 81.65
  },
  "channel": "Philosophy",
  "mascots": ["MIRA", "KAGE", "AKASHI"],
  "status": "accept",
  "legal_flags": ["Gojo (Jujutsu Kaisen)"],
  "timestamp": "2026-08-16T09:15:00Z"
}

Why this output: High brand-fit (philosophy keyword), strong engagement, recent post. Legal firewall stripped "Gojo" (copyrighted Jujutsu Kaisen character). Philosophy channel assigned → Mira leads trinity.

Example 2: Manual topic (deferred)

Input:

{
  "source": "manual",
  "topic": "Best animation studios ranked by sakuga quality"
}

Output:

{
  "signal_id": "7c9e6679-7425-40de-944b-e07fc1f90ae7",
  "topic_raw": "Best animation studios ranked by sakuga quality",
  "topic_clean": "Best animation studios ranked by sakuga quality",
  "source": "manual",
  "scores": {
    "engagement": 50,
    "brand_fit": 70,
    "controversy": 40,
    "recency": 50,
    "weighted_total": 52.5
  },
  "channel": "LegendsLabs",
  "mascots": ["AKASHI", "KAGE", "MIRA"],
  "status": "defer",
  "legal_flags": [],
  "timestamp": "2026-08-16T09:20:00Z"
}

Why this output: Manual topics default to mid-range engagement/controversy/recency. Brand-fit moderate (sakuga/animation match). Weighted total 52.5 → defer status (40-59 range). LegendsLabs channel → Akashi leads.

Example 3: Stale low-engagement topic (rejected)

Input:

{
  "source": "url",
  "url": "https://anilist.co/anime/12345/discussions/old-minor-character-discussion"
}

Output:

{
  "signal_id": "3fa85f64-5717-4562-b3fc-2c963f66afa6",
  "topic_raw": "Old minor character discussion from 2024",
  "topic_clean": "Old minor character discussion from 2024",
  "source": "anilist",
  "source_url": "https://anilist.co/anime/12345/discussions/old-minor-character-discussion",
  "scores": {
    "engagement": 15,
    "brand_fit": 25,
    "controversy": 10,
    "recency": 5,
    "weighted_total": 14.75
  },
  "channel": "Philosophy",
  "mascots": ["MIRA", "KAGE", "AKASHI"],
  "status": "reject",
  "legal_flags": [],
  "timestamp": "2026-08-16T09:25:00Z"
}

Why this output: Topic is >96h old (recency score 5), low engagement (15), weak brand-fit. Weighted total 14.75 < 40 → reject. Not queued for downstream processing.

Failure modes

• No configured ingest sources — If source=ingest but Reddit API keys or AniList access is not configured, log error to Grimoire with status="error", return empty manifest, and notify user that manual topic input is required.
• URL fetch timeout — If Reddit/AniList URL fetch times out (>10s), retry once after 2s delay. If second attempt fails, log error, set status="defer", and queue for retry in 30 minutes.
• Legal firewall too aggressive — If topic is reduced to <5 words after stripping copyrighted refs (e.g., "Why [redacted] is [redacted]"), set status="reject", log to Grimoire with rationale="topic_too_vague_after_legal_pass", do not proceed downstream.
• All scores zero — If engagement, brand-fit, controversy, recency all compute to 0 (malformed input), set status="reject", log rationale="insufficient_signal_data".
• Missing topic — If source=manual but topic field is empty or null, return error: "Manual source requires non-empty topic string".

Grimoire logging contract

Every invocation of this skill logs via grimoire-keeper. Fields logged:

• stage: "signal-forge"
• input_id: null (first stage, no upstream manifest)
• output_id: signal_id from generated SignalManifest
• decision: "accept" | "defer" | "reject" | "error"
• rationale: one-line explanation (e.g., "high_engagement_philosophy_topic", "stale_low_engagement", "legal_firewall_blocked")
• cost_usd: 0.00 (no paid API calls at this stage)
• duration_ms: elapsed time from input receipt to manifest generation
• legal_flags: array of detected copyrighted references (empty if none)

Legal firewall

This skill enforces strict copyright filtering on all external content.

Copyrighted reference database

Maintained in brand/never-say.md (not in this repo — see AnimeLegends studio monorepo). Database includes:

• Character names from Shonen Jump franchises (Naruto, One Piece, Bleach, Jujutsu Kaisen, My Hero Academia, Dragon Ball, etc.)
• Studio Ghibli, Trigger, Ufotable, Mappa character and series names
• Franchise-specific terminology (e.g., "Sharingan", "Hollow", "Quirk", "Stand", "Bankai")

Replacement behavior

• Character name → [redacted character]
• Series name → [redacted series]
• Franchise term → [generic equivalent] (e.g., "Sharingan" → "special eye technique")

Override

Manual topics can set override_legal=true to bypass substitution (e.g., for fair-use commentary), but detected refs are still logged to legal_flags array for audit trail.

AnimeLegends original IP

The following are AnimeLegends original characters and are NEVER filtered:

• AKASHI — wisdom keeper, deep reverb voice
• KAGE — shadow analyst, metallic clarity
• MIRA — wonder guide, warm curious tone

Quality gates

• Output SignalManifest has all required fields (signal_id, topic_raw, topic_clean, source, scores, channel, mascots, status, legal_flags, timestamp)
• signal_id is valid UUID v4
• topic_clean is non-empty and ≥5 words after legal pass
• scores.weighted_total is correctly computed: (engagement * 0.35) + (brand_fit * 0.30) + (controversy * 0.20) + (recency * 0.15)
• status matches weighted_total thresholds: ≥60 accept, 40-59 defer, <40 reject
• channel is one of: PowerScaling, Philosophy, LoreDrop, TrainingArc, LegendsLabs
• mascots array has exactly 3 elements from {MIRA, KAGE, AKASHI}
• legal_flags array populated if copyrighted refs detected
• Grimoire log entry created with all required fields
• No copyrighted character names in topic_clean unless override_legal=true

Changelog

0.1.0 — 2026-08-16

• Initial release
• 4-axis scoring rubric (engagement 35%, brand-fit 30%, controversy 20%, recency 15%)
• Legal firewall with copyrighted reference stripping
• Channel and mascot assignment logic
• Accept/defer/reject status based on weighted score thresholds
• Grimoire logging integration