Kappa no Sanpei

Sanpei is a lazy 7-year-old boy who rarely concentrates on anything besides eating his school dinners. Despite being constantly jeered at by his classmates for looking like a Kappa, Sanpei is a relatively happy-go-lucky boy content with living alone with his grandfather in the mountains. One day, Sanpei's school announces a swimming gala with the top prize being an all-expenses-paid trip to the big city of Tokyo. Sanpei resolves to enter the contest to visit Tokyo and meet his mother, who seems to have been working there for as long as he can remember. Unfortunately, Sanpei is not a very able swimmer and decides to sneak off to a nearby lake to practice in secret. Sanpei quickly finds himself dragged under the water by a strong undercurrent and drowns, only to regain consciousness within the magical realm of the Kappa. Thus begins Sanpei's journey as he befriends one of the Kappa children, Gartaro, and begins to learn the real whereabouts of his mother and the reason behind his father's disappearance.