Baikinman has spent decades as the villain who never wins, and suddenly he's inside a storybook where nobody knows that about him. He gets to be the hero for once, even if it's reluctant and messy and he'll probably need Anpanman's help anyway. That's the whole thing: a character defined by failure finally gets permission to try, and the picture book doesn't care about his track record.

Baikinman's schemes take an unexpected turn when a voice from a picture book calls him a warrior of love and courage and pulls him inside. There, in a large forest beyond a desert, he meets Lulun, a fairy too frightened to find her own courage. A rampaging creature called the Sucking Elephant is tearing through the woods, and Lulun asks Baikinman to defeat it. Baikinman is reluctant but gives it his best, only to find the elephant too strong for him. With things looking desperate, he tells Lulun to call Anpanman, and the two longtime rivals team up to protect the picture book world. The film is a comedic fantasy adventure that puts Anpanman's usual nemesis in the hero's role.