Sanpei is a young carefree boy that lives alone with his grandfather deep in the mountains. 
One day, when Sanpei takes a nap whilst floating down the river on a makeshift raft, he is mistaken for a Kappa and gets pulled underwater by a group of 'fellow' Kappa that are worried about him being spotted by humans, before whisking Sanpei away to the underwater Kingdom of the Kappa. 
Upon arrival, Sanpei is soon discovered to actually be a human and is immediately is sentenced to execution. 
Realizing the situation he's in, Sanpei somehow manages to convince the Kappa elders that Human civilization is much more advanced and that they could learn a great deal from the humans should they allow him to live. Unable to trust Sanpei completely, the Kappa Elder removes Sanpei's bellybutton (as this is where they believe his soul to be located) as a guarantee before sending him back to the Human world, escorted by a young Kappa "exchange student" that strikes a frightening resemblance to Sanpei. 
Thus begins Sanpei's adventures as he seeks to educate the Kappa, foil a persistent Death god, learn about his parents whereabouts, tackle angry Tanuki's, and lastly, win back his bellybutton!

Sanpei is a young carefree boy that lives alone with his grandfather deep in the mountains. 
One day, when Sanpei takes a nap whilst floating down the river on a makeshift raft, he is mistaken for a Kappa and gets pulled underwater by a group of 'fellow' Kappa that are worried about him being spotted by humans, before whisking Sanpei away to the underwater Kingdom of the Kappa. 
Upon arrival, Sanpei is soon discovered to actually be a human and is immediately is sentenced to execution. 
Realizing the situation he's in, Sanpei somehow manages to convince the Kappa elders that Human civilization is much more advanced and that they could learn a great deal from the humans should they allow him to live. Unable to trust Sanpei completely, the Kappa Elder removes Sanpei's bellybutton (as this is where they believe his soul to be located) as a guarantee before sending him back to the Human world, escorted by a young Kappa "exchange student" that strikes a frightening resemblance to Sanpei.

Sanpei is a lazy little 7 year old boy who rarely concentrates on anything beside 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 that is quite content with living alone with his grandfather in the mountains. 
One day, Sanpei's school announces that it will hold 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 so that he can have the chance to visit Tokyo and meet with 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 so 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 find himself 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 Fathers disappearance...

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