is a light novel series by Kou Kimura, with illustrations by Yug. An anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 adaptation ran from July 9, 2005 to October 1, 2005. The show takes place in a Japanese school where everything is normal, except for students from what are called "specified races." The specified races are based on yōkai

Yōkai

are a class of supernatural monsters in Japanese folklore. The word yōkai is made up of the kanji for "otherworldly" and "weird". Yōkai range eclectically from the malevolent to the mischievous, or occasionally bring good fortune to those who encounter them...

 from Japanese mythology

Japanese mythology

Japanese mythology is a system of beliefs that embraces Shinto and Buddhist traditions as well as agriculturally based folk religion. The Shinto pantheon comprises innumerable kami...

; for example, one student on the swim team is a kappa, while another, a nurikabe

Nurikabe (Japanese mythology)

The nurikabe is a Yōkai, or spirit, from Japanese folklore. It manifests as a wall that impedes or misdirects walking travelers at night. Trying to go around is futile as it extends itself forever. Knocking on the lower part of the wall makes it disappear....

, merges with walls and is popular in the summertime for having a very cool temperature.

Shingo Oohashi

Shingo is a human. He is a good cook, and is not racist against different races. He cares for Petoko a lot, and does not want her to disappear, so he helps her a lot.

Hatoko "Petoko" Fujimura

PetoPeto race. Her main source of food is love. With lack of love or food she becomes transparent, which would eventually cause her to disappear.

Kuguru Sahara

She is half-Kappa race. She is a good swimmer, and faster than humans. She likes Shingo.

Chochomaru Sahara

Kappa race. she is Kuguru's sister, who wanted to kill her sister because she believes the family only needs one heir. She and her sister later went back to good terms.

Chie Oohashi

Human. Shingo's little sister. She seems to hate the special races, or for her they are monsters.

Episode list

• Hello-san (Originally aired July 9, 2005)
• A Special Race (Originally aired July 16, 2005)
• Mint or Lavender (Originally aired July 23, 2005)
• Family Matters (Originally aired July 30, 2005)
• Younger Sister Village (Originally aired August 6, 2005)
• Older Sister and Younger Sister (Originally aired August 13, 2005)
• Ding-ling Ding-ling (Originally aired August 20, 2005)
• Summer Camp (Originally aired August 27, 2005)
• Police Chief for a Day (Originally aired September 3, 2005)
• Scout (Originally aired September 10, 2005)
• "Imo-ten" Test Trial Version (Originally aired September 17, 2005)
• Project Daybreak (Originally aired September 24, 2005)
• Good-bye, Petopeto-san (Originally aired October 1, 2005)