Tuba

Tuba is a Japanese anime series created by Waku Yaniko.

Plot
Mamiko Saruto is a 12-year old overweight girl who lives an often life: Her father is extremely addicted to gambling, her mother left her when she was six and nobody (except Hirimi Hacatoru, Haru Pakatu and Fujiko Garko) wants to hang out with her after her breakup with her ex-boyfriend Takashi Bakiro. Because of all of this, she always wishes for a pet that would keep her company. One Christmas when she was returning from School, she found a caged hippo that somehow got into her room. After releasing her, she revealed herself to be Tuba Tuburico, a hippo who was smuggled from Africa by some hunters for their circus but she flew out of the window and into Mamiko's open window. With Tuba as Mamiko's pet, Tuba is currently living her new life in Japan with her owner Mamiko Saruto.

Characters
Tuba Tuburico is a hippo who was smuggled from Japan. She is easily annoyed but also quick to protect anyone (including her owner Mamiko) from any danger they could be in. She has only 5 siblings back in Africa and seems to think they don't care that she's missing (they actually do).

Mamiko Saruto is an overweight girl who is Tuba's owner. She is shy and good-natured but is often seen as a bad person (she's only really harsh whenever someone harasses her or her friends or makes fun of her weight). She was always overweight even at birth.

Hirimi Hacatoru is a blonde girl who is one of Mamiko's friends. She is often seen as a prostitude who sleeps with boys for free but she actually a calm person who's not into sex once someone gets to know her better. Despite being popular among boys, Hirimi is actually a closet lesbian and doesn't plan on coming out until she's ready.

Haru Pakatu is a boy who is one of Mamiko's friends. He is quite intelligent but is otherwise not very good at sports. He is secretly in love with Mamiko and wants to marry her someday.

Fujiko Garko is a redhead girl who is one of Mamiko's friends. She's a cynical and sarcastic person but that doesn't mean she hates everyone around her but just thinks they're not really smart. Her favourite number in the world is 7

Trivia

 * This Anime was later adapted into a currently running manga series written by Tarou Yaniko and Illustrated by Machiko Yaniko for Shueisha's Weekly Young Jump.